Review: Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

Title: Wilde in Love
Author: Eloisa James
Series: The Wildes of Lindow Castle #1
Publication: October 31st 2017 by Piatkus
Genre: Historical Romance
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Play | Kobo
Rating: 3/5★

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own . . . until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy. . . .

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

Wilde in Love was an enjoyable read to me and I liked the hero and heroine a lot, especially once they started getting stronger feelings for each other. I won't say it's my favorite historical romance ever but it was very well-written and had a lot of moments that made me swoon.

Lord Alaric wasn't the typical hero that I so often see in these kind of books. He had been away for years visiting foreign countries and writing books about everything he experienced. When he finally does come home he has no idea his books have become very popular with the ladies and that there's even a play about him. Needless to say he doesn't like this one bit. Then he meets Willa Ffynche who seems to be the only woman who doesn't swoon in his presence.

As I said before I really liked these two characters together. It took some convincing for Willa to accept her feelings for Alaric but once she did she had no more doubts about marrying him. I liked this a lot because it limited the drama somewhat. What I didn't like as much, though, was the drama surrounding Prudence. I know that her presence and what she eventually tried to do added some suspense but that part was too obvious for me. This, however, is my only slightly negative point.

Another part of what made the book so great were some of the secondary characters, like Willa's friend Lavinia. And even the animals in the story like Sweetpea, the skunk. It all added something different to the story. I also shipped the hell out of Lavinia and Parth because they just couldn't get along throughout the whole book. I'm sure they'd ben so much fun together to read about. I'm also glad the scene for the next book got set for North (Alaric's brother) and Diana. 

Overall, Wilde in Love by Eloisa James was a great start to this series set in the Georgian period. It had humor, steamy romance, witty characters and some danger. I can't wait to read the next book! 

Author bio:
A reviewer from USA Today wrote that she "found herself devouring [Eloisa's] book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got a couple more degrees and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Over twenty best-sellers later, she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She's also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.
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