My Last Duchess by Eloisa James

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James returns to the Wildes series with a prequel about the Wilde children's parents, Hugo, Duke of Lindow, and Ophelia, Lady Astley.

Every Duke needs a Duchess...

Hugo Wilde, the Duke of Lindow, has a drafty castle, eight naughty children—and no wife. Ophelia, Lady Astley, has a fine house, one well-behaved daughter—and no husband.

Hugo takes one look at Ophelia and loses his heart, but she doesn’t want more children or a castle. She takes one look at him and heads for her carriage.

Desperate to find a duchess, Hugo identifies an appropriate lady to woo. Yet when he meets Ophelia again, the duke realizes that he will marry her, or no one.

Now he faces the greatest challenge of his life.

He must convince Ophelia that their blazing sensuality, his exquisite castle, and his eight charming children add up to a match made in heaven.

When duke finds his duchess, can he win her heart?

A Wildes series prequel about the Wilde children’s parents, Hugo, Duke of Lindow, and Ophelia, Lady Astley.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of The Wildes of Lindow Castle series!
For book one, Wilde in Love, click HERE.
For book two, Too Wilde to Wed, click HERE.
For book three, Born to Be Wilde, click HERE.
For book four, Say No to the Duke, click HERE.
For book five, Say Yes to the Duke, click HERE.

 

 

Book 0.5
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Avon Romance (HarperCollins)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
My Last Duchess is the prequel installment in The Wildes of Lindow Castle series.

Can it be read as a standalone? Should it be read as a prequel prior to the other titles? Yes to both questions. However, the emotional impact will be greater if you start at the first novel in the series, Wilde in Love. Why? The reader’s connection to the characters will be greater. It will also remove the sense of insta-love from this novel.

After reading about Hugo and Ophelia for an entire series, the ultimate parents and grandparents, the family-oriented duke and duchess, we finally see how their romance unfolded. We’ve witnessed the coupling of their numerous children, witnessed the joy of the birth of their grandchildren, and nearly swooned from the undying passion of their mature love… now we get to experience it from their beginning.

Many readers will think the journey too quick, too short, and the love too instantaneous. I’m one who advocates against insta-love at every turn. However, I think this truly worked for Hugo and Ophelia. We readers already know they’re happily married, the greatest support system for their ragtag grouping of children. We’ve seen it in the aftermath, now we had the pleasure of experiencing in the now.

The Wilde men are known for falling hard at first sight, so why should their patriarch be any different?

The duke’s sons notoriously wed women similar to their stepmother, so it was no surprise that Ophelia made Hugo work for it, made him sweat, made him nearly beg. She was a strong woman, independent but with a deep sense of longing to belong to something greater. Her maternal instinct was as big as her heart. Hugo was also surprisingly sentimental, lonely, and needing the deeper connection of a love match instead of a contractual marriage.

Read in one sitting, My Last Duchess was a joy to read. The warmth and happiness between a widow and widower infectious. The pages flew by, and suddenly I was finished, and then the desire to begin anew settled over me, the intense need to reread their children’s stories.

Beyond recommend to fans of historical romance, especially to those who are fans of Eloisa James and the Wildes. I cannot wait to read whatever the author publishes next, always at the top of my recommend list for Historical Romance.

 

 

ELOISA JAMES is a New York Times best-selling author and professor of English literature who lives with her family in New York, but can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. She is the mother of two and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

Connect with Eloisa

Facebook  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of My Last Duchess (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #0.5) by Eloisa James to read and review.