Say No to the Duke audiobook

***4 STARS***“That’s an improper subject of conversation.” (Betsy)“Most of our subjects of conversation are improper.” (Jeremy)Lord Jeremy Roden has returned from the Revolutionary War emotionally scarred. Thankfully his friend and fellow soldier North Wilde has invited him to the Wilde castle to heal. Lady Boadicea “Betsy” Wilde is the belle of the ton receiving multiple wedding proposals and refusing them all. She also has issues related to her parentage. At a ball, held in the Wilde family castle, Betsy accompanies a prospective perfect mate to the billiard room where Jeremy is slumped in a chair in the corner drowning his problems with whisky.I really enjoyed the story of Jeremy and Betsy. It started as a love/hate relationship between acquaintances and developed into a friendship and then a romance. I loved the interaction between the two. It was full of witty banter laced with innuendo and definite laugh out loud moments. The entire book takes place over just a few days which shows the talent of the author to draw out scenes while keeping the story moving. The characters are dynamic and you definitely root for their HEA. A word of caution though...this is not exactly light reading. The dialogue is complex in sections and requires some concentration. But overall it is a good read. This book can be read as a stand-alone although part of a series.Received an ARC from Edelweiss for an honest review.

Story: 5 STARS!!Audio: 5 STARS!! The sad fact was that wicked men were interesting and good ones were boring. Ok, so obviously, I LOVED THIS ONE! Eloisa James has written herself a fabulous, character-driven novel. I don't have a single complaint. The plot was solid, the characters were well fleshed-out with believable back stories, and the romance was swoon-worthy.But my favorite part was the depth found in the dialogue. In fact, I might even go so far as to claim that Say No to the Duke proves that Eloisa James writes some of the best long conversations in romance. I truly loved Jeremy and Betsy and I'll definitely be re-reading this one in the future. "I want you to be my partner and stand at my side." And there's more good news: I think this could definitely be read as a standalone! If you can get it, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the audio....Susan Duerden's performance is stellar.

Every time I start a historical romance review, I mention how I don't read this genre enough. Because every time I read one, I'm like, WHY AM I NOT READING MORE OF THESE!? That reaction was no different the entire time I was reading this newest release from Eloisa James!Lady Betsy Wilde is determined to never be like her mother, which means being the perfect lady that all of the gentlemen want to wed. Well into her first season, Betsy has had plenty of proposals and finds delight in declining each one. Until a future Duke asks for her hand. Betsy knows he would make the perfect husband, but when Lord Jeremy is constantly teasing and testing her, Betsy isn't so sure she'd be happy with the Duke...When I started this book, I absolutely loved Betsy's character. She is really aware of what people in public think of her, so she puts on this good girl facade that makes all of the gentlemen want to marry her. That's why I loved how Jeremy totally saw through her persona and brought out the rebel that Betsy really was. Their relationship was soooo cute and kind of slow burn, which I loved. It was fun watching Betsy not wanting to notice Jeremy in that way but not being able to ignore it. While I really wish this was a five star read, the pacing of this book dropped it a star for me. The whole premise was that Betsy and Jeremy made a bet and Betsy would be able to dress as a man or Jeremy would get one night with her. Well, one of them wins the bet and it takes almost the entire novel for the bet to actually come to fruition. It seemed to drag and I wish it happened earlier and the rest of the book was them continuing to dance around each other and interact in society. Eloisa James is one of the queens of the historical romance genre and I will read everything she has to read. This was my first of the series (I know, it's book number 4, but I'm a rebel) and now I am dying to pick up the first three of this series. There is so much familial love and such an expansive group of characters that I'm dying to get even more of them!

A witty, yet emotional 4.5 stars.This series has been consistently good for me, (and that is not always the case with Eloisa James: some of her Fairytales novels were horrible, some wonderful) and I am loving the whole crazy Wilde family. They are totally random and probably way too modern for their time, but who cares when there is so much joy to be had in the writing? It is also fun to immerse myself in the Georgian period, after having read a surfeit of Regency HR. The mad wigs, the makeup and heels- and I'm talking about the blokes here- is really amusing. How a man in pink hose and breeches, wearing heels, a powdered white wig and lipstick, rouge and patch, is still supposed to be manly, is just mind-boggling. And funny. I love it!The characterisation in this novel is terrific. We have a heroine, Betsy, (christened Boadicea in the great Wilde tradition of Roman names) striving to be society's perfect debutante so that she can exorcise the ghost that is her promiscuous, flighty mother. And we have a hero, Lord Jeremy Roden, suffering the guilt and PTSD that inevitably accompanies catastrophic losses on the battlefield. The battlefield in this case, the War of Independence. Their snarky banter had me smiling and chuckling. The sexual tension was strong. Then there was the no-holds barred sex-talk- yep, it's out there. Again, not sure if that would have occurred amongst the upper classes where young virgins were concerned, although I do believe Georgian times were a whole lot raunchier than Regency times. How our virgin was able to understand all the double entendres and innuendo was also problematic, but I just ascribed it to crazy Wilde family openness and went with it.(As an aside, I was a bit surprised to read Jeremy talking about something changing in the flip of a dime Even if he fought in the Americas, the war ended in 1783, and dimes were not minted in the US until 1792. Jeremy had only been back from the war a few months. Hmmm. EJ does throw in the odd Americanism, but on the whole, she's pretty good in this regard. I let it go- no, I did! Truly! But I did look it up.....Suspending my disbelief, I revelled in the witty dialogues and emotional depth of the characters. Truly a pleasure to read, and a worthy addition to this series.

I took a bit of a break from Eloisa James, but this one sounded fun and it WAS. One of those low key romances without a ton of conflict (in a good way), just two characters really growing to know and accept THEMSELVES better. I liked it.Also set in Gregorian times, what, is that even allowed! I will likely go back and read the previous books in the series, but I will definitely read and cross my fingers for the next one, which is about the shy sister!!PS: This completes my goal of reading 2 owned physical books a month for 2019!Re-read January 2021I wanted to re-read after I finally read the first books in the series. Still fun!

Lady Boadicea "Betsy" Wilde wanted a best friend more than anything, she wished for a chance to find another girl to talk to and finally her wish was granted when she was allowed to attend boarding school - she soon learns, be careful what you wish for... Her first day she is confronted with a nasty girl who tells her that her mother was a whore and that Betsy has surely inherited her mother's wanton ways and that no decent man will want to marry her. Betsy swears that she will have more proposals than any other girl in the school...3 years and 18 proposals later at her brother North's wedding ball, Betsy is expecting a proposal from Thaddaeus Erskine Shaw, Viscount Greywick and heir to the Duke of Eversley. At her Aunt Knowes urging, she shows him the billiards room and graciously turns down his proposal, when he asks why, her brother's best friend Lord Jeremy Rodan speaks up and tells her she really should marry him. Betsy is annoyed, Jeremy has been at the castle for months, she knows something happened to him, but not exactly what. She leaves the room with Thaddaeus, thinking maybe she should marry him. But deep down, Betsy worries that she will be like her mother, who ran off with her lover and left the Duke and her children. She has worked hard to portray herself as a perfect lady and isn't sure she should marry at all.Later she returns to the billiards room and finds the room empty, but Jeremy arrives not long after she does. They talk and she finally taunts him into playing a game with her, he will but only if they have a wager - if he wins, she will spend the night with him, if she wins, he will find her men's clothes and take her on an adventure - maybe to a men's club to play billiards. He agrees - She wins. He won't take her to London, but if she can provide a chaperone, he will take her to an auction house dressed as a man. Deal! Jeremy has spent the last two years under a blanket of guilt and shame, but now he feels alive for the first time in a really long time and Betsy is the reason, so he decides to spend more time with her. What could possibly go wrong?This was a delightful story with a lot of witty banter, wonderful secondary characters, a hero and heroine with insecurities, healing, steamy love scenes, sneaky relatives, a few twists and turns to keep you guessing and finally a very sweet HEA, complete with an epilogue. Overall, this was a great story and I am happy to recommend it!*I am voluntarily leaving a review of an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*

I have not loved every book in this series equally, but I can say this is one of my favorite installments. It centers on Betsy, the eldest Wilde sister, and she is nothing like the lady she pretends to be in public. Betsy grew up under a cloud of scandal because her mother ran away with her lover and Betsy has been trying to prove herself above reproach her entire adult life. That, paired with her beauty, has made her sought after by almost every gentleman who encounters her.Every man but Jeremy.Jeremy has been convalescing in the Wilde home since (Betsy's brother) Perth rescued him from Bedlam a few books back. He suffers from PTSD from fighting in war and fears he'll never be normal again. His verbal sparring with Betsy brings him back from the brink.Betsy's latest suitor is Thaddeus, a duke, and by all rights, the perfect man for her. But he doesn't know the real Betsy, not like Jeremy does. And while this seems a little like a love triangle on the surface, there is never any doubt Jeremy is the right man for Betsy.I loved Betsy's spirit and how she has risen above the girls who gossiped about her in her youth. She is powerful and has such great control over herself, but even better, she has such a great spirit. She just wants to wear pants and bid in an auction and enjoy the perks in life men take for granted every day. I adored how Jeremy not only accepted these things about her, they were part of what made him love her!I could've done without the side plot involving his cousin and it felt like there was a whole chapter we didn't need close to the end. But overall, I liked the romance and how their love helped them both accept who they were meant to be. Looking forward to the next book in the series.*ARC provided by Avon

A touch of unessesarily long melodrama at the end. But I'm so satisfied I don't even care! 5 stars

This is my faaaave of the series so far by a million miles.

Another wonderful installment to a really great series, I absolutely loved Say No to the Duke. I'll admit I was hoping for more of a woman disguised as a man, mistaken identities hijinks type of book, but what I got instead was so much better. I love how REAL Betsy and Jeremy are, and the battles they fight within themselves. Betsy especially, as she is the "wildest of the Wildes" and then struggles so hard NOT to be her mother that she just smothers herself in respectability. And then Jeremy's battles with PTSD and his own self-worth and place in the world is just so amazingly depicted. Their interactions with each other are fire - so much chemistry, and so much of them being so lost in their own self-doubt that neither can see the real truth. UGH, love it. As usual for a book by Eloisa James, the side characters are some of my favorite parts. The Duchess of Eversly! Oh my gosh! She and her interactions with Aunt Knowe are hilarious. Jeremy's father is also just - ugh, there are no words. I was so upset when this book ended because I wanted to read more of the Duchess and the Marquess trying to top each other with stories about their childrens' accomplishments, more of the Duchess and her penchant for pink, more of Jeremy and his relationship with his dad, just MORE of all of it. This is definitely one of those books where you turn the last page, close the book, let out a big dreamy sigh, and then seriously contemplate starting over again at page 1. This is the fourth book in The Wildes of Lindow Castle series, and while it could technically be read as a stand alone Eloisa writes series that are so complex and interconnected that you're really best off reading in order. There's a scene in the third book in the series, Born to be Wilde, that sets up the relationship between Jeremy and Betsy that really is not to be missed. There are also several references to happenings in the first three books in the series that are major spoilers for said books.An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.Like this review? Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter

For me this series is the perfect combination of flawed quirky characters and steam. I have thoroughly enjoyed each book and look forward to the next one. We met Betsy and Jeremy in a previous book. And of course there is so much more to them behind they veneers they’ve presented. Two scenes were odd - verging on silly. But I didn’t think this took away from the story - simply lightened the mood. I was delightedly surprised by the emotion and tenderness that came through this book. There’s a reason Eloisa James is a favorite.

Gewoon weer zo'n heerlijk verhaal in de bekende E.J. stijl . De enige reden waarom ik geen 5 sterren geef is omdat dit een familie serie is maar de familie leden die in voorgaande delen hun verhaal kregen komen niet meer voor in dit verhaal . Misschien dat in het laatste deel er nog een grote familie reunie komt ?

It’s been a hot minute since I read a historical romance, but fortunately Eloisa James never disappoints. I randomly decided to preorder this months ago, then promptly forgot about it. So when it popped up on my kindle app yesterday I was baffled for a moment. Then I opened it up, and a few hours later, had finished the entire thing.Say No to the Duke is so much fun! I honestly had a blast following Betsy and Jeremy’s story. They are complex and compelling characters. Betsy is a perfect vanilla ice cream cone on the outside. She has crafted a facade, the image of a polite, poised, perfectly restrained lady. Anything to combat the scandal following her after her mother ran away with another man when she was little. But underneath, she’s a hellion, obsessed with archery, riding astride, and doing anything else her brothers are allowed to do.Jeremy is the only survivor from an otherwise entirely massacred platoon fighting in America during the colonies’ revolution. He suffers from PTSD, which of course no one yet knows exists, instead insisting he’s “mad.” On paper they don’t sound like an obvious match, but Eloisa knows her stuff, and every scene they share is explosive. Towards the end we skew toward the unbelievable and fantastical, with a plot line including Betsy, her Aunt Knowe, and an elderly Duchess dressing as men to attend an auction. It’s a scene straight out of a BBC Daytime comedy. Some of the plot may be unbelievable, but the relationships are anything but. I believed every moment of them. Every moment of our central romance, but also the diverse familial relationships. If you want to read a wildly compelling, deeply romantic historical, I highly recommend Say No to the Duke. Maybe I should go back and read the rest of the Wilde series. Or maybe I’ll just preorder another random historical romance months before it’s released and be pleasantly surprised when it pops up on my phone. 4 stars

I have been reading Eloisa James books for almost two decades . She writes historical romance like no other. Her books are fun, sexy with witty and snarky banter . Quirky , smart and likeable main and secondary characters. Say No to the Duke is another win for Ms. James. Thanks to HapperCollins and NetGalley for giving a early copy of Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James.