Round up to 4.5
Victoria (Torie) Sutton cannot read. The ton learned this fact during her second comeout and has belittled her ever since despite her beauty. When the book opens, she is seemingly sleepwalking through life with no particular goals to speak of. Her sister Leonora on the other hand has always known what she wanted - a viscount. A duke would draw too much notice from the gossips and papers. A viscountess is just the right rank without the trials and tribulations that go with being a public figure. She bags her viscount in the form of Dominic Kelbourne and all is right with her world. Leonora drags out their engagement for years and then the death of Kelbourne's sister changes everything. His sister left twins in Kelbourne/Dominic's care. They are incorrigible and Leonora wants to send them to the country. Torie visits them as their soon to be Aunt and a fast friendship forms. Eventually Leonora breaks the engagement leaving Dominic and Torie in a fix. She cannot continue to visit the twins with no connection to Dominic.
This book is about two very flawed and damaged characters who somehow find their way to each
other and to a healing. While there is action involved in the book, it is very much character and relationship driven. Eloisa James is wonderful with dialogue. It is fast, witty and very poignant at times. These characters felt real warts and all. The twins were real characters in their own right and not cardboard ones as so many children are in books. My only quibble would be that Torie's sister and father's characters did not have a resolution. Other than that, I loved this book and read it in one sitting. A definite positive recommendation for Viscount in Love.
*Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in return for a honest review.

Eloisa James doing what she does best!! A sexy, starchy hero, a chaotic heroine who doesn't quite fit in and needs to learn to embrace her own eccentricities, and - of course - a pair of slightly creepy but extremely lovable children. I'd read 100 more books like this if I could.

I absolutely adored this unconventional romance.
Victoria has accustomed herself to being regarded as nothing more than a pretty bit of fluff. Ornamental and vapid. Lacking the mental capacity to hold a conversation about anything of substance.
Her intelligence doesn't manifest itself through her ability to dissect literary works - her dyslexia prevents her from doing that. Because her dyslexia was misunderstood in Regency England, she is ridiculed as foolish and dumb by her family.

Dominic is engaged to marry Torie's elder sister, Leonora. His fiancee is very opinionated, although she hides it well. When her true colors reveal themselves, a calamity of circumstances leads Dominic and Torie to the altar. Their marriage of convenience, while characterized by incendiary attraction, is nothing more than that. A way for Dominic to acquire a hostess for his burgeoning political career and bring stability to his life. It is a way for Torie to escape the confines of her life and spread her wings. A way for her to become both an independent spirit and a mother. A way to garner safety.

The longer they spend in each other's company, the more Dominic realizes that his new bride's often flippant behavior disguises a well-honed, astute mind and a way of looking at the world that is new and enlightening. The longer they spend in each other's company, the more Torie realizes that her handsome, often ill-tempered husband is capable of cherishing her the way she's always wanted.

Watching this stubborn couple navigate their way into each other's hearts was one of the loveliest experiences of my reading year so far.

Eloisa James has been a favorite of mine for over 20 years! However, I DNF this novel. It seemed a departure from her usual style of writing. It will remain on my TBR list and we try it again in the future.

Fun start to a new series from one of the queens of romance. I do enjoy a marriage of convenience that is anything but convenient for both parties. The kids make this book; I about died trying to not laugh hysterically during the plane ride I was reading this book on. Get ready for hijinks and, of course, a happily ever after.

first time reader of eloisa james and i will certainly be reading more. i loved the low drama, high spice in this book and fell absolutely in love with valentine and florence. must read!

Solid romance by Eloisa James. Charming children, likable hero, fun heroine. A frothy & satisfying read.

