Eloisa James is always an author I look for, so this novel was no exception to the excellence that she brings to her characters and storytelling every single time.

Giles Renwick, The Earl of Lilford is a prude, and that is being kind. He judges those around him and finds them wanting. None more so than Lady Yasmin, a woman who is unapologetically herself in all regards. Giles wants nothing and everything to do with her.

Yasmin has seen a lot in her years, so much so that the judgy response of the ton doesn't affect her any longer. She's immediately drawn to Giles, despite his treatment of her.

His younger sister acts as the villain of this story, feeling very jealous of Yasmine and attempts to keep them apart. An annoyingly perfect obstruction to the love blooming between our two main characters. There were parts of this book that made me want to strangle some of the characters, but it all played into the overall plot and pacing, so I could understand and appreciate it's place.

I can't say enough good things about Eloisa James' writing, always a good time!

My opinion is my own and freely given.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon books for the eARC and to my library and the Libby app for the audiobook listen.

The Reluctant Countess
by Eloisa James

Narrated by Susan Duerden

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 My initial reaction upon finishing: It’s captivating and enchanting. I love how they are crazy for and over each other. The attraction and jealousy are so believable, intimate, and steamy in all the right places.
🤩 Part of the Would-Be Wallflowers series, but it reads great as a standalone.
🤩 Such a captivating prologue giving us a glimpse into Yasmin’s backstory, showing us why she is reluctant to trust again, and making our hearts beat for her happily ever after.
🤩 Historical romance, the season, and Giles dancing with Yasmin at every party.
🤩 Enemies-to-lovers.
🤩 All the feels and laugh-out-loud funny.
🤩 Giles’ unwanted lust—secret pining and physical attraction.
🤩 When that lust becomes an obsession.
🤩 How Yasmin gets back at Giles for accusing her of wearing dresses that are too revealing.
🤩 Such a heart-wrenching and beautiful letter-writing plot.
🤩 How they work through intimacy issues—it’s beautifully intimate with such loving, sweet, yet desperate desire.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 Why did I wait so long to read this beautiful book? I’m so looking forward to the next in the series—Not That Duke. My five-star review for book 1 in the series (How to Be a Wallflower) is also up on goodreads.

The Reluctant Countess by Eloisa James is a fun, but slow paced read. It's a historical fiction and one of the main characters- Lady Yasmin is the definition of a walking doormat. She's way too nice to Lydia and I wish she'd stand up to her more often.

Fast pace. Great story. Characters worth rooting for. I enjoyed that the man knew before the woman, so many times much of the story is constantly about a woman using manipulation to win the man. This was amazing. So refreshing to read and experience the opposite

This was funny, cute, and romantic. Giles wasn't my favorite, though; he was constantly criticizing Yasmin's clothes because he thought she was too brazen and he also never defended her to his sister. He doesn't see the error of his ways until the 90% point. I didn't like that. Other than that, this was a great addition to this series.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-books copy in exchange for an honest review

I'm not quite sure what I expected in THE RELUCTANT COUNTESS, but I feel that it was lacking.

During the reading, I was starting to think that it was an homage to Pride and Prejudice, especially after Giles's initial proposal. This was confirmed with the author's note.

The thing with homages is that it can work, or it can go bad. Sadly, this one doesn't quite work...most people would think it was because of Giles, Earl of Lilford, but I really put the blame on his sister, Lydia. She's the Bingley sisters, Lydia Bennett, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh all rolled into one character. Her character is just so mean girl, that I don't see any way to redeem her. Especially when you learn she's out for revenge. However, Giles is blind to his sister's faults.

On the other hand, Yasmin is lovely. She knows what she wants. On the surface, she doesn't care what society says about her, because she's been gossiped about her whole life. Yet, she does internalize a lot of it, and her speech towards the end? so so fabulous.

I understand Giles's need to protect his only family, but this leads to a very rocky courtship of Yasmin, and a very uneven book. I need Giles to get his head out of his petard, and grovel to Yasmin for his treatment of her. She deserves more grovel.

Also, not sure how either Yasmin, or Giles, fit into the Would-Be Wallflowers theme, unless it is the one scene.

