Review: Nice historical romance with twists, dangers, faith, and love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 9, 2013
Our hero, John, Duke of Somerset, must give up his life as he knew it to hide from his worthless uncle, a dissipated man seeking to take the title and its wealth for himself.  He became the duke at eighteen, but his father altered his will to put the evil uncle in charge until the duke reaches one and twenty.  His mother hides the young duke with a gypsy clan their family has known for several decades.The Duke is betrothed to Kitty, a spirited yet devout girl three years his junior.  Although he plans to marry her one day, he thinks her young, immature, and lovestruck as she professes her love to him at the end of their daily meetings.  He goes into hiding, leaving Kitty with a somewhat ambiguous note and promises to write often and see her after his exile.  She is dismayed at his lack of a declaration, but convinced of her love and their fated destiny.Three years pass and the Duke is drafted into "investigative work," i.e. spying, for his king, which occupies two more years of his time.  He writes infrequently to both his mother and Kitty, his missives bland and uninformative, and he compounds this neglect by failing to explain his continued absence.  Kitty is disappointed but remains true and devoted; her father does not, and launches her into Society before she becomes destined for the shelf. Word of this reaches the Duke and he's surprised to the point of near outrage.  Does Kitty not love him anymore?  Does her father disrespect him by this disregard for the betrothal?  The Duke decides to come to London to see which way the wind blows, but he will come disguised, as the gypsy he now seems to be, after having lived with the clan for five years.The storyline moves rapidly from here as Kitty and John reunite, the mystery John had been drafted to solve for the King comes to a head, and we learn the secrets that tie everything together.  I must admit that I liked the Duke more before he went into hiding with the gypsies.  He was but 18, yet he had the foresight to provide for his mother, tenants, and Kitty before he fled.  As time progressed he wrote to and thought less frequently of his previous concerns, yet when he shows up two years later than promised he seems surprised that life was progressing without him.  He's surprised Kitty grew up, both physically and mentally.  He's surprised her father wants her to find another suitor.  He's surprised his lands have all been sold, save for the entailed property.  The author jumps from the Duke's departure to his return five years later, so the reader presumes the daily chores of his gypsy life became familiarly normal for him, but he didn't try to stay connected to his old life, either.  We learn he could have, too, so it was hard not to feel the Duke needed a little humbling by having to work for Kitty's favor, and to redeem himself in her father's eyes.  Even his own mother, while overjoyed to see him, thinks he needs to come clean with Kitty if he seriously wants her, or let her go if he cannot decide.I really liked Kitty.  She was a strong female without being too modern.  Her faith sustained her and she relied on it to direct her path and give her strength.  She was a terrific example for the Duke, to show him how he should be and could be, if he would focus and rely on others rather than himself.  I think she let the Duke off the hook too easily, especially in his neglectful correspondence  and the way he reintroduced himself to her in London.  I hoped she'd give him a little set down - with Christian love, of course - and hold him accountable for his decisions and their consequences.  I wanted more than some steamy looks and heated kisses to sway her into his arms.  He was almost obnoxious and cocky enough that I wished Kitty would cast him aside and choose their mutual neighbor Robert, a future Viscount and fellow "investigator."The Duke was not a Christian, so Kitty was the example of how life is much more pleasant when lived with a  relationship with God.  Notice her life wasn't easier due to her faith, just that her faith sustained her, giving her strength, when life's situations became hard or confusing.  The author did a very good job of presenting an accurate picture of living life as a Christian without being preachy or condescending.  When the Duke finally came to understand Kitty's faith, and realize his own need for God in his life, it was believable and at just the right moment.  I'm a little hotheaded (like the Apostle Peter, I like to think), and secretly wished someone had told the Duke off for being insensitive and self-centered after he returned.  The clod tried to make Kitty jealous at one point, by dancing and paying court to other girls.  Really, the guy was just begging for a slap, or at least a race full of punch and a few days of the "cold shoulder" treatment.All in all this was a pleasant read with a unique storyline.  The author has a good writing voice and moves her action along at a good pace with the right amount of attention to detail.  There are a few historical oops, but nothing that draws attention away from the story.  While I didn't always like the Duke, I appreciate the difficulties he had to endure, and that they likely took a toll on him during his separation.  It all worked out in the end, as romances should, with all the plot lines resolving in a satisfactory way.