Raised in the French court, Lady Yasmin Regnier is no stranger to gossip, after all, her own mother was Napoleon’s mistress and Yasmin herself was duped by a fortune hunter at the tender age of 16. She learned to hold her head high and ignore the whispers, but when it became too much to bear, she left France and went to live with her English grandfather, the Duke of Portbellow. While the whispers followed her to England, her connections and her beauty ensure that she is not lacking invitations or suitors. But not every man falls at her feet and unfortunately for her that includes the only man who has really piqued her interest, the grumpy Earl of Lilford, who clearly doesn’t approve of her, yet always requests the first waltz, then barely speaks to her as they dance, and then ignores her after they finish. She wonders what it is about the earl that intrigues her so and what will she have to do to make him smile.

Giles Renwick, the Earl of Lilford hates that he is attracted to Lady Yasmin, she is completely wrong for him, but she makes him burn in a way that no woman ever has. He allows himself only one dance with her but seethes watching the other men dance and flirt with her, all the while telling himself that she could never be his countess. After the scandals created by his parents, Giles sets himself to a higher standard and would never do anything to tarnish his family name or endanger his younger sister’s reputation. And though she is beautiful, connected, and rich, Lady Yasmin’s reputation and manner are all wrong for him, not to mention his sister, Lady Lydia, clearly despises her and has repeatedly warned Giles to stay away from her. But even knowing all that, Giles can’t seem to walk away and soon finds himself trying to convince a reluctant Yasmin to marry him.

As always, Eloisa James delivers another well-written, nicely-paced story populated by wonderful characters. After reading the reviews for this title, I really didn’t expect to like it, but personally, I didn’t find Giles as nasty as he was portrayed in the reviews, that is not to say he wasn’t a first-class jerk to Yasmin, but neither was he the anti-hero I was expecting. Yes, he was condescending. Yes, he was rude and insulting at times. Yes, he allowed himself to be manipulated by his vile sister. But he does see the error of his ways and while he didn’t really grovel, he does apologize. So while it was not perfect, this story kept me turning pages and was filled with emotion, steamyish love scenes – that don’t all end with a satisfied heroine LOL, great secondary characters, a bit of drama, and finally a HEA with TWO epilogues. In the end, I enjoyed the story, but I was left wishing there had been a bit more follow-up with his sister and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a HEA for Silvester, the Duke of Huntington. This is the second book in the series and has ties to “The American Duchess”, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

This book was DELICIOUS. The tension, the angst, the drama - I just couldn’t stop reading! It follows the romance of Giles, the Earl of Lilford, and Lady Yasmin, Cleo’s scandalous French friend. They are complete opposites, but they can’t seem to fight their intense desire and feelings toward each other. It was messy, a little toxic, and had the perfect amount of spice.

I recently read the first book in this series, How to Be a Wallflower, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had seen a lot of lackluster reviews, so I went in with very low expectations and ended up loving it. I gave it 4/5 stars, which is my rating for this book as well, but for different reasons.

Because I enjoyed the first one so much and I knew this one was enemies to loves, which I looooove, I expected 5/5 stars. This book came pretty close to that, but the only thing holding me back is all the business that went down with Lydia. I should warn you, the synopsis mentions nothing about this, but Giles’ sister Lydia is the main antagonist of the story. She judges and slut-shames Yasmin throughout the entire novel, and throws hissy fits whenever Giles or anyone else even so much as looks at her, it’s to the point it’s kind of ridiculous.

I just feel like by the end I expected a better resolution with her and the whole situation. She is the main reason why he and Yasmin can’t be together and when she’s acting like a straight up bitch, it starts to get a little frustrating, to say the least. Then at the end after she’s done the worst possible thing she could do to keep the couple apart, we don’t get to see her realize the error of her ways or feel the least bit of remorse for her actions. I just would’ve appreciated some character growth to be honest, but we might still get it in future books, so we’ll see.

One of my favorite aspects of this story was learning about Yasmin’s past and exploring how she experiences sexual attraction because of it. To me, it kind of read as demisexuality, and I loved how unexpected and emotional it was to find out the most scandalous woman in the ton has been putting on an act to hide from her trauma. Like I said earlier, I loved her romance with Giles and how he had to overcome his past, assumptions about Yasmin, and prejudices placed on him by society to finally give in to the connection they have together.

