An Affair Before Christmas (Desperate Duchesses, Bk 2)

I really, really, enjoyed this book. I started with Eloisa's latest book in the series thinking I had already read the others, but I hadn't...so I wanted to read to see where it all began. The first book "Desperate Dutchesses" was good, but this one is great! I love the story lines....I love the sweet story with Poppy & Fletch...but even more I was so intrigued with Villiers. Those fever scenes were masterfully written. And the best part is the relationship between the women. So awesome and funny! Jemma makes me laugh so much. Can't wait to continue this series, I think some of the more negative reviews come from people who want a traditional, formulaic romance novel. You won't get that with this one. You'll get something better.

TITLE: An Affair Before Christmas AUTHOR: Eloisa James SERIES: Desperate Duchesses, Book 2 OVERVIEW: Poppy, the Duchess of Fletcher, and her husband (affectionately known as Fletch) have been married for four years, always loving each other, but never quite figuring out how to live together as a married couple, particularly when it comes to their sex life, in which Poppy has never found pleasure, despite Fletch’s determined efforts. When Fletch finally resolves to seek his pleasure elsewhere, Poppy is jarred from her life-long attempt to satisfy her mother’s ideals of perfection—ideals that she assumes her husband shares—and decides to stay with her friend Jemma, the Duchess of Beaumont. With this separation, Fletch realizes just how much Poppy’s love fills his life, and Poppy finds the freedom to unveil her inner passions, which include both an interest in natural sciences and a strong attraction to her husband. Meanwhile, Jemma, the more scandalous and chess-obsessed duchess, quite newly returned from years in Paris, is busy tantalizing London Society, goading her husband (in a charming prelude to a romance to be explored later in the series), and putting off her chess game with the even more scandalous Duke of Villiers, who lies abed with a serious fever spreading from a dueling wound sustained in the previous book. In a well-developed secondary story, Villiers’s friendship with Jemma is put on the backburner as he develops a sickbed relationship with the savvy but subdued spinster, Miss Charlotte Tatlock, whose name is continually linked with that of Jemma’s husband. PROS: The issues that drive the split between Poppy and Fletch, namely Poppy’s sexual repression and the overall quelling influence of her mother, are well-developed, particularly in the context of the period. Some of the ways in which James’s characters are scandalous or unusual can sometimes read untrue to the historical setting, but Poppy’s fear of disappointing her mother, her earnest desire to act as a proper lady, and the dire misinformation she has about sex—supplied by her horrendous mother and certainly not corrected by a society that keeps its pleasures and perversions behind closed doors—all come together to make a compelling story out of an issue that is still relevant today: what happens when two people are in love but are having trouble making the physical relationship work. The story outside of Poppy and Fletch’s relationship was probably even more enjoyable than the main romance. We get a bit of tension between Jemma and her husband, Elijah, a little bit of Elijah and Villiers, who were once the best of friends, a little bit of Poppy’s other friends, and a lot of Villiers, who is a fascinating character to follow. He’s presented in the first book of the series as an out-and-out rake—not someone you want to root for—but by the end of the first book, we begin to see some relatable emotion in him, and through this book, we start to see how lonely he is and how desperately he’s looking for love, even if he doesn’t realize it (and not is an obvious, sappy way either!). His journey through this book has him facing his own death and developing a close bond with Charlotte Tatlock, the kind of demure, undazzling woman he never would have been interested in previously. And, as always, James is a master at tying accurate and interesting historical details into the story that enhance the quality of the characters, plot, and setting. CONS: The breakdown of the story across a main story and sub-plots, as well as the fact that the sub-stories are continuing across the series, rather than contained within this book, could be seen as cons, though I’m a fan of this setup, which is a style at which Eloisa James excels. I enjoy a romance between a couple who is already married, but there is a little something lacking in a story where the couple is so in love the whole time and simply has doubts about it. I also have trouble with characters who are “in love” but don’t seem to know much about one another, which is emphasized in this story with Poppy’s never-before-revealed love of sciences and her belief that Fletch only cares about fashion. The sex scenes aren’t precisely a negative, but they aren’t top-notch, and they were a little too much at the end. There are two major sex sections, and I think having just one big one and limiting the second one to something more suggestive than graphic would have been more effective. RATINGS: Writing: 5/5 Eloisa James is a tremendous writer, as always. Characters: 5/5 Believably complex, imperfect, and entertaining. Plot: 4.5/5 An appropriate progression of the main story, well mixed with secondary events. Setting: 4.5/5 Vibrant Georgian Society with fun, well-integrated historical details. Romance: 4/5 Sweet, strong romance from the start—but no chance to watch it develop. Sexiness: 4/5 Fairly good sex scenes work well with the romance development. Humor: 4/5 James always shines with humor, but it wasn’t noteworthy here. Average: 4.4/5 Delightful, Multi-threaded Piece of a Series OTHER INFO: This is the second in the Desperate Duchesses series, but unlike the novels in many historical romance series, this book doesn’t stand alone particularly well. It might still be enjoyable without having read the first book already and without intending to read any of the other books, but there’s a lot going on in this book with secondary characters and plotlines that begins in the previous book and will be continued in the following books. Keep that in mind if you plan on reading.

