silly, but masterfully crafted, I really enjoyed it. And as an amateur at chess, I quite like it when it is incorporated so skillfully in a novel plot, well done!

This was like Melrose Place in regency London, it was great. There is a wonderful cast of characters, and the complications of their relationships kept me entertained for the entire book. I can't wait to move on to book 2!

I think I would have enjoyed this more if set in a different era. There is nothing sexy about a man in a powdered wig. I like the witty banter, but find the characters and relationships so emotionally shallow that I lost interest about halfway through. Stuck with it, but I thought the audiobook would never end. Probably won't try this author again. Fairly spicy. Not recommended.

This one was cute.
I am interested in hearing more about Jemma and her husband. This was their story as much as it was Damon and Robertas, so I was surprised that I ended so open as it did. Teddy was cute. But overall I feel like the love between Roberta and Damon was just So So.

The most interesting part of this book was the narration and POV. I found that to be very unique.
You don’t get a ton of historicals that jump around like this one did. I thought it added a layer of depth to the story and made the villains, ultimately more human. Humanizing everyone made the book more conflicting. You didn’t know who really to root for.

This was so much fun!!!

Fun storyline, great characters (although Roberta can be kind of dumb), witty dialogue and lots of laughter!! I enjoyed it so much!!

I especially loved Teddy SO MUCH! He was adorable!

The only reason I am not giving this 5 stars is because I wish the author did not focus so much on Jemma and Beaumont. I mean, their time will come. Let Damon and Roberta shine for now.

You know what's more boring than watching other people play chess? Reading about people watching other people play chess.

Seriously, was there a romance in here? Because I missed it. The book mostly went for me.

Blah, blah, Chess
Blah, blah, French word I don't know
Blah, blah, Chess
Blah, blah, Mad Marquee
Blah, blah, Chess
Blah, blah, Judith reference

Honestly, I finished the darn thing, and I still don't understand who the MCs were supposed to be. There was no chemistry between any of the characters in the story. I guess Roberta is the lead, but most of the time, she was boring or insulting. No redeeming qualities whatsoever. And for some reason Damon is in love with her. It's never really clear why, but he says he loves her, and he follows her around everywhere. But, like, does he not notice that she's super rude to his son? And they never talk unless they're trying to have (boring) sex. It's totally weird.

Jemma is by far the star of the book, but she's not the lead? But the book's mostly about her? I still don't know what the point was of focusing so much on so many different characters.

Really, this book is just a mess. It's impossible to get invested in any of the characters. You're never sure who you're supposed to like or who the focus of the story is. The characters' personalities change indiscriminately - for example, Damon is a bumbling playboy at the start, and then he becomes a secret master chess player and swordsman; Roberta comes off as rude and ungrateful in the beginning, then she's a super worldly woman, then she's a besotted innocent. It's maddening. I honestly can't believe I finished this.

This whole thing was just a mess.

I'm not normally a fan of straight romance, so this book pleasantly surprised me. The story overall is nothing special, but I absolutely love Eloisa James' writing style.

The dialogue has a comedic aspect that is reminiscent of Oscar Whilde and Shakespeare's comedies (not surprising since James is a professor of Shakespeare) that makes it great fun to read. It's witty and intelligent and just plain awesome.

I liked that instead of focusing on just one relationship, there are hints at others throughout the book that leave cliffhangers for further books in the series. Definitely going to look into some of them - though I may pick and choose based on characters.

How to turn chess into … romance? If you’re obsessed with chess and want to see a bunch of characters treated like pawns, then I guess this one is for you.