Highly recommended for their humor, lovable characters and fabulous romance (and sizzling scenes), James weaves into her Regency time period contemporary issues like alcoholism and grief with a masterful touch. One of my favorite hist-ro series is Eloisa James’ The Essex Sisters quartet.

Absurd as she knows it to be, she may have fallen utterly in love. But although Tess finally consents to marry him, it may be for the worst reason of all. Lucius Felton is a rogue whose own mother considers him irredeemable! He's delicious, Annabel points out. Which leaves Tess contemplating marriage to the sort of man she wishes to avoid - one of London's most infamous rakes. But just when she begins to think that all might end well, one of her sisters bolts with a horse-mad young lord, and her own fiancé just plain runs away. After all, right now they're under the rather awkward guardianship of the perpetually tipsy Duke of Holbrook. Witty, orphaned Tess Essex faces her duty: marry well and marry quickly, so she can arrange matches for her three sisters - beautiful Annabel, romantic Imogen and practical Josie. When you're the oldest daughter, you don't get to have any fun! Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / 20th Century, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Ancient World, Fiction / Romance / Historical / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency (Dec.Published by Zondervan on October 13, 2009 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