THE UGLY DUCHESS is the name society pins on Theodora Saxby. When she was just a child, Theo's father died, and his best friend, the Duke of Ashbrook took in Theo and her mother. He also took over managing their money -- or rather, spending it. Now that Theo is of marrying age, the duke has to act fast to keep her from finding out he's lost her dowry. His solution: his son and heir, James Ryburn must marry the girl.

James was brought up to think of Theo as his sister, so when his father suggests that he marry her, James is outraged. He'd be betraying his best friend, lying to her, cheating her. Once the idea is put into his mind, though, he begins to see the beautiful, desirable woman that she has become. Though he's torn, he doesn't see any way around it, so he proposes, and the first few hours of their married life is pure bliss.

Then the unthinkable happens, setting off a chain of events that ends with Theo throwing James out of his ancestral home. They spend the next seven years following separate dreams and nursing broken hearts. When a brush with death brings James home, they have to decide whether they've healed enough to try again or if they've grown too far apart to ever be happy together.

I loved THE UGLY DUCHESS, but then I love everything Eloisa James writes. Her characters are always so vivid and alive. When the story begins, James and Theo are teenagers. They're energetic and passionate, with strong feelings about everything. Theo knows she looks terrible in the overly-ruffled gowns her mother insists on. James is determined not to give in to the violent temper he inherited from his father. They both want only to please each other.

Then comes the separation. It would be easy to do a "flash forward" but Eloisa lets us see the important moments of those seven years, the life-changing events that help the young couple develop into adulthood, always moving the story along. Once James and Theo are together again, we see their struggle to maintain their independence, to not give in to the passions that tore them apart in their youth, and to see themselves beyond what they can view in a mirror.

Fans of Regency romance will have a wonderful time watching this pair transform from awkward youth into elegant, confident maturity. Stick around afterwards for the delightful bonus short story, "Ever After."

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