I was so excited to get this EARC because I love Eloisa James, and this book did not disappoint.
Viscount Dominic Kelbourne has been engaged to Lenora Sutton for 2 years, but she is in no rush to marry him. Her sister Victoria has not been lusting after him for 2 years either.
Suddenly, his twin niece and nephew are his wards after the death of their parents. They are 11 years old and quite unique. Victoria is entranced by them, Lenora thinks Victoria should be sent into the country with them, problem solved.
That is until the Viscount tells her his plans to keep them with him. And so our story begins.
Dominic is another hero who has had bad parenting. Victoria, called Torie, has a very bad case of dyslexia and has little hope of a love marriage.
She is, however, a painter, which will become a big plot point.
How all these characters interact is a particularly wonderful story. I can't wait for the next one and I can't even imagine who will be the characters, though I hope it will be best friend Clara.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review.

Suddenly guardian to twins, Viscount Dominic Kelbourne is luckily betrothed to a suitable lady—until she elopes. With no time to woo, Dominic decides to marry his fiancée’s unconventional sister. Torie isn’t perfect, but their kisses are so passionate that society thinks he’s actually chosen her.

Torie has never been able to make sense of words on a page, so she has turned her talents to art. She longs for a man who values her as she is… but marries for the sake of the twins. She doubts Dominic is capable of love, let alone respect, but as their heated debates turn into something more, Torie begins to imagine a life as a wife, not a nanny.

But when the arrogant viscount finds that his viscountess has stolen his heart, he’ll have to give all he has to win her love.

Kayne: This is my favorite historical romance I’ve read this year. I adored both the heroine and the hero in the story, despite his flaws and the romance was hot.



Viscount in Love is the first book in the Accidental Brides series. In it, Viscount Dominic Kelbourne suddenly becomes the guardian to his twin niece and nephew after his sister and her husband pass away in a carriage accident. His fiancé, Leonora, whom he thought would be the perfect wife to help him with his political career suddenly elopes with another Lord and leaves him in need of a bride to help him with his new wards.

His eye falls on Leonora’s sister Torie. She is wonderful with the twins, she’s lovely and kind, and the more he's around her, he finds himself attracted to her, so he visits her father and offers for her. It's not, he thinks, love, but it will work.

Dominic has his faults but I really liked his character. He is known for his temper (he bellows in the House of Lords) but I like that he owns up to his mistakes. He’ll say the wrong thing and accidentally insult someone but then realizes it immediately and apologizes. I found him appealing and, regularly, funny.

Torie is one of my favorite historical heroines.Society dismisses her because she can't read--the reader realizes she's dyslexic--but Dominic sees how smart she really is and how joyful she is, no matter how much the world knocks her down. And while, initially, she doesn't want to marry a man who just wants her as a nanny, she does desire Dominic and she loves that he so desires her. Their relationship is spicy--this is one of James' hotter love stories!

What did you think of Dominic and Torie?

Dabney: I like the leads a lot as well. Dominic is an emotional idiot--a very sexy emotional idiot--and I liked how he pushed himself to do better. Torie, who reminded me strongly of Mia from Four Nights with the Duke, is a classic James heroine--full of heart, humor, and just enough self-doubt to be adorable. Together, the two fogged up my iPad with all the steam they generated--this is one of James' hotter reads--and I enjoyed their story.

What did you think about the twins?

Kayne: I liked how the twins connected with Torie right away, and she with them. Florence and Vincent are eccentric eleven year olds, grieving for their parents. They have been neglected in the country and don’t have proper manners.

It’s a funny scene when Leonora and Torie meet the twins - Florence is writing horrid, gruesome stories and when Dominic asks his fiancé, Leonora, if she is ready to help him manage their care, she suggests Torie can retire to the country with them and paint. (Torie loves to paint.) I will say, I wasn't surprised when Lenora eloped--it's clear that she is not cut out to mother such unusual children.

Dabney: I liked the twins but they veer awfully close to twee. I just don't believe that there are kids who behave this way, especially not in the Regency era. But they are written for comic relief and they are funny although I found the whole rabbit poop thing a bit much. (You'll have to read the book!)