Definitely would recommend to anyone who’s looking for an enchanting historical romance, and now after reading the latest 2 Eloisa James books I’m gonna need to go back and read her entire backlist ASAP! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books for the uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

The characters in this novel were intriguing to say the least. Yasmin was a character who I could not help but champion, to not only have survived the scandal of her youth to putting herself back into society and finding joy and happiness wherever she can. I loved her grandfather and her friends as well as their husbands. The moment where the men rally to support her at a ball later on in the novel, made my heart fluttery and eyes teary. I did wish for Giles to show more of his emotions, but understand why he might not have for the purpose of the plot. The constant consent, in this novel with Giles, only made me even more fond of him.

I could definitely see the slight Pride & Prejudice inspirations which I always love to see in novels but I will admit to disliking Lydia to the point where she almost ruined the entire novel for me. I completely understand the need for a villain within the novel, but to have it be someone so close to the couple whose intent/excuse was to protect her brother. It went well beyond that by the end of the book. This novel would have been a five star read for me, until Lydia's actions at the end. I was shocked and outraged and never before had I wanted something nefarious to befall a character. And to say the mention of Lydia in the second epilogue only further outraged me, is an understatement.

Thank you so much for letting me have the chance to try this book. however, it's just not right for me now. I am going to keep going through her backlist and trying other books in the mean time!

I’m really enjoying this series! I was excited after Cleo’s book to find out what happens with Yasmin and I wasn’t disappointed. I really loved Yasmin’s character. I did not love Lydia’s character but I think that was the point. Giles was interesting for me because I really liked him in Cleo’s book and then in this one he seemed stuffy and uptight. I’m not sure what else I was expecting from him but I wanted him to love Yasmin out loud but that wasn’t his style.

I’m not going to lie up until almost the end I was rooting for Silvester to win Yasmin over even though I knew that would happen. He was so fun and I can’t wait for his book! He might have my heart!

I requested this book because I really enjoyed the Wildes of Lindlow Castle series. I also enjoyed this book, but the male main character could be quite stupid and his sister was a sort of comic book villain. Had that character had more depth the book would have been stronger because the whole division between the two main characters wouldn't have been caused by such a two dimensional character and been more believeable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’ve recently discovered Eloisa James and I’ve been devouring her books over the past few months. I was so excited to receive an arc of The Reluctant Countess, especially because I loved Yasmin and Lilford in How to Be a Wallflower! I just knew their story was going to be amazing, and I was right!

Lady Yasmin is quite the scandalous lady. Hailing from France, where her mom was mistress to Napoleon himself, wearing French dress so low cut as to make most proper ladies clutch their pearls in horror, and being an unrepentant flirt and lover of gossip, though she doesn’t spread it herself, Yasmin was such a fun, complex character. I loved how unapologetic Yasmin was about her personality, parentage, and scandalous past.

Now, Lord Lilford is the most proper of gentlemen, and a scandalous lady like Yasmin would not be the proper choice of wife. However, he can’t take his eyes off of her. I did have some issues with Giles trying to change Yasmin, and not accepting he wanted to be with her until the prospect of her marrying someone else snapped him into place. I also took issue with the preconceived notions he had about Yasmin. Luckily, she set him straight, and I truly appreciated how he made sure she consented to everything they did and was so willing to take things as slow as she wanted.

Mild Spoiler:
The romance between these two was well developed; my only complaint was their separation towards the end of the book. I saw it coming early on, and wish Giles had acted quicker and left his sister behind to go find Yasmin and clear the air. The ending felt a bit rushed due to this separation and quick relationship repair.

Let’s talk about side-characters for a second. I loved Yasmin’s grandfather. He was such a fun character, and honestly, I wish we’d gotten to see more of him. We all deserve a grandfather like him! Sylvester, Duke of Huntington, was also an interesting character, and I’m wondering if we’ll see more of him in future books… maybe with Lady Stella? Lastly, Lady Lydia. I don’t even know where to begin here. Do I want a redemption arc for her? I don’t think so, but I do want to know more about her! Her reasons for interfering with Yasmin and Giles’s relationship was somewhat valid, but she was way too vengeful and bitter to ever have me rooting for her to be redeemed.

This was just such a disaster I don’t even know where to begin.

I would have been reluctant as well to be quite honest.

The romance was definitely not it. She had a bad experience with her first lover, he kept her as a secret and basically used her to get ahead and what happens with this Giles? He literally keeps their relationship a secret to avoid any issues with his brat of a sister. I just didn't like it. He was jealous and an ass telling her how to dress and that she was not dignified. Look at your sister sir, she was a mess!
Yasmin had little to no spine for me and she should have stood up for herself because ok not caring about the rumours and everything, but people were being plain nasty in front of her. Either own it or just clap back girlie.
The cherry on top in this book was the sister, Lydia. If I could have looked past certain things I couldn't with her. Giles should have confronted her at the end for what she did because she intentionally tried to ruin his life because she was feeling petty.

