On The Shelf Book Review

She meets a handsome man at a London ball, falls head over heels, and the next morning receives a marriage proposal. She accepts, and when she rushes to meet her prince charming, she finds out her new fiancé is his brother. The man she met last night at the ball is her fiancé’s half-brother, Rafe, who is a rake of the first order.

Phoebe has already had a taste of scandal, and as a result her father, the vicar, locked her away until this chance to come to London . Phoebe has vowed never to be embroiled in scandal again and tries to repress her feelings for Rafe and goes ahead with the wedding to his brother, which pleases everyone except her. Another reason to proceed with the wedding is the condition in her grandfather’s will. The first of his granddaughters to marry a duke will inherit his vast fortune and Phoebe’s fiancé is guaranteed a dukedom.  Rafe is determined to mend his ways, be the better man, and not get in the way of his brother’s and Phoebe’s happiness. He is convinced he can control his feelings until he finds himself alone with Phoebe constantly, thanks to Phoebe’s conniving aunt, who is determined that her stepdaughter shall marry the duke.

Throw into the mix the two managers of the vast fortune, who do not want to lose their commissions, and a dressmaker who fancies himself a fairy godmother and you have yourself an entertaining story. This story even has the hero riding to the rescue on a white horse, though according to the dressmaking fairy godmother, “I had the very devil of a time finding a white one.”

“Desperately Seeking a Duke,” is the first in the “The Heiress Brides” series by Celeste Bradley.

Each book is about one cousin; the next two are about Deirdre and Sophie, whom readers get to know in this book. Each story line is loosely based on Grimm fairy tales; this book is based after “Sleeping Beauty.”

This isn’t your average romance novel. There is comedy, suspense, and readers will be constantly guessing what will happen next to rip Phoebe and Rafe apart. If you are a fan of historical romance, this is a series you won’t want to miss.

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