Kayne: I enjoyed their adventures with the rabbits, although I agree with you about the rabbit poop! Torie reminded me of Linnet from When Beauty Tamed the Beast, which is one of my favorite Eloisa James books. Both women are beautiful but misunderstood and looked down upon by society, Torie because of her dyslexia and Linnet because everyone thought she was pregnant. I haven’t read Four Nights with the Duke yet but it sounds like one I would enjoy so I will definitely check it out.

Dabney: What did you think about the romance between Torie and Dominic?


Kayne: In the beginning it was like a marriage of convenience. Dominic needed someone to help him with the twins and Torie had grown attached to them and wanted to be near them. But it didn’t take long before the chemistry between them combusted and they were on fire for each other.



Dabney: I liked the romance even though it was, for much of the book, mostly about lust. Which is fine but I felt like the emotional part of the story was more obscure than I'd have liked.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the novel is that Torie is a damn fine artist or so all those who understand art tell us so. I wished for more descriptions of the art--I had a hard time figuring out what, exactly, petals that indicated the passing of time looked like. And there is a description mid-book from Dominic that made the art sound Cubistic. I did love that she is so adamant that she must paint. What did you think about her avocation?

Kayne: I loved the mystery surrounding Torie’s artwork. Her father described her paintings as kittens, roses and bunnies and I began to suspect that he underestimated her. I hesitate to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away, but I thought it was great fun as we learned more about Torie and her artwork!

Dabney: I enjoyed this because James is a brilliant trope writer. But, not only did Torie remind me of another of James' heroines, the plot felt recycled too. This is a B read for me simply because, as much as I had a very fun time reading it, I feel like I've read this story from this author before.

What's your take?

Kayne: I was captivated by this story. It had passion, humor and spice and I didn’t want it to end. My grade is an A.

I’ve had only just started reading some of Eloisa James’s books, but I have so far enjoyed her writing. I especially enjoy the heroines she creates as well as the more progressive minded of heroes. However, I can’t say I enjoyed Dominic’s character all that much. For one, the way he referred to Torie simply because of her learning difficulties, did not sit well with me. Perhaps because my profession is in education, I a bit more sensitive that kind of mentality or rhetoric. Of course, I understand and appreciate the need to maintain some semblance of historical accuracy. It’s just not appealing to read in a hero set in a romance novel.

Additionally, the twins were eccentric, yes—they were clearly neurodivergent. The way they were referred to by second characters also irked me. I tried power through that by reconciling that with the period and its historical context. Unfortunately, when they started talking about Dom’s mistress and how he “didn’t like to told what to do” and/or his previous declaration that having a mistress was not categorized as “infidelity”. . . yeah he wasn’t so progressive minded then.

All that impacted my general enjoyment of the story, but I still very much like Ms. James writing styles just not considering marking this one as one of my favorites.

*ARC provided by Net Galley. I have given my honest and voluntary review.

I normally love Eloisa James books, but this one was a bit of a miss. It took a while to get into the book. Viscount Dominic Kelbourne is engaged to Torie's sister, but she no longer wants to marry him when she realizes that he is the guardian for his sister's twins: Florence and Valentine. Torie cannot read, and her family and the rest of society treat her like she is unintelligent. Torie is passionate about painting, and I loved the descriptions of her painting. Kelbourne asks Torie to marry him after his engagement with her sister falls through. She worries that he is only marrying her to be a mother to the twins. Torie is a charming, likable main character. Something felt off about the character of Kelbourne; he would pivot from being very stoic and emotionless to extremely passionate.

