Review: How to Marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling

Series: n/a? (How to Seduce a Soundrel to be released July 1)
Genres/Themes: historical romance, romantic contest

Quick Take:
Though it sports a bit of an over-the-top premise, this story is charming and delivers a fair share of satisfaction. Plenty of amusement can be found for those who enjoy a contemporary-spirited wild romp in Regency English society.
Book Description (via Goodreads): Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne is a man with a mission: find a wife he can tolerate as long as they both shall live. Love is not necessary--nor desired. But how to choose among a dizzying array of wealthy-yet-witless candidates? Hire London's infamously prim and proper matchmaker. Then pretend she's not the most captivating woman he's ever met...
Helping a devilish Duke create a contest to pick his perfect mate is the kind of challenge Tessa Mansfield relishes. Her methods may be scandalous, but she's determined to find the notorious bachelor more than a wife--she'll bring him true love. Yet when Tessa watches the women vie for the Duke's affections, she longs to win his heart herself. And after a stolen kiss confirms Tristan's desire, Tessa knows she has broken a matchmaker's number one rule: never fall in love with the groom.
Review:
The Bachelor…Regency Edition? :o) This story, set in 1816 London, presents the expected spread of dashing gents and chirpy ladies of the ton. There are balls and jaunts to the English countryside, as well as glimpses into gentlemen’s clubs. But although How to Marry a Duke is an historical romance, it absolutely has the soul of a contemporary romance.

I don’t think anyone can argue that the premise of this book isn’t at least a little bit silly. But that element is not necessarily a wholly bad thing. Sure, some of the antics are beyond the range of what one might consider plausible, even in historical chick lit. But it's a whole lot of fun. And extremely sweet; this book is absolutely full of "aww" moments. ^_^

Indeed, I kept my eyes glued to the page specifically due to the two mains.  It was particularly enjoyable to spend time in their heads and see the reasoning behind their interactions with the other people around them, including (most especially) each other. In fact, this is most definitely a "character book," in that the author takes particular care fleshing out her cast. I greatly appreciate a good character book, 

I must say, I’m not the hugest fan of plot devices that involve holding a secret over the reader’s head—one that’s common knowledge to the characters themselves—to create a somewhat false sense of mystery and suspense. I won't divulge any details (gotta stay spoiler free), but the occurrence was a bit annoying, particularly since the rest of the plot was fairly But hey. Thasjusme. ^_^

All told, I quite enjoyed this fun--dare I say delightfully "frothy"?--book. I'd certainly recommend it to fans who enjoy both historicals and contemporaries…and caution those readers who prefer their historicals to be more…well, historical.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
"I liked it!"

2 comments:

  1. Ooh this looks like fun! I think I'd be too embarrassed to hold that cover in public though lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lol, oh this one :D Yes I am curious about this book cos the premise sounds funny

    ReplyDelete

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