Seven Minutes in Heaven (Desperate Duchesses by the Numbers) Mass Market Paperback – January 31, 2017

"'This conversation has gone from improper to obscene,' she observed. He shook his head. 'Haven't you noticed, Eugenia, that almost all of our conversations start at improper?'"FINAL DECISION: Incredibly lovely story of two people quietly falling in love despite their best intentions. The story gently pulled these two characters together and I loved every moment of them falling in love with one another. As a fan of James's work, this book was immensely satisfying as it pulled so many other books together.THE STORY: Eugenia Snowe is a widow who owns a elite agency for governesses. She has shocked the aristocracy by taking on a profession but has managed to keep some standing with the ton. Edward "Ward" Reeve is the son of an earl and needs a new governess for his wards (his half-siblings) and comes to Eugenia's offices in order to get a replacement. Ward desperately needs a governess to help shape up his siblings in order to fight for guardianship of them. Although Ward is the son of an earl, he is illegitimate. He also doesn't realize that Eugenia is actually a "lady". Eugenia and Ward immediately are in a contentious relationship and yet the two are attracted to one another. When Ward ends up kidnapping Eugenia to help in his cause, the two begin an affair that neither intends to lead to anything more.OPINION: Some books are fun one time reads where the entirety of the book occurs on the surface of emotions, and some books urge you to sink deeply into the emotions of the characters, their lives and their romance. This book is the latter.Nothing in this book turns on quick resolutions, excessive drama or quick action. I loved how I got to know the strengths and weaknesses of these characters.Ward is a self-made man who has accomplished so much and yet has his own insecurities. A true gentleman, Ward is smart and talented, but entirely willing to give up his life for his half-siblings. Ward's life has changed dramatically after his engagement to Mia in FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKE. The events in that book left Ward more cynical, with phobias and PTSD from his imprisonment. He is also remarkably clueless about social conventions and doesn't realize that Eugenia is the daughter of a marquess. He is, however, determined to save his half-siblings from the tender mercies of his material grandmother. For that, Ward needs to turn two unschooled "small devils" into model children so that he can keep guardianship. I loved the balancing of Ward's human foibles in this book. He is imperfect and thus fascinating because of it. When he makes the "almost" unforgivable mistake with Eugenia, he takes well to the groveling required in those circumstances.Eugenia is a woman who controls her own destiny. She is strong and an entrepreneur long before women were accepted in such roles. A widow, she thankfully deeply loved her husband (which is a nice change from women who seem to only have terrible first marriages). True, she might look back on her marriage with too much nostalgia, but the death of her husband and the years, changed Eugenia and made her more independent and stubborn. After years of being alone, she is shocked out of her widowhood by Ward. Attracted to him physically, she considers the possibility of an affair. I liked that Eugenia is not afraid of her sexuality even as she initially wants to linger in her memories of her husband.For me, this book was a treat because it brought back two precocious children from James's Desperate Duchesses series. Bringing back children is often tricky because, of course, those with happy stories usually are not good subjects for books of their own. James has managed to provide the right amount of angst but focusing not only on their very early days of unhappiness, but also pivotal moments each experienced as adults which brought them moments of darkness. This makes the characters more interesting (because hey, who wants a story about well adjusted, perfectly happy and normal people without any flaws or painful pasts?).This book made me fall madly in love with it as each page turned. Ward and Eugenia are smart and banter with one another as adults. They are completely willing to enjoy a sexual affair, but can't help but become emotionally entangled with one another. I only took a small amount off my rating because I couldn't help but feel that Ward should have been smarter to realize he was being a jerk with regards to Eugenia and, if nothing else, should have realized her origins long before he did. But that is just quibbling. This book is a joy to read and what it made me want to do is start reading the prior series over again because there is so much good stuff in this one.WORTH MENTIONING: Fans of James's Desperate Duchesses series may remember both Ward and Eugenia as children who appeared in her Desperate Duchesses series (DESPERATE DUCHESS and DUCHESS BY NIGHT).CONNECTED BOOKS: SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN is the third book in the Desperate Duchesses by the Numbers series. (This series is a spin off of the Desperate Duchesses series). This book can be read as a standalone although there are overlapping characters that make the book better having read the other books in the series (actually both series).STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in order to provide a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

I always love Eloisa James writing, her story's just seem to flow, and I had been eagerly waiting for "Seven Minutes in Heaven" I'm glad to say I was not disappointed actually I was pleasantly surprised because I did not know that the main characters where the children in previous novels and I just love that !I will not say what the story is about because that has already been done in much better way that I would be able to do, I will tell you that I really liked both the hero Ward and the heroine EugeniaThey are both good strong individuals that had interesting childhoods to say the least but came out stronger because of them. It's not to say that it did not affect the way they react to different circumstances in life. In Ward it made him make a decision at the end that a lot of the reviewers were outraged with, I'm not saying that what he did was right but in his mind he was doing it for the right reasons, the well being of his brother and sister and yes because he is a man and he messed up. As Heroes go he met all the requirements in spades. Eugenia is wonderful she strong , loving and and resilient even though she put her personal life on hold for many years after the tragic death of her young husband she did not let that stop other aspects of her life and she was not afraid to think out of the box in a time where woman where supposed to fallow the rules. Ward and Eugenia make a wonderful couple and their story is worth reading I highly recommend it.

