Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    A Duke of Her Own
    Unavailable
    A Duke of Her Own
    Unavailable
    A Duke of Her Own
    Audiobook11 hours

    A Duke of Her Own

    Written by Eloisa James

    Narrated by Susan Duerden

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A duke must choose wisely . . .

    Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers, must wed quickly and nobly—and his choices, alas, are few. The Duke of Montague's daughter, Eleanor, is exquisitely beautiful and fiercely intelligent. Villiers betroths himself to her without further ado.

    After all, no other woman really qualifies. Lisette, the outspoken daughter of the Duke of Gilner, cares nothing for clothing or decorum. She's engaged to another man, and doesn't give a fig for status or title. Half the ton believes Lisette mad—and Villiers is inclined to agree.

    Torn between logic and passion, between intelligence and imagination, Villiers finds himself drawn to the very edge of impropriety. But it is not until he's in a duel to the death, fighting for the reputation of the woman he loves, that Villiers finally realizes that the greatest risk may not be in the dueling field . . .

    But in the bedroom. And the heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateDec 16, 2011
    ISBN9780062133007
    Unavailable
    A Duke of Her Own
    Author

    Eloisa James

    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.

    More audiobooks from Eloisa James

    Related to A Duke of Her Own

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The little NIGHTINGALE

      Dec 21, 2022

      The little NIGHTINGALE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Aug 18, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The heartbeat OF PARIS

      Apr 3, 2024

      The heartbeat OF PARIS
      9 min read

    • Article

      Driving her CRAZY

      Mar 7, 2023

      Driving her CRAZY
      13 min read

    • Article

      Just a Kiss

      Jun 4, 2020

      Just a Kiss
      6 min read

    • Article

      Every CLOUD

      Aug 31, 2022

      Every CLOUD
      6 min read

    • Article

      Fear Of Flying

      Feb 1, 2022

      Fear Of Flying
      10 min read

    • Article

      The perfect DRESS

      Sep 7, 2021

      The perfect DRESS
      6 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Sep 1, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Simpson Learns A Lesson

      Jul 29, 2021

      Mrs Simpson Learns A Lesson
      4 min read

    • Article

      Where Does This Live?

      Dec 6, 2022

      The Roseville Hotel had closed many years ago, and the rooms upstairs had been converted to apartments, but the bar on the ground floor was still called the Roseville Hotel, because everyone was used to the name. One Saturday in January, John James a

      22 min read

    • Article

      A Bluebeard of Wives

      Oct 3, 2019

      A Bluebeard of Wives
      6 min read

    • Article

      The BRACELET

      Jan 30, 2024

      The BRACELET
      6 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Sep 8, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The King’s passion

      Aug 11, 2021

      The King’s passion
      11 min read

    • Article

      Your Writing Critiqued

      Jul 1, 2021

      Your Writing Critiqued
      4 min read

    • Article

      The King’s passion

      Aug 11, 2021

      The King’s passion
      11 min read

    • Article

      Who dares WINS

      Mar 21, 2023

      Who dares WINS
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Glass Ceiling

      Aug 21, 2023

      ‘You’re late.” Evangeline glanced up from her workbench, neck already aching from the intricate creation before her: a hat decorated with no fewer than six hummingbirds, pinned to netting so fine it would look as though the creatures were, indeed, fl

      6 min read

    • Article

      Chuckles

      Nov 19, 2021

      Fancy yourself a joker? Email original jokes to chuckles@you.co.za or send them to Chuckles, YOU, PO Box 7167, Roggebaai 8012, and we may publish them on this page. A woman realises her elderly mother is no longer able to take care of herself so she

      4 min read

    • Article

      An Afternoon In Her Shoes

      Jul 26, 2022

      An Afternoon In Her Shoes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Just The Way YOU ARE

      Feb 7, 2023

      Just The Way YOU ARE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Lost Jewels

      Nov 28, 2018

      The Lost Jewels
      19 min read

    • Article

      The Way Things TURN OUT

      Jun 3, 2020

      The Way Things TURN OUT
      7 min read

    Reviews for A Duke of Her Own

    4.5/5

    51 ratings20 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      This was unlike other historical romances I've read in that the hero was not an obvious choice (he had six bastard children). I flip-flopped between wanting her to go after Gideon to wanting her to be with Leo. I think the author did a good job of finally steering the story away from Gideon toward Leo, but the way it was up in the air for so long was unusual.
    • 5/5
      Things have gotten very interesting in Regency romance land. Things that used to be suggested are now out in plain sight, and I think that is a good thing. It gives a more layered look at the time period, a grittier taste of what life could be like in a time where everybody had a place and kept to it, and manners and appearances are more important than anything else. Both Dukes and both daughters of dukes in this novel are very well drawn, full bodied and flawed. This is a very tasty addition to the genre.
    • 2/5
      This book should have never happened.

      After reading some 350 odd pages of this book, I must come to that conclusion.

      The Villiers I recall from previous James books would never be so moronic. The Villiers I recall is intelligent, crafty, witty and an utter snob. The Villiers I recall is incisively perceptive and strategic, enough to be one of the premier chess players in the country.