"It was like the tortures of Tantalus to desire someone who never desired him To be married to someone like that was like being tied to a well and never allowed to drink." THE STORY: Lady Perdita (Poppy) Selby, Duchess of Fletcher has been married for four years. Their marriage on the surface seems fine, but their sex life has been unhappy for both of them. Fletch has loves his wife, but the years have shown him that she doesn't want the passionate relationship that he does. When he contemplates adultery, Poppy decides that they would be better off separated. Their separation shows them that there might be something worth trying to save in their marriage. OPINION: I love novels about the difficulties of marriage. Poppy and Fletch are likeable characters who truly love one another but have to learn to communicate with one another. Poppy especially has to learn to hear her own voice rather than that of her mother. I liked this book better than the first of the series. There are intersecting stories so the reader needs to be prepared to follow various storylines and characters. Many of those stories are not completed in this book and readers must continue the series to discover the fate of other characters. I enjoyed the saga feel of the series. WORTH MENTIONING: There are many criticisms of this book because of the reasons that Poppy does not enjoy sex with her husband. Almost every one of those criticisms boils the reasons down to one. I completely disagree. Sexual disfunction and incompatibility and the inability of women to find satisfaction in their sex lives in a serious and real topic and this book covers a lot of the territory of the reasons: expectations, misunderstandings, ignorance, desire to retain control, lack of communication between partners. This book actually felt real and serious to me, not a joke even if part of the reason seems silly. FINAL DECISION: I really loved this book because Poppy and Fletch really do love one another but just have to learn to open themselves up to one another in ways that they didn't expect in the beginning of their marriage. CONNECTED BOOKS: AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS is the second book in the Desperate Duchesses series. This book can be read apart from the first book in the series, but the stories of the characters are interconnecting with characters dropping off only after their happy ending. STAR RATING: I give this book 4.25 stars.

(Spoilers.) I discovered a couple of days ago that I had already started this series over a year ago and abandoned it. I abandoned it because of this book. It is strangely unpleasant. Two later books are quite excellent, but this one is not at all. I seemed to have reached about a quarter of the way in last time. This time I'm halfway in and don't know if I have the fortitude to proceed. Few of the characters have any redeeming qualities with the worst sin of all, a gutless male protagonist. Unforgiveable. I have many other books ready to go so believe, I'll shelve this. Interesting, this is the first book ever I've tried to read twice.

This is not your typical light Christmas historical (Georgian era) romance. The world I'd stumbled into wasn't what I expected, it was better. It was full of engaging characters who had more complexity going for them than what I read in most romance novels, including Eloisa James' more recent ones. We have a marriage in trouble and the issues that strained it are not fixed in a few paragraphs. We have two unresolved romantic subplots to pull us into future series novels. We have a satisfying HEA with a decent epilogue. Well done, that author!

If I’m going to compare this series to something, it would be Movie series. There are so many characters that have potential of being a main characters. Throughout the whole series there will be a development of Main and secondary characters. Many time I see comments of each book it would be the main H/h were Given two little times in the book. Which is quite unusual for Historical romance styles of writing that will usually focus on two main characters. Whereas, the desperate duchesses series main h is actually Jemma, Elija and Villeir. Throughout the series you will see the development of this characters. While, each book will have 1 main couple that grow along side this main characters but their story will matured here in this book. I really enjoy reading this series, but I deduct one star for the story of main couple (Poppy and Fletch) in this book. And I may conclude a virgin H isn’t my cup of tea. Both H/h were too young and childish most of the time. While being so annoyed 😑 with the Poppy and Fletch I thoroughly enjoy the story of the size characters like Villier and Charlotte. The book is a slow burn one, which kicking up its pace toward last 20% of the book. Why I’m eager to finish the story of Poppy and Fletch. I’m so excited about Villier story, but it’s going to be a while till I reach his book which mean there will be a lot of development of these characters which I’m thrill for.

I had a great time with Poppy and John. I reckon I am going to read every Eloisa James' book in existance, especially her Desperate Duchesses series. They are so good!

A quick-ish read that offers Sooo Much. Paris, and house parties. Love and Lust. Supportive and harmless side chicks. Interesting and very intelligent heroes and heroines. Faithful men. What’s not to love?

