I just couldn't get into this one and ended up not finishing it because Viola was a bit too boring for me, and I couldn't get over the very boring beginning. Eloisa James is fantastic so it is likely just the wrong book for me.

I love Eloisa James books and this was another wonderful story! Viola and Devin's story was a little slow to start, but thing really heated up after that. This was obviously a part of a series, but this is the first book that I read from it and I can't wait to read the others!

Another wonderful story about the Wilde family. Set in the 1780's we meet Viola, who is the total opposite of the rest of her family, shy, small, and afraid of a lot of things. She is not looking forward to her coming out, even though her sister Joan will be with her. Then she meets the new vicar... and decides she really likes him. Viola also begins to lose her shyness, and is no longer as apprehensive as she has been. She also meets a Duke who she does not like.. That's the beginning of this fun, witty read . While the Duke originally wants to only meet Joan, he is charmed by Viola, and the more he meets her the more he likes her. Very enjoyable and a great way to pass a rainy day!

Our heroine, Viola, the least wild of the Wildes, is painfully shy, as in, cast up her crumpets at any social function shy. Therefore, she sets her sights on the new vicar, reasoning that as a vicar's wife, she won't have to attend balls and dinner parties. Devin, Duke of Wynter, has decided that he needs a wife but, having been raised in a lonely and tumultuous household, has no illusions about love. Devin and Viola strike up a bargain to help one another. As the two grow closer, they also grow more enamored of one another. The development of their relationship is sweet and romantic and helped along by a cast of colorful characters. The main characters are well-rounded and multi-dimensional but the villains are flat. The minor characters are unrealistically giddy but entertaining nonetheless. The Obstacle looming over our lovebirds is far flimsier than it is treated but it does its job of adding a bit of tension. Overall, an enjoyable, romantic read.

Love the dedicated suitor trope! This is so well done and fun :) I can always rely on Eloisa James to deliver a great romance and this was extra special as it connected so many of the Wilde’s.

The meet in the worst way.

Viola, in her own house at her first ball and at the age of fifteen, had a traumatic meeting with Devin. He was publicly tupping his mistress. She never knew his name and he threw an epic rage, she developed an intense social anxiety for three or four years.

Now, she’s a little older and at her debut ball meets Devin again, when he’s dismissing her and confirming all her worst fears about herself. In her own house.

Devin is a duke with a traumatic upbringing.
He’s big and austere.

What I liked?
They did have a good connection and chemistry and were a good match. And the extended closet scene.

What I didn’t?
That Devin was having sex with another woman and Viola witnessed it as a young teenager. This was dismissed too easily. That he thought of his mistress a lot and on his wedding day. That they too often recreated their original meeting only with Viola in place of the mistress (like all the time, including the closet with the slightly open door).

Don’t get me wrong. I really liked this book, but there’s just a couple of things that didn’t sit well with me and really bugged me.
I liked both Devin and Viola.
Recommend.

Another solid entry from Eloisa James! I really enjoy the characters in this series and the details she includes from the Georgian era.

Eloisa James delivers a delightful addition for The Wildes of Lindow Castle series with the 5th book of the series, Say Yes to the Duke.

The main character, Viola Astley offers a different perspective from the bold Wildes. Viola is a wildflower, unlike her siblings, who would never be prone to extreme shyness (unlike her) that causes her to vomit at the most inappropriate time during a society party.

Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter is a man who unusual gets what he wants and what he wants is Viola Astley. Too bad Viola is determined to marry someone who avoids polite society parties--something Devin tends to frequent. He is a duke after all. Viola finds herself wanting to marry quiet vicar, while Devin is intrigued with the chase of Viola.

In a nod to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the author, Eloisa James leads each couple in a marry chase of loving different people throughout the pages leading to a satisfying ending that will leave you wanting to continue to the next book of the series.

Eloisa James is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint with this story. I loved it. Characters you can feel for and enjoy.

I loved this book. I needed this book. In a time when nothing is holding my attention except the crazy times we are living in, I needed book that promised to take me away with characters that were just lovely. The Wildes series is exactly why people read historical romance and this book is best of all of them!

A delightfully fun book, quite possibly my favorite Eloisa James book. Viola, is as lovely in the book, as she is on the cover. This is a happy book, which is just what I needed. Highly recommend.

I’m a fan of the Wilde in Love series and enjoyed this one more than the previous title featuring Betsy. I did find the secret Devin was hiding to be thin and not as good a plot device as other Eloisa James titles. I would still recommend for James fans and people who’ve never read her before.

