It is time for Michael Winslow, the Duke of Fairfax to marry, and though he has always wanted to marry for love, he is not very hopeful about doing so. Other than his title, there is not much to recommend him: “ordinary,” “average,” and “unremarkable” are words used to describe him. He is also bookish and wears reading spectacles. I immediately liked him. How nice, I thought, to have an ordinary, regular guy for a hero – if a duke can be called “ordinary.” His grandmother gives him a list of acceptable future duchesses and he is pleased to find on the list someone he met last Season and actually liked: Lady Deborah Woodhurst, who is sweet and easy to talk to, but who has an Evil Twin, Lady Diana.

The Woodhurst Twins took the ton by storm last year and Diana revels in the twin act; the notoriety it gives them and how it sets them apart from the other girls. After a Season of this, Deborah wishes to emphasize their individuality, and balks at wearing matching clothing again this year. Diana’s goal is to marry a wealthy, titled man and she has her sights set on Michael. She knows that Deborah is the more-liked twin and has no scruple about impersonating her sister to get what she wants. Deborah, on the other hand, like Michael, wishes to marry for love, but her avowed number one quality in a prospective husband is the ability to tell her apart from her sister.

Well, Michael can easily tell them apart, for his little ducal heart goes pitty-pat when he is around Deborah, and she thinks the plain Michael is very handsome indeed. So Michael begins his slow courtship of Deborah while fending off Diana’s tricks. And it is slow. We read of every ball they attend, every dance they share, every conversation they have. I like watching a couple’s little steps toward intimacy, but this was almost painful in its deliberateness.

This combined with the excessively repetitive refrains each intones – Michael: “How can I know if a woman wants me and not just a duke?” Deborah: “How can I know if a man wants me and not just a Woodhurst Twin?” – really bogged down the story. It got so I wished for more Diana machinations, because, though she is a thoroughly detestable character, she is a much more vivid one than Michael or especially Deborah who, while pleasant and innocuous, tends to fade into the background.

My other major complaint about this book is that it seems to take place simultaneously with Carleton’s previous novel, A Rake’s Redemption, which I didn’t know until I did some research on BYRON. There is obviously another romance going on here, but it is not well-integrated with this romance. And in fact, the climax of the previous book, a kidnapping, takes place during this book, but its resolution does not, so the reader is left hanging as to what is going on with the other plotline that felt thrown in and unconnected to this story. Very frustrating.

Carleton has a very readable writing style – I read through this book very quickly – there just wasn’t enough substance to the story to make the reading a really enjoyable experience.