Wilde in Love

I do try not to use book titles as my blog post titles, but this one is just too good!  Eloisa James rolled out her newest historical fiction on Halloween, and I was so excited.  However, I had to wait to read it because of budgeting.  (La, if only I got paid to read!)  It went on SALE this week, so I jumped right on that train.  And I am so glad that I did!

Wilde in Love is set in the late 1770's, firmly in the Georgian period rather than the more common
Regency period that occurs about forty years later.  The book introduces us to a whole new family that seems pretty fun so far.  The Duke has married three times, the first and third to true loves, the second not so much.  He has several children, and they are all named after warriors:  Alaric, Spartacus, Leonidas, Boudicca, ect.  They all seem to have a vibrant and adventuresome spirit that makes them live up to their names.

Lord Alaric has just come home from his adventures abroad and he feels like it might be time to stay home.  What he doesn't realize is the amount of fame he's gained by publishing books of his adventures.  There's even a play (not authored by Lord Wilde, I assure you) that turns him in to a dramatic, if farcical, hero!  His older brother, North, is engaged to the lovely Diana and the whole family has gathered at Lindow Castle to celebrate the engagement with a house party.  Important to note, Lindow Castle sits on the edge of a dangerous bog--in fact, the Duke's eldest son, Honorius, died in the bog.

In attendance at the party is Miss Wilhelmina Everett Ffyche.  Known as Willa to  her good friend and cousin, Lavinia, she has two faces.  The first is the perfect and polite Miss Ffyche that has made her the belle of the ball, and the second is the wicked and witty Willa that she shows in private, mainly to Lavinia.  Alaric sees Willa at this party and it's like the lightning bolt has come from the heavens.  He sees her and he wants her.

Willa doesn't fall as instantly in love with Alaric as he does with her, but she is definitely attracted to him.  She fights it for reasons that you find out later in the book.  Her heart is pretty much his when he gifts her with Sweetpea, a baby skunk--I'm sorry, American Sable.  Alaric starts to get his wish when a former acquaintance shows up and he convinces Willa to be  his "fake fiancee".  What will happen, however, if a crazy lady shows up with a pistol?

So, I'll admit that I'm not as dedicated of an Eloisa James reader as I am some of the other authors that I read.  Some of it's just that, sometimes, I like what I know.  I'm a historian, so when people twist history to fit there story, I cannot stand it.  I love historical fiction, but it's hard for me to break out of my author shell.  (I have the same problem with historical dramas in film.  I yell at them when they're wrong.)  However, I think I'll have to read some more of Ms. James!  Willa and Alaric were both great characters, but many of the secondary characters were fleshed out too!  I feel like I know some of these characters.  It was nice when you usually get secondary characters who are fleshed out enough to fulfill their purpose.

I can't wait for the next book in the series!  I already have it preordered!