I love Ms. James' books---ALL OF THEM! This is no exception. The characters, plot, and way it moves just pulls you right into the plot. You open the book and are grabbed by this lady. Then enters Ward! He is born "on the wrong side of the blanket" and almost an inverse snob in that he wants his very young (sometimes old) sister and brother to be trained to be a perfect fit for English Society as he never believed he was!This plot plays out like beautiful music by Beethoven--it "flows" and there is no break in the involvement.The only problem I have with this book and most modern-written books is the wrong usage of bring & take, and there is just two mistakes that are made in this one. One scene where the children are to be at a family meal to learn proper manners--Eugenia tells them not to talk with their mouth full. Later after making Ward angry--he re-inserts the rules but says---"Don't bounce around and don't chew with you mouth full" I think that would have broken up the lesson for sure! Also the evil grandmother said, "IF I WAS" and it should have been "IF I WERE"! A woman of her class and up-bringing would never make that error! I also had format problems with this book and after 5 tries still had times when I'd "turn the page" and end up at the table of contents! Wonder if others had the same problem?This book is a wonderful re-visit with heroes of old and I loved seeing the heroes grown older and with family! Warning in that there is VERY explicit sex which you can skip over if you want to. It almost turned me off as I don't need to know all the details but this book is just so delicious and good that I couldn't put it down! I really wish I could read it again for the first time. Unlike the last three books (by other authors) the ending is Very satisfying . (Some novels lately end with, her saying yes I love you too and the novel is over!!??)

I love books which make me laugh. And laugh I did a lot.I also like to see other books heros and vilains.

Eloise is the Queen of historical romance. Her heroines are always delightful and this book is no different. One od the best books this year.

Eloisa James has yet to disappoint me. I've read almost everything she has. Just waiting eagerly for her next gem.

Okay read

I read so many novels that familiar tropes, particularly in romances, really grate on me. This is why I love Eloisa's books - they never quite go in the way you expect.Eugenia Snowe is a wealthy widow and the daughter of the Marquis of Broadham (hero of Duchess by Night). Devastated when her husband died, Eugenia has no intention of marrying again. To the horror of the ton, she has set up a very successful employment agency for governesses but still feels as though there is something missing in her life.Ward is a brilliantly clever inventor and the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gryffyn (hero of Desperate Duchesses). However, Ward's mother Lisette was a complete nightmare - neglectful and more than a little unhinged. Or as Eugenia's father says, 'The type who would keep drinking tea while faint screams came from the dungeon'. But it turns out Lisette had two more children before she died - legitimate ones - after scandalously running away with the under-age Viscount Darcy. Lisette has entrusted her young children into the care of Ward - but now his evil grandmother wants custody - and is prepared to fight him in Court to achieve it. Ward is in desperate need of an ultra-respectable governess to mould his eccentric siblings into perfect children and he's decided only the best will do - Eugenia herself.As with all Eloisa's books it is the sheer brilliance of her writing which keeps me entertained, along with the humour and, of course, her characters. Eugenia and Ward are attracted to each other right from the start, don't bother to hide it and soon embark on an affair - but nothing serious, obviously, because Eugenia was madly in love with her late husband, and Ward because he knows he has to marry an aristocrat if he is to keep custody of his half-siblings. It's a shame he's so wrapped up in himself he doesn't realise Eugenie neatly fulfils all his criteria (she actually tells him so at one point!) until it is far too late.As well as the banter between hero and heroine, I loved the characters of the children - Lizzie, who has taken to wearing a black veil at all times and quoting inappropriate lines from Shakespeare, and Otis, whose pet rat goes everywhere with him. I particularly loved the rat!I only had one niggle. As I read the story I kept thinking 'I'm sure this character is dead', to the point where I had to dig out the book they originally appeared in and - sure enough - the character was dead - I hadn't imagined it! I then spent the rest of the story worrying that perhaps Eloisa James had forgotten she'd previously killed the character off. However, the reason for their Lazarus-like reappearance is explained in the author's note at the end of the story - I just wish this note had appeared at the beginning!Recommended for all fans of historical romance and romantic comedy.