Storming the Castle by Eloisa James

A fun but short romantic story
4 stars

From a young age Miss Phillipa Damson has known that she will marry Rodney Durfey no matter what she might prefer. So when she hears that there is an ill baby at a nearby castle she sees it as her chance to escape her lot in life and runs away to take a position as nursemaid.

Jonas ‘Wick’ Berwick, the illegitimate brother of Prince Gabriel, serves as majordomo, overseeing the day to day running of Pomeroy Castle in Lancashire. His position in life – not quite a servant but not quite a gentleman – means that he has vowed never to marry. But when Philippa arrives at the castle he can’t help but wish for something different for his life.


This short story is a sequel from James’ A Kiss at Midnight which is the first in the Fairy Tales series. The series is set in Fairytale time with a dusting of the Regency so they aren’t as strict when it comes to historical detail and accuracy. You probably want to have read A Kiss… before reading this one but I don’t suppose it’s 100% necessary.

I’m really glad that Wick got his own story and from the start I thought Phillipa a great match for him. She’s that perfect blend of smart and strong but with a vulnerability in her that makes her likeable and relatable. Wick was also a good hero being proud and strong but truly in need of the love of a good woman. The pair had good chemistry and I was rooting for them throughout.

I debated between giving this 3 or 4 stars but decided in the end to be generous. My reason for this indecision was that due to its short nature the declarations of love came a little too abruptly for me. The conflict was also surrounding whether Wick and Phillipa could be together due to their different statuses but when the book concluded this was apparently a forgotten problem.

Overall this is a fun, quick read with characters I’m glad got their happily ever after. It’s not the best I’ve ever read but it’s a good read to pass an hour or so.

Fool For Love by Eloisa James

Not particularly exciting
3 stars

Lady Henrietta Maclellan has always dreamt of having a London season and falling in love with and marrying the perfect man. However Henrietta cannot have children and so she contents herself with living in the country and resigns herself to a life of spinsterhood.

But then Simon Darby arrives in her sleepy little town and makes Henrietta long for stolen kisses, whispered words of longing and illicitly dangerous love notes. Soon the pair are inadvertently causing a scandal and although neither had planned it, each may be exactly what the other needs.


This had all the elements for the perfect story: an arrogant lord who is brought down by the love of a woman who is so far from what he expected yet perfect for him in every way. I so wanted to love this book but it really missed the mark for me.

I liked the premise of the story and at first I liked and was rooting for both Henrietta and Simon as they seemed to play off each other well. However it wasn’t long before my liking for both Simon and Henrietta took a turn for the worse. Simon was described as an elegantly perfect man who wore an astonishingly large amount of lace over his clothing including his red velvet suits. Despite the reason for the lace being explained away, the image of a man, any man, in a red velvet suit does not tend to make me giddy with lust! I could also understand Henrietta and was sympathetic to her plight however when she schemed to trap Simon into marriage simply to suit her selfish wants I really questioned her as leading lady material.

As well as the main story there was the story of Esme and her baby which, despite taking up a fair number of pages, was never resolved by the end of the book. There was also mutterings of Simon’s best friends Rees and his estranged wife and talk of a married Duchess who seemed to have been previously engaged to one of the other characters within the book. I now realise that this book is part of a series after Duchess in Love and before A Wild Pursuit and Your Wicked Ways although if I’m honest this book did little to make me want to read the rest.

Finally, the number of modern Americanisms in this book was truly appalling – babies 'spitting up' and people telling others to 'give over' were just two of the more memorable that had me shaking my head in annoyance. Then you have to add in the surprisingly frequent amount of spelling and grammar mistakes littered throughout the text as well as some baffling instances of repeated words.

I’ve read and very much enjoyed Eloisa James before but I would only recommend this book to avid fans or those reading The Duchess Quartet in order. It’s not truly terrible but it just didn’t grab or hold my attention to any degree. 3 stars.

A Kiss At Midnight by Eloisa James

A magical Cinderella retelling
5 stars

After the death of her father, Kate Daltry is forced into near servitude for her stepmother and stepsister. But when her stepsister suffers a mishap that mars her perfect looks, her stepmother forces Kate to attend a ball in Victoria’s place. There, Kate meets a prince although this one’s definitely not as charming as she would have expected.

Prince Gabriel is one step away from being betrothed to a pretty and lovely Russian princess. So why is he so desperate to spend time with impoverished Kate – a woman he could never marry? And what will happen when he has to choose between his honour and a woman that he realises he can’t live without?


This is the first in James’ Fairy Tales series before When Beauty Tamed the Beast and This Duke is Mine. There is an e-book (Storming the Castle) that follows on from this story however all the rest of the series stand alone and have no connection to each other except the fairy tale theme.

From the first I liked Kate and felt for her situation. It was especially well done that although the stepmother wasn’t particularly nice, she wasn’t a caricature and was believable in her meanness! Gabriel was a very enjoyable hero and I always like a pair that bicker but are strong enough to stand up for themselves with each other. Together Kate and Gabriel worked really well and I really enjoyed their scenes together and thought the pair had good chemistry.

The story itself ticked over nicely and I loved the supporting characters who were vibrant but never overshadowed or upstaged the main romance. I never had a problem with wanting to pick up this book and keep reading. If I had to make one criticism it would be that there were a few too many Americanisms for my liking. Having said that, at the end of the book the author’s note explains that this is set in Fairy Tale land rather than being an actual historical so I’m not sure whether that was a deliberate move.

Regardless, this was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I felt the magic and adored watching Kate and Gabriel on the path to their happily ever after. 5 stars.

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

Enchanting historical romance
5 stars

Linnet is known as the Season’s most beautiful woman. But that doesn’t help her when an ill-conceived gown and an overseen kiss brand her as a fallen woman. To protect her reputation she needs to find a husband and lay low in the country for a while.

Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant lives in a castle in Wales and has both a horrid temper as well as an injury that many say has left him immune to the charms of women. He doesn’t want to like Linnet but there’s something about her that appeals to him. But will he let her see the man beneath and let her love him?


From page one I was engrossed with this book. The characters jumped off the page and you couldn’t help but love them, root for them and want them desperately to find a way to be together. Linnet was a very beautiful woman and while she was aware of that fact and used it to her best advantage you never got the impression she was spoiled and I liked her from the get go. Piers too could quite easily have been a character that was hard to like with his temper and grumpy demeanor. Quite the opposite was true and I loved him. Together the pair had chemistry and spark as well as fabulous banter and enjoyable sparring dialogue.

The plot was fast pace and kept you turning the pages. This is the kind of novel that you can’t stop thinking about when you put it down and want to talk about with anyone that will listen. I was on the edge of my seat during the dramatic ending and I just adored the epilogue. If you’re looking for an enchanting historical romance that you can lose yourself in for an afternoon then I would highly recommend this novel to you. 5 stars.


*This is part of James’ Fairy Tale series. Each book is inspired by a classic fairy tale but do not have linked characters, situations or locations.*