Two Vows and a Viscount

The Seduction #2

by Eloisa James

Ella works as an unpaid housekeeper to her usurping uncle…until she meets her cousin’s fiancé, Lord Peregrine. A charming, witty version of Cinderella from bestselling author Eloisa James

Miss Ella St. Trevelyon lives in the attic of her former home, her only companions a pet squirrel and a three-legged cat. Then one night she accompanies her cousin Fulvia to the theatre, where she meets a man of princelike wealth, with forceful features and insolent manners.

Unfortunately, Lord Peregrine is engaged to marry Fulvia.

Fiennes Peregrine is not a man who would ever chase after a woman waving a shoe. But he is a man used to getting what he wants.

And he wants Ella.<

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Novella, Regency, Fiction

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 19, 2023

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 Magazine raved 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 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. Currently she is an associate professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University in New York City. 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.

Eloisa...on her double life:

When I'm not writing novels, I'm a Shakespeare professor. It's rather like having two lives. The other day I bought a delicious pink suit to tape a television segment on romance; I'll never wear that suit to teach in, nor even to give a paper at the Shakespeare Association of America conference. It's like being Superman, with power suits for both lives. Yet the literature professor in me certainly plays into my romances. The Taming of the Duke (April 2006) has obvious Shakespearean resonances, as do many of my novels. I often weave early modern poetry into my work; the same novel might contain bits of Catullus, Shakespeare and anonymous bawdy ballads from the 16th century.

When I rip off my power suit, whether it's academic or romantic, underneath is the rather tired, chocolate-stained sweatshirt of a mom. Just as I use Shakespeare in my romances, I almost always employ my experiences as a mother. When I wrote about a miscarriage in Midnight Pleasures, I used my own fears of premature birth; when the little girl in Fool For Love threw up and threw up, I described my own daughter, who had that unsavory habit for well over her first year of life.

So I'm a writer, a professor, a mother - and a wife. My husband Alessandro is Italian, born in Florence. We spend the lazy summer months with his mother and sister in Italy. It always strikes me as a huge irony that as a romance writer I find myself married to a knight, a cavaliere, as you say in Italian.

One more thing...I'm a friend. I have girlfriends who are writers and girlfriends who are Shakespeare professors. And I have girlfriends who are romance readers. In fact, we have something of a community going on my website. Please stop by and join the conversation on my readers' pages.

Reviews

[georgie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um, who kidnapped Eloisa James? This is not her writing lol

[Grisette · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars

This is my second fully read EJ book after Not That Duke, and I now have reconfirmation that I do not care much for the writing style (good, but weird to read for me, with at times puzzling conversations happening - it gets better in the second half), but there is an enticing essence to the plot that I enjoyed.

The story started as a retelling of Cinderella, but EJ adroitly gave it a life of its own. It was meant to be a rom-com of sorts, and I was amused many times. The evil uncle was totally unpalatable and cartoonish (on purpose). The karma that hit him was funny but after all the abuse and outrage he caused, I still wanted more pain and blood from him.

Unfortunately, the added levity also meant less 'deeper emotionality' to Ella and Fiennes' romance. They still made for a cute pairing with believable chemistry (in the light fairytale style). I positively adored their pets and I loved the ending with baby Lottie and the epistolary chapter.


P.S. I still don't get the book title. The two vows would be Fiennes' dilemma between two betrothed? And the viscount is the evil uncle? Why include him in the title then??

[HR-ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regency. Finished this 12/31/24. This had sex scenes
past the 80% mark. Gave this 3 stars.

Lord Fiennes Peragine (a baron) & Fenella, "Ella"
whose late sire was a viscount, were the MCs. Ella
moved in with her aunt, uncle + cousin, beautiful
Fulvia, upon the death of her parents 6 years ago.
Ella, now age 20, served as the unpaid housekeeper
of this household. She also kept the family budget,
difficult when uncle was prone to gambling &
finding silly things to bet on. Lord Fiennes was prev-
iously engaged to Lady Regina- long story.

Uncle was hypercritical of his family & blamed any-
thing that went wrong on Ella. He verbally abused
his spouse, daughter & Ella & expected them to be
perfect. His wife described him as "mean as an earth-
worm." He was the most unhappy, most vengeance-
seeking character in a novel I've read since "The Count
of Monte Cristo," yrs ago. Lady Regina was snarky and
rude. Did she have any redeeming qualities? None were
apparent. These 2 adversely effected the tone of the
story.

Honestly I liked the MCs more than the actual story.
She was depicted as smart, resourceful, kind and
sometimes feisty. And he-masculine, protective and
amazed he fell in love.

