Andrew Hargrave never expected to be the heir to a
dukedom. As a second son, he left his home and
detestable parents to travel to Italy to head up an
archeological dig. While there, he found contentment
with his vocation and with his long time friend and
mistress, Luciana. The death of his older brother left
him the title of Earl of Dunnley, but he still didn't
return home. Then he receives an urgent summons and is
fearful something has happened to his younger
sisters. Upon arriving, he's informed the family
finances are in a shambles, and he must marry an American
heiress. Andrew reluctantly agrees but solely with the
intention of providing for his sisters.
Victoria Carson was sent to a British finishing school
and groomed to snare an English title with her family's
wealth. Her odious parents (particularly her mother)
have no care for her happiness, but only for advancing
their own social status. Her father concocts a scheme in
which the Duke of Waring will lose a fortune, at which
point he will offer Victoria in marriage to Waring's
son, Andrew. The scheme works exactly as planned, and
Victoria and Andrew meet, knowing their fate is already
sealed.
While they are both wary, Andrew and Victoria find each
other attractive and begin to have faint hopes for a
decent marriage. Before the wedding takes place, Andrew
learns of the scheme, and is led to believe Victoria
was party to it. Without asking or investigating whether
it's true, Andrew accepts it for a fact and becomes
bitterly resentful. He reluctantly still marries her,
but Victoria is bewildered by the angry man who is so
different from the kind man she first met. After the
wedding, Andrew leaves Victoria to fend for herself in a
decrepit country estate, while he heads back to Italy to
resume his former life.
At this point, the book almost went against the wall—
but it was a kindle, so I couldn't. Andrew has committed
two actions I detest. First, he made an assumption
that something he heard was true, and never even asked,
much less followed up. When reading, I really don't like
the "big misunderstanding," though admittedly it's
frequently used as the basis for the conflict. But,
second, and the greater sin in my eyes, is that Andrew
picked up in Italy right where he left off before he
became a married man. I decided then and there he
could not be forgiven.
Meanwhile, Victoria has picked herself up and decided to
make the best of her situation. She begins to put the
rundown estate to rights. Learning as she goes, she
matures and has much success. She has also invited
Andrew's sisters to stay with her, and they have become
the family she so longs for. While not exactly happy,
Victoria is content. Then Andrew returns.
A DUCHESS IN NAME is my first experience with author Amanda
Weaver,
and I am amazed at her talent. She has taken situations
I really detest and made me love this book. There
was no way I felt Andrew could be redeemed in my
eyes, yet she did it. A DUCHESS IN NAME kept me
enthralled from beginning to end, and the passion,
heartbreak, and character growth along the way made for
one beautiful happy ending . I definitely recommend A
DUCHESS IN NAME and look forward to upcoming books in
the Grantham Girls series.
Victoria Carson never expected love. An American heiress and graduate of Lady Grantham's finishing school, she's been groomed since birth to marry an English title—the grander the better. So when the man chosen for her, the forbidding Earl of Dunnley, seems to hate her on sight, she understands that it can't matter. Love can have no place in this arrangement. Andrew Hargrave has little use for his title and even less for his cold, disinterested parents. Determined to make his own way, he's devoted to his life in Italy working as an archaeologist. Until the collapse of his family's fortune drags him back to England to a marriage he never wanted and a woman he doesn't care to know. Wild attraction is an unwanted complication for them both, though it forms the most fragile of bonds. Their marriage of convenience isn't so intolerable after all—but it may not be enough when the deception that bound them is finally revealed.
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