I've never met a book by Eloisa James I didn't love and after reading Say No to the Duke this is still true. Another great plot by an equally great author. Ms. James weaves a tale that has us hooked from page one until the very last and has us falling in love along the way. I truly enjoyed reading this novel and can't wait to recommend it to my friends as the perfect summer read to heat your cheeks on those sunny days spent inside a cool air conditioned room or while relaxing on the beach. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James was a surprise early read for me, thanks to Net Galley!
The book is the fourth book in the Wildes of Lindow Castle and features Boadicea - known as Lady Betsy. She is a young woman who just finished her first season and has had numerous offers for marriage - not that she accepted any of them! She is not as ‘wild’ as some of the others, but is more decorious and careful.

Lord Greywick, the future Duke of Eversly proposed to her on the last day of the season. It is the culmination of her dreams, except for Lord Jeremy Roden. Jeremy is a friend of her older brothers and has been suffering since his return from the colonies and the war. He has been hiding out and trying to find his way. He proposes a bet with her and if she wins, he will help her live out a part of a day in breeches as a male.

From here, Betsy has to decide who she really is and what is really important to her. The story includes various characters which add to the scenes and a winter snowstorm forcing them to stay overnight - that’s when things get hot!

I enjoyed the storyline and Betsy’s character. I found the book really explore the extent people would go to be petty and ugly, but how that never truly succeeds. Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James was a fun read.

Betsy is scarred by a mother who left her, but she is a Wilde. Jeremy suffers from PTSD and guilt, but harbors deep feelings for Betsy. Their story is filled with great secondary characters, a wonderful plot, and a well deserved HEA.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

I had been waiting for this book when Jeremy and Betsy finally quit dancing around and pretending that they don't have feelings for the other and realize that they make a great couple!

Jeremy finally wakes up when he overhears another man proposing to Betsy and she is seriously thinking that this might be the logical man to marry but then again, maybe not.

Both Jeremy and Betsy have things in their past that they need to deal with and not keep hiding away and throughout their back and forth courtship, they start to deal with their "demons" and Jeremy finally keeps tell her Betsy to "say no to the duke" as he wants her.

Great drama and romance and the final chapter is so touching when Jeremy and Betsy play a game of pool as their daughter watches and the young girl knows that her daddy has practiced that shot until he can't miss, and yet on that day - he does - and when his daughter is going to say something, he tells her that it is their secret. What a sweet ending to their story.

In Say No to the Duke, seasoned historical romance author Eloisa James brings together Lord Jeremy Roden and Duke’s daughter Lady Boadicea “Betsy” Wilde while dealing with the former’s post traumatic stress disorder and the latter’s facade of perfection due to her mother’s scandalous behaviors. I unknowingly clamored into a series-based novel, however aside from some references to prior family member’s earlier courtships, it is unnecessary to read this series in order. While there was one scene denoted to Betsy’s earlier childhood, and her reasoning for being so ‘perfect’ I felt her development in this regard was stale and lacked additional examples from her own consciousness while reading in her perspective. Overall, this book was easily read with moments of entertaining banter and a wholesome Wilde family reunion.

This was very good! I enjoyed Betsy and Jeremy so much. Betsy was such a great heroine and Jeremy was the perfect brooding, damaged hero. Another hit for Eloisa James! Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

I was pleasantly surprised when I was a awarded this wish by the publisher for this novel through Netgalley. I've read other books by this author and generally liked them. this was just as good. Jeremy and Betsy are more or less friends that banter and keep each other honest. Jeremy is fighting his own demons after having had witnessed his platoon killed during the war. His tentative friendship and eventual sexual desire for the fiery Betsy reawakens his spirit and his will to enjoy life.
I liked that Betsy is independent and thrives to be more than society expects of her. Jeremy is the perfect counterpart because he appreciates and encourages her adventurous streak. Very well written and enjoyable.

The latest installment of Eloisa James' Wilde family is light and fun, and exactly what you would expect from the romance genre. I adore the other relationships depicted in the novel (between Lady Betsy and her Aunt Knowe, Thaddeus and his mother, Jeremy and his father) as much as the main characters. Lady Betsy's worst fears in this book seems a little silly considering that she has grown up confident with strong parental figures as well as a loving family. The characters were likable, but this one probably won't be a reread like some of this author's other books.

I enjoyed this novel in the Wilde family. Betsy, the Wilde brothers' sister, likes to swear breeches and see how many proposals she can get. Due to her mother's infidelity, Betsy shows one face to the world, the prim and proper lady, when she is anything but that. Lord Jeremy Roden knows Bess, as he likes to call Betsy, and enjoys the batter and wittiness they exchange. Jeremy served in the war and has suffered greatly, due to guilt about surviving and has no plans to marry. However, things change when a wager is placed on a billiards game. Betsy wants to do things a man can, since women are not allowed to during this time. Jeremy wants Betsy for a night. However, Jeremy has to compete with a future duke for Betsy. Betsy does not want to be a proper lady all the time and cannot be with someone who will stifle her desires. As Betsy and Jeremy spend more time together, feelings grow deeper between them. Still, there is a sinister plot in play that does not want Jeremy to be the next marquess and threatens his relationship with Betsy. But Betsy is a stubborn woman and knows what she wants. Looking forward to the next Wilde adventure!

A fun regency romance. The proper miss shedding her veneer and the banter between the main characters made for an entertaining read.

Latest entry in the Wilde series, featuring Betsy, the eldest daughter of a duke and Jeremy, a marquess’ son damaged by the war. Eloisa James’ books can be hit or miss for me but I have really enjoyed the last two books in this series and this one was a hit for me as well. I loved the strong personalities of the two main characters as well as the host of well fleshed out characters (aunts, prospective mother in laws, friends, siblings, and even a likable and perfectly eligible alternative love interest). There’s a plot twist at the end I wasn’t as big a fan of and that wrapped things up a bit too neatly for my taste but overall a fun read. Great for fans of historical romance and Eloisa James. Some graphic sex.

I love Eloisa Jame’s Wilde series. Lots of good banter and sexual tension. This one delves into PTSD and being a little too concerned about reputations. Can’t wait for the next Wilde adventure.

I've been reading this series so I was excited to see this book on NetGalley. I think my favorite of the series was either #2 or 3, but this one was also very good. I enjoy the characters James has created in this series. I liked reading about one of the Wilde women. I hope to see Thaddeus again, even though he wasn't the one for Betsy/Bess.

An engaging, emotional historical romance! Filled with lots of banter, powerful women, and a charming duke, this is a fun extension of the Wildes of Lindow Castle series!

*Review of eARC received from NetGalley*

To me, this book feels like the beginning of a second sub-series within the Wilde series as a whole. There were three books about the older Wilde brothers, now we're starting with the daughters from the duke's second wife. The first being Lady Boadicea, nicknamed Betsy (and with a name like "Boadicea," I can hardly blame her.

The story was interesting enough, though I had a hard time following the plot over the auction how and all the ladies wearing breeches to get in. Mostly, the obsession with wearing breeches - not just disguising themselves as men. Though I was pleased that Betsy's suitor, Thaddeus, wasn't unpleasant at all. He was a perfect gentleman and, even though that didn't work for Betsy, she didn't hate him for his personality. They parted on perfectly amicable terms, which is rare in romance (at least, from what I've seen). Maybe he'll return at some point with a more suitable lady for his duchess - in a novella or something. I wouldn't mind that at all.

I'll be honest - Grigoire's plot at the end kind of felt tacked on. Like, the story had been resolved, but there needed to be another three chapters padding out the page requirement or something. But I wasn't overly bothered by it.

Overall, a fun story and an enjoyable entry into the Wilde family lore.

Eloisa James never fails to entertain with her historical romance. Enjoyed the characters and their ups and downs. Always do enjoy her books.

Even though I really like this author, I was nervous to read this book. The two main characters were introduced in the previous book in the series, and neither of them seemed very good. They seemed shallowly-drawn, stereotypical, and not very interesting. I'm glad I put my faith in the author because this was an enjoyable read: 3.5 stars. It would have felt more fulfilling if the characters had attained their full depth; it certainly felt like there were unexplored areas.

Enjoyed this book. I like that this series is one that you can read without knowing exactly what happened to the other family members. And also the author doesn't have to do a long explanation about each of the other family either, The way it is written you can follow the story even if you haven't read others with this family.

Eloisa James' fourth book in her Wilde series, Say No to the Duke, is a tale of friendship, women wearing breeches, and of course, love, between Betsy Wilde and Lord Jeremy Roden. Ashamed of her mother leaving her father in order to run away with a lover, Betsy Wilde has grown up following every one of society's rules in order to prove that she is not anything like her mother. As a result, the ton fawn over her, and she's become notorious for spurning proposals while behaving with perfect decorum. Lord Jeremy Roden has returned from fighting in the American colonies, ashamed of his part in a disastrous massacre that left every man under his command dead. The two are both staying at Wilde castle when Jeremy overhears Betsy being proposed to once again, this time by a Duke. The two play billiards and make a bet, and if Betsy wins, Jeremy has to fulfill her rebellious wish to wear men's clothes and gallivant around London, experiencing the freedom that men enjoy and casting off her good girl image. If Jeremy wins, Betsy has to spend the night with him. Based on the cover, you can probably guess who wins ;) What starts as a friendship between the two evolves into love as Jeremy tries to convince Betsy that she doesn't truly want to be an upstanding Duchess, and that she she should say no to the duke's proposal.
This book has all of James' trademark wittiness and humor, and my favorite part of the story was the friendship between Betsy and Jeremy, who accepts Betsy for who she is and makes her goals possible. I recently got to see Eloisa James, who is so smart and lovely, speak at Avon's KissCon, and she discussed writing characters affected by PTSD, which Jeremy definitely is, and James does a thoughtful job of showing how Jeremy is able to overcome the stigma and shame around PTSD by accepting himself and the help of the people who love him. James spoke about her personal experience of a friend with PTSD inspiring that aspect of Jeremy's character, and I found her handling of that issue to be very well done. Another part of this novel I really enjoyed was how James using the idea of perception throughout the story. Betsy and Jeremy both have ideas of themselves and their parents, and those perceptions dictate much of their life choices. Betsy is ashamed of her mother and doesn't understand her mother's choices, while Jeremy believes that his father is deeply embarrassed by Jeremy's lack of leadership during battle. The conflict of the novel wasn't so much between Betsy and Jeremy as it was between their perceptions and realities, and it was nice to have both characters resolve the conflict together by considering themselves and their parents in different lights. This can definitely be read as a standalone, and I would say that this the best in the series yet.

Such a cute and charming story from Eloisa James! I have read the majority of her work and am always pleased with the story. I did have to take a minute and remember how all the different characters connected. So, I would definitely say that this is NOT a stand alone and you really need to read the other books in the series before reading this one. That being said, I loved Betsy and reading about how she decided to deal with the scandal her mother had caused. I loved reading about her growth and her realization that it was okay to be more like her mom than she initially wanted to be. Jeremy was the perfect match for Betsy. He allowed her to be herself and to feel all the emotions that she was afraid of in the beginning. However, he did so not in a pitying way, but a cheeky and challenging way. Likewise, Betsy was the perfect match for Jeremy's war-harden heart. Overall, another great book by Ms. James!