With Mayne prepared to teach her how she should walk and talk, how could she go wrong. Finally convinced to rid herself of the terrible corset contraption that she had been wearing, Josie has decided that the best way to get herself a husband is to do something completely unorthodox, exactly as her sisters have done. She has been christened The Scottish Sausage, and the only people who are willing to dance with her are people who have been coerced into it by her friends and family. The youngest Essex sister has made her debut into the ton, but it hasn't exactly gone smoothly. The thing with her novels is that I feel like I should like them a whole lot more than I do, and I don't know why I don't! And here I am, saying oh dear, another Eloisa James novel that just didn't quite do it for me, for a few reasons. The fourth and final story in the Essex sisters series, following on from The Taming of the Duke.

She doesn't want to marry the young hellion-but who's to help? Her chaperone keeps disappearing for mysterious appointments her guardian is on his wedding trip and his friend the Earl of Mayne is too busy staring into the eyes of his exquisite French fiancée.Ĭan a marriage forced by stuffy convention and unwilling desire become the match of the season? She attends the horse races and allows an arrogant rakehell to whisk her behind the stables for a surreptitious kiss. She discards her corset and flirts outrageously. (Dec.Normally I do try to write my thoughts without too many spoilers (note the way I say try!) but this time I am afraid I am not able! So.spoilers galore below!įueled by the knowledge that notoriety is better than failure, witty, unconventional Josie does what no proper young lady should-she challenges fate. Engaging humor and steamy romance give this captivating regency a fine polish. James is skilled at bringing her characters fully to life, gracing Josie's feelings of inadequacy and Mayne's false sense of love with the believable, individual quirks that draw them to each other. As Josie begins attracting various suitors and Garret wrestles with his feelings for her, an intriguing subplot has the ton speculating on the identity of the 'earl of Hellgate,' whose scandalous, anonymous memoirs have been making the rounds. But Garret is engaged to a beautiful, genteel French aristocrat, having abandoned his former rakish ways. When Josie is insulted at a ball, Garret, earl of Mayne, whisks Josie back to his home where his friendly tutelage on attracting a man results in a fleeting moment of passion.

Nicknamed the 'Scottish Sausage' by a rejected suitor, Josie believes that no man will ever seriously court her because her figure is too ample. ), James tells the story of Josie, the only Essex sister yet unmarried.

In the final installment in her Four Sisters series (after Taming of the Duke

Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James