Still looking forward to reading the next book, and seeing how the two characters end up together.

The Reluctant Countess was such a wonderful read! My first in this series by Eloisa James but now I want to read book 1.

Yasmin is not right for Giles. He dislikes everything about her. From her low dresses, her French heritage, her sunny disposition and her overall improperness. She’s not fit to be his wife or even his friend but he also can’t stop thinking about her.
A delightful enemies to lovers story. Yasmin’s grandfather steals the show and we all will get behind hating Giles’ sister Lydia.

This BOOK!

Let me preface with the fact that I went through a HEAVY regency romance era in 2019 (yes <I>before</> Bridgerton came out) and Eloisa James is easily one the the very best of the best when it comes to the genre. You know the stories will be great, the characters multi-dimensional, and romance hot. So I was already excited!

I went into this book totally blind- didn’t even read the blurb- and it was an utter delight. It starts with our Heroine when she is 16 on the day she realizes the man she has eloped with only pretended to marry her so he could then try to blackmail her parents for money. I say <b>try</b> because this particular family is French and was already intimately familiar with scandal, so instead they took her home, made sure she hadn’t become pregnant, and then sent the man on his way without a dime. Our Heroine is humiliated and resolves to harden her heart. The rest of the book takes place nine years later and was just perfect.

Some of the things I especially liked:
-talking about how sex isn’t always pleasant for women EVEN IF they are super attracted to the man
-many, MANY conversations where misunderstandings and unintentional micro aggressions were confronted
-roundabout discussions on modesty culture- particularly the idea that a woman’s worth and self-respect are tied into how modestly (yet still temptingly of course) she dresses, as well as how a woman should never be held responsible for how a man treats her, yet almost always is, especially during this era
-nods to Pride and Prejudice, particularly Lydia’s character- showing how Lydia might have found herself in the position to be seduced by Wyckham, but also showing how Lydia’s cruelties in P&P (which were never really addressed) were actually the far more harmful and “bad” aspect of her character
-realistic resolutions of issues that weren’t just “solved” with a declaration of love
-harmful consequences of bullying

And allll if this was tied perfectly into the story. I never felt like I was being preached at, just being told a story that got me all in my emotions- from fury to giddy to empathetic etc.

This book was just all around fantastic, further cementing James as a diamond of the first water when it comes to Regency Romance!

Sometimes you forget why your favorite authors are your favorite, and then you read a new book by then and you remember. This one was magical for me, it had everything I love in a historical romance. Yasmine was a great heroine and Giles was a great hero, and they fit together so well. They suffer through the usual growing pains and turmoil until they admit they love each other and have their happily ever after. Which is a great happily ever after by the way.

I did have one complaint, and I might have rated this lower if I wasn't so pleased with Yasmine and Giles story. The sister, Lydia. She was insufferable and I didn't like her at all. And she almost cost the main characters their happily ever after. I hope she isn't in the last book.

I adored this one more than the first book! I love that Yasmin is just so unapologetically herself. Giles was a little stuffy, and probably took too long for him to stop being so. But Eloisa James is still my fav regency romance writer, and I'm excited to continue this series.

The Reluctant Countess was my first novel by Eloisa James, and I was not disappointed. I enjoyed the story and the pacing of it a lot. I am fairly new to historical romance novels, but I enjoy the way that modern writers present these stories that brings more equality and modern ideals without feeling completely out of place in a setting from the past. The romance in this story was lovely, and hate-to-love is one of my favorite tropes. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Giles Renwick, Earl of Lilford, has never made a fool of himself over a woman until he meets Lady Yasmin Régnier. Yasmin is totally unsuitable as a wife, a mistress (she is a lady!), nor a friend, since they dislike each other. Her gowns are too low, and she loves to gossip and giggle. So, they wouldn’t be a good match, would they?
I loved this historical romance. It had true love, intrigue and diabolical characters. I liked Yasmin because she wouldn’t let scandal stop her. She knew who was a true ally. I liked Giles because the rumors didn’t stop him from being with Yasmin. The plot kept me interested until the very last page. I will read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Lady Yasmin has a lot of scandals surrounding her. Her mom just happened to be Napoleon's mistress. Giles, Lord Lilford, is stodgy and judgemental. And he hates that he likes Yasmin. He decides to make Lady Yasmin his. Yet, he's rude to her to keep her at a distance, so he needs to prove to her that he actually cares for her. This seduction requires a lot of work. The pacing was good, I liked the two main characters, and I loved that he couldn't help but fall in love with a charming woman. However, Lydia, Giles's sister, was awful. She was the villain, she was over dramatic, angry, and a character I didn't like seeing on the page. Overall, a good read, but I liked the first one better.

