The Dream of a Duchess

In this first book of the series, Ms Sande has once again piqued my interest in how the rest of the books would unravel. There were, in fact, two stories intertwined, both romantic, but the story between Isabella and Octavius progressed a little more slowly than that of David and Clarinda. The book is well written with humour and some sadness and there is also a mystery to be solved. After having witnessed the death of her mother, Isabella rides through the night to David Fitzwillim on her mother's instructions, to take refuge in his brothel. Not being the kind of place a lady of quality should be hiding out in, he calls in Octavius to assist him in secreting Isabella away. One has to have sympathy for Octavius as the high spirited, opinionated young lady upends his home, the servants, the stables and Octavius himself. However, despite rattling the butler's sense of proprietary, with time Isabella wins the whole household over and Octavius reconsiders his vow to his late wife. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the romance that played out between the young girl and the more mature Duke, as well as the ancillary characters. I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Must read. Great story and characters. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down and when I had to couldn't wait to get back to it. There was a lot of characters and info in the beginning but it all tied togeather. Isabella and octavious made a interesting couple

The story starts slow with a lot of characters but as it continues you can see how they all fit. It was a good book overall.