The Reluctant Countess: A Would-Be Wallflowers Novel

Eloisa James

Nov 2022 · Would-Be Wallflowers Book 2 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James returns to the Would-Be Wallflowers series with an enemies-to-lovers romance between a proper earl and an entirely improper lady—whom he can’t stop thinking about.

Giles Renwick, Earl of Lilford, has never made a fool of himself over a woman—until he meets Lady Yasmin Régnier. Yasmin is ineligible for his attentions in every way: not as a wife, certainly not as a mistress (she is a lady!), nor even as a friend, since they vehemently dislike each other.  Her gowns are too low, and her skirts are dampened to cling to admittedly lovely thighs. She loves to gossip—and giggle. 

She isn’t dignified, or polite, or even truly British, given that her father’s French ancestry clearly predominated. Not to mention the fact that her mother had been one of Napoleon’s mistresses, a fact she makes no effort to hide.

So what—in heaven’s name—possesses him to propose?

And what will he do if she says yes?

Ratings and reviews

I could not stop smiling whenever the wallflower dress is described or mentioned. I had no clue why Yasmin would want to be a wallflower and the reason is infuriating, I could not read fast enough for the resolution. This book is heart-warming and well-paced with a good-for-you-girl vibe!!

Explosive, dynamic story! The story opens with the horrible treatment that Yasmin endured when she was far too young to know better. The events force her to grow up way too fast, so when the story starts nine years later, she's well-accustomed to the rumors and double standards of Society and has made her peace with her current role, finding some freedom in her own brand of self-expression. Giles is a man still reeling from the scandals of his parents, so he values virtue and conformity above all else. Which makes his unrelenting attraction to Yasmin very difficult. And he never lets her forget it. There's some serious tension in this story, as neither Yasmin nor Giles can ignore the other, yet neither one considers the other suitable for anything more than an occasional dance. It's not a real "hate/love" dynamic, except they each hate themselves for being attracted to the other. This book truly evoked strong emotions for me - I was angry with Giles when he was brutally honest with Yasmin, devastated for her when she realized just what everyone else really thought, heartbroken for them both when the necessary separation didn't go as planned. I loved the unexpected pacing in this story. Even after things seem to progress with their relationship, the most unexpected scenario completely derails their progress - for a time. Giles handles it far better than I would have given him credit for, and it even seems to surprise himself. The problem of his selfish sister continues to stand between them, but once that was overcome, I was ready to cheer this couple all the way to their HEA. I was happy to see that Lydia, for all her efforts, ends up in a stew of her own making. And the epilogue that demonstrated Yasmin's triumphs was very nicely done, indeed. This was a stand-out book for me simply because it didn't follow any predictable or formulaic path, instead giving us a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows with some scenes leaving everyone's hearts shredded on the floor. That the author was able to still believably lead us to a very satisfying HEA is a tribute to her skill with character development. It is like no other book I've ever read, and I can't wait to read more. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I thought this book was good, but it was not a personal favorite. Of course, the writing was good, and the story was entertaining. For me, the highlight of this book was Yasmin. She was an original and I really liked that. Plus, I could feel for her. As for Giles, well, I wasn't a huge fan. He had his moments, but I did not appreciate his wishy washy-ness and do not get me started on Lydia. This is my frank freely posted review.

About the author

Eloisa James is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling 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.