Review: Could've been so much better - 3.5 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 17, 2013
I recently read 'To Defy a Duke' by the same author and had some issues with it but liked the sound of this one better. The prices of this author's books make them worthwhile considering. I do like marriage of convenience stories and this is one where the h is compromised and pushed into wedding the H. The H was the cousin of the original ducal heir but the heir died and the H inherits the duchy. He has had a hard life as he was brought up by the original Duke and his wife. The Duke was a good man but his wife was awful and she is one of the antagonists in this book. The H feels that anyone he cares for dies and so he determines to marry but not care for a wife. He is pushed to marry so that he can get an heir and arranges to meet some of the eligible young ladies of the ton. In the meanwhile he meets the h, who is not of noble birth and is responsible for managing her family's cider business as her father has recently died. She has appealed the new Duke on several occasions for help, since the old Duke promised that she and her family would be looked after once he died. The new Duke has never responded. When the H (the new Duke) meets the h, he is both attracted to her and suspicious of her and her story.After an accident when the h is showing the H the property where she runs the family business, they spend the night together sheltering from a storm. As a result the H insists they marry, despite the h not wishing to marry at all, never mind without love.The story is actually pretty good and I couldn't put the book down. So why the lower review?+++Spoilers+++I just don't feel the love and romance in this story. I know that the H doesn't want to care for anyone and I realise that he of course cares very deeply for the h, however the author fails to kindle all the romance I want from a historical romance. It's hard to explain but immediately after this book I read a short story where the author very quickly created the feelings of love and romance between the main characters. It made me realise what this book was missing.The other thing that totally irked me, was that well into the story the H starts thinking about his mistress and how he will probably get together with her when he goes back to London. I understood the H initially to tell the h that he will be faithful to her (at 49% there is a passage where the h says she prefers not to share if he doesn't mind and he says 'Not in the least'). So either he was lying or he is a jackass. After this we hear that he actually does have a mistress and entertains thoughts of going to her. The h then determines to do whatever the mistress does so that she pleases the H and I really didn't like the way the author handled this part of the book, to me it was tacky.I noticed quite a few small spelling and word errors in this book. The author is British but she writes 'blaggard' instead of blackguard. Niggling errors but irritating nonetheless.I'd still recommend this book if you can overlook the things I've mentioned.