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A review by bhavani
Dukes, Actually by Erica Ridley
5.0
I'd forgotten what a delight Erica Ridley's books are!
Introverted Adam is shy and becomes tongue tied in social situations, which leaves him friendless and lonely. As a duke, he needs to marry but doesn't want the loveless society marriage of his parents.
Extroverted Carole is hiding the grief of losing her mother too soon and caring for her father, who hides from the world in his grief. To avoid her loneliness, she's made herself useful to everyone in her village. She doesn't want to marry because she wants to avoid the heartbreak of losing a partner.
These two neighbours meet and make a deal. She'll design his billiard room and teach him to play, help him throw a party, and introduce him to people so he can apply those skills in London and its marriage mart. In exchange, she gets to live her dream of being an architect. Commence Operation Billiards!
I find it difficult to articulate what's good about the stories I read. All I can think to say about this 142-page book is imagine two broken people whose broken parts fit together perfectly. That's Adam and Carole.
There's also a lovely secondary love story between his elderly butler and her elderly lady's maid, both of whom are the only father and mother figures they knew growing up.
Introverted Adam is shy and becomes tongue tied in social situations, which leaves him friendless and lonely. As a duke, he needs to marry but doesn't want the loveless society marriage of his parents.
Extroverted Carole is hiding the grief of losing her mother too soon and caring for her father, who hides from the world in his grief. To avoid her loneliness, she's made herself useful to everyone in her village. She doesn't want to marry because she wants to avoid the heartbreak of losing a partner.
These two neighbours meet and make a deal. She'll design his billiard room and teach him to play, help him throw a party, and introduce him to people so he can apply those skills in London and its marriage mart. In exchange, she gets to live her dream of being an architect. Commence Operation Billiards!
I find it difficult to articulate what's good about the stories I read. All I can think to say about this 142-page book is imagine two broken people whose broken parts fit together perfectly. That's Adam and Carole.
There's also a lovely secondary love story between his elderly butler and her elderly lady's maid, both of whom are the only father and mother figures they knew growing up.