The problem I had with this book was that the hero was irritating and his sister was malevolent and obnoxious. Giles is very attracted to Yasmin, but he also looks down on her because she wears low-cut gowns and because her mother was the mistress of Napoleon. But she’s joyful and makes him feel good and he desires her. But he can’t demonstrate that so he comes off as having a stick up his bum. So of course, Yasmin is also attracted to him. Because women always like the guy who makes them feel bad about themselves. I just didn’t really buy their romance.

Giles’ sister doesn’t like Yasmin and does her irritating best to break them up. You just want to smack her.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

DNF-ed because what the heck was that????? there is like no chemistry and connection that i felt to the characters, the FREAKING HERO's SISTER TRULY IS THE MENACE WE DON'T NEED, and just overall, this was so boring 😩 like i am so disappointed as the first book was one of my favorite books of the year but i literally cannot get behind the mess this book was y'all.

I adore every novel that is written by Eloisa James! Thank you #netgalley for an ARC of her new novel! # TheReluctant Countess made me furious with Giles at times and frustrated with Lady Yasmin at other times! Their path has its challenges! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It hurts me to dnf this book because I actually loved the first one in the series. Sadly, James is very often a hit or miss for me, and in this case it was a miss. I read only the first 20%, and due to the ragey feelings I'm feeling, I'm gonna stop here.

What I didn't like (up to the point that I read anyway):
- What's with the names of the side characters in this book? None of them are sexy, none! Apart from Yasmin (exotic) and Giles (eh, but passable), all the other names are boring af: Hippolyte, Algernon, Dunlap, Portbellow. (It's a very small thing to not like, but I'm feeling salty)
- Yasmin butting into Lydia's business in the beginning of the story
- I'm (un)naturally (negatively) biased against anything French in a book, so that's on me. Don't ask, I don't know.
- The first kiss came out of nowhere? Sometimes that's good, but in this case it was awkward. Probably due to the fact that:
- I could not feel the connection between the main characters
- Giles and his hypocrisy: he's pissed at Yasmin for telling him about Lydia's business, but doesn't tell his sister anything when the latter disparages Yasmin
- Lydia is bitchy about Yasmin for nothing? Tells her brother that if he marries her, she would never know if their kids are his or someone else's! Wt-actual-f?
- Lydia again because what an absolute bitch! That carriage scene on the way to the Duke of Trent's party with her brother: the way she talks to her brother? Orders him around? For a 16/17 year old? I don't care what trauma she's been through, at a moment a stop should have been put to the absolute garbage and disrespect she blabbers about. If anyone talked to me like that, I'd have punched them right in the mouth, even though violence is not the answer.

The one thing that I liked:
- Yasmin's grandfather, the Duke was a sweetheart for being protective of his granddaughter.

That's it, gonna call time on it.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Raised in the French court, Lady Yasmin Regnier is no stranger to gossip, after all, her own mother was Napoleon’s mistress and Yasmin herself was duped by a fortune hunter at the tender age of 16. She learned to hold her head high and ignore the whispers, but when it became too much to bear, she left France and went to live with her English grandfather, the Duke of Portbellow. While the whispers followed her to England, her connections and her beauty ensure that she is not lacking invitations or suitors. But not every man falls at her feet and unfortunately for her that includes the only man who has really piqued her interest, the grumpy Earl of Lilford, who clearly doesn’t approve of her, yet always requests the first waltz, then barely speaks to her as they dance, and then ignores her after they finish. She wonders what it is about the earl that intrigues her so and what will she have to do to make him smile.

Giles Renwick, the Earl of Lilford hates that he is attracted to Lady Yasmin, she is completely wrong for him, but she makes him burn in a way that no woman ever has. He allows himself only one dance with her but seethes watching the other men dance and flirt with her, all the while telling himself that she could never be his countess. After the scandals created by his parents, Giles sets himself to a higher standard and would never do anything to tarnish his family name or endanger his younger sister’s reputation. And though she is beautiful, connected, and rich, Lady Yasmin’s reputation and manner are all wrong for him, not to mention his sister, Lady Lydia, clearly despises her and has repeatedly warned Giles to stay away from her. But even knowing all that, Giles can’t seem to walk away and soon finds himself trying to convince a reluctant Yasmin to marry him.

