Fool for Love audiobook

*** 4 ***Well, this one was much better than the first in this series. Once again, for those who do not know me, I have different standards for different genres. Historical Romance, having a special place in my heart, since it was the genre with which I learned to read as a child (my grandma always had some dramatic HR with a boudoir cover art on her nightstand and those were my first valiant attempts to figure out the scribbles on the pages:), is usually the genre I cut most slack to authors, followed by UF. The reason why is that we read those for the tried and true formulas, which give us the good feels at the end and we can go on dealing with the daily grind with a little bit lighter heart. Eloisa James has so much talent, it is scary! I love, love, loooove the ease with which she can write a bucolic scene and make it just as fun as a passionate and flirtatious corset-ripper episode. She is great with light banter and can convey a mood change with fines. But darn it, something seems to always be missing. Usually it is the plot, but come on, who reads those romances for the plot anyway. So, I often wonder what is that thing, which seems to be missing when I finish one of her books... Luckily, this time around, she seems to have found just the right balance of ingredients in order to make a fun, sexy and pleasing love story, where we could root for both H and h without making us feel guilty about it. Lady Henrietta Maclellan, the country gentry woman with a limp, and her suitor, the London dandy Simon Darby, are not perfect, but they have very noble cores, which I am finding myself to crave more and more, since the way both Historical and Contemporary Romance are trending at this time is with a lot of random sex and very little to speak of the characters of the players... Call me old fashioned, but I have been over-saturated with the cult for the bad boy or girl and I feel like the lack of honor and some more positive qualities in our protagonists or anti-heroes, together with the political reality we live in, have slowly started eroding my faith in humanity... I think may be I am getting old:):):) "..."His tongue invaded her mouth in the way that the Cossacks invaded small villages: invasion first, questions after."..." Henrietta and Simon have good chemistry and are both strong-willed and stubborn. Life events have made Simon soul guardian of his small sisters, who are mostly a pain in the ass, but adorable nonetheless. He believes the best and easiest way to go is to get married so his new wife would take care of them. He uses them as a pretext to go visit his aunt-by-marriage in the country, who is pregnant and he suspects the babe is not his late uncle's. In the small country village he meets Henrietta and is immediately smitten. Only she has some medical issues and complications ensue. As I said, on the hit-and-miss game we always play with Eloisa's books, this one is more on the hit side, so I would recommend it as a light afternoon read for the lovers of this genre:) I am certainly going to continue reading her works, because she is always able to give me joy with her words!I wish You all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come!!!

First book of 2022 for me.I've gotta say, it was actually exceed my expectations. It's been awhile since I read an Eloise James book and this one kinda impressed me again. I kinda love the fluffy feeling we get initially and the dynamic between the flustered hero and his sisters. I just wished that part was stretched out longer. Also, I love the heroine in this one. She knows what she wants and she'll do every dirty trick in the book to get the man she wants.All in all, definitely recommended. Especially for those days you just want a light, fluffy and with little drama in your HR.

Enjoyable book with double romance. What I especially appreciated was the attraction and chemistry between Esme and Sebastian(?). She was all big and pregnant yet he had such a hots for her no matter what. But Henrietta and Darby story was enthralling as well. Lots of snappy dialogue and obstacles to overcome and husbands to snare. Great plot.

I like Eloisa James as an author and most of her books. Fools for Love was a delightful and witty story between Lady Henrietta and Lord Darby. Comical at times and enjoyable.

