A Duke of Her Own
Grade : C+

I look forward to each new book by Lorraine Heath, as several of her Texas-set historicals are on my keeper shelf. Unfortunately in A Duke of Her Own, Heath fell short for me with a book that, while enjoyable, was completely predictable - and a plot that has been used too often before. In fact, the only thing that kept my interest in the story were the very likable lead characters.

Lady Louisa Wentworth is tired of being dependent on her brother Alex, the Earl of Wentworth, who while titled is penniless - but somehow still able to support his mistress. Louisa decides to seek her own fortune by advertising to be a chaperone guiding young American heiresses through the difficult channels of the ton. The Rose family replies to her ad and the formidable Mrs. Rose agrees to pay Louisa to guide her two daughters, Kate and Jenny, into marriage with titled gentlemen. Her brother decides that Louisa can give him and his equally broke friends (the Duke of Hawkhurst and the Marquess of Falconridge) a leg up in the race to win one of the heiresses. Louisa tells them that as a conscientious chaperone, she would have to guide her charges away from the trio. She especially will have them avoid the duke, whom she blames for corrupting her brother and leading him into drunken and licentious behavior.

Louisa’s plan to avoid Hawk is doomed to failure as he desperately needs an infusion of cash to take care of his family and estates. He pursues Jenny Rose, but unfortunately, Louisa constantly interferes. He begins to tell her tales about the other gentlemen in the running for her charges' hands. Needless to say, his stories are both untrue and negative, but Louisa finds herself amused by his audacious tales. As Louisa gets to know Hawk better, she finds herself being drawn to him on a physical level. But she determines to keep Hawk at arm’s length as she thinks him incapable of fidelity.

During a ball Louisa is told that Hawk has laid a trap to compromise Jenny into marriage. She goes to save Jenny and falls into the trap herself. Louisa succumbs to Hawk’s kisses and their passion explodes until they are discovered. Hawk intends that Louisa should marry him, but she refuses...until he tells her she might be pregnant. Louisa remains hesitant because she thinks that he mistook her for Jenny when they made love in the darkened room, but the marriage takes place.

After the two marry and settle on his country estate, Louisa discovers a whole new side to Hawk and realizes that she has done him a great injustice. Hawk is kind, caring, and very protective of his family - and very passionate with her. Louisa learns why Hawk desperately needed the money from the Rose heiress and determines that her judgments were unfair. She also that Hawk is capable of giving Jenny the passion and love she wanted, and what a sacrifice Hawk made by marrying her instead.

Hawk is a wonderful romantic hero who presents a very different image in Society than the serious, caring man he really is. His surprise at falling in love with Louisa and his respect and passion for her were very believable. Louisa is as sturdy and admirable a heroine as any in romance and is extremely likable.

Ultimately the very likable characters were not able to overcome the complete predictability of the plot. From the ne'er-do-well, manipulative brother, to Hawk compromising Louisa, and the development of the romantic relationship, this is just romance plot selected from columns A, B, and C. There were no surprises here, and while it was enjoyable - it was also eminently forgettable. Perhaps it isn't fair, but I expect better from Heath as she has delighted me so much in the past.

Towards the end of the book, I began to cringe in expectation of a dreaded Big Misunderstand and Separation - since the rest of the plot occurred more or less on schedule - but Heath distinguished herself with a nice twist that left me smiling at book’s end instead of throwing it at the wall. I do plan to continue reading this series; the next book features the bookish Kate Rose and the Marquess of Falconridge, and in the final book Heath will somehow redeem Louisa's brother and transform him into a proper hero for Jenny Rose.

Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Grade : C+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : December 13, 2006

Publication Date: 2006

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Linda Hurst

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x