Monday, June 20, 2016

THE DUKE’S ACCIDENTAL WIFE by Erica Ridley


Title:  THE DUKE’S ACCIDENTAL WIFE

Series:  Dukes of War #7

Author:  Erica Ridley

Publish Date:   03.01.16

Publisher:  Intrepid Reads

Category /Genre:  Regency Romance

Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content

Grammar/editing:  A – near perfect

Received from:  Intrepid Reads via NetGalley (in exchange for an honest review)


Date completed: 06.18.16

 

Description from the publisher:

Miss Katherine Ross is a wealthy, eccentric socialite who knows precisely what she wants: No husband. No children. No candlelit tête-à-tête with the insufferably emotionless Duke of Ravenwood. She's convinced his heart is ice -- until she touches that chiseled chest for herself. One lapse in judgment is all it takes to turn both their lives topsy-turvy...

The Duke of Ravenwood isn't cold and haughty, but a secret romantic who has always dreamt of marrying for love. Instead, he gets Miss Katherine Ross -- a headstrong hoyden intent on unraveling his carefully ordered world. He doesn't know whether to kiss her or throttle her. Can they survive each other's company long enough to turn a compromise into love?

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This is the seventh and final book in the Dukes of War series.  They each do stand alone, but are better appreciated when reading every one of them and in order.  You won’t be sorry that you have read the entire series.

 

After many small glimpses of Lawrence, the Duke of Ravenwood, the one left behind when his friends went off to war, the series has returned to his home.  Everything we’ve read so far leads us to believe he is shrewd, determined, and dedicated to his position as Duke... and he is, but there is more to the man than his job.  He is a man with a heart as romantic as his body is chiseled.  One of the ways that I could identify with Lawrence was his introverted nature.  Like most who are naturally shy, he is not recognized as such, but instead is assumed to be aloof.  He can command a room, but prefers quieter pursuits.  This is the dichotomy of being reserved but not socially awkward.

 

Then there is Katherine Ross.  The first mention of her is as the subject of gossip in the House of Lords!  She is the cousin of the Duke of Lambley, and intent on living her life without husband or children.  She is a complex creature with a heart of pure gold.

 

I loved the interaction of Katherine and Lawrence.  Each is trying so hard to live up to their duties, they display self-sacrifice worthy of O.Henry, and their lives are ideal driven.  They have each also been led astray by gossip and assumption.  When they see past those pitfalls, that’s where the magic of love begins.

 

Ms. Erica Ridley is a consummate story-teller with an even hand of romance, suspense, and humor.  One of my favorite lines was, “The House of Lords needed a nanny, but tonight it must make do with Ravenwood.  This is exactly the kind of silliness that tickles my funny bone; maybe because I have been a nanny?

 

This series may have ended, but that only clears the way for more from one of my favorite authors to produce a new world.  I cannot wait to discover her next story.

 

 

The Dukes of War series:

  1. The Viscount’s Christmas Temptation
  2. The Earl’s Defiant Wallflower
  3. The Captain’s Bluestocking Mistress
  4. The Major’s Faux Fiancée
  5. The Brigadier’s Runaway Bride
  6. The Pirate’s Tempting Stowaway
  7. The Duke’s Accidental Wife

Other Books from Erica Ridley:

  • Too Wicked to Kiss
  • Too Sinful to Deny
  • Charmed
  • Midwinter Magic
  • Let It Snow
  • Dark Surrender

 









 



 



 
 

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