I can always count on Eloisa James to deliver a fantastic story. Endearing characters, witty banter and an engaging story make this a delight to read.

At the tender age of 16, Lady Jasmin Regnier, the daughter of an English lady and French lord, was tricked into believing that she was married to Hippolyte Charles, but he was not only a fortune hunter, but a lover of the Empress who was out for revenge against Yasmine's mother, one of the Emperor's mistresses. After enduring scandal and humiliation, she crossed the channel and went to live with her grandfather, a duke. After what she endured from the French court, she has learned to inure the cuts from the English. Being beautiful and charming, she has many suitors, but after what she endured, she is not sure she even wants to marry. However, she has wonderful friends in Merry and Cleo, from the previous two books. She is drawn to Giles Renwick, Earl of Milford, who always procures her first waltz, but of course he has his own issues from the scandals of his parents. His younger sister is very jealous of Yasmine and tries to come between them, but love finds its way, at least in romance novels.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.com. This is may unbiased and voluntary review.

I love Eloisa James. She’s one of the best in the game, but the plot was challenging for me to immerse myself in this time!

This book has nothing to recommend it. It was a waste of 4 hours. The hero, Giles, Earl,of Lilford, is a jealous fool whose ongoing biting and distrustful commentary about Lady Yasmin’s mode of dress and natural flirtatious nature makes me question why she continued to go back to him. He accused her of being a gossip early in the book, but then used his vicious sister’s unkind and unfounded gossip about his fiancé against her. As for his sister Lydia, she was a hypocritical and cruel shrew who was so concerned that their family’s dirty secrets (especially that she was the illegitimate offspring of one of her mother’s affairs) would be exposed by Yasmin that she did everything she could to ruin her reputation and keep Giles and Yasmin apart. She even threatened her own brother with blackmail and he allowed it. So it makes zero sense that Yasmin would take him back when, in the end, he claimed to love her.

The lack of historical accuracy in this book is absurd as well. From the beginning, there were open discussion about bodily functions and sexuality because near strangers. Giles didn’t provide a chaperone to his young sister during her first season because she didn’t want one (???), and his lack of attention meant she could have assignations with unscrupulous men right under his nose (and presumably within site of the ton’s gossips). Yet, when she was caught inflagrante delicto by Yasmin and her brother, he didn’t demand that the young man marry her.

There’s so much more I could say to discredit this book, but I’ve already wasted enough time. I’ve actually enjoyed many of James’s books, especially The Wilde’s of Lindow Castle series, but this one was a very unfortunate departure.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a mix for me, while I enjoyed parts of it I found myself not loving the judgment Giles paid towards Yasmin.

Also, Yasmin should have smacked Lydia.

So I find this one difficult to review as it was a mix of good and bad. I love the romance but the side story was at times aggravating.

I loved the romance between Giles and Yasmin. They were so different, but once they were better able to understand each other I felt they brought out the best in the other. I HATE the sister and she will forever be one of my least favorite characters, which says a lot for Eloisa's writing to evoke so much emotion and dislike towards her.

Grumpy meets stubborn sunshine. Yasmin has a scandalous past and refuses to compromise herself for anyone, because they're going to talk about her anyway; Giles falls for her anyway and spends most of the book trying to hypocrit his way out of his lust: she's such a whore! but she's nice to my kid! but she's so hot and silly!

A charming Eloisa James, with her characteristic delightfully silly plot. I really felt for both Giles and Yasmin—a classic comic grumpy-sunshine pair, but with a healthy dose of angst explaining why they could not find their way to each other at first.