The 3 wildest parts of Eloisa James’ Too Wilde to Wed

Eloisa James’ Too Wilde to Wed wants to make sure that you understand that Wilde is just not a surname. Here are the 3 wildest parts of the novel.

This reviewer freely admits that she enjoys the puns and references of historical romance novels. Do You Want to Start a Scandal is probably still her favorite, but Too Wilde to Wed, from Eloisa James and sent her way by Avon, is apparently running a close second, because it promised things would get wild and oh, did it deliver.

In lieu of a regular review, let’s dive in to the three wildest parts of Too Wilde to Wed.

In reality, it should be wildeste with an extra E just to get the point across, but sometimes, one needs a little restraint.

The cover

Romance novel covers have their own special formats, but Too Wilde to Wed is such a perfect execution of those that it’s almost too perfect. A smiling man meant to be Roland Northbridge Wilde (North for most of the book, because Roland is just a bridge too far for North, pun intended) stares out from the front cover, a sheet draped so you only see his chest; the interior cover actually shows our heroine, Diana Belgrave, but North still hasn’t found his shirt.

The book also asks you to reconcile this conventionally handsome-by-modern-standards North with a dude who used to wear patches and dress in 1770s-80s period clothing, with all the fanciness you expect.

He splits some breeches, too, because they’re too tight after his war experiences have caused him to put on some muscle. (Honestly, this book is a bit Poldark in its basic concept of man returns to family drama and a woman who still loves him but doesn’t or can’t marry him, but sans Aidan Turner.)

Artie and Godfrey

Forget the romance. At some point, you may decide that you’re just here for Artemisia and Godfrey, or Artie and Free as they tend to go by. Diana, you see, has taken up work in North’s family home with her nephew, letting the general story be that Godfrey is actually North’s and her child.

Yes, that is a thing. Yes, it gets addressed in the book.

But these two are so ludicrously cute together, with James doing an excellent job with Godfrey generally not speaking. She refuses to dance around the worries that he may have some developmental issues, either, which is a nice touch.

Everything about food

There are a lot of different things that I could have chosen for the third wild(e) thing in Too Wilde to Wed. But after careful consideration, food seemed like the wisest choice. Not only does it play an important role in the development of North and Diana’s relationship, but it also just generally shows up more than food usually does in a romance novel.

And that’s not restricted to regular food appearances either, but to say any more would be a terrible spoiler.

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At the end of the day, Too Wilde to Wed doesn’t really register on the normal scale of good to bad. It’s definitely readable, although there are sometimes odd twists of phrase that don’t hit quite right (one side character has an “intelligent forehead”). It’s enjoyable, but ultimately, the best word is simply wild. Make of that what you will, readers.