In Vicky Dreiling's debut in the historical romance series, she takes us on a journey of two hearts. Tristan Gatewick, the Duke of Shelbourne, is in need to marry and to have a heir. And when he seeks out Tessa Mansfield, the notorious matchmaker, he's in for a surprise. Tristan doesn't want to marry for love, while Tessa has a deep darkest shameful secret of her own and wants her independence. But when she agrees to help set up the Duke with a match, she set out 24 lovely women to vie for his attention and courtship, while he would eliminate them one by one for their faults. In the process, he learns about Tessa and is tempted to touch her heart and give her pleasure. But when a face from her past ruins her peace, they're in for some obstacles of their own. Between the two of them, we see them in an emotional crisis and how they feel for each other. Little did they know, when they cast all doubts aside, they make a perfect match of their own for society. A beautiful debut! I really enjoyed the chemistry at the beginning between Tessa and Tristen but saying that this book was about 150 pages too long. By the time I reached the end of this book I was skimming pages quickly that felt repetitive and unnecessary. Also the hero's reaction to the heroines 'secret' was entirely unattractive and overblown it made me wish she had 24 bachelors to pick from. I thought this book was going to be better than it was but I still really liked the first half of it and hero's mother and sister were very lovable characters that I will probably read the next book in the series. One thing that the book had to recommend it was the female friendship far outweighed the catty competition.
What do You think about How To Marry A Duke (2011)?
For a Regency England version of "The Bachelor," it's not half-bad. (I only feel half-demeaned.)
—sidney
