The Duke is Mine - Eloisa James

He is a duke in search of a perfect bride.
She is a lady--but a long way from perfect.
Tarquin, the powerful Duke of Sconce, knows perfectly well that the decorous and fashionably slender Georgiana Lytton will make him a proper duchess. So why can't he stop thinking about her twin sister, the curvy, headstrong, and altogether unconventional Olivia? Not only is Olivia betrothed to another man, but their improper, albeit intoxicating, flirtation makes her unsuitability all the more clear.
Determined to make a perfect match, he methodically cuts Olivia from his thoughts, allowing logic and duty to triumph over passion...Until, in his darkest hour, Quin begins to question whether perfection has anything to do with love.
To win Olivia's hand he would have to give up all the beliefs he holds most dear, and surrender heart, body and soul...
Unless it's already too late.
Don't miss a new version of The Princess & the Pea, asking an age-old question: What is a perfect princess?

I get the feeling that Eloisa James but have a funny. mischieveous sense of humour, that is especially in evidence in these Fairy Tale books of hers. I did enjoy it in the previous books but here it's like she goes over the top. It's the dialogue, the characters, the situations... And I have to admit that it was that exageration that made me enjoy it.

The main character is Olivia. Her and her sister Georgiana were raised to become duke's wifes. In fact Olivia is already bethrothed to one duke's son. I was a bit worried at first because having a hero divided between two sisters is not a thing I usually enjoy. Especially when I think Georgiana is such a nice girl and, at least in the beginning, a lot more level headed and interesting (at least to me) than Olivia. I have been checking the novellas James has written connected with this series and I'm sad that I don't see one about Georgiana.

Olivia is also divided between her young fiancée, who is mentally challenged and the hero, who also has some problems dealing with people and emotions. Despite these issues, that might have made the story a bit sad the truth is that it is quite humourous. Like the previous installments in this series it has language and atitudes too modern for the period, or just too suited to the author's plot but if you read it like a funny story with no expectations of real life and historical accuracy it works. 

I think the book dragged a bit towards the end though. I didn't see the point of taking the characters to France and all that last part could, in my opinion, have been cut short but I gather, from the author's note at the end, that that is were it approaches the fairy tale that it is supposedly inspired on. It is my least favourite of this series, partly because I was unfamiliar with the faity tale and partly because I never did like Olivia and her duke as I likes the other romantic pairs in the previous books.

Still, this is a series I plan to continue...

Grade: 3,5/5