Review: Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake

 

Synopsis

Miss Julia Beaumont has exactly one night to find herself a husband…

The Weatherford Ball is the last chance Julia Beaumont has to escape the clutches of her horrid stepmother. Any potential husband will do—rich, poor, even a reasonably well-groomed walrus. But all of Julia’s matrimonial chances are completely obliterated…thanks to the actions of an infuriating and utterly rakish duke.

Gregory Carter, Duke of Ashworth, would never risk his cherished bachelorhood by flirting with marriage-starved debutantes. But one look at the luscious and refreshingly clever Julia, and he simply can’t resist a stolen kiss—scandal be damned. Then just as things start getting deliciously interesting, the lady flees…leaving only a slipper behind.

And it must have been one dandy of a kiss. Because now Julia has proposed to him. After all, the lady needs a husband, and this roguish duke will certainly do. It’s simply a matter of making him the perfect scandalous offer…

Add to Goodreads Shelf

Review

It's a well-paced historical romance with two of the most interesting main characters I have come across in fiction. Their sense of humor made it all the more interesting. I found it hard to put down once I started reading and it had me laughing many times. The story is perfect and there is enough drama to keep readers entertained.

Julia is a spinster who doesn't want to stay one. She wants a life away from her stepmother even if it means she must marry someone she doesn't like. Love doesn't even enter the equation. So, when by a lucky chance she is allowed to attend a ball to chaperone her step-sister, she knows this must be it. She might never get another chance at finding herself a husband. Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned.

Gregory never wants to marry. In fact, he hates the very idea and knows that no woman can be happy with him. Never has in his entire life been tempted to consider matrimony until he meets Julia. There is something about her that makes it difficult to get her out of his head. Hounded by the husbands of women who can't seem to leave him alone, marriage might give him a much-needed reprieve from early morning duels.

What seems like a perfect idea, a marriage of convenience, might soon turn into a battle of wills and a fight against temptation. Neither Julia nor Gregory is ready to back down from this race against fate.

The story has all the ingredients of a great romance and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. So glad I picked it up. Also, want to thank the publisher for the complimentary copy I received via NetGalley.