      Having said that, it is a virtual impossibility that Villiers would be even temporarily fooled into thinking that Lissette was anything more than an off the rocker, spoiled brat. The fact that he would even consider her made me utterly confused. It was so clear that she was absolutely ridiculous to everyone. And it didn't make sense to me that Villiers was so set on marrying her when it became clearer and clearer that she was an absolute horror.

      I just didn't get it.
    • 3/5
      This is the third book in this series that I've read, and I've enjoyed them all. This would be my favourite, as it's always good to see the rogue of another story (or two) finally fall in love. Very satisfying.
    • 3/5
      While most of it was quite engaging, there were times when it just seemed a bit forced. Overall I did find it enjoyable and the two main characters were mostly entertaining, though I didn't really have a solid engagement with them or with what they looked like.

      Leopold Dautry, Duke of Villiers is determined to find a wife who can cope with his string of by-blows. When he first meets Eleanor, the Duke of Montague's daughter, he proposes to her, and then finds that he's also attracted to the eccentric Lisette, daughter of the Duke of Gilner, who seems to also be perfect for his purposes. Can he find a woman who can cope with his children and satisfy him?

      It's pretty predictable but it's interesting, nothing too deep but it kept me reading.
    • 5/5
      I should have known that the best story in this series would come at the end of it. This story has everything I love in romance, from an awesome hero to a wonderful heroine, a host of great characters, plenty of humor and a romance filled with sensuality to curl your toes. But what made this story so god to me, were two things, Villiers's six children and a dialogue between every character that is written to perfection.

      If you love solid, well written and fast paced stories that will engage all your senses, than look no further, but I warn you. In order for you to get the scope of the character of our duke, you'll have to start from book one and follow through to the end, as the duke is one of the most common denominators throughout the series. I found the series well written and some of the stories I liked more than the others, but one character stands out more than any other and that's Villiers.

      There was a little grievance I had almost at the end, but that in no way has diminished the joy I had in reading it.

      My advice to you is not to read this series out-of-order. I started with the book one, Desperate Duchesses (Desperate Duchesses, #1), then I skipped to Duchess By Night (Desperate Duchesses, #3), followed by this one, A Duke of Her Own (Desperate Duchesses, #6) and finishing the series with, This Duchess of Mine (Desperate Duchesses, #5) . I still have to read An Affair Before Christmas (Desperate Duchesses #2) and When the Duke Returns (Desperate Duchesses #4). Which I'll probably do next week. If you have the time and money, this series is worth it.

      The full series reading order is as follows:

      Book 1: Desperate Duchesses
      Book 2: An Affair Before Christmas
      Book 3: Duchess By Night
      Book 4: When the Duke Returns
      Book 5: This Duchess of Mine
      Book 6: A Duke of Her Own

      Melanie for b2b
    • 4/5
      The only reason I give this book 4 stars and not 5 is because the beginning was just so horribly boring. I picked it up and as I started reading, but I just couldn't get into it after 10 or so pages, so I started more or less just skimming pages to see if I even wanted to keep going. Then, somewhere around page 50 a passage caught my eye and from that moment I literally could not put the book down. The only problem was that I had started reading it at just after midnight and by was 4am by the time I was done. That being said, it was one of the best romances I've ever read.Neither the hero or heroine were over the top, but they had a real quality about them that you could easily identify with. With all the characters actually, even the more minor ones. I also found the plot to be refreshing and different than what I've read before. This is one of those books where everybody had their own issues and they all happened to be in the same place at the same time, but nothing that happened seemed out of place either. There were no easy conveniences for the sake of getting to the end, it all played out and felt like you were really there watching everything unfold.This is my first book by Eloisa James, and I am not disappointed, I will definitely read some more of her work.
    • 3/5
      This book was absolutely silly. The minor characters tended even more towards caricature than they do in the average historical romance, but I didn't really mind as I was reading it. The pacing of this book was quick and light, good entertainment with no other literary merit.
    • 1/5
      I really wanted to like this novel, but Elanor just wasn't that compelling of heroine. I kept wishing I was going to read from another woman's POV. It got to a point that I skipped ahead to see where the novel was going then I stopped altogether. =0/
    • 4/5
      I loved the Duke of Villiers and admired his commitment to finally become a father to his six illegitimate children and enjoyed the strong, sensible Eleanor, who's still carrying a flame for her first love who dumped her for another woman.
    • 4/5
      There was only one thing that bothered me a bit about this book. SPOILER ALERT!!The premise that the Duke initially chose Lissette over Eleanor was the the former really didn't care about his childrens' parentage and would thus be a good mother to them. At no stage did Eleanor comment that she had an issue with the children - she clearly didn't. Lisette's character was much too immature to deal with society as the mother of six illegitimate children, whereas Eleanor clearly was not. This irked me a bit since James' novels (from the two I've read, which isn't many, I grant you) seem to have strong, sensible characters, both men and women. Still, a really enjoyable read!
    • 5/5
      This was so good I couldn't put it down. I was perfect.
    • 4/5
      In the last of the series is really about a desperate Duke. The Duke of Villiers has started investigating the whereabouts of his illegitimate children and bringing them to live with him on his estate, he quickly realises he needs a wife who will accept and mother his children and bring them into society and only the daughter of a duke will do. There are two possible candidates, Eleanor, who's already proclaimed that she will only marry a duke and Lisette, who's rumoured to be mad. I was annoyed by Villier's prevarication and Lisette as a character is just downright annoying, but this was a satisfying ending to the series/
    • 4/5
      I thought this one got more enjoyable the further it went along, by the end I was smiling to myself every other page or so. =) The main characters grew as people, their feelings developed nicely, the characters who gave them trials were dimensional rather than mere cackling villains. I quite liked her relationship with her sister. It was a sweet story.
    • 5/5
      I have been wanting to read this one for a while and it did not disappoint. I love this man and his honest humanity. He really shines in the story and we all love a strong woman finding her way back to herself.
    • 5/5
      Oh dear. I thought I had read all of Eloisa James novels. This was a delicious read. I so loved Anne. She was so blunt and witty. This book got silly in some parts but that just made it witty. A must read for all who love Dukes and the women they choose as their Duchess. I think I will re-read some of her other books. This was so much fun
    • 5/5
      Leopold Dautry, the duke of Villiers, has a serious problem. He’s just realized that his six bastard children are not in the reliable schools that he thought, but rather shoved off into the cheapest places possible so that his soliciter can keep all his money. While he sets about finding his children, he knows that he needs a noble wife to help him introduce them into society and keep them in his house. He needs the daughter of a duke, which leaves him two choices, Eleanor, the daughter of the duke of Montague, and Lisette, the daughter of the duke of Gilner. Eleanor is beautiful and makes him laugh, but Lisette, while considered mad, cares nothing for society’s dictates and adores children. Villiers must make a difficult choice between them in order to find the woman who will not only be the mother of his children but the companion of his dreams.This is the sixth entry in Eloisa James’s Desperate Duchesses series, and while knowledge of what’s gone before would help, I think this one actually does a great job standing on its own. This is because it’s focused directly on the couple at hand and their relationship is all new. While Villers’ character has been brilliantly developed over the course of these six novels, this one builds enough on that to make it stand alone, particularly when he finally falls in love. And it’s all done in Eloisa James’s witty, clear prose, which immediately draws me in and won’t let me stop reading.I hestitate to spoil exactly which woman Villiers falls in love with, although it is somewhat obvious from page one. If you’d like to read this without any indication of what’s going to happen, please stop reading now! The back cover is right in that he chooses between logic and passion. He believes for a while that Lisette would be a perfect choice for his children. She likes to play with them and she ignores society completely; but what he doesn’t see (and what is fairly obvious to the reader) is that she is like a child herself and as such would be completely incapable of caring for them. I’m not sure what’s meant to be wrong with her, but it certainly doesn’t make her an appropriate mother and wife.Eleanor, on the other hand, is an amazing heroine. Having set her heart aside for her childhood love, who also happens to be a duke, Eleanor declared long ago that only a duke would do. If her love was forced to marry someone else, she would remain true to him. After a number of years, however, Eleanor is lonely, and wishes she hadn’t issued that silly statement. At this point, a duke appears on the horizon, searching for a wife, and almost immediately Villiers and Eleanor strike a deal. Watching them become friends after that and then fall in love is a beautiful thing. It’s made even more so by the fact that Eleanor believes – and at times I believed even though I knew this had to have a HEA – that he is going to choose Lisette. They can’t help loving each other because they genuinely like each other, and in my opinion the fact that they have both this and the chemistry going on is a wonderful achievement.This book was for me the capstone on a series that has turned out to be wonderful. At first consumed with too many secondary characters, by the fourth book they begin to come into their own and steal the show. Over the series, I have grown to love Villiers most of all, and this is the perfect ending for him. I can’t recommend A Duke of Her Own enough. I kind of wish I could read it for the first time all over again.
    • 4/5
      I had not read any of Eloisa James' books prior to reading her newest Duchess book, "A Duke of Her Own", this past week. If this book is an indication of James' other books - particularly her Duchess series - then I deserve a kick for not picking up her books before this. In "A Duke of Her Own", Leopold Dautry, the Duke of Villiers, needs to marry - and marry nobly. Since his options only include daughters of dukes, he's limited in his choices - Eleanor, the beautiful and intelligent daughter of the Duke of Montague, or Lisette, the beautiful and free spirited daughter of the Duke of Gilner? From what I gather reading this book and excerpts from previous Duchess books, Villiers is a notorious scoundrel who appears in each of the previous Duchess books. I hope all of the heroes in the other Duchess books are as delicious as Villiers. I can't wait to scoop up the rest of this series.
    • 3/5
      This was a cute book. I have some issues with Eloisa James, and her insistence on going on tangents, but I really like Villiers, and am glad to see him matched up with a cool girl. :)
    • 3/5
      This was a cute book. I have some issues with Eloisa James, and her insistence on going on tangents, but I really like Villiers, and am glad to see him matched up with a cool girl. :)