As always, Eloisa James delivers another well-written, nicely-paced story populated by wonderful characters. After reading the reviews for this title, I really didn’t expect to like it, but personally, I didn’t find Giles as nasty as he was portrayed in the reviews, that is not to say he wasn’t a first-class jerk to Yasmin, but neither was he the anti-hero I was expecting. Yes, he was condescending. Yes, he was rude and insulting at times. Yes, he allowed himself to be manipulated by his vile sister. But he does see the error of his ways and while he didn’t really grovel, he does apologize. So while it was not perfect, this story kept me turning pages and was filled with emotion, steamyish love scenes – that don’t all end with a satisfied heroine LOL, great secondary characters, a bit of drama, and finally a HEA with TWO epilogues. In the end, I enjoyed the story, but I was left wishing there had been a bit more follow-up with his sister and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a HEA for Silvester, the Duke of Huntington. This is the second book in the series and has ties to “The American Duchess”, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

This book was DELICIOUS. The tension, the angst, the drama - I just couldn’t stop reading! It follows the romance of Giles, the Earl of Lilford, and Lady Yasmin, Cleo’s scandalous French friend. They are complete opposites, but they can’t seem to fight their intense desire and feelings toward each other. It was messy, a little toxic, and had the perfect amount of spice.

I recently read the first book in this series, How to Be a Wallflower, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had seen a lot of lackluster reviews, so I went in with very low expectations and ended up loving it. I gave it 4/5 stars, which is my rating for this book as well, but for different reasons.

Because I enjoyed the first one so much and I knew this one was enemies to loves, which I looooove, I expected 5/5 stars. This book came pretty close to that, but the only thing holding me back is all the business that went down with Lydia. I should warn you, the synopsis mentions nothing about this, but Giles’ sister Lydia is the main antagonist of the story. She judges and slut-shames Yasmin throughout the entire novel, and throws hissy fits whenever Giles or anyone else even so much as looks at her, it’s to the point it’s kind of ridiculous.

I just feel like by the end I expected a better resolution with her and the whole situation. She is the main reason why he and Yasmin can’t be together and when she’s acting like a straight up bitch, it starts to get a little frustrating, to say the least. Then at the end after she’s done the worst possible thing she could do to keep the couple apart, we don’t get to see her realize the error of her ways or feel the least bit of remorse for her actions. I just would’ve appreciated some character growth to be honest, but we might still get it in future books, so we’ll see.

One of my favorite aspects of this story was learning about Yasmin’s past and exploring how she experiences sexual attraction because of it. To me, it kind of read as demisexuality, and I loved how unexpected and emotional it was to find out the most scandalous woman in the ton has been putting on an act to hide from her trauma. Like I said earlier, I loved her romance with Giles and how he had to overcome his past, assumptions about Yasmin, and prejudices placed on him by society to finally give in to the connection they have together.

Definitely would recommend to anyone who’s looking for an enchanting historical romance, and now after reading the latest 2 Eloisa James books I’m gonna need to go back and read her entire backlist ASAP! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books for the uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

The characters in this novel were intriguing to say the least. Yasmin was a character who I could not help but champion, to not only have survived the scandal of her youth to putting herself back into society and finding joy and happiness wherever she can. I loved her grandfather and her friends as well as their husbands. The moment where the men rally to support her at a ball later on in the novel, made my heart fluttery and eyes teary. I did wish for Giles to show more of his emotions, but understand why he might not have for the purpose of the plot. The constant consent, in this novel with Giles, only made me even more fond of him.

I could definitely see the slight Pride & Prejudice inspirations which I always love to see in novels but I will admit to disliking Lydia to the point where she almost ruined the entire novel for me. I completely understand the need for a villain within the novel, but to have it be someone so close to the couple whose intent/excuse was to protect her brother. It went well beyond that by the end of the book. This novel would have been a five star read for me, until Lydia's actions at the end. I was shocked and outraged and never before had I wanted something nefarious to befall a character. And to say the mention of Lydia in the second epilogue only further outraged me, is an understatement.

