Indeed, why does anyone fall in love? Michael, the Duke of Hadlow is way too busy being Duke-ish to concentrate on his love life. He is determined to not rest on his Duke-ish laurels and spends most of his time in business pursuits. He doesn’t have patience for small talk or common courtesies, so going to a ball and meeting a woman isn’t high on his list. Lucky for him, a woman, in the guise of a much needed secretary falls in his lap. Edwina, recently widowed and needing to support she and her daughter Gertrude, interview for the position of the Duke of Hadlow’s secretary. Edwina, having invested her previous husbands money successfully before her brother in law mis-managed and lost it all, is very bright. A trait that the Duke finds extremely attractive. Of course, the fact that she is gorgeous doesn’t work against her either. To give the Duke credit though, it is her mind he is the most attracted to and the fact that she isn’t offended by his discourteous disposition.

I’m sure the names Edwina and Gertrude were common names historically, however, it did seem odd to me that their names seemed old fashioned yet, the Duke’s name was the more current and very common Michael. Ok, does this have anything to do with the plot or whether I liked or disliked the book? Not really, other than it was jarring to hear the name Michael in concert with the names Edwina and Gertrude. But, I’m letting myself get sidetracked… I liked quite a few things about this novel.

1. Edwina, although gorgeous, was liked because she had a brain. Very unusual for this time!
2. Gertrude at six, had quite a few things in common with the Duke. They were both impolite, asked too many questions, and weren’t concerned with how others perceived them.
3. I loved how when Edwina would teach Gertrude how to be polite, use please and thank you, consider how she would like to be treated as how she should treat others… The Duke was learning at the same time. Kind of a reverse pygmalion.
4. Edwina, decided to give in to her widowy (word?) rights. You betcha. She was going to sleep with the Duke!

There was a bit of humor in the telling of Edwina and Michael’s ( don’t their names sound funny?) story.  There was a LOT of passion. The Duke, although insensitive, did learn and get less insensitive. He also (finally) saw Edwina’s worth and fought for her. As the hero should in all historical romances! This was my first novel by Megan Frampton and I liked her writing style! I also love a happy ending, and by the end of the book, I definitely knew why this particular Duke fell in love. ❤️❤️❤️

Click the link to purchase!  Why Do Dukes Fall in Love?: A Dukes Behaving Badly Novel

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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