I really liked this book. Our hero, Viscount Dominic Kelbourne (Dom), is engaged to the heroine’s sister, Lenora. Because of this Victoria aka Torie, believes that she can speak freely to him and not try to please him. This led to some rather hilarious conversations. However, once Dom became the guardian of his sister's children, a set of twins named Valentine and Florence, Lenora became even more wary about marrying her fiancé. She had good cause. The children had been rather neglected and were not well bred. They were incredibly brilliant and creative and intrigued by death. Torie got on with them famously. When Torie felt that the twins’ manners had progressed to a level of success, she invited her sister to have lunch with them. It did not go well. It in fact led to Lenora running off in the middle of the night to marry another man. The next morning when Torie's father, Sir William, called the Viscount over to break the news to him, Dom revealed that he had paid $10,000 to marry Lenora and if he wasn't repaid, he would have Torie as a substitute bride. She did not appreciate that. Nor did she appreciate that her father told Dom she couldn’t because he had already promised her to a Duke who had been courting her.

One part of the story that was frequently mentioned, was Torie’s inability to read. She thought it was the reason why she had failed to secure a husband in her first and second seasons. It turns out it was because her father was charging the men who proposed a fee to marry his daughters. This is actually the reverse of how it usually went at that time when a woman came into the marriage with a dowry. Turns out that Sir William was not only a drunk but also gambled and there were no dowries for his daughters. As to Torie’s inability to read, i was quite pleased that the only mention of dyslexia was in the author's note after the book ended.

So that I don't spoil too much of the book, I will let you find out how and where hero and heroine come together and what keeps them apart, what happens to the twins, and a few other interesting plot twists.

The banter in this book had me laughing out loud multiple times! I loved Torie and the twins! Dominic was a stick in the mud but had a good heart and a keen mind. Really, all the characters are quite fun.

I highly recommend this book! I am eager for the next book in what I believe will be a series.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins for access to an advanced readers copy. This was an honest review.

This felt like a realistic victorian romance where the man doesn't have modern ideals (which brings you out of the book), and while I found myself annoyed that the conflict seemed to revolve around the fact that she gave Dom orders, and what society would think, it felt true to the time period. The two year engagement length was kind of wild to Leonora, could definitely be cut down to 6 months and then have a longer engagement to Torie.

Eloisa James reminds me of why I first fell in love with historical romance-- Torie Sutton and Viscount Kelbourne are real people from the very first page. Don’t describe him as arrogant and her as frivolous. They are, but they’re so much more than that! They strike sparks, spit, and go their own ways—until such time as they must face reality for the sake of others, which is where they slowly reveal their true selves. It was an utter delight watching the pair strip each other down, layer by layer, until their souls are as naked as the couple are in bed. Because, of course, the author writes sex scenes as intelligent as her characters. Amusing, passionate, and full of wonderful historical tidbits, Viscount In Love is pure delight.

✨Book 9 of 2024✨

Rating: 4⭐️

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ 🌶️

Format: 📖 e-book

Thank you @netgalley , @Avonbooks , and @HarperVoyagerUS for an ARC of Eloisa James’ newest book!

Review:

Y’all already know, if Eloisa James writes it, I have to read it! She is such an amazing historical romance author and one of my comfort authors. I was so excited to receive an ARC of her newest book!

This was a fun one, that’s for sure. I loved the whole sister’s jilted fiancé angle, and Tori (FMC) having to decide if Dominic (MMC) is really into her for her or just as a second choice nanny to his orphaned quirky twin nice and nephew (whom I adored). This obviously makes for some great banter and chemistry.

Of course, this also leads to some miscommunication going on between the main characters, which lead to Dominic coming across as an a**. However, he did redeem himself with his groveling.. which… was nice. 😂😉

I also loved how Eloisa James did a crossover with some of the characters in the Would Be Wallflowers series. That was a fun surprise! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend if you like historical romance.

this is the first book in a new series. if you like historical fiction you will love it. I enjoyed it very much, looking forward to the next book.

Viscount in Love is, at heart, a story of two people who are made fools of by love. Or, perhaps more accurately, it’s the story of two people who believe themselves to be fools and therefore almost miss out on true love.

