The Wildes of Lindow Castle series by Eloisa James…Review

Series Synopsis:

The Wildes of Lindow Castle follows the large, eccentric family of the Duke of Lindow, who live in a castle on the edge of a sprawling bog. You might think of the series as a cross between Modern Family and Downton Abbey. It’s set in the Georgian period, when people wore big wigs and bigger skirts. England at this time saw the first real true blossoming of celebrity culture, driven largely by the printing press. Etchings of the Wildes travel throughout England on tinkers’ carts, and are collected by everyone from dairymaids to duchesses.

My Review:

Eloisa James’s latest historical series, The Wildes of Lindow Castle, is absolutely her best work to date. It’s swept readers by storm and become a huge hit in its first three installments—Wilde in Love, Too Wilde to Wed, and Born to Be Wilde. Thankfully, the Wilde clan is a large one and, lucky for us, there are more and more stories to come!

Each novel so far is rich is historical detail, such as the adventurer hero Alaric in Wilde in Love, almost the modern-day equivalent of a comic book superhero; the very real repercussions of the effects of war on Too Wilde to Wed’s hero, North (maybe the hottest, most selfless one of all); and the all-too-sobering laudanam addiction of heroine Lavinia’s mother in Born to Be Wilde. There’s the mystery of a mad villain, a celebrity hero, a mixed-race hero, a bookish heroine, a runaway bride turned governness and an heiress turned empowered businesswoman, castles, and an actual deadly bog, whoa. Plus an offspring of siblings all named after ancient mythical and real heroes. There’s reunited lovers and enemies-to-lovers, and this series is sizzling hot, my favorite quality of an historical romance!

It’s impossible to pick a favorite, as each story is so uniquely and richly drawn, and Wilde in Love sets a brilliant stage with a beloved cast of characters. But both Too Wilde to Wed and Born to Be Wilde in particular find the series’ stride and are one wild ride from start to finish. In Too Wilde to Wed, when North’s heroine, Diana, virtually leaves him at the altar—and he later finds her in the role of governness at his family estate, with a young child in her care—he doesn’t really know what to think. What he does know is that for both of them, their reputations are in tatters, and it seems the only way to repair it—and what North has really wanted all along—is for them to wade the waters together, and he’s fiercely determined to win her back. Their story is emotional and heart-wrenching and comes full circle in the way a proper love story should.

When it comes to Lavinia and Parth in Born to Be Wilde, not only do they hate each other—with the antagonism building to a delicious fever pitch by their book—but thrown together relentlessly, Parth finds himself in the hilarious role of matchmaker when heiress Lavinia’s fortune is in pieces and time is running out to make an advantageous marriage, as one does, though his feelings are really more of the “if I can’t have her, no one can” variety. But it’s a not-so-slow descent into head-over-heels for them both, and fortunately, after all this time, neither of them are putting on too many airs.

A truly great historical, not to mention a whole series, is the best kind of find. And I will follow this one to the very end, which is hopefully many books away. With all the most loved tropes, perfect pairings, crazy family, and all of the exceptional details and real tragedies of life, The Wildes of Lindow Castle is at the top of the historical game.

Five Loves

Book Links:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N

About the author:

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa’s very first book that she “found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; later People Magazineraved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists. After being a finalist for a RITA—the top award in the genre of romance fiction awarded by the Romance Writers of America—over ten times, she won in 2013.

Fast Facts · Career Highlights · Recent Press · Downloadable Photos · Publicity & Other Contacts

After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Her “double life” is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she’s written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women’s magazines such as More to writers’ journals such as the Romance Writers’ Report.