This book is separated in 2 parts. The first part builds the story of youth and love. The second part shows how the love ages and changes over time. Harping family, loving family, pirates, and love- what more can a hopeless romantic ask for? What I especially loved about this book is the ending came to a conclusion I didn't roll my eyes at or cringe at. Some times these types of stories have endings that are too cheesy for me. Not the case here, and I loved the story the more for it!

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This is another great Eloisa James gem. This is part of her fairy tale series, where she takes classic fairy tails, and retells them in Recency Romance. This one, as suggested by the title, was for the Ugly Duckling.

Theodora, or Theo to most everyone, and Daisy, to her closest companion James, recently debuted in the ton. She is not the most beautiful of girls, though neither her mother nor James seems to notice. She is doing what every young debutante in the ton is supposed to be: looking for a husband.

James Ryburn recently learned that his father not only overspent their entire fortune and estate, but also embezzled much of Theo's dowry. James' father's solution? James must marry Theo.

When Theo and James get married, the ton is scandalized. When they separate, they're even more so. Will James and Theo realize what they had before it's too late? And will the ton ever realize that Theo is so much more than The Ugly Duchess?

This book was not quite as great as the other two I've read in this series, and the reason I say that, is that the book is divided into two parts. Part one is leading up to the separation, and part two is after. I kept waiting in part one for the separation to happen so that we could really get into the romance.

Part two was amazing. I love a good woman scorned story, and I also love the man trying to win her back. This had both of those things. I just wished we had less of part one, and more of part two. In the end, this was a great read, and any Eloisa James fans need to pick this up. Anyone not an Eloisa James fan would still enjoy a great whimsical historical romance.

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I really enjoyed this books! Theo/Daisy was such a fun character, loved to watch her grow into a woman. James/Jack watching him grow into a man was sweet & no matter how hard he tried to forget his Daisy it wasn't happening. Really happy that the ending wasn't the same old "Happy Ever After" it told of their marriage as one we all can relate to - happiness, fights, children & compromise...

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I was slightly disappointed in this story. There was not enough character development between the two main characters. The story moved to fast then got boringly slow. Then ended on a way too happy note when I felt there was no connection. Not my cup of tea however my family loved the story.
Arm

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Very romantic tale, especially the latter part after their reunion. But I don't like reading about a hero's infidelity (even more so when SHE remains celibate) and long-term separations in my romances; they quickly become frustrating. At the beginning, James and Theo were so young, so I get that the separation allowed them to mature. Yet despite those elements, I loved their relationship. Still worth the read at 3.5 stars.

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