Book 1 in the Wildes of Lindow Castle series
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!
ABOUT THE BOOK
by Eloisa James
Series
The Wildes of Lindow Castle #1
Genre
Adult
Historical Romance
Publisher
Avon Books
Publication Date
October 31, 2017
About Eloisa James
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.Author Links
Wilde in Love captivated me from the first page! The opposites attract romance between the famous Lord Alaric and the very private Willa Ffynche was exquisitely written-- it’s romantic, funny and charming!
Alaric Wilde has returned to England to discover that he’s a famous celebrity. He is amazed that the books he wrote about his adventures are best sellers, ladies are enamored of him and that they swoon when they read about his escapades. He’s not amused when he learns there’s a sold out play entitled Wilde in Love which features his fictitious romance with a lovesick missionary’s daughter and his escapades with a pack of cannibals!
His desire? To travel home to Lindow Castle to see his father, stepmother and assorted brothers and sisters.
Willa Ffynche and Lavinia Gray are invited to a house party at Lindow Castle in honor of the engagement of Lavinia’s cousin, Diana, to Alaric’s older brother, North. Lavinia has read all of Alaric’s books and wears a much coveted Lord Wilde gold locket while Willa has no interest in Lord Wilde or his adventures. Although Willa is very smart and well read, she is a very private person. She is not impressed with Lord Wilde believes that Alaric enjoys his celebrity status and all of its’ perks.
Her decision? To avoid the handsome, charming man that intrigues her.
Alaric and Willa’s romance appealed to me because even though the chemistry between the couple sizzled, the passion between the couple developed slowly. Alaric took time to show Willa that he was Alaric Lindow, not Lord Wilde. He understood that there was more to Willa than the ladylike image she portrayed to the public. The conversations between the couple were witty, honest and at times poignant.
Wilde in Love is a fantastic read; the characters are multi-faceted, the romance between the hero and heroine is relatable and there is just enough social commentary woven through the storyline. Loved both Alaric and Willa and enjoyed reading their romantic journey. The secondary characters of North, Parth, Diana and Lavinia are fabulous. I enjoyed the relationship between Lavinia and Parth---she annoyed him—or was it attraction? (I can’t wait for their story!) There are many characters in the novel and each of them played important roles in the story. The last few chapters of the book are suspenseful and contain several surprising plot twists. I loved that Alaric never wanted to be a hero, but was given the chance to be a hero to the woman he loved.
The epilogue is perfect for Alaric and Willa—it made me smile! I adored the teaser for the next book in the series.
Reviewed By Susan Gorman
ARC provided by the publisher
Chapter One
June 25, 1778
London
There wasn’t a person in all England who’d have believed the boy who grew up to be Lord Alaric Wilde would become famous.
Infamous? That was a possibility.
His own father had given him that label after Alaric was sent down from Eton at the age of eleven for regaling his classmates with stories of pirates.
Piracy wasn’t the problem—the problem was the uncanny way young Alaric had depicted his small-minded Etonian instructors in the guise of drunken sailors. These days he avoided portraying self-righteous Englishmen, but the impulse to observe had never left him. He watched and summarized, whether he was in China or an African jungle.
He had always written down what he saw. His Lord Wilde books were a consequence of that impulse to record his observations, a drive that appeared as soon as he learned to write his first sentences.
Like everyone else, it had never occurred to him that those books could make him famous. And he didn’t think any differently when he rolled out of his berth on Royal George. All he knew in that moment was that he was finally ready to see his family, all eight siblings, not to mention the duke, duchess, and a stepsister or two.
He’d stayed away for years, as if not seeing his eldest brother Horatius’s grave would make his death not true.
But it was time to go home. He wanted a cup of tea. A steaming hot bath in a real bathtub. A lungful of smoky London air.
Hell, he even missed the peaty smell that hung over Lindow Moss, the bog that stretched for miles to the east of his father’s castle. He was drawing back the curtain over the porthole when the ship’s boy knocked and entered. “There’s a mighty fog, milord, but we’re well up the Thames, and the captain reckons we’ll be at Billingsgate Wharf any minute.” His eyes shone with excitement. Upon on deck, Alaric found Captain Barsley standing in the prow of the Royal George, hands on his hips. Alaric started toward him and stopped, astonished. Through the fog, the dock glimmered like a child’s toy: a blurry mass of pink, purple, and bright blue. It separated into parts as the ship approached.
Women.
The dock was crowded with women—or, more precisely, ladies, considering all the high plumes and parasols waving in the air. A grin tugged at the corners of Alaric’s mouth as he joined the captain.
“What in the devil is going on?”
“I expect they’re waiting for a prince or some such foolishness. Those passenger lists they print in the Morning Chronicle are utter rubbish. They’re going to be bloody disappointed when they realize the Royal George hasn’t a drop of royal blood aboard,” the captain grumbled. Alaric, who was related to the crown through his grandfather, gave a shout of laughter. “You have a noble nose, Barsley. Perhaps they’ve discovered a relation you never heard of.”
Barsley just grunted. They were close enough now to discern that ladies were crowded as far back as the fish market. They appeared to be bobbing up and down like colored buoys, as they strained to see through the fog. Faint screams suggested excitement, if not hysteria.
“This is Bedlam,” Barsley said with disgust. “How are we supposed to disembark in the midst of that?”
“Since we’ve come from Moscow, perhaps they think the Russian ambassador is on board,” Alaric said, watching a rowboat set out toward them, manned by a dockworker.
“Why in the devil’s name would a flock of women come looking for a Russian?”
“Kochubey is a good-looking fellow,” Alaric said, as the boat struck the side of the ship with a thump. “He complained of English ladies besieging him, calling him Adonis, and sneaking into his bedchamber at night.”
But the captain wasn’t listening. “What the devil are those women doing on the wharf?” Captain Barsley roared, as the dockworker clambered over the side from the rowboat. “Make way for my gangplank, or I won’t be responsible for the fish having a fine meal!”
The man dropped to the deck, eyes round. “It’s true! You’re here!” he blurted out.
“Of course I’m here,” the captain snarled.
But the man wasn’t looking at Barsley.
He was looking at Alaric.
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