[Lita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story and a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I especially loved Ella and Fulvia's characters. What awesome women! I wasn't surprised by the first wedding - I kind of saw that one coming earlier in the book. Still, the way it happened was enjoyable. I loved all the letters at the end - it was a very nice touch.

[Quenby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed today, a fun escape! Very loosely based on Cinderella, Fenella (aka Ella) is the niece of a truly awful Viscount, her uncle, who inherited her father’s estate after the deaths of his wife and himself in an accident. But yes, Ella does live in the attic with a squirrel and a three legged cat. Ella is a very good, though unpaid, housekeeper.

Ella is very fond of her bullied aunt and beautiful, irrepressible younger cousin Fulvia. Naturally, the evil Viscount is out with the Prince Regent gambling away all the money. All bills are unpaid as the Viscount believes it an honor for tradesmen to receive his orders.

Then we are introduced to Lord Peregrine who initially appears to be just another bored, but rich aristocrat. He has apparently agreed to wed Fulvia and will sign the agreements after he meets her. Not encouraging, but it’s all about the money.

The rest of the story revolves around how the enterprising Ella will pull off a ball with no money. Drama and mischief lead to HEA’s for everyone except the Viscount.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

A bit of a dissapointment 🙄

It started out so promising but then the almost insta love kind of ruined it for me (that too which seemed so superificial as hero apparently fell in love with the heroine just seeing her in a revesling dress ??).
There was no relationship development, hero just seemed to fall deeply in love and was ready to do whatever for the heroine and vice versa.

After that all the romantic scenes felt cringy and forced and I jist couldn't feel any chemistry between characters.

I am surprised this book came from Eloisa James as she generally writes much deeper and multi dimensional stories and characters 😕

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiennes, Lord Peregrine, keeps getting engaged. Thrown over by one young lady, he's on the verge of proposing again, until he meets the young lady's cousin. Too honorable for his own good, he's a gentleman, a knight in shining armor, but he finds himself in a bind. Ella is her uncle's housekeeper. Left an orphan, she had no where else to go. Verbally and physically abused by her uncle, Ella's only refuge is her attic bedroom. There she has her friends, a squirrel and a three legged cat. Fiennes has a decision to make. Happiness with the woman he loves, or a life of misery. If you can get past Fiennes constantly changing his mind, you can enjoy the story. Mild descriptive sex.

[Simo · Rating 1 out of 5]

And I thought the first book was bad! This one is an outright farce! I just can't believe EJ wrote this pile of ...

[Lisa Pineo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book in the 'Seduction' series was just as fun as the first, but 100 pages longer. I loved seeing the characters from the first book back in this one, with the addition of Ella. While I guessed all the plot twists it was still an engaging read and satisfying to find out I was right (lol). Ella's family was pretty horrible, Regina was still a bitch, Fiennes was just arrogant enough, and Ella was lovely. I found this love story easier to believe than the first book as there was more time to flesh it out. 4.5 stars rounded down since I figured out all the surprises ahead of time.

[Akshara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful little bon bon of a novella where every possible bad thing happens to our heroine and of course eventually our hero rescues her in every way.

[Kayla's Coffee Plot · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

[Simo · Rating 1 out of 5]

What is it with the A. that I keep reading her books after I gave so many two stars ratings to the ones I read?! I hated this one so much that I put E.J. in my banned author shelf, but then I just marked her new book as WTR? What's wrong with me?!

[Iseut · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another novella by Eloisa James in which the focus is on the female body. The two main characters (and others) speak openly about figures and breasts, repeatedly. The heroine's breasts are compared to her cousin's, who is temporarily Lord Peregrine's fiancée. Lord P also compares his former fiancée's breasts to a gravestone. And of course, the heroine's breasts are compared with those of Beatrice, the heroine in the first novella of the series. I know that physical descriptions are important, but can a heroine have more going on for her than just her figure and the kindness of her heart?!

[Camila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favourite.
I'm a bit confused about this one. Was Lord Peregrine a Viscount or a Baron? And was Lady St (something) a Viscountess or a countess?
She needs someone to look at these books before puting them out.
Also, this story line was "He saw her with a dress and fell in love?" I Know this is kinda simmilar to Cinderella but there's no character development here. This is just a no for me.

[R. Beach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent short historical. Enjoyed the actual story. The epilogue was much too involved bout way too many characters. Ella and Fiennes, a decent take on Cinderella.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prior to reading this story, I'd DNF-ed the first novella in this series a couple of days ago and while it had potential, however when that side character, Regina-what's-her-face, appeared and said all of those terrible things to its leading FMC and no one seemed to bat an eyelid over it, I just couldn't stand for all the bullying and body-shaming themes anymore that came with that particular character so I gave up on that story entirely as I would've much preferred the author to have focused on more uplifting things instead of making the FMC feel even more shitty about herself — perhaps focusing on the ACTUAL main character’s romantic relationship which I thought was the whole point of the story. But I'd still decided to continue on with the series in hopes it would get better as I was in the mood for historical romance stories, though unfortunately for me that Regina character appeared YET AGAIN in this second instalment. Ugh. *face palm* I can’t seem to escape from this girl!!! Like what’s the point???? Give me someone new!!!! It’s getting old here.

However despite that, I thought this story did end up being a slight improvement to the first novella, however I will say that the beginning of this one was better than the chapters leading up to the ending which weren't doing the story any favours in my opinion. It just felt like the story was done already, but the author had kept on writing for the sake it. To make up a word count or something like that . . . who really knows??? Not to mention that my enjoyment went down immediately when I'd reached a certain point in the story that I didn't like at all and where it made me not like the MMC all that much (because of a sudden decision he makes) despite initially really liking him. I just found the whole situation that the MMC decided to put himself and the FMC in a tad bit silly, but for the drama sake of it I'd understood why the author had written it in this way. Though I still didn't like it. And while the MMC does somewhat make up for his mistakes, however I still couldn't get past him being an idiot for doing what he did and he was the one who got himself in this mess in the first place and no one else. So . . . 🤷‍♀️ And don't get me started on the FMC's cousin and her Aunt and Uncle because I would have said 'adios' to them a long time ago. They were so insufferable those characters. It was like a tele-nova.

ANYWAY, this novella was mostly . . . okay, but I couldn’t ignore the many problems that I had with it and that's one of the main reasons why I rated it down as low as I did. And when I started the third novella in this series almost immediately after reading this one, unfortunately I had to DNF that one as well like I did with the first novella (I mean c’mon Regina appeared in it YET AGAIN and I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF HER!!!) and I don't know . . . I just don't think Eloisa James is the right author for me so I might have to pass on reading her work in the future, especially as most of her characters in this series (more so her side ones) were SOOOOOO unlikeable and so were the FMC’s really shitty families which put me off these books. So nah, I’ll pass on this author.

[Karen_Lee_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Vows and a Viscount
(The Seduction 2)
By Eloisa James

Since I declared this past weekend to be relax and read weekend, I carried on with this Book 2 of Eloisa James Seduction Series….Two Vows and a Viscount.

I’ve watched via social media posts as Ms. James wrote this in a way that was popular back in the 1800’s (possibly earlier) with a chapter a week via Kindle Vella. Since Kindle Vella is only available to US readers, I had to wait until it was published and out in the Wild (so to speak)

Again, this low angsty book about our Cinderella heroine Ella was quite a delightful read. Fiennes, Lord Peregrine having freed himself from mean girl Lady Regina in book one of this series thinks he might have found a woman to court. A little young (but pretty normal for that time in history) Lady Fulvia’s father has been singing his praises of the young lady. Fiennes, having learned after his engagement to Lady Regina was ended has figured out…no signing on the dotted line until he is sure the Lady is the one!

With an accidental meeting at a costume house between Ella and Peregrine he realizes it’s a good thing nothing has been signed….that maybe he’s meant to be with Ella.

This is a witty telling of how sometimes it takes two almost engagements to find the right person. A nasty uncle and the mean girl of the Ton at her games again, you are promised a quick enjoyable read.

[Shelagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloisa James’ stories sparkle with wit and Two Vows And A Viscount certainly fits the bill. This is a Cinderella story in which Ella St Trevellion, daughter of the former Viscount St Trevellion and niece of the incumbent. Ht’s clear from the start that the two brothers shared very little in common. Her father was a responsible man who ensured that his northern estate flourished and provided a good income to support his family and dependents. Her uncle is a gambler and a thoroughly nasty man, who has allowed the estate to run down, has stolen and sold her mother’s jewellery as well as many of the paintings and other valuable items in the family’s London home in order to finance his vices. He is unkind to his wife and daughter and thoroughly despicable to Ella, whom he uses as the unpaid housekeeper. Fiennes Lawrence, Lord Peregrine has agreed to marry Ella’s cousin Fulvia, though they’ve never met, but on meeting Ella, he realises his mistake. Fulvia may be beautiful, but Ella is sweet, kind, interesting to talk to and sparks desire in his chest almost at first sight. As with most Eloisa James stories, Shakespearean plays make appearances, and Romeo and Juliet is certainly important to the plot of this one. The story is enhanced by narrator Felicity Foster, who brings the characters to life with her performance. It’s been a delight to listen to.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A take on Cinderella, this story features the daughter of a viscount, Ella works as an unpaid housekeeper for her uncle after the death of her parents. Ella meets Lord Peregrine after he becomes engaged to her cousin Fulvia and they secure a visit to the theater in his box. Her cousin seems to be more interested in the play and the actors, but with a profligate, angry and sometimes violent uncle, Ella must find a way to finance the debut of Fulvia and herself so they can escape his household. After one failed engagement, Lord Peregrine wants to marry but realizes he may have met a woman he could care for, and it isn’t Fulvia. Lots of mishaps, misunderstandings, and mix-ups happen before the happily ever after can happen, but this author never disappoints with a lovely conclusion and a look at what that happily ever after looks like.

