Desperate Duchesses
Eloisa James · 2007
Chess, scandal, and passion in Georgian England. James brings a Shakespeare scholar's wit to Regency romance.
The case against
James spends so much energy seeding the next five books that this one forgets to finish its own story; the nominal central couple barely courts. Chess is the governing metaphor, and it is consulted before every move until you feel the clock running. Witty surfaces, Georgian wallpaper, and a plot you could fit on an index card.
Romance · the Pro canon
The case for it and the rest of the canon open with Pro.
if this one calls to you, so will these →
