This wasn't bad but wasn't great either. There were things that didn't work for me and just a few inconsistencies that didn't add up and kept throwing me off... 
 -Simeon's tyrannical lunatic mother is so severe in formality and propriety that she doesn't even address her own son by his given name in her own bedchamber. She's the worst kind of penny pincher who is convinced people are out to scam the ducal family into paying outrageous bills. So obsessed that she doesn't lift a finger to get the water closets in the house fixed for years. Because of this the entire house smells like a sewer. 
 You're telling me the same woman who screeches and has a near apoplexy at the sight of Simeon's bare knees, is humiliated when her son saves her life in an 'uncouth' way, and doesn't let a swathe of Indian silk in the house is totally fine living in a house that 
 reeks of shit?! 
 Yeah. Right. 
 -Jemma & Elijah. I've already read their book, thought it would help to go back and read this since I was left floundering in Book 5. Turns out it didn't help. lol Still totally at a loss as to why Elijah cheated on Jemma. His perfect gorgeous sparkling wife who is smart as a whip and makes his heart stop every time he sees her. A man this infatuated and besotted by his wife (since Day 1) needs a much better reason to step out on his wife. How about don't do it? Someone so forthright, serious and gentlemanly like Elijah doesn't cheat on his wife much less screw his mistress on his desk 'just because she's there'. RME. I find this story arc the most contrived thing in this entire series and so arbitrary. From all that I've seen it goes against Elijah's staunch honorable character entirely. They do have their sweet moments in here but I still struggle to understand how Jemma could forgive him and accept his reasons for doing it. I didn't. And still don't. *shrugs* 
 -Villiers has blue eyes. Why the hell does he have black eyes in here?? I distinctly remember him having ice blue eyes in the book following this, Jemma's story. And his own son Thorn is described endlessly in the later books as being the spitting image of his father, black hair and intense blue eyes. Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because a character's eye color is as integral as their hair color, body build and just overall character makeup. It's very jarring when one of those things changes especially in a wide arc series. This kind of inconsistency is a big pet peeve of mine. EJ did the same thing with Thorn's best friend Vander in Three Weeks With Lady X, Vander goes from having ice blue eyes in the beginning of the book to brown eyes in the end. *grumbles* I really hate slip ups like this. Authors PLEASE BE CONSISTENT! Editors do your damn job. 
 -Where was the chemistry? 
 Didn't find it, didn't feel it. 
 -I found Simeon a little flat as a hero. A first for me with an EJ hero. I felt a big part of that was because of his controlled, awkward, emotionally-stunted personality. I loved the idea of him and how eccentric he was considered for a Duke and that he was a virgin who never met his wife by proxy for 11 years. So fun and very refreshing. But it all just went downhill with the stale stagnant pacing that seemed to focus more on the plumbing issues in Revel House (seriously Eloisa? O_o) than the h/hr actually connecting. The only thing I found 'eccentric' about Simeon was the way he dressed, everything else just seemed dull I'm sorry to say. I didn't really feel like I got to know him as well as I did with Isidore which was strange. I also felt a lot of the conversations they managed to have went in circles, contradicted each other or were oddly unclear. Ever feel like you just walked in on a conversation where two people share this inside joke you aren't a part of? Well there were a few moments in here I felt like that. :/ Totally adrift. To me there seemed to be much more telling instead of showing.