This is a newer series from this author. I believe its the 4th book in the series and its the first book I have read in this series. But wow have I missed out. I am going to read the opther books for sure. This is the story between Viola Wilde and Devin who is a Duke.

V is known as a non Wilde and the one who throws up when she gets nervous. devin is told to marry her by his uncle and refuses by saying she is a fake Wilde and unfortunately V overhears and so she refuses to get to know him. But Devin meets her and falls hard.

I loved how he chases her. This story was absolutely wonderful. With two wonderful characters who are meant for each other. I fell in love with this entire story.

In this historical romance, part of Eloisa James's Wilde series, a shy Wallflower sets her sights on a handsome vicar, partly because she feels that she'll fit into his world. An encounter with the Duke of Wynter throws her plans off course as he slowly falls in love with her, and she with him. Normally Eloisa James is hit or miss for me, and this novel started so slowly that I almost abandoned it a few chapters in. But then it started to click, and the characterizations deepened, and Viola and Devin connected and communicated in a way that isn't often seen in romance. There were no huge misunderstandings, and even at the end, when other authors would have created a big drama, Viola simply understands why Devin is acting the way he is, because it's been clear throughout the story that she has come to know him. Instead of falling into the romancelandia trap of, Viola (and Ms. James) turn what could have been a typical romance high-drama ending into something much deeper and moving.

Another enjoyable historical romance from Eloisa James. It is lovely to meet new characters falling in love, but also get to revisit with characters from other books.

Viola Astley knows she's not a real Wilde. Her mother married into the family when she was two. Though the Duke and all of her siblings have accepted that she's a true "Wilde Childe," Viola has worked herself into such a thought pattern that she is physically ill before balls, even before just meeting eligible men. She isn't a Wilde by blood and, shorter than the rest, plumper than the rest, she doesn't even look like she belongs. But then she meets the new local vicar and falls in love. Too bad he already has a fiancee. And really too bad that a duke seems to have set his eyes on her.
Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, is ready to get married. He might as well marry a Wilde, but not the adopted daughter. Instead, he'll check out the one who is generally known to not be a Wilde by blood but is by name. Even his uncle pushing him to meet Miss Astley doesn't make him interested in Viola. But when she stands up to him, well, that catches his notice.
This is a fairly quiet book. Not a lot of conflict and that was just lovely right now. Even the last misunderstanding wasn't a Big Misunderstanding because they actually talked to each other.

Four stars
Follows Born to be Wilde
This book comes out May 19th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Say Yes to the Duke, the latest in Eloisa James' Wildes of Lindow Castle series, features a non-Wilde, Viola. Viola has always been painfully aware that she is a step-Wilde, the daughter of the duchess' first husband. An unfortunate event at her first ball further increased Viola's natural shyness, and ever since she has avoided being in public. But the time has come for her and her sister Joan to debut. Though Viola has decided upon a local (betrothed) vicar, when she makes the acquaintance of the Duke of Wynter at her coming-out ball, things swiftly veer in another direction.

Every once in a while, Eloisa James tosses a book into the mix that bores me to tears, and this was one such. Viola and Devin have no chemistry, though there is a good basis for it at their first meeting. Viola is a puzzle of contradictions the pieces of which never come together, and the same can be said for her duke. All in all, Say Yes to the Duke fell flat, but perhaps that is true to the heroine herself, who prefers to remain in the background.

Viola and Devin is a love story that i can relate to because i can see myself in both of them. They are painfully shy and unable to function in a large group, to the point of Viola being sick. Devin is a member of the prehistoric geek squad, that when he gets in his tangent he lost people. Those two are perfect for each other though at first, they don't see it wich make the story sweeter. It a beautiful story that you want to read again!

Really enjoyed this romance novel. Viola and Devin are charming. Eloisa James is one of the best there is.

I have enjoyed Eloisa James’ novels before, but this was my introduction to the Wilde family. While this book stands alone well, it was such a great read that I grabbed the other books in the series as soon as I could. The story of Viola and Devin is as delightful as it is sexy.

Two main things made this book a genuinely enjoyable read. The first: consent, consent, consent! While the Romance genre has long been a place of consensual, sex-positive relationships (long before other genres!)Devin and Viola’s relationship really gets this right. The second: the conflicts that drive the plot are just normal, regular human-relationship-grade conflicts. The conflicts resolve because characters have grown as people. It is all accomplished without anyone tearfully driving away in a hackney in the wee hours of the morning. The writing carries the plot, not the manufactured drama.

This one is a must-read for fans of James, the Wildes Of Lindlow Castle Series and historical lovers alike.