Thank you so much for letting me have the chance to try this book. however, it's just not right for me now. I am going to keep going through her backlist and trying other books in the mean time!

I’m really enjoying this series! I was excited after Cleo’s book to find out what happens with Yasmin and I wasn’t disappointed. I really loved Yasmin’s character. I did not love Lydia’s character but I think that was the point. Giles was interesting for me because I really liked him in Cleo’s book and then in this one he seemed stuffy and uptight. I’m not sure what else I was expecting from him but I wanted him to love Yasmin out loud but that wasn’t his style.

I’m not going to lie up until almost the end I was rooting for Silvester to win Yasmin over even though I knew that would happen. He was so fun and I can’t wait for his book! He might have my heart!

I requested this book because I really enjoyed the Wildes of Lindlow Castle series. I also enjoyed this book, but the male main character could be quite stupid and his sister was a sort of comic book villain. Had that character had more depth the book would have been stronger because the whole division between the two main characters wouldn't have been caused by such a two dimensional character and been more believeable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’ve recently discovered Eloisa James and I’ve been devouring her books over the past few months. I was so excited to receive an arc of The Reluctant Countess, especially because I loved Yasmin and Lilford in How to Be a Wallflower! I just knew their story was going to be amazing, and I was right!

Lady Yasmin is quite the scandalous lady. Hailing from France, where her mom was mistress to Napoleon himself, wearing French dress so low cut as to make most proper ladies clutch their pearls in horror, and being an unrepentant flirt and lover of gossip, though she doesn’t spread it herself, Yasmin was such a fun, complex character. I loved how unapologetic Yasmin was about her personality, parentage, and scandalous past.

Now, Lord Lilford is the most proper of gentlemen, and a scandalous lady like Yasmin would not be the proper choice of wife. However, he can’t take his eyes off of her. I did have some issues with Giles trying to change Yasmin, and not accepting he wanted to be with her until the prospect of her marrying someone else snapped him into place. I also took issue with the preconceived notions he had about Yasmin. Luckily, she set him straight, and I truly appreciated how he made sure she consented to everything they did and was so willing to take things as slow as she wanted.

Mild Spoiler:
The romance between these two was well developed; my only complaint was their separation towards the end of the book. I saw it coming early on, and wish Giles had acted quicker and left his sister behind to go find Yasmin and clear the air. The ending felt a bit rushed due to this separation and quick relationship repair.

Let’s talk about side-characters for a second. I loved Yasmin’s grandfather. He was such a fun character, and honestly, I wish we’d gotten to see more of him. We all deserve a grandfather like him! Sylvester, Duke of Huntington, was also an interesting character, and I’m wondering if we’ll see more of him in future books… maybe with Lady Stella? Lastly, Lady Lydia. I don’t even know where to begin here. Do I want a redemption arc for her? I don’t think so, but I do want to know more about her! Her reasons for interfering with Yasmin and Giles’s relationship was somewhat valid, but she was way too vengeful and bitter to ever have me rooting for her to be redeemed.

This was just such a disaster I don’t even know where to begin.

I would have been reluctant as well to be quite honest.

The romance was definitely not it. She had a bad experience with her first lover, he kept her as a secret and basically used her to get ahead and what happens with this Giles? He literally keeps their relationship a secret to avoid any issues with his brat of a sister. I just didn't like it. He was jealous and an ass telling her how to dress and that she was not dignified. Look at your sister sir, she was a mess!
Yasmin had little to no spine for me and she should have stood up for herself because ok not caring about the rumours and everything, but people were being plain nasty in front of her. Either own it or just clap back girlie.
The cherry on top in this book was the sister, Lydia. If I could have looked past certain things I couldn't with her. Giles should have confronted her at the end for what she did because she intentionally tried to ruin his life because she was feeling petty.

