Rating:  Summary: Amazing Review: This is my favorite book by Eloisa James so far. I truly did not think I would like it at first, but it was a joy to read. The letter in this book was so wonderful that I was very tempted to copy it and give to my husband. I still may!
Rating:  Summary: I simply LOVED it! Review: This is SO MUCH BETTER a book than the one that comes before it (Duchess in Love), that it's a shame that you really have to slog through it first, to understand what's happening here. My only criticism of Fool for Love is that, yes...it leaves a major plot point hanging, about secondary characters, who aren't really secondary: and leaps forward in time, without revealing what happened to them. It had better be resolved in the next book...
Rating:  Summary: A Sequel that Surpasses the original... Review: This is SO MUCH BETTER a book than the one that comes before it (Duchess in Love), that it's a shame that you really have to slog through it first, to understand what's happening here. My only criticism of Fool for Love is that, yes...it leaves a major plot point hanging, about secondary characters, who aren't really secondary: and leaps forward in time, without revealing what happened to them. It had better be resolved in the next book...
Rating:  Summary: Funny, real characters Review: This was a very enjoyable book. A good Regency, well written and a major sub-plot that was from the first book which I have yet to read. I'll be buying it. Esme's story is not finished. She was a loose end that wasn't tied up. It seems these books run like a serial from the descriptions from the first book. I'm happy to see conclusion with this story though.No wishy-washy h/h. This book makes you want to reach for more in life and not to be stifled by what others think you're capable of. (or not) Many good laughs and a story that left me thinking about it long after.
Rating:  Summary: Best Yet Review: This was my favorite of James' books so far. It wasn't the same old stuff and had two major couples rather than just one which made it more interesting. It had humor and sweet Josie . . .
a great read.
Rating:  Summary: Loved it, but I'm a sucker for odd little children... Review: This, so far, is my favorite of Eloisa's books, but since I'm a sucker for kids in general, and odd little ones in particular, I really fell for the "poor, motherless child" in this story. I've read hundred's of books over the quarter century I've been reading romance, so believe me when I say that Simon's sisters are completely original in the regency genre, and yet still as believable as my own beloved niece and nephews. As for the adults, I loved Simon and Henrietta's story, too. I found it both poignant and passionate; funny without being frivolous. Esme's plight, to me, was perhaps better handled here than in the next part of her story (A WILD PURSUIT), mainly because I found her relentless pursuit of respectability at almost any cost believable, but incredibly annoying. These stories have all the touches I've come to love in this author's novels: humorous machinations, original yet believable characters, passionate love scenes (even the ones where the couple remain fully clothed), and page-turning plotting. And FOOL FOR LOVE is a worthy addition to the Eloisa James canon.
Rating:  Summary: Loved it, but I'm a sucker for odd little children... Review: This, so far, is my favorite of Eloisa's books, but since I'm a sucker for kids in general, and odd little ones in particular, I really fell for the "poor, motherless child" in this story. I've read hundred's of books over the quarter century I've been reading romance, so believe me when I say that Simon's sisters are completely original in the regency genre, and yet still as believable as my own beloved niece and nephews. As for the adults, I loved Simon and Henrietta's story, too. I found it both poignant and passionate; funny without being frivolous. Esme's plight, to me, was perhaps better handled here than in the next part of her story (A WILD PURSUIT), mainly because I found her relentless pursuit of respectability at almost any cost believable, but incredibly annoying. These stories have all the touches I've come to love in this author's novels: humorous machinations, original yet believable characters, passionate love scenes (even the ones where the couple remain fully clothed), and page-turning plotting. And FOOL FOR LOVE is a worthy addition to the Eloisa James canon.
Rating:  Summary: A disappointing second installment Review: When I finished the sparkling and delightful DUCHESS IN LOVE, I couldn't wait for the next installment in Eloisa James's new series. Now, having read FOOL FOR LOVE, I can only express my disappointment. In FOOL FOR LOVE, the main characters are Henrietta and Simon - not one of the couples introduced in DUCHESS IN LOVE. Simon Darby is Esme Rawlings's nephew, heir apparent to her late husband's title and estates. However, Esme is pregnant, and so Simon needs to wait out her confinement to see if the baby is a boy or not. There are also doubts as to whether Esme's child was fathered by her late husband. When Simon comes to Esme's country estate with his much younger half-sisters in tow, he meets - and is fascinated with - Esme's neighbor, Henrietta Maclellan. He woos her, after a fashion, until he discovers that she can not only not carry children to term, but that she also probably should not even participate in activities that could lead to pregnancy. Henrietta wants Simon and his two sisters, so she does not give up, and with Esme's help, contrives to trap him into marriage. Around this point, the book just started to wander along paths that made no sense. Simon, who in the first half of the book appears to truly need his uncle's estates (given the way he rushed off to the country to determine if Esme was indeed pregnant), suddenly reveals that he has a fortune worth twice Henrietta's dowry. Henrietta stubbornly refuses to consult a better doctor in London about her deformity and her childbearing ability. A great deal of stress is placed on how she longs to be a mother to Simon's two sisters, but little is shown of how she manages to handle the two extremely difficult girls. For that matter, much is made of younger sibling Annabel's "weak stomach," and I kept expecting Henrietta to find the solution to this illness, but nothing happened. Similarly, there was no explanation offered as to why older sibling Josie mourned so much for a shrew of a mother she apparently never really knew. To top it all off, I had a hard time believing Simon and Henrietta were ever really in love; their declarations to one another felt rather rushed, and even the cause and resolution of Henrietta's medical problems were glossed over. I think what frustrated me most about FOOL FOR LOVE is that the scenes between Esme Rawlings and Sebastian Bonnington stole the show. This book should have been their time at center stage, and the fact that they were only granted minor scenes (even if those scenes were the strongest in the book) makes me feel downright cheated. In fact, I sensed that James was setting readers up for Rees and Helena's story next, which means Esme and Sebastian will be continuing background characters, awaiting their own book for some time. But at least Rees and Helena are a compelling couple. Simon and Henrietta left me cold, frustrated, and wanting to knock heads together. I settled for throwing the book across the room. I recommend FOOL FOR LOVE only for Esme and Sebastian's sake.
Rating:  Summary: A mixed bag Review: While this is supposedly a Regency romance, it smacks of the Georgian period, especially in the fashions. Simon never really grabbed me; he was such a dandy. Though Henrietta is an engaging heroine. Her torment over being unable to bear children due to a deformity is a significant thread in her character and the story. Other reviewers are correct in saying that Esme and Sebastian steal (or nearly so) the show. They played too big a part to keep from interfering with the main storyline. They certainly need their own story. It's a good, if flawed, book. The letter is definitely not "very steamy" and I disliked the manipulations of Henrietta and Esme over it, but all-in-all the book's worth reading. Buying may be a different thing.
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