** spoiler alert ** This is really close to four stars but not quite there. Maybe 3.85…or 3.75Henrietta can never have children. Doctors have told her that if she gets pregnant that she AND the baby will die. But Henrietta wants Simon Darby. He’s the guardian of his two younger sisters and she will just be a mother to them! And he can have a mistress! It’s the perfect solution! Except Simon is an honorable dude and there’s no way he’s taking a mistress when he marries. But how the F can he marry Henrietta when bedding her might kill her? Dun dun duuuuuuunnnn. This book was never gonna be a five star read for me regardless of the swoon simply because I know the HEA is coming and I know how this trope plays out. Kinda takes the fun out of it for me.My only issue with Henrietta is how incredibly selfish she was to trap Simon into marrying her. It just felt so shady and underhanded! Writing a love letter to herself from him and then having it read aloud at a party is the kind of thing you hear villains doing in HR. But Simon didn’t seem too put off by it so I recovered quickly. But the real star of this story isn’t even the two MCs. Who are great in their own way, but omg, the real stars are Esme and Sebastian. I reaaaally reaaally love Esme and Sebastian. I think if it had just been Simon and Henrietta I would’ve docked this book a whole star rating. But the added element of pregnant Esme and gardener Sebastian was just PERFECTION! Gah! These two! I wanted a resolution here but I guess it’s gonna go onto the next book.

This is one of those super-solid four stars that only didn't get five because it didn't reach that emotional level that true five stars books do for me.But I liked it a lot. It's another one without a great description (this seems a theme for James's books). What's missing from this description is that the couple already likes each other a lot before SCANDAL forces them into marriage. It's also rather misleading about the scandal.But yeah. I liked it. It's one of those where both characters are pretty practical, which is a thing I like. And it had good kids. And the characters TALKED ABOUT THINGS, even embarrassing things. That was great.(view spoiler)[Though I often complain about characters who think they can't have kids suddenly having them, I thought it was okay here, since she wasn't infertile, just thought it would kill her (. . . she says casually). Though OH I wanted her to get to the doctor WAY before she did. (hide spoiler)]And I like the way Esme's story is being told, too. And ohhh Rees. I like you a lot, even though you are a terrible husband at the moment.

First James novel I ever read. Did a great job of ensnaring me. true awesomeness

While this book is definitely about Henrietta and Simon, it's also about Esme and Sebastian... unfortunately, because it's Henrietta's and Simon's story, we're left hanging with Esme and Sebastian. I can only hope that the next book in the series ("A Wild Pursuit") will tell us more.My recommendation is that you MUST read the first book, "Duchess in Love", before reading this one. If you don't, you won't understand the sub-plot starring Lady Esme Rawlings and her "gardener", Sebastian.I wasn't certain I would like this book from its description. I was pleased to find Esme and Sebastian in the story -- and sorry that the description didn't include at least a mention of them.Simon is all that we'd expect in a Regency romance hero -- titled, arrogant, passionate, and a good guy behind the rake mask. Henrietta is what we'd expect of a Regency romance heroine -- beautiful without realizing it, witty, intelligent, and outspoken. But Henrietta is also what we don't expect -- she's lame in one hip, which means she'll never bear children. What she doesn't realize is that the general consensus is that her infirmity also means she cannot perform her marital duties, and since those lead to childbearing, Henrietta shouldn't be married at all.Simon and Henrietta learn this cold fact in a sobering way. Simon has uncovered the passionate side of Henrietta and can't contemplate a marriage to her without consummation. Henrietta is naive enough to think that they can live as most of the ton do -- Simon will take a mistress to take care of his "baser" needs, and she and Simon can live comfortably in a companionable marriage. When she realizes this can't be, Esme comes to the rescue.Esme tells Henrietta about a form of birth control in that day -- a sheath. No, not what you think, it's more like a diaphragm that's soaked in vinegar before being inserted. And since Esme believes that Simon and Henrietta are perfect for one another, she also arranges for Henrietta to be compromised so that Simon must marry her. Simon has already gone to Henrietta's step-mother to ask permission to marry her; that's when the harsh reality of her infirmity was made perfectly clear to him. So Esme decides that the love letter that Henrietta wrote to herself (supposedly from Simon) is just the thing to spring the trap at an at-home dinner party.Once Henrietta and Simon are married, Henrietta can't imagine what the horrid fuss was about marital duties; she finds them quite enjoyable. Until she discovers that she's pregnant. Now what? Simon won't risk losing her. As much as she wants the child, she has to think about Josie and Anabel, who now look to Henrietta as their mother.----------------------I did enjoy this book immensely. It surprises me, a little, because authors like Eloisa James follow the formula perfectly and still manage to create new stories, new situations, and new characters that pull the readers in! I loved that Simon was so protective of Henrietta! I loved the interchange between the two of them, when he's trying to get a reaction from her, and she remains completely calm. But when he kisses her... they both lose themselves to that moment.Well done, enjoyable book. I just wish, as I've said, that we had more resolution with Esme and Sebastian. They made this book for me, too. I like the changes in Sebastian. And while I fear that unless Esme has a girl there's no hope for their love, I can't wait to find out more!

