Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James

Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India.

Exquisite, headstrong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks.

But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them.

Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option. But there is only one thing that will make India his.

The one thing Thorn can't afford to lose – his fierce and lawless heart.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
Eloisa James is a favorite of mine when it comes to Historical Romance. I enjoy the author's voice, the easy flow of the story, the fast pacing, and the way she gives just enough but not too much description. Most of the books feature a strong sense of family, whether it be making sacrifices for the family you already have or the quest of creating a family of your own. All the characters are humanly flawed and relatable.

India was not your typical woman of the era. As an orphaned lady, she had more freedom to conduct business and pave a way through life than if she had to stick to the societal rules of the time. Basically, without an overbearing, marriage-seeking mother, India was left to grow and prosper. Focused, hardworking, but more naive than she thought herself to be.

Thorn was the illegitimate son of a Duke. He was abandoned by his mother, left to work and live on the streets, until his father found him and brought him home. Clearly this would lead to many issues. He wanted a reasonable wife, where they would have many children he would personally raise, and have a calm, honorable life.

In order to catch a wife, Thorn hired India to rehab his entire country estate. Three Weeks with Lady X turned into more than either expected.

My favorite parts of the book were the notes being passed back and forth. The banter was great during dialogue, but this is where the chemistry truly shined. Another amazing addition was Thorn's ward, Rose. The little girl sparked life into the novel, bringing about unintentional humor.

While I enjoyed the book, the reason I can't rave about it is because it dragged on at points, many moments of repetition where I wished the pacing would pick up. Since it wasn't an involved storyline, I'm not entirely sure the plot was able to support so many pages. This is historical romance, where you KNOW the hero and heroine will get their HEA, and it's about the journey for the reader. But the journey has to maintain its entertainment value page after page, and it became repetitious with Thorn singing the praises of Lala, a woman who was a complete stranger. Frankly, there were only so many times I could read where they had a misunderstanding about what the other meant during proposals between Thorn & India. Once was enough. Twice was pushing it. Three times and I was fed up and ready to read another story.

There was a side romance that was sprung at the 50% mark, finalizing at the 75% mark that most would find enjoyable. But, to be honest, I skipped it entirely wanting to get to the meat of the story.

Do I recommend this author? Yes, especially to those who are new to the genre and for those who have been pushed away previously with how wordy and filled with flowery over-description with some novels in the Historical Romance genre. Eloisa James creates a page-turning, easy read.

Will I read more in this series? Yes, who wouldn't want to read more about Vander?

Genre: Historical Romance

Eloisa James is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author and professor of English literature, who lives with her family in New York but 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.

Connect with Eloisa

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads


Brought to you by

Erica reviewed her personal copy of Three Weeks With Lady X (Desperate Duchesses by the Numbers #1) by Eloisa James for this post.