I give this 4.5 stars, it was pretty near perfect for me. I LOVED Yasmin and Giles. Yasmin quickly became one of my favorite heroines, and a very different type of woman than in most historicals. I loved Giles too, a very starchy earl who lost control with one woman. I loved that they were engaged pretty quickly and the back and forth between them was very entertaining. I usually don’t love when couples are separated in romances, but i didn’t mind so much in this one. I really loved this!

Yasmin’s past has created a need for her to “act the part”. She’s living up to her reputation and in the process has attracted the attention of the Earl of Liliford. But he can do nothing except allow himself the first waltz. I was intrigued by this heroine and what her actions would be as she healed from the heartache she was dealt when she was younger. But I was disappointed that the storyline did not allow her to adjust as the era would dictate. However, removing myself from that thought process, I have to admit that I respect the fact that she wanted to remain true to who she was even if it was a result of pain from her past.

Giles was promising as I love a hero who denies himself what he wants and yet cannot stop himself from just a tiny taste of it. Allowing himself the first waltz and nothing more was pure torture the more he watched Yasmin and slowly came to know her. I did enjoy watching him fall but when things heated up with his sister, I admit I was disappointed in his lack of actions.

While I had a few issues with the characters, overall, I enjoyed them well enough. I liked their banter and the chemistry between them was obvious. The author gives us just a touch of history in Yasmin’s background but I struggled when so many of these character’s actions and behaviors were not in line with the time period. Overall, a nice enough read.

This is the second in the Would-Be Wallflowers series. It can be read as a stand alone but centers on characters introduced in the previous book. Steamy, romantic and enjoyable.

I liked the set up of the story , but unfortunately using the sister of the MMC didn’t work for me and made the conflict and the ending very unsatisfactory.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC

I am a huge Eloisha fan so I hate saying this, and its taken a wlong time to write this revew because I tried reading this book several times. But I really hated the heroine and the hero was pretty awful as well. I love this author so I reaoly wanted to like it but I just could not like the heroine and sadly I could not finish this book.

I love books with innocents misses who have fun persoanlities but the female lead in this book is NOT innocent and in fact was really unlikeable and has a very sandalous past. As to the male lead, I hated him. so much. I felt he was pressiy, amnipulative and a total jerk. Sorry...

This author is s terrific so I hate saying this but I just could not keep reading this book as I started to really hate the main characters.

While I am happy that Giles and Yasmin found their HEA, there was just too much disrespect in this book.

Giles’ sister was simply the worst, and I don’t believe (even if the author chooses to give her a chance to redeem herself) she can be redeemed.

Giles treated Yasmin terribly throughout the book, and only due to his unwavering letters does he somewhat redeem himself. And for the most part Yasmin just let him. For being so sure of herself in other aspects, so allow him to just trample her time and time again was frustrating.

The only character that redeemed this book for me was Yasmin’s grandfather. He was a delight.

I usually love Eloisa James’ books, I think they’re usually quite well written and full of angst. I found this book to stray from what I’ve read before from the author. I was left confused on how I should feel. I guess I should haven taken the title at face value - Yasmin is “reluctant” to marry Giles, but frankly for good reason. Even his internal monologue looked down upon who she was/what she stood for. In the same breath, how much he wanted her, but also how much he didn’t respect her. His sister Lydia is basically the plot to twist Yasmin and Giles together and apart, and it just wasn’t my jam. I just wish there had been something else to move plot along and bring these two together. I’ll pick up the next one and hope for a change! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Well-known author Eloisa James adds another delightful installment to her Would-Be Wallflowers series. Lady Yasmin Regnier is a woman who embraces her bigger-than-life personality and offers no excuses for living life on her terms. Her position as the granddaughter of a Duke offers her entrance into all the best ton events, which is where she encounters the perfectly perfect Earl of Lilford, Giles Renwick. The two are as repelled by one another as they are intrigued, and a season ensues. From disagreements in public to passionate kisses behind closed doors, the two begin to see that perhaps there is more to the other than first appearances. What follows is an entertaining romp through love and expectations in true Wallflower fashion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I was excited to pick up this book after liking the first book in the series but was mostly disappointed. I will say that I liked how Giles was accepting of Yasmin’s feelings towards intimacy and seemed happy to only go as far as she desired.

