Review + Giveaway: Four Nights with the Duke

FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKE

Desperate Duchesses #8

Eloisa James

Historical Romance

384 pages

Avon

Available Now

Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

As a young girl, Emilia Gwendolyn Carrington told the annoying future Duke of Pindar that she would marry any man in the world before him—so years later she is horrified to realize that she has nowhere else to turn.

Evander Septimus Brody has his own reasons for agreeing to Mia's audacious proposal, but there's one thing he won't give his inconvenient wife: himself.

Instead, he offers Mia a devil's bargain...he will spend four nights a year with her. Four nights, and nothing more. And those only when she begs for them.

Which Mia will never do.

Now Vander faces the most crucial challenge of his life: he must seduce his own wife in order to win her heart—and no matter what it takes, this is the one battle he can't afford to lose.

MY THOUGHTS

Four Nights with the Duke is a captivating and emotional read, giving us an antagonistic relationship that keeps us questioning whether or not these two will ever find their way to happily ever after despite knowing it's exactly where they're headed. Many antagonistic relationships are full of witty banter; sly insults delivered with a smirk and a little sexual innuendo to let some of the attraction slip through the pretense of dislike. The relationship between Mia and Vander is not characterized by the more playful type of antagonism however, instead what exists between the two of them for much of the book is years of pain, anger, and more than a little humiliation on Mia’s part. As a result, our hearts ache for her from prologue to concluding chapters, wanting nothing more for her than to find the happiness she deserves.

From the moment Mia stands up from her hiding spot at age fifteen and confronts the group of boys, including Vander, who are mocking a poem she wrote professing her love for him, we can’t help but be madly in love with her. While the fact that she blackmails Vander into marrying her (with a very serious accusation should the information she has get out) isn’t something we can really condone, her reasons for doing so are extraordinarily selfless, and she pays far more than the penance due in the early days of her marriage. Vander’s insults are not of the witty or flirty variety, rather they're words honed to sharp points and aimed with unerring precision, inflicting as much lasting damage as possible and leaving us feeling nothing but protective of the young woman who’s trying to do what’s best for her family.

Vander therefore takes much longer to warm to than Mia, our anger at him for not defending her and her poem fairly mild given he was a mere fifteen at the time as well, but his righteous anger at her in the present for not only the blackmail but also the somewhat sordid history between their families keeps a fair amount of distance between us. He also has the rather frustrating habit of communicating almost solely in intimate terms, seeking physical closeness with Mia whenever his mouth gets him in trouble and staying notably silent in lieu of explaining himself. What keeps this habit from being downright irritating is Mia’s reaction to this repetitive process, letting him know time and again that his method of communicating leaves a lot to be desired on an emotional level.

In the end though, Vander shows a great deal of growth and maturity, using his words to comfort and woo rather than hurt, but he also helps Mia to see what's being said when he says nothing at all. Overall, Four Nights with a Duke is beautifully emotional, leaving us feeling raw and on edge much of the time before soothing us with a tender moment between the two of them or a laugh thanks to Vander’s charming lush of an uncle. Lovers of historical romance will not want to miss out on this one.

Rating: 4.5/5

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ELOISA JAMES

A New York Times bestselling author, Eloisa James is a professor of English literature who lives with her family in New York, but who can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. (Her husband is an honest to goodness Italian knight!) Eloisa’s website offers short stories, extra chapters, and even a guide to shopping in Florence. Visit her at www.eloisajames.com.

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TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Tasty Book Tours and the fabulous people at Avon, I have a very special giveaway to accompany my review today! Up for grabs is the complete Desperate Duchesses series (books 1-7), so be sure an enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US/Canada only.

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