Marcus Weatherton, the Duke of Autenberry, desperate to leave London behind him, got himself into a spot of trouble, and woke up in gaol, filthy and reeking of horse dung. Still, he must reach his estate in Kilmarkie, near Inverness. On his way, he is utterly shocked to witness a wife auction. Alyse Bell had an agreement with her friend Yardley that he would buy her, but he is not there, and she is terrified of the prospective grooms ogling her. She sees what might have been her last chance at freedom evaporate before her very eyes. Marcus, who has two sisters, cannot abide to let the poor woman to this horrible fate and buys her with the intent to release as soon as he can. Alas, Alyse has nowhere to go, and so Marcus, who is not known for his tender heart, will see to Alyse's safety. It will only be for a short while, after all.

Before you roll your eyes at the premise, wife auctions were a fact, once upon a time, and Sophie Jordan does a terrific job! I expected a lot from this story, and THE DUKE BUYS A BRIDE succeeds beyond my wildest imaginings. There are several startling turns of events, the story is fast paced and well balanced, and the romance progressed very convincingly. I loved how Marcus and Alyse interacted: they were uncomfortable at the situation they found themselves in; they remained civil to each other, and they weren't consumed instantly by an uncontrollable lust, which was one of the highlights of the romance, but when lust hits, hang on to your fans! Alyse was in a desperate situation but she behaved rationally, waiting to see how her "Not Husband" acted before she decided on what to do next: leave or stay with him, and I admired her for it; in this, she differs greatly from a majority of heroines. Marcus is a marvel of complexity: he is not a happy man, he never wanted to acquire a wife this way, and he never thought he had it in him to take care of a woman in need. He is undemonstrative, aloof; it's how he has learned to cope with what life dealt him.

THE DUKE BUYS A BRIDE was everything I hoped for and so much more! It was devoid of all the clichés I thought I would encounter, and Sophie Jordan demonstrates once again her ability to weave exciting, original, and oh so romantic, tales!