Giles, the hero, supposedly liked Yasmin but never defended her from cruel remarks or really acted in public in a way that showed that he liked her. I didn’t particularly like Yasmin either.
Nor did I like the main source of conflict. I think Giles really needed to learn better communication skills with his family members, how to express his emotions, how to grovel, and what a grand gesture is. Both epilogues seemed to just start out of nowhere and have unexplained parts to them.

The Reluctant Countess is an enjoyable book, but not one of James’s best. I liked Yasmin, the FMC. She had endured so much shaming. To be able to hold her head up in society while being blamed for being victimized would pummel anyone’s self-esteem and ability to trust.

Giles, the MMC, was a much more difficult character for me to like. His inability to stand up for Yasmin to his sister, knowing Lydia to be a liar and a hypocrite, rubbed me the wrong way. He groveled at the end, but it wasn’t enough and he was too easily forgiven. Lydia was a bit of a stereotypical mean girl. There wasn’t much depth to her and her hatred of Yasmin, even with her background explained.

That said, overall I did enjoy the book. It was romantic and sexy, with a great secondary character in Yasmin’s grandfather. It was also good to see characters from previous books. Overall, an enjoyable read.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Avon for an honest review.

The Reluctant Countess is titillating historical romance, filled with gossip and scandal! Yasmin and Giles start off as enemies—they really dislike each other for a myriad of reasons. But deep down there is attraction and desire, along with confused feelings as they also fight their reputations and their pasts, as well as his sister who despises Yasmin. It was great fun to watch them work through their conflicts and finally submit to passion!

Good lord, was this charming! I fell fairly quickly for The Reluctant Countess, with its likable characters and high angst quotient. However, I was a little disappointed by the way the conflict balances itself on misunderstandings and outside interference.

Lady Yasmin Régnier was coaxed into a false marriage at the age of sixteen by a fortune hunter who hoped that despoiling Yasmin would land him the family’s estate, which was a gift from Napoléon to Yasmin’s mother, a former courtesan who was once his mistress. A heartbroken Yasmin very fortunately has no ‘consequences’ to deal with, and her father gets rid of the man by calling his bluff, but she is understandably scarred and changed by this manipulation. Her parents blame her for being foolish and soon ship her off to relatives in England to avoid the scandal.

But Yasmin does not let the incident dim her inner light. Ten years later, she’s become a flirtatious and lighthearted member of the ton. She wears daring, clinging dresses, but in private does not give herself over to temptation.

Giles Renwick, Earl of Lilford, is a man of great dignity. He is stuffy, fussy and concerned with his reputation as a way of distancing himself from his father’s poor decisions and the general self-interest both his parents. He has no intention of succumbing to the urges his fellow members of the ton so wantonly display. And yet he’s highly attracted to Yasmin, who is light and gossipy and silly. They get on like oil and water; he’s recalcitrant, she talks too much. He’s only here because he needs to keep an eye on his teenage sister, Lady Lydia, while she goes through her Season. And yet... Giles reliably queues up at every single ball to spend time with Yasmin.

Life is not easy for Yasmin. People gossip about her and her family constantly, though they are unable to cast her out of polite society thanks to the influence of her grandfather. Giles needs a woman who is countess material, and Yasmin does not appear to be this – an opinion Lydia holds and uses to help drive a wedge between them. Will love conquer all?

The Reluctant Countess rings with James’ ear for warmth and romantic connections. Yasmin is the only person alive who can charm Giles into smiling; Giles is protective of Yasmin and her reputation. Their chemistry is electric. And yet James trips across the old miscommunication trope - and miscommunication due to an interfering relative to boot.

I did also have my qualms about Giles, who is very possessive and sometimes controlling, but, fortunately, Yasmin is not dragged under by his iffy behavior and refuses to be anything other than herself. He gets with the program eventually and learns the difference between possessing and protecting someone. But the romance is good and boils up slowly, transforming them from enemies to lovers. Everything crackles with tension and sensuality. Giles throws away his inhibitions for Yasmin and she learns how to compromise with him.

And then there is Lydia, who at least is not a cardboard cut-out. But the evil interfering relative who hates the heroine trope is so disappointingly overdone, and I’d rather have had less cliché there, even though James makes Lydia a fully-rounded character with an understandable (if cruel) motive. Other supporting characters stand out well; I could not love Yasmin’s grandfather more – there’s a guy who would willingly ride into battle for her.

But all of this doesn’t stop me from recommending you give this one a read. If you can stomach waiting for Giles to transform and deal with Lydia’s attitude, The Reluctant Countess is a dashing treat worth swooning over.

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