Eloisa James’ mid-Georgian-era based starter for the “Accidental Brides” series uses the word fool, among others, to great effect, as the novel follows the unlikely pairing of Viscount Dominic Kelbourne and Victoria “Torie”.

When we first meet the pair, Viscount Kelbourne is engaged to Torie’s sister, a polar opposite of our heroine in virtually every way. When we see this version of the man, he seems most suited to that other woman too. A perfect society-approved wife who will neither expect him to change his gruff, unfeeling aristocratic ways, or harbor any allusions that she will care for him in a meaningful way either. These two will never be foolish over each other, or bother with a pesky emotion such as love either.

Two years later, however, a massive wrench has been thrown into Dominic’s life in the form of twin pre-teen wards. He suddenly finds himself without a fiancée, but with a growing attraction to Torie, the sister that on paper seems everything Dominic does not want.

Torie has spent a lifetime taking the nasty little barbs from her drunken degenerate gambler of a father and first rate snob of a sister in stride. Even though she is a wildly talented painter and extremely intelligent, her illiteracy (she is coded dyslexic) has made her the butt of the joke and looked down upon by society.

When a series of events turn Torie from Dominic’s almost sister-in-law to his accidental bride, he must learn how often his own fears of being seen as a fool make him hurt the woman he has fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with.

The microtrope of *falling in love with your own spouse after you are married* pops up in Viscount in Love here perfectly, as James sets the scene for these two silly people to figure it out. Not to mention find out that they are very compatible in the bedroom. Bonus.

The transformation Dominic makes from bull headed stuffed waistcoat to family man is oh-so-satisfying. Even more compelling, Torie learns to not hide behind the labels other people give her because it’s easier and safer than putting herself out there and taking a chance. Her journey is both emotional and timely, even in modern times, as we learn to shake off the negative stories other people tell us about who we are.

Overall, "Viscount in Love" is a charming and uplifting read about the transformative power of love and self-assurance. Eloisa James has once again proven herself to be a master of the historical romance genre, and this novel is sure to enchant her fans.

Home run of a historical romance! I loved Val and Florence and the bunnies, and Torie and Dom are so swoony - two flawed main characters whose journey to love was delightful and believable. I was so sad when it ended! Can't wait for more from this series!

Thank you Avon for the eARC in exchange for my review.

First of all thank you #netgalley and everyone else who contributed to this ARC copy getting into my hands. I requested this book rather impestuously as the semester came to a close. Finishing my PhD coursework and looking at a my looming dissertation ahead, I wanted to read something silly, indulgent, and absolutely feel good to reward myself. Eloise James delivered on 2/3 and I am forever grateful. Nothing about this book was silly to me but it was everything I hoped for in indulgence and feel goodness.

Man do I love these characters and man do I love the messages in this book. Last, the ending author's note pushed me over the edge of just absolutely falling in love with the book. So yes I would totally recommend this book. Likely it won't hit others the way it did me, due to my personal circumstances, but I still think it will deliver to most any reader. That being said there is some graphic sex but it doesn't feel gratuitous more celebratory.

This book was a delight to read and I absolutely recommend it. Witty and funny and thoughtful and sweet. Both main characters were flawed and they were forced to confront those flaws in a meaningful way. (Although I do wish Dom had conquered his “I can’t let a woman control me” mindset earlier, it did get a teeny bit tedious.)

The twins were fantastic. Kids in an HR aren’t always done well, oftentimes IMO the authors write them as way too mature/wise for their age and it can be jarring. However, Val and Florence were perfect. They both had such big and interesting personalities and I loved their on-page time.

As it relates to my above note— I was ready to throw my kindle out the window 😂 I write notes for my reviews as I go and I had 3 good-sized paragraphs absolutely raging about what was going on and the main characters’ attitudes about it. Thank GOD that turned around quickly and it was a Big Misunderstanding

Also…..clothespin??

A big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! All opinions are my own.