The Duke That I Marry by Cathy Maxwell

January 10, 2019
I must be really smart or maybe I’ve just read too many romances

http://www.cathymaxwell.com/
In Cathy Maxwell’s The Duke That I Marry, I spotted the villain as soon as he appeared on the page. He hadn’t even said a word. Since I don’t read too many mystery books, it must be the ton of British mystery shows I watch. After thousands of Poirot, Marple, Frost, Sherlock, Vera, Barnaby, and my latest obsession, Shetland with Jimmy Perez, it’s hard to hide the villain.

Anyway, the story begins with a betrothal being broken by Willa Reverly. She believes she is being ignored by her fella, Matthew Addison, Duke of Camberly – and she is. Since his ascension to the title he’s had a lot to take care of, and attending to his fiancée is not at the top of his list. But Willa gets his attention fast by sending him a note breaking off their engagement. Well, he needs her money, so he drops everything he’s doing and dashes off to the city. Matthew is quite a smooth talker when it comes to the ladies, and it isn’t long before he has Willa back into his good graces. Their engagement is back on.

Well, Willa’s actions did one unforeseen things – it sparked Matthew’s interest and made a few things start to twitch. All of a sudden Mathew wants Willa. Given Matthew’s past interest in another woman, this portion of the story seemed a little hurried. But, anyway now Matthew wants Willa and he is more than eager to make her his. Willa, of course, wants love in her marriage. After some really horrible advice from her mother about bleeding, size, and dying in childbirth, Willa is not all that excited about her wedding night. And, unlike numerous Romanceland first times, Willa’s first time is a disaster. While some people may not care for the actions of the groom, I thought it was a refreshing change from most of the romanticized versions which are written in novels. I thought the wedding night was both sympathetic and realistic. It gave both Willa and Matthew a chance to grow, adjust, respect each other, and finally love each other.

Overall, while this story didn’t blow me away, I did like it. I found both Matthew and Willa to be interesting characters. They both were complex characters with many flaws, and that’s what made this story good. We get to watch both characters accept their flaws, and grow with them. I did have some quibbles with Matthew’s sisters. I thought they were rude, overbearing, selfish women who didn’t care whether they hurt Willa or not. I also thought that the mystery, blackmail, and villain were the weaknesses in this story. While I’m not giving this a rousing recommendation, I do recommend it.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot