New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath continues her Once Upon a Dukedom series with this lush love story of a duke who discovers what he desires in a wife may not be what he needs...
THE DUCHESS HUNT
by LORRAINE HEATH
Series: Once Upon a Dukedom #2
Publication date: September 28, 2021
Published by: Avon Romance
Genre: historical romance
SYNOPSIS
Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. However, restoring the dukedom—left in ruins by his father—to its former glory demands all his time, with little room for sentiment. He places an advert encouraging the single ladies of the ton to write why they should be the one chosen, and leaves it to his efficient secretary to select his future wife.
If there exists a more unpleasant task in the world than deciding who is to marry the man you love, Penelope Pettypeace certainly can’t imagine what it might be. Still, she is determined to find the perfect bride for her clueless, yet ruthlessly charming employer.
But when an anonymous note threatens to reveal truths best hidden, Kingsland has no choice but to confront the danger with Penelope at his side. Beguiled by the strong-willed, courageous beauty, he realizes he’s willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe within his arms. Could it be the duchess he’s hunting for has been in front of him all along?
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Praise for Lorraine Heath:
“Heath opens her Once Upon a Dukedom series with a satisfying, character-driven Victorian romance... a promising spin-off.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Scoundrel of My Heart
“Heath is known for her beautiful, deeply emotional romances.” -- Washington Post
“This Sins for All Seasons series finale is full of heart.” -- Kirkus Reviews on Beauty Tempts the Beast
“Heath concludes her Sins for All Seasons series...with a true treat of a Victorian romance... when Althea asks Beast for lessons in seduction, their already simmering chemistry comes to a boil. Heath may have saved the best for last.” -- Publishers Weekly on Beauty Tempts the Beast
"Heath has crafted a love story dedicated to the inherent romanticism of books; she understands the sensual, comforting, compassionate appeal of books, reading, and those that treasure them. The Earl Takes a Fancy possesses all her usual skill for devising romance, but more potently, it also celebrates a more deep-seated emotion and sense of connection familiar to any bookworm." -- Entertainment Weekly
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lorraine Heath has always had a soft spot for emotional love stories. No doubt because growing up, watching movies with her mom, she was taught that the best movies "won't half make you cry."
She is the daughter of a British beauty (her mom won second place in a beauty contest sponsored by Max Factor® during which she received a kiss from Caesar Romero, (the Joker on the original Batman TV series) and a Texan who was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Lorraine was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, but soon after moved to Texas. Her "dual" nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both heritages through her stories.
When she received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her to create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” She began her career writing training manuals and computer code for the IRS, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since. Her novels have been recognized with numerous industry awards and have appeared on bestseller lists, including USA TODAY and the New York Times.
The author of more than 60 novels, she writes historical and contemporary romance for adults and historical romance for teen readers. Under the names Rachel Hawthorne and Jade Parker, she writes popular contemporary, historical, and paranormal romance for teens readers. She also writes young adult novels with her son under the name J. A. London.
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The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine HeathMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
If there existed a moreunpleasant task in the worldthan selecting the woman whowas to marry the man you loved,Penelope Pettypeacecertainly couldn’t imaginewhat it might be.
Sometimes you open up a book and the very first line of the book is so attention grabbing that you're immediately compelled to read more. I experienced that with The Duchess Hunt and continued to be pulled in the deeper I went. Likewise, I was intrigued by both main characters from the start.
Hugh was shrewd, intense, a bit aloof, but far from cold. He was an enlightened man for that time because he had no qualms about hiring a female as his right-hand woman. Not only that, but he views at her as his equal in intelligence and competency. Getting into his inner thoughts early on, you notice that after eight years of working closely together, he's more intrigued by her than he allows himself to acknowledge. He frequently pulls himself back from his awareness of her as a woman, mainly because of the power dynamic between the two of them, and that caused a tug of war between his heart and his head. I really enjoyed the angst as it built in momentum during his inner struggle. What was funny was that his latent feelings for her were glaringly obvious to not only the reader, but his mother and closest friends as well. The only one who seemed to be in the dark (or denial) for much of the book was the hero. Penelope was aware of her own feelings, but completely unaware of his.
Blast her impertinent heart.Why did it always have toleap with joy wheneverher gaze fell on him?Why did it have to yearn forwhat it could never possess?
If Penelope Pettypeace had any inkling that the Duke who employed her had any feelings for her other than professional, she just might have run. Though she has been secretly in love with the man for years, she isn't really the person who allows herself to get close to people because of her past. She's a very private person who has been burned badly because of the secret she holds, which ironically could be the thing that sparked Hugh's curiosity to look at her more than surface deep. She has an air of mystery about her that presents an appealing puzzle to a man like him.
The more he unveiled,the more curious he became.He was desperate to know everything.She’d always been an important part of thebusiness side of his life, but it seemedat some point today a shifthad occurred in his world,and he could no longerrelegate her to only a portion of it.
Hugh is an investor, problem solver and astute businessman. The fact that he has known Pettypeace for so long and knows very little personal information about her makes him appreciate even the smallest insight as a gift. And the way he secretly craved being able to make her smile and laugh was the sweetest. It was these small details that made me root for the two of them and feel that they were made for each other. As well, it was refreshing to read a romance where the couple was so similar in personality rather than complete opposites.
They were both on the same wave length to the point that they could even finish each other's sentences and anticipate what the other would want or need. He put his complete trust in her abilities to handle his business empire if he had to travel in search of new opportunities. More importantly, he believed that she knew him so well, that she could even handle the tedious task of finding him a suitable wife better than he could. I will say that once the two of them started to explore their interest in each other a little bit, it felt a bit odd that they continued their discussions of her quest in finding him a wife. They were being a bit willfully ignorant about reality. The reality was that he was behaving jealously at the thought of her dancing with another man, he was possessive, and protective over her when she got sick. Then he would turn those thoughts off like a light switch and pretend that everything was casual until his permanent partner was found.
They both also had very big secrets that they held back from sharing with each other for the majority of the book. Once his secret came out, I'm not going to lie, it made me uