The Reluctant Duchess

The Reluctant Duchess

Roseanna M. White

Bethany House

Lady Rowena Kinnaird may be the heiress to a Highland earldom, but she has never felt good enough—not for her father, not for the man she thought she’d marry, not for God. But after a shocking attack, she’s willing to be forever an outcast if it means escaping Loch Morar and the men who have jeopardized her life.

Brice Myerston, the Duke of Nottingham, has suddenly found himself in possession of a rare treasure his enemies are prepared to kill for. While Brice has never been one to shy away from manor-born ladies, the last thing he needs is the distraction of his neighbor, Lady Rowena, who finds herself in a desperate situation. But when the moody Earl of Lochabar tries to trap Brice into marrying Rowena, Brice finds he’s not as opposed to the idea as he expected to be.

Rowena wanted to escape the Highlands, but she’s reluctant to resort to marrying a notorious flirt just to gain his English home. And when she learns that Brice is mixed up in some kind of questionable business with a stolen treasure, she fears she’s about to end up directly in the path of everything she was trying to avoid.

     While I didn't enjoy The Reluctant Duchess quite as much as The Lost Heiress, I still devoured it. I haven't been reading quite as many historical romances lately, which has been a very good choice for me-I find that I'm much more enjoying the ones that I do read.

     One aspect of the book that I really liked was how the author treated Rowena's father. He could have easily been made into a one-sided villain or tyrant, but instead White chose to make him a more complex character. While I did grow frustrated with some of Rowena's ideas and decisions, I thought the book did a good job of showing how easy it is to get a skewed view of things when we can only see pieces of a greater whole. I loved Brice, but I also appreciated how some consequences of his flirtatious nature came back to bite him. Basically, one thing I find that I really enjoy about Roseanna White's books is that she'll take a lot of situations, ideas, or character archetypes that you typically find in romantic fiction, but then flesh them out and make them real. I'm looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up in A Lady Unrivaled! After all, we still have to find out what's going to happen with those red diamonds...

Rating: 8

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for my honest review

note: this book, while "clean" does deal with the aftermath of a woman who has been raped, something younger readers should be aware of. There is some violence and a few kisses between married couples.