St. Martin's Press
Featuring: Lucy Upton; Duke of Claringdon
368 pages ISBN: 1250042070 EAN: 9781250042071 Kindle: B00G1K7A9W Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
THE UNEXPECTED DUCHESS is Book one in Valerie
Bowman's Playful Brides series. The hero of this
charming
historical romance, Derek Hunt, is a Duke but it's a title
earned through military service. The heroine, Lady Lucy
Upton, is born into the nobility but she is very blunt and
more forthright in expressing her opinions than most
genteel young ladies. They are both very determined and
strong-willed characters. I love when Lucy's friend Garrett
rightly points out to her that the Duke is just like her.
Lucy and Derek start out with an antagonistic relationship
at the beginning of the book, not because they really
dislike each other but because they are at cross purposes.
Derek is determined to marry Lady Cassandra Monroe because
of a promise to a fallen comrade. Lucy is equally
determined to help her friend Cass avoid the Duke's
unwanted attentions. The fiery battle of words frequently
engaged in by the pair is, at times passionate, and at
times very amusing. One thing I really liked about this
playful antagonism is that it never got truly nasty between
them. Nothing was said that was ever cruel or unforgivable.
Lucy and Derek's verbal dueling closely resembles the
relationship between Lucy's other best friend Jane and
Lucy's cousin and good friend Garrett. I thought the
romance between Lucy and Derek, once they gave in to their
true emotions, was wonderful and very sexy. The chemistry
between them is great.
Along with the engaging story and electric romance, THE
UNEXPECTED DUCHESS is full of interesting supporting
characters. Despite having a reputation for being extremely
demure and kind-hearted, Cass is revealed to be more
intelligent than she's perhaps given credit for. I loved
Jane's acerbic wit and voice of common sense throughout THE
UNEXPECTED DUCHESS. Cassandra's story of unrequited love is
very compelling and you can't help but hope everything will
work out for her with Julian in the future. In spite of
Jane's determination to remain a spinster, she is too
fabulous to remain alone and I look forward to seeing what
is in store for her in future books.
Besides romance, THE UNEXPECTED DUCHESS is a story about
the power of friendship. Lucy and Derek both have very
tight friendships that, for better or worse, influence
their actions. I loved the friendship between Lucy, Cass,
Jane, and Garrett. The support they give each other is very
moving to read about. THE UNEXPECTED DUCHESS is a very
enjoyable, fun historical romance with great characters. I
look forward to reading the next one in this series!
Lady Lucy Upton’s tongue may be too sharp to attract suitors
but her heart is good, and when her painfully shy friend
Cassandra needs help she devises a brilliant scheme to help
her discourage an unwanted suitor, the Duke of Claringdon.
Lucy will hide behind the hedgerow and tell Cass just what
to say to discourage the Duke of Claringdon…but it turns out
that he’s made of sterner stuff than either of them
anticipated. And Lucy is shocked to discover that tangling
with the tenacious man is the most fun she’s had in ages.
KISSES ARE THE BEST WEAPON
Lord Derek Hunt made a promise to his dying friend to marry
the demure Cassandra, and for a man who wants nothing more
than peace and quiet after the horrors of war, she’ll make
the perfect bride. If only the impudent Miss Upton will let
him court the girl! Doing battle is the last thing on his
mind, but bantering with Lucy behind the bushes is too
tempting to resist. And in The Unexpected Duchess, the
spoils of this war just may be true love…
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