[Rod · Rating 3 out of 5]

A steamy story. Second in this series. Readable but stretches the imagination. It is the almost classic orphaned niece being used as a hired help by her parents’ relatives who inherited. Obviously has to live in a small room in the former family home, in this case an attic. Cue a pet squirrel. Hmm. There’s also a couple of issues I spotted such as daughter of a Viscount being
referred to as ‘My Lady’ , she would be ‘The Honourable Miss xxxx’. Then the references to snooker. It was not invented until 1875, so it should be billiards. There were a couple of twists, it is readable, but is not remarkable.

[Penelope · Rating 3 out of 5]

def the best of the bunch. they actually spent some time together before they were in love. liked em both and like a heroine being like f proper behavior pick me choose me love me on her meredith gray shit

also just found out why these books written so kinda weirdly due to the kindle veila vella voila w/e tf it's called chapter as week thing. no wonder every chapter ends on a cliffhanger.

and can we age up the characters?? i dont want historical accuracy i need them to be over 20 AT LEAST. no more 16 year olds

[Alicia Tompkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cinderella story, Ella works as a housekeeper for her hateful uncle who took the household after her parents died years earlier in carriage crash but treated as "one of the family" by her aunt and her cousin. The uncle has wasted his money and Ella operating on a shoe string budget has to organize a coming out ball for her cousin and somehow finance all the required clothing as well. A fun take on a classic story! No 2, in a series of four--each book is its own separate story but there are lots of overlapping characters, which is fun!

[MELISSA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again and again I laugh and growl along with Ms. James' characters and their sometimes perilous and sometimes hilarious situations. Her heroes/heroines are likable, usually compassionate and kind (even if they can have quite a temper) and values I can stand behind. Ella and Fiennes grabbed my attention the whole way through and I sighed happily, of course, at the end. Oh, the letters at the end - just delicious.

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinderella

Downtrodden and put upon, Ella makes the most of her life. Looking after her Aunt, sharing life with her cousin and running everything else for her truely horrid Uncle. She gives of herself until she finds someone to give to her. The course of true love does not run smoothly, but it is very entertaining. The story is peppered with characters we’ve seen in the first book, but this one could also be read as a stand alone.

[Cecilia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually love anything written by Eloisa James, I actually liked this book for the first half. I don't know what happened, maybe lazy writing? It just became stupid. I felt like they jumped the shark on page 150. I mean its just stupid! I cant finish this. I hate to say this, but its all true. Such a strong beginning too. She MFC lived in an attic and worked as a housekeeper? I kinda liked it, but now it just sounds dumb.

[OLT · Rating 2 out of 5]

One "Two" too many for me. Will not attempt a read of the next one. The first was a kind of Regency Mean Girls. I guess this one is a Cinderella-ish story with a really mean uncle instead of stepmother and stepsisters? This was absurdly cartoonish and not worth the time to read if you are over drinking age. You are way better off just drinking.

[Silvia Prego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo!!!

Fantastic books in this collection!
As usual, Eloisa James, writes beautifully and keeps the reader eagerly tur
turning page after page... Impossible not to fall in love with the Duke of Lennox in the first book and now, Lord Peregrine! Cannot stand Lady Regina!!! Onwards to book 3!

[Shawn Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I finished it right after I read the first book in the series - Two Dances and a Duke. I hadn’t read any historical romances in a while since I have been caught up in dystopian fantasies and procedural mysteries. I am glad to be back in this world of books that remind me of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romances galore!

There are so many layers to this story, and more than one romance to keep the reader highly entertained.
The characters, good and bad, played their roles well and kept the narrative moving forward.
One big question: I kept expecting Jarvis to be revealed as someone called Austen who was something other than he appeared.
Still….highly recommended read.