Poppy und Fletcher sind verheiratet. Ihre Liebesgeschichte vor der Hochzeit wird nur angedeutet und es gab keinen Sex vor der Hochzeit! Doch nach vier Jahren Ehe haben sie nicht zueinander gefunden, sondern auseinander gelebt. Ursache: fehlende Freude im Bett und sexuelle Frustration. Dazu kommt die egozentrische, überdominante Mutter von Poppy. Erst als Fletch frustriert seine Frau Poppy öffentlich beleidigt, zieht sie aus zu ihrer Freundin Jemma. Endlich ist Poppy ohne störende Einflüsse und kann sich selber finden. Endlich hat sie die Chance zu überlegen, was sie will bzw. was sie nicht will. Erst jetzt ist auch Fletch wirklich bereit seine Frau kennen zu lernen. Mir hat das Szenario sehr gut gefallen. Ich finde es auch überzeugend dargestellt, warum Poppy kein Spass im Bett hatte (wird natürlich nicht verraten). Und auch ihre Entwicklung ist überzeugend. Nicht zuletzt wird auch gezeigt, dass sie von der Stärke ihrer Mutter etwas geerbt hat. Sülzig romantisch ist höchstens, dass die beiden sich trotz alledem nach vier Jahren immer noch lieben. Die Nebenstränge sind etwas hinderlich, machen aber Lust darauf die folgenden Bücher? zu lesen. Und es ist eine Möglichkeit, das Buch ein zweites (drittes) Mal zur Hand zu nehmen und die Nebenhandlungen zu überspringen.

I have read most of Ms James books and generally believe her writing style is descriptive and rich in exploring human emotions. In this particular novel I loved the hero.He was uncomplicated and very sure of himself ,his identity ,sexy,down to earth and very human.I liked the fact that he was sure of his feelings and love for poppy and never wavered from them.It was the heroine who had to undergo self-exploration and change to overcome all the sexual complexes her horrible bitter mother had instilled in her and to finally free herself to demostrate her love to Fletcher. The supporting cast of relationships within this circle of Desperate duchesses and their men is very interesting filled with humor and impending intrigue. The intensity of feeling between the heroine and hero and the cademerie between them was very well executed and realistic. A truly enjoyable read-I finihed it in one sitting ,looking forward to what happens to the Duke Villiers.

Like any other genre, period novels can be everything from excellent to appalling I thought this was light-weight and not worth the time spent reading it.

Unfortunately, I found this story largely tiresome, depressing, confusing, and foremost, lacking in romance. There were far too many games being played—both literally and figuratively—with characters constantly manipulating one another. Everyone seemed to be flirting with the wrong people, and never with the ones they were actually supposed to be involved with. It felt like some alternative version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and the overall atmosphere was not one I found particularly pleasant. Everything felt too harsh and calculated. There were hardly any moments of genuine peace or emotional connection in the entire story—perhaps only during the trip to Oxford or briefly at the very end. None of the couples appeared to be truly happy, and the focus on the main couple was disappointingly minimal. We were even denied crucial moments in their relationship, such as their wedding night, which should have been a key milestone in their emotional and physical intimacy. I also found it implausible—and frankly disappointing—that Jemma, the so-called Queen of Scandal, gave her close friend no guidance whatsoever. Fletcher’s expectations regarding physical affection were neither perverse nor inappropriate, and yet Jemma allowed Poppy to cling to the prudish, narrow-minded views instilled in her by her mother. That felt like a real betrayal of friendship. And then there was the love triangle between Charlotte, Villiers, and his heir. I was genuinely rooting for Charlotte and Villiers; they had already formed a meaningful and beautiful bond. But then the heir appeared out of nowhere and, in my opinion, ruined everything. I felt no chemistry between him and Charlotte at all. Their connection seemed forced and unconvincing. In the end, I was left feeling confused and disappointed. I’m not even sure what the real point of the story was. Whatever it was trying to achieve, it didn’t resonate with me.

titel und inhalt eines buches müssen nicht unbedingt was miteinander zu tun haben... die grundidee der geschichte war gut, sie ist auch bezaubernd geschrieben, aber ich saß streckenweise mit geballten fäusten und zusammengebissenen zähnen da: diese schwiegermutter ist einen mord wert. ich kann ü-ber-haupt nicht verstehen, warum fletch sie nicht sofort aus dem haus wirft. allein schon, daß sie sich so lange in die ehe einmischen durfte, lässt mich den kopf schütteln und macht mich ärgerlich. das ist es, was punktabzug gibt - ich möchte ein buch genießen, nicht mich ärgern.