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A review by bananatricky
The Duke's Accidental Wife by Erica Ridley
4.0
Three and a half stars.
Am I up-to-date with this series yet?
Another couple we have seen signalled on the horizon for some time, the very honourable Duke of Ravenwood and Miss Katherine Ross.
Ravenwood is on the surface a cold, dutiful Duke, a man who religiously attends to his duties in the House of Lords but dislikes the company of other people. Inside however he is a true romantic and a poet, forever scarred by the deaths of his parents and his guardian's callous removal of any and all memories of them from his home.
Katherine is Ravenwood's opposite, she is a patron of the arts, she owns her own museum and she likes nothing more than to entertain others.
When Ravenwood's sister Amelia (the heroine of the first of these novellas) invites him to supper and asks him to assist Katherine by attending an auction she is holding (Ravenwood's rare presence at an event would bring the rest of the ton flocking) he can't say no. But when Katherine's Aunt Havens accidentally turns an innocent encounter into a potential scandal there is no choice but for the two of them to marry to save Katherine's face.
This is kind of a mish-mash of [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg|3060926] and [b:The Taming of the Shrew|47021|The Taming of the Shrew|William Shakespeare|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1327935253s/47021.jpg|3152341]. Katherine and Ravenwood dislike each other (whilst of course privately acknowledging the hotness) but their dislike is based on ignorance and prejudice. Once they are forced into marriage they start to uncover their misconceptions.
Why the so-so mark? Ravenwood and Katherine individually were such nice characters that I just couldn't understand why they took so long to gel.
I like these books but I have to say they are totally modern books set in a historical setting. There is no attempt to bring historical accuracy to the characters' actions or speech which can lead to some glaring anachronisms. That might put you off if you want to be immersed in the period, TBH these books are so short I just enjoy the romp.
Am I up-to-date with this series yet?
Another couple we have seen signalled on the horizon for some time, the very honourable Duke of Ravenwood and Miss Katherine Ross.
Ravenwood is on the surface a cold, dutiful Duke, a man who religiously attends to his duties in the House of Lords but dislikes the company of other people. Inside however he is a true romantic and a poet, forever scarred by the deaths of his parents and his guardian's callous removal of any and all memories of them from his home.
Katherine is Ravenwood's opposite, she is a patron of the arts, she owns her own museum and she likes nothing more than to entertain others.
When Ravenwood's sister Amelia (the heroine of the first of these novellas) invites him to supper and asks him to assist Katherine by attending an auction she is holding (Ravenwood's rare presence at an event would bring the rest of the ton flocking) he can't say no. But when Katherine's Aunt Havens accidentally turns an innocent encounter into a potential scandal there is no choice but for the two of them to marry to save Katherine's face.
This is kind of a mish-mash of [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg|3060926] and [b:The Taming of the Shrew|47021|The Taming of the Shrew|William Shakespeare|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1327935253s/47021.jpg|3152341]. Katherine and Ravenwood dislike each other (whilst of course privately acknowledging the hotness) but their dislike is based on ignorance and prejudice. Once they are forced into marriage they start to uncover their misconceptions.
Why the so-so mark? Ravenwood and Katherine individually were such nice characters that I just couldn't understand why they took so long to gel.
I like these books but I have to say they are totally modern books set in a historical setting. There is no attempt to bring historical accuracy to the characters' actions or speech which can lead to some glaring anachronisms. That might put you off if you want to be immersed in the period, TBH these books are so short I just enjoy the romp.