Born to Be Wilde
by Eloisa James
Series: The Wildes of Lindow Castle Series
Genre: Adult Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: July 31, 2018
The richest bachelor in England plays matchmaker…for an heiress he wants for himself!
For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there’s only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him.
Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he’s chosen a far more suitable bride.
But when he learns of Lavinia’s desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even better, he’ll find her a prince.
As usual, there’s no problem Parth can’t fix. But the more time he spends with the beguiling Lavinia, the more he finds himself wondering…
Why does the woman who’s completely wrong feel so right in his arms?
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Excerpt:
Gentlemen didn’t kiss like this. And yet he couldn’t stop . . .
She tasted better than anything—anyone. She tasted like honey and spice, like brandy ans excitement.
Dimly, he was aware that blood was thundering through his veins . . . from a mere kiss.
The reality of it shocked him back into sense and he pulled back, ending the kiss. Lavinia opened her eyes. Annoyed. She was annoyed. Years of reading her face told him exactly how she was feeling.
“Kiss me again, Mr. Sterling,” she ordered, her voice husky. For a moment he just felt a flare of anger at that formal address, but she tugged at his hair.
He dove back into the kiss as if it had never ended.
Review:
OMG, you guys, this series. It gets me right here, every time–and then, before I’ve even had a chance to really bask in the glow of the current couple’s HEA (here, Parth and Lavinia), Ms. James has me all but salivating for the next book to come out. I don’t know how she does it.
Okay, I take that back. I know exactly how she does it. Before the book ends (just before the epilogue, here) we get a chapter not from our current hero or heroine’s POV, but from a future one (here, Betsy Wilde) that confirms our suspicions that she’s going to be a future heroine and who her hero will be (Jeremy!) and gives us just enough of a preview of their story to make us want to read it yesterday…before throwing us right back into Lavinia and Parth’s story for an absolutely adorable epilogue with them. But do we have a title? A release date? Not yet. Well played, Ms. James.
But I digress…
Parth and Lavinia’s story was just as delightful as I hoped it would be after Ms. James teased their story in the last book (Too Wilde to Wed ). Secretly attracted to each other, they’ve each decided that it’s a hopeless cause and hidden that attraction behind disdainful nicknames (her) and seeming indifference (him). Until Livinia’s situation changes drastically and desperation drives her to make him a shocking proposal…which he naturally shoots down. Oh, but he’ll help her find someone else to marry….suuuuuure you will, buddy. (That bit lasts even less time than you think it will going in.)
I really enjoyed some of the places Ms. James took the plot here–addiction, Anglo-Indian relationships, Lavinia’s rather ingenious way of solving her money problems on her own–and absolutely adored all of the relationships: Lavinia and Parth, of course, but also Lavinia and Diana, Lavinia and Parth and all of the Wildes, Lavinia and her maid and the seamstresses…each added an extra dimension to the overall story. Coupled with Ms. James’s delightful writing (lines like “‘I love you.’ The words were so deep and true that they must have been engraved on his heart,” and “It turned out love had a scent. It smelled of fresh wood, of bolts of silk and wool, of boxes of buttons,” got highlighted almost before I finished reading them) they made reading this book an absolute pleasure (and almost allows you to forget about the times that Parth goes above and beyond in being a bit of an alphahole…fortunately, he snaps out of it before long and comes to appreciate the awesomely resourceful and altogether delightful fashionista that is Lavinia.)
Though it could probably work fine as a standalone, reading this book after you’ve read the first two ( Wilde in Love and Too Wilde to Wed ) will give you a more complete picture of Lavinia’s plight, since her closeness to Willa and Diana factors into why she’s so desperate to marry ASAP. As a bonus, reading them will also help keep you busy until we find out more about when Besty’s story will come out…
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the Author:
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. Visit her at http://www.eloisajames.com.
Author Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
Tour Wide Giveaway!
To celebrate the release of BORN TO BE WILDE by Eloisa James, we’re giving away one hardcover set of THE WILDES OF LINDOW CASTLE series!
GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a hardcover set of The Wildes of Lindow Castle series by Eloisa James. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 8/10/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.
