Elley the Book Otter: Blog Tour: Too Wilde to Wed by Eloisa James (Teaser, Excerpt, Review, Giveaway)

No one is more surprised than Lord North when he returns from war to find his ex-fiancee in his ancestral home…working as a governess in a sexy, fiery new Wildes of Lindow Castle romance by New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James…

The handsome, rakish heir to a dukedom, Lord Roland Northbridge Wilde—known to his friends as North—left England two years ago, after being jilted by Miss Diana Belgrave. He returns from war to find that he’s notorious: polite society has ruled him “too wild to wed.”

Diana never meant to tarnish North’s reputation, or his heart, but in her rush to save a helpless child, there was no time to consider the consequences of working as a governess in Lindow Castle. Now everyone has drawn the worst conclusions about the child’s father, and Diana is left with bittersweet regret.

When North makes it clear that he still wants her for his own, scandal or no, Diana has to fight to keep from losing her heart to the man whom she still has no intention of marrying.

Yet North is returning a hardened warrior—and this is one battle he’s determined to win.

He wants Diana, and he’ll risk everything to call her his own.

About the Book

Too Wilde to Wed
by Eloisa James
Series The Wildes of Lindow Castle Series
Genre Adult
Historical Romance
Publisher Avon Books
Publication Date May 29, 2018
Amazon | Avon Romance | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iBooks

Excerpt

She giggled, and her arms wound around his neck. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I am relishing my freedom.”

“I know you don’t love me,” he said, keeping his voice even. “Just so you know, I do love you. I think it is a lifelong condition.”

Her eyes filled with remorse, but he shook his head. “Love should never be regretted. But what might be regretted by you is this evening, Diana. You wish to marry for love. Won’t the man you choose expect you to come to him without knowledge of men?”

Never mind the fact that he had every intention of being the man she chose. Look what happened to Godfrey’s father. What happened to the men in his regiment. Life should never be taken for granted.

“Whoever marries me will already know that I jilted a ravishing future duke,” she said firmly, and then, with a twinkle, “You can take ‘ravishing’ in two ways.”

Who would have guessed that his melancholy fiancée could have such a naughty grin?

“My husband will love me enough not to care,” Diana said, her eyes shining with faith.

Everything in North chilled at the idea of Diana being loved by another man. Loving another man. He cleared his throat, because he had the feeling she wouldn’t approve of her romantic ambitions making him homicidal.

“Miss Belgrave, are you giving me permission to ravish you?”

She dimpled at him. “Yes! I requested just that, Lord Roland.”

A gentleman wouldn’t agree. But that perfect gentleman likely wasn’t as focused on winning as North was. Sometimes winning involved breaking some rules. Taking risks. Thinking creatively.

Diana kept stealing glances at his lips.

“A gentleman never refuses a lady,” he said, making up his mind. He rose onto his knees, pulled off his shirt, and threw it over the side of the bed.

Review

I loved Diana and North. They've got a bit of the star-crossed lovers things going on, and I'm not sure if I want to call this friends to lovers or not... It kind of defies my set categories, haha. Too Wilde to Wed is a historical romance set in Georgian era England, which I don't normally like as much as I love Regency romances (I'm just not into all the lace and patches and powdered wigs... *shudder*) but for whatever reason I like this period when Eloisa writes it. It helps that it's set mostly in a country manor, so there isn't as much call for all the rigmarole that would be involved were it to take place in London during the Season.

North is by far and away my favorite character of this novel. I love his quiet strength and determination, and how much he loves his family. The entire Wilde clan is just lovely, and I definitely need to go back and read the first book in the series (which apparently involves a pet skunk!) Diana is also a wonderful character that I felt was somewhat relatable in that she is a fish out of water, and is searching for who she is and where she belongs. I do wish more of the story had focused on Diana's self-discovery and development, as she felt a little wishy-washy to me and not as fully fleshed out as I wish she would have been. Then again, she's a young woman who has always been pampered and taken care of who is suddenly cast out on her own with no real life skills, so maybe that makes sense for her characters.

Several of the side characters are really enjoyable, especially Aunt Knowe (whom I totally want to be when I grow up) and Prism, as well as Godfrey and Artie (whom I expect to have their own story later in the series, because that's how Eloisa rolls).

I LOVE the way the story unfolds, and the way North and Diana's relationship grows and flourishes once they're both allowed to be themselves, rather than a couple of dressed up society puppets. My heart broke for North (several times) but I can't really go into why without spoiling it for you, so I will just say that there were a few spots that had me tearing up and my heart physically aching for North, especially as he comes to some difficult realizations about love and what it means to truly love someone more than your own desires and needs.

This is the second book in the series The Wildes of Lindow Castle, and while it can be read as a stand alone, there's something to be gained from reading the first book, Wilde in Love . I read Too Wilde to Wed first and there are some spoilers for the first book, as well as a fair amount of lead up to what I suppose will be the third book. Like Eloisa's Desperate Duchesses series, this one might be best read in order to get the full experience. That being said, I did read this one as a stand alone and got along perfectly well without having read the first book, so it CAN be read as a stand alone. There is also some lead up to Lavinia and Parth's story, which is the next in the series and I can NOT wait to read it! (Too bad I was rejected for the ARC. *pout*)

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of TOO WILDE TO WED by Eloisa James, we’re giving away one hardcover copy of WILDE IN LOVE and a peacock keychain!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a hardcover copy of WILDE IN LOVE by Eloisa James and a peacock keychain. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 6/10/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

About the Author

ELOISA JAMES is a New York Times best-selling author and professor of English literature who lives with her family in New York, but can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. She is the mother of two and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight. Visit her at http://www.eloisajames.com.