Eloisa James is one of my favorite historical romance authors. I loved the first in her Would-Be Wallflowers series, last year’s How to Be a Wallflower with an American hero and an heiress to a commode fortune. Jake and Cleo are back in this year’s The Reluctant Countess. Cleo is best friend’s with the heroine in the new book, Lady Yasmin Regnier. Unfortunately, I like both of the characters from the first book more than I liked the current enemies-to-lovers protagonists.
Yasmin was only sixteen when she eloped in France. As the daughter of one of Napoleon’s mistresses and a French father, she thought she was in love. But, her lover took advantage of her naivete. A week after they ran off together, she woke to find it was a all a cruel joke at her expense, and the abbe who married them was fake, as was her marriage. In the next several years in the French court, she learned to ignore the snickers and comments, and hold her head high.
By the time she is twenty-five, Yasmin is living with her grandfather, the Duke of Portbellow, in London. Many of the women in society do not approve of her French dresses and the attention men pay to her. But, Yasmin has learned to find joy in her life. That might be why she enjoys provoking the unsmiling Giles Renwick, Earl of Lilford. He always seems to disapprove of her, but he claims the first waltz at every ball.
Giles does disapprove of the way Yasmin flirts with everyone. After the scandalous behavior of his parents, he has a reputation to rebuild in society. It’s Yasmin, though, who points out that Giles’ younger sister, Lydia, really should have a chaperone. While the earl dances waltzes with Yasmin, he never notices that his sister disappears from the dance floor. When Lydia’s caught, she blames Yasmin and tells Giles Yasmin gossips and tells lies about others, including her.
Despite Yasmin’s flirtations and Lydia’s hatred of her, Giles falls desperately in love with the woman he and his sister are sure would be an unsuitable countess. And, Lydia does everything in her power to keep the two apart.
Honestly? The two characters’ lust for each other overrode their common sense. Yes, they did eventually admit they loved each other. That’s not a spoiler. This is a historical romance. I felt bad, though, for Yasmin. She felt as if Giles belittled her, and she felt vulnerable because she knows he’s looking for someone without her history, someone much more proper. She can thumb her nose at the reactions of society women because she has Cleo’s support, and the support of her grandfather. She has a harder time thumbing her nose at the man she grows to love.
My favorite character in the entire book was actually Yasmin’s delightful grandfather. The duke shares her joy in life, and he loves his granddaughter and only wants the best for her. Giles and Lydia are both hateful at times, and I resented Giles’ treatment of Yasmin.
Of course, in the long run, Eloisa James’ The Reluctant Countess is a successful book when the reader is angry at the characters. She’s brought the characters to life. I just liked Cleo better in the first in the series.
Eloisa James’ website is https://www.eloisajames.com/
The Reluctant Countess by Eloisa James. Avon Books, 2022. ISBN 9780063139572 (paperback), 370p.
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book
