Review: Born to be Wilde (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #3) by Eloisa James
10:00
Series: The Wildes of Lindow Castle #3
Author: Eloisa James
Published July 24th 2018 by Piatkus Books
Goodreads Synopsis
The richest bachelor in England plays matchmaker…for an heiress he wants for himself!
For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there's only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him.
Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he's chosen a far more suitable bride.
But when he learns of Lavinia's desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even better, he'll find her a prince.
As usual, there's no problem Parth can't fix. But the more time he spends with the beguiling Lavinia, the more he finds himself wondering…
Why does the woman who's completely wrong feel so right in his arms?
Goodreads
Review
In Born to be Wilde, the inevitable showdown between Parth Sterling and Lavinia Gray plays out on the page. Since the moment they met a few years ago at Diana and North's engagement party, they've been at loggerheads, with Parth seeming to be the only person who doesn't fawn over the beautiful and witty Lavinia. But now that Lavinia has discovered her mother has been stealing from her dowry, from her friends and family, to fund her devastating laudanum habit, she needs to marry well, and quickly. Girding her loins, she proposes to Parth, who immediately shuts her down, but learning some of her problems, he promises to help find her a husband, which might just be his own downfall. Being one of the richest bachelor's in Britain, Parth knows he's a catch, especially with his close ties to the Wilde family, but he never really considered settling down, until he met the handsome, and widowed, Italian contessa. Now he sees Elise, he can't help be drawn to Lavinia, and wanted to help and protect her whenever he can - and realises when he might be too late that he loves her, and that's why she exasperates him so much. Will they both be able to overcome their past history, and be together, or will the truth about Lady Gray be a wedge between them?
I think this one might be my favourite that I've read so far, though I still have Betsy's book to read. Lavinia and Parth were fantastic in every little scene we've seen them in through Wilde in Love and Too Wilde to Wed, and being in their minds for their own book was even better! Lavinia might have seemed to be a vapid heiress, who cared only about buying the most elaborate outfits she could, and not caring about anything else, but that was not the true Lavinia. She adores clothes, that's true, but uses her knowledge and love to help regain her own fortunes through making expert deals with mercers and modistes while curating Diana's trousseau, and other outfits for the extended Wilde family. She wants to repay everything her mother stole, and regain her own dowry, before she marries, especially when she knows it is Parth she wants, and she doesn't want him to think she's just in it for his vast wealth. I adored this part of the story, and seeing Lavinia's agency, and her love and care for those around her, even servants, was a joy. Parth is the stereotypical brooding hero, who is a bit heavy handed at times, especially as Lavinia is recovering from a flu which knocked her for six, and wanted to protect her from anyone and anything - even if that means keeping himself aloof. They were simply made for each other, and even with the angst that is thrown in at the eleventh hour, and the wonderful reconciliation - including a gunfight and carriage chase - just cemented my love for Eloisa's books!
Dates Read:
October 15-16, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
0 comments