The Duke is Mine

Blurb from Goodreads.com:

Tarquin, the powerful Duke of Sconce, knows perfectly well that the decorous and fashionably slender Georgiana Lytton will make him a proper duchess. So why can't he stop thinking about her twin sister, the curvy, headstrong, and altogether unconventional Olivia? Not only is Olivia betrothed to another man, but their improper, albeit intoxicating, flirtation makes her unsuitability all the more clear.

Determined to make a perfect match, he methodically cuts Olivia from his thoughts, allowing logic and duty to triumph over passion…Until, in his darkest hour, Quin begins to question whether perfection has anything to do with love.

To win Olivia's hand he would have to give up all the beliefs he holds most dear, and surrender heart, body and soul…

Unless it's already too late.

My Review:

   This is the third book in Eloisa James' Fairy Tales series, which is one of the better historical romance series around. I'd definitely recommend the series as a whole for people who enjoy historical romance as E.J. is, in my opinion, one of the best authors in this genre. In general, I enjoyed this book, probably more than I enjoy the average historical romance because of the polished writing style and the wry humour, which, despite my less than stellar review to come, I did appreciate. 

   This book is all over the place, the author has a few witty phrases and clever ideas that she wanted to write into a book, so she smushed them all together into this one. Yeah, individually they were funny/entertaining/dramatic/good, but all in one book...can you say multiple personality disorder? So let's stuff a disabled character (who is first made fun of, then pitied, then taken advantage of, (highlight to see spoiler) then killed, a "perfect" twin sister, a duchess exam type thing (princess and the pea element), Justin Bieber, dead loved ones (you have to give the characters baggage!), physical insecurities, Asperger's?, and top it off with a mission impossible-esque finale. Just...no. I thought there were just too many sardonic inside jokes (multiple Justin Bieber references for one thing) that distracted me from the main plot. 

   Personally, historical fiction is my choice of escapism in literature, the lack of modern anything is one of the aspects that I enjoy because I can pretend that real life doesn't exist beyond the pages that I'm reading.

Ever Yours~

The Know-it-all