I give this 4.5 stars, it was pretty near perfect for me. I LOVED Yasmin and Giles. Yasmin quickly became one of my favorite heroines, and a very different type of woman than in most historicals. I loved Giles too, a very starchy earl who lost control with one woman. I loved that they were engaged pretty quickly and the back and forth between them was very entertaining. I usually don’t love when couples are separated in romances, but i didn’t mind so much in this one. I really loved this!

Yasmin’s past has created a need for her to “act the part”. She’s living up to her reputation and in the process has attracted the attention of the Earl of Liliford. But he can do nothing except allow himself the first waltz. I was intrigued by this heroine and what her actions would be as she healed from the heartache she was dealt when she was younger. But I was disappointed that the storyline did not allow her to adjust as the era would dictate. However, removing myself from that thought process, I have to admit that I respect the fact that she wanted to remain true to who she was even if it was a result of pain from her past.

Giles was promising as I love a hero who denies himself what he wants and yet cannot stop himself from just a tiny taste of it. Allowing himself the first waltz and nothing more was pure torture the more he watched Yasmin and slowly came to know her. I did enjoy watching him fall but when things heated up with his sister, I admit I was disappointed in his lack of actions.

While I had a few issues with the characters, overall, I enjoyed them well enough. I liked their banter and the chemistry between them was obvious. The author gives us just a touch of history in Yasmin’s background but I struggled when so many of these character’s actions and behaviors were not in line with the time period. Overall, a nice enough read.

This is the second in the Would-Be Wallflowers series. It can be read as a stand alone but centers on characters introduced in the previous book. Steamy, romantic and enjoyable.

I liked the set up of the story , but unfortunately using the sister of the MMC didn’t work for me and made the conflict and the ending very unsatisfactory.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC

I am a huge Eloisha fan so I hate saying this, and its taken a wlong time to write this revew because I tried reading this book several times. But I really hated the heroine and the hero was pretty awful as well. I love this author so I reaoly wanted to like it but I just could not like the heroine and sadly I could not finish this book.

I love books with innocents misses who have fun persoanlities but the female lead in this book is NOT innocent and in fact was really unlikeable and has a very sandalous past. As to the male lead, I hated him. so much. I felt he was pressiy, amnipulative and a total jerk. Sorry...

This author is s terrific so I hate saying this but I just could not keep reading this book as I started to really hate the main characters.

While I am happy that Giles and Yasmin found their HEA, there was just too much disrespect in this book.

Giles’ sister was simply the worst, and I don’t believe (even if the author chooses to give her a chance to redeem herself) she can be redeemed.

Giles treated Yasmin terribly throughout the book, and only due to his unwavering letters does he somewhat redeem himself. And for the most part Yasmin just let him. For being so sure of herself in other aspects, so allow him to just trample her time and time again was frustrating.

The only character that redeemed this book for me was Yasmin’s grandfather. He was a delight.

I usually love Eloisa James’ books, I think they’re usually quite well written and full of angst. I found this book to stray from what I’ve read before from the author. I was left confused on how I should feel. I guess I should haven taken the title at face value - Yasmin is “reluctant” to marry Giles, but frankly for good reason. Even his internal monologue looked down upon who she was/what she stood for. In the same breath, how much he wanted her, but also how much he didn’t respect her. His sister Lydia is basically the plot to twist Yasmin and Giles together and apart, and it just wasn’t my jam. I just wish there had been something else to move plot along and bring these two together. I’ll pick up the next one and hope for a change! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Well-known author Eloisa James adds another delightful installment to her Would-Be Wallflowers series. Lady Yasmin Regnier is a woman who embraces her bigger-than-life personality and offers no excuses for living life on her terms. Her position as the granddaughter of a Duke offers her entrance into all the best ton events, which is where she encounters the perfectly perfect Earl of Lilford, Giles Renwick. The two are as repelled by one another as they are intrigued, and a season ensues. From disagreements in public to passionate kisses behind closed doors, the two begin to see that perhaps there is more to the other than first appearances. What follows is an entertaining romp through love and expectations in true Wallflower fashion.