Magic sang in the wild peals of church bells that kept breaking out first in one church and then another, in the way each sprig of mistletoe sheltered sweet kisses. An ancient joy shone in passerby’s eyes and spilled from children’s laughter. Looking at the city from the bell tower of Saint Germain, the Duke of Fletcher could see candles flaring in store windows, and though he couldn’t smell roasting goose, holly leaves and gleaming berries over doors signaled that all of Paris had turned its mind toward a delicious banquet of gingerbread and spice, of rich wine and sugared cakes. (Dec.Ice hung from window sills with a glitter that rivaled glass, and new snow turned the sooty streets to rivers of milk. With a menagerie of charming, unconventional characters and a great sense of fun, James's latest foray into Georgian romance suffers not a single dull moment.
To round out a wonderfully busy and well-delivered plot, Jemma's likely paramour, the duke of Villiers, has developed an unlikely affection for the plain, brash spinster Miss Charlotte Tatlock, rumored to be another duke's mistress.
Meanwhile, Fletch contrives a plan to win her back. When she discovers Fletch's plans for infidelity, she leaves him and moves in with the vivacious and sexy Jemma, duchess of Beaumont, who educates her in the merits of independent living. Poppy was brought up by the ruthless and unwittingly hilarious Lady Flora, who believes that all men should take mistresses to relieve their wives of unpleasant marital duties, so she can hardly help her distaste for intimacy. In the spring of 1783, four years after they married for love, irreconcilable differences in the bedroom have left the duke of Fletcher desperate for a mistress and Poppy, his wife, certain that “Fletch” no longer cares for her. Entertaining and exciting throughout, there's enough seduction, laughter and surprises in the second Desperate Duchesses installment to satisfy even the most demanding fans of historical fiction.
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