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A review by turophile
The Inconvenient Duchess by Christine Merrill
3.0
1. The Incovenient Duchess, Christine Merrill (January 2016, owned ebook)
The story begins with the Marcus, Duke of Haughleigh, appearing at his mother’s deathbed. At least she claims she’s dying, but she’s done that before. Before she passes into the next realm, she wants to see her eldest son, a widower, married off and on the route to producing an heir. Marcus, who lost his first wife in childbirth a decade ago, has no interest in marriage but promises his mother he’ll meet this young woman an old friend of hers is sending.
Miranda Grey appears at his door a few weeks later. It turns out his mother was dying, and now he’s trying to deal with the estate and his ne’er do well younger brother and get back to London. He’s surprised when a sopping wet Miranda shows up on his doorstep. His instinct is to refuse him, but he realizes she’s talked to the local pastor on the way out there and her virtue may have been compromised by venturing to and staying overnight in a house with two bachelor. He quickly arranges to marry her without a license – this way he can investigate who she really is and annul the marriage if the answer doesn’t make him happy. If it turns out she is acceptable, he’ll accept her because he needs an heir after-all.
She reluctantly accepts his proposal and immediately begins turning around the household while the Duke’s in London. She works on brining it back to its former glory while trying to avoid the advances of her new brother-in-law and also deal with her new awareness that she’s attracted to men and wants some badonga-donga.
The story was well-constructed, but the underlying element that he’ll accept her only if her story checks out and she’s an acceptable virgin bothered me a little bit. It was redeemed a bit by his personal growth, but that underlying hint of woman as commodity drove me crazy, even though I know that was prevalaent in history.
This is Christine Merrill’s first book and though I didn’t love it, I enjoyed it enough to read more of hers, especially since she’s from my home state of Wisconsin.
3.25/5 on the romance scale
The story begins with the Marcus, Duke of Haughleigh, appearing at his mother’s deathbed. At least she claims she’s dying, but she’s done that before. Before she passes into the next realm, she wants to see her eldest son, a widower, married off and on the route to producing an heir. Marcus, who lost his first wife in childbirth a decade ago, has no interest in marriage but promises his mother he’ll meet this young woman an old friend of hers is sending.
Miranda Grey appears at his door a few weeks later. It turns out his mother was dying, and now he’s trying to deal with the estate and his ne’er do well younger brother and get back to London. He’s surprised when a sopping wet Miranda shows up on his doorstep. His instinct is to refuse him, but he realizes she’s talked to the local pastor on the way out there and her virtue may have been compromised by venturing to and staying overnight in a house with two bachelor. He quickly arranges to marry her without a license – this way he can investigate who she really is and annul the marriage if the answer doesn’t make him happy. If it turns out she is acceptable, he’ll accept her because he needs an heir after-all.
She reluctantly accepts his proposal and immediately begins turning around the household while the Duke’s in London. She works on brining it back to its former glory while trying to avoid the advances of her new brother-in-law and also deal with her new awareness that she’s attracted to men and wants some badonga-donga.
The story was well-constructed, but the underlying element that he’ll accept her only if her story checks out and she’s an acceptable virgin bothered me a little bit. It was redeemed a bit by his personal growth, but that underlying hint of woman as commodity drove me crazy, even though I know that was prevalaent in history.
This is Christine Merrill’s first book and though I didn’t love it, I enjoyed it enough to read more of hers, especially since she’s from my home state of Wisconsin.
3.25/5 on the romance scale