I enjoyed this book so much. A very drama free courtship. I fell in love with Simon.

Simon and Henrietta's story is one made to steal your heart. Henrietta determination to live and love despite all the years of being told that she would or could never.The fact that Simon loved her first...This is a fact that is never addressed after the moment on the side of the country road. That sweet,private, moment between Simon's sheltered heart and his passion adled brain.The fact that he did love her first just sits quietly in the back of one's mind as the nonstop drama that is brought about by Henrietta's lack of knowledge about the truth of her condition wars with the life that she so richly deserves.Simon is a leading man to love. He makes no secret of the fact that he is treading alien waters. Both in his newfound guardianship of his two young sisters, and in his marriage to and understanding of his rather complex wife.But he is a man determined to be as patient and present as possible. In all respects.As usual, Miss James has chosen with this book to share the dramatic spotlight with a side story that serves as a great filler for the times when there is a lull in things between Simon and his lady.This is a very emotionally charged story that will make readers hunger for the happily.These are just my thoughts immediately after finishing this book. My review is by no means complete.Thank you for bearing with my rambles.

This was really fun to read. Our lady-protagonist grew up in the country, and falls for London's handsomest eligible bachelor, now guardian to his two young half-sisters. She has a hip problem, and has therefore been "un-marriageable" for her entire life, but they fall in love! Awww. While there's a lot of "but we simply can't be together!", it's always due to internal turmoil, and nobody does anything too stupid.Selena seemed to have only two topics: herself and her prowess at various activities. Some of which even occurred outside the bedchamber.There was no point to discussing it, and a gentleman never discussed such things anyway, especially when in the company of people who beat each other with kitchen implements.His tongue invaded her mouth in the way that the Cossacks invaded small villages: invasion first, questions after.

Another cute book in the series. I enjoyed the humor in this one. Simon and Henrietta were a very cute couple.

Everything in this was just really cute and fun. While the blurb makes this book out to be primarily about a lie forcing people together, that's not the focus of their story or relationship at all. Don't get me wrong, there is a little bit of lying going on to facilitate the marriage (don't think that can be a spoiler if it's in the blurb) but it's not the catalyst that said blurb makes it out to be. If the idea a couple being forced together has put you off, I'd say still give this a try!The relationship was fun - two people genuinely enjoying how sarcastic the other is will always be the type of relationship I enjoy in any literature, and this delivers. Despite Henrietta's apparent isolation, she's pretty quick on her feet, and Simon is like any dandy in Regency England themed settings: delightfully witty. Their relationship builds quickly, but they actually talked and respected each other after that initial burst of passion. Rather than just being physically attracted to each other and having to go on with their lives having sex, it felt like they both progressed as characters by being together. James' background plots are also a big reason I want to continue reading her books. Rather than just focusing on the main couple, there's a few plots running in the background that tie the timeline of the series together. They're just as well thought out as the main plot and I find they make the book easier to get through as there's less chance to get bored. (There's only so many times you can read a paragraph about the main couple wondering if they really love each other before I go mad, okay.) Do I think James missed the mark on Esme, though? Absolutely. Esme is a character from the previous book whose arc I really enjoyed – though it did not end all that happily. I found the way she was treated in this book to be a little bit annoying even though it kept the stories tied together, and kept this one running along quickly. Can she not just find a place for herself outside of terrible romance? There's already one romance going, surely she can be left alone in peace!