the ask@AAR: What do we think about Eloisa James?

Next month, Eloisa James will publish The Reluctant Countess, the second in her Would Be Wallflowers historical romance series. James has published over 40 books and we’ve reviewed her 38 times. She’s gotten five DIKs, most recently with My Last Duchess, 24 Bs, six Cs, and 3 Ds. Her 2011 When Beauty Tamed the Beast–an historical romance with a House based hero–is on the current AAR Top 100 Romances list. James is, along with Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn, one of the most successful and well-known writers of traditional historical romance.

I’ve read our upcoming review of The Reluctant Countess–we liked it! Our reviewer calls it charming with electric chemistry between the leads. I’m planning to read it soon.

When James is good, she’s very very good. I love several of her works including Three Weeks with Lady X–Caz gave it a DIK–This Duchess of Mine, and (unlike our reviewer) A Duke of Her Own. James, a tenured Shakespeare professor, loves to play with language and she mines human behavior in rewarding and often unexpected ways. When her books don’t work for me, it’s because the plots are too outlandish, the characters too much, or the story too trite.

What do you think about James? Do you plan to read The Reluctant Countess? If you love her, why and what’s your favorite work of hers? If she’s not for you, why not?