The Reluctant Duchess: A Charmingly Sexy Historical Regency Romance

Oliver Sterling, eleventh duke of Kendal, lives in seclusion in his massive home, Horncliffe Manor in the north of England. His only company is his guardian, Mr. Winters. One day, Oliver sees a beautiful young woman in a painting titled “St. Ives Girl.” Captivated, he asks Mr. Winters to find her, marry her by proxy, and bring her back as his bride. Rebecca Kane is shocked that her squire father has agreed to marry her off to a duke in exchange for payment of his gambling debts. But with no option, she submits. When Rebecca arrives at Horncliffe she learns that no one is allowed to look at the Duke & the rumours about him are less than complimentary. Though they remain in darkness, she detects nothing odd about him. This is the fourth book in the series & easily stands on its own. My first reaction was ‘oh no not another Beauty & the Beast story’ but the more I read the more I realised that although it was broadly this trope it was so much more. This is the first time I've read a book with any character having this condition. I enjoyed the book & the more I read the more engrossed I became & by the second half of the book the pages flew by. Strong characters, I liked both Oliver & Rebecca & thoroughly disliked Philip. I liked how the relationship between Oliver & Rebecca developed & the strength they found in each other. The road to their HEA wasn't straightforward with a villain intent of thwarting them but it was entertaining. My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The Reluctant Duchess by Jane Goodger The Brides of St. Ives # Rebecca Caine has two options...marry the Duke of Kendall or send her father to debtors prison. Loving her father and family she opts to marry a man she has never seen and head days away from home to live with and make a life with a stranger. Is the man abnormal? A freak? Disfigured? A Monster? She is not sure and his wanting it dark when they are together is definitely unsettling. The rumors are rife and unpleasant but also rather unbelievable so she goes about learning the truth, getting to know Oliver and eventually falling in love with him and he with her. That said, they have a lot of hurdles to overcome with evil people causing trouble, a trip to London and time with the ton that is unsettling, and a long ago mystery that is finally solved, too. Did I like the book? Yes Would I read more by this author? Yes Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing – Lyrical Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4 Stars

It has been a while that I have read a Jane Goodger book and I was happy to get this one. It was a fairly different story line and I enjoyed it. So we meet Rebecca who is informed by her father that she is to marry the Duke of Kendal by proxy of Mr. Winters. Rebecca is adamant that she will not do it but if she does not get married her family will lose everything, her father will go to debtors prison and her sisters would be destitute. She reluctantly agrees and when the Duke (Oliver) goes to her room to make the marriage official she informs him that is not going to happen and the reason. Oliver didn't agree with the way that Mr. Winters handled it but he didn't see away around it. Rebecca gives in but she wants to get to know Oliver better and she wants to see him since he only comes at night and the staff is deftly afraid of him. When she does she doesn't understand why? As these two fall in love they are bombarded with issues and an evil person pulling the strings..enjoy! Rcvd and ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions