The Unexpected Duchess
Books | Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
3.4
Valerie Bowman
Bestselling author Valerie Bowman sets the stage in Regency England for her Playful Brides series, where couples' misadventures on the way to the altar are witty, romantic romps based on some of the world's most beloved plays. The first installment, The Unexpected Duchess, is inspired by Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.IN THIS BATTLE OF WITSLady Lucy Upton's tongue may be too sharp to attract suitors but her heart is good, and when her painfully shy friend Cassandra needs help she devises a brilliant scheme to help her discourage an unwanted suitor, the Duke of Claringdon. Lucy will hide behind the hedgerow and tell Cass just what to say to discourage the Duke of Claringdon...but it turns out that he's made of sterner stuff than either of them anticipated. And Lucy is shocked to discover that tangling with the tenacious man is the most fun she's had in ages.KISSES ARE THE BEST WEAPONLord Derek Hunt made a promise to his dying friend to marry the demure Cassandra, and for a man who wants nothing more than peace and quiet after the horrors of war, she'll make the perfect bride. If only the impudent Miss Upton will let him court the girl! Doing battle is the last thing on his mind, but bantering with Lucy behind the bushes is too tempting to resist. And in The Unexpected Duchess, the spoils of this war just may be true love... Valerie Bowman's Secret Brides novels are: "Intriguing [and] engaging."—Publishers Weekly"Too delightful to miss!"—Lisa Kleypas"Sparkling...witty...engaging." —RT Book Reviews
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Author
Valerie Bowman
Pages
368
Publisher
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published Date
2014-04-29
ISBN
1466839422 9781466839427
Community ReviewsSee all
"This was an ok book although I saw from a mile away how the characters were going to be connected. I really enjoyed the "duel" between Lucy and Derek and I did like some of their other verbal sparring but it wasn't enough to make me really like this book. And while I'm not a huge stickler for book conventions, even for me it was stretching credulity when the heroine is repeatedly going places with the hero without a chaperone and that doesn't affect her reputation one bit -- but being a little outspoken does. I also had a really tough time that Derek's promise to a dying friend would really take precedence to a woman's feelings and certainly there were other ways he could have taken care of her or looked after her. I also was irritated that there wasn't any explanation as to WHY this friend was adamant that Derek marry her. Why?<br/><br/>And I had an issue with Lucy's convenient guilt after the fact about her friend. She wants to be a good friend but she's messing around with Derek. She's supposed to be this strong, outspoken character but not acting like it and certainly not being a good friend at all. But wait, then she will be a good friend and tell Derek he should marry Cass (basically a lazy way to create suspense about their relationship but it just was irritating).<br/><br/>Another reviewer said this book wasn't really funny. I didn't really find the scenes funny, but I did not expect them to either. If you do think this is a regency rom-com then you might be disappointed. So it was a decent read and had some entertaining moments and I felt they really had chemistry but it's not a great book and you have to let a lot of things slide if you want to enjoy it. I gave it 3 stars because I found some of the dialogue to be well done and I liked the chemistry between them.<br/><br/>I really liked Garrett and would be interested in his story but the description sounded a lot like this one (2 people verbally sparring until a kiss changes everything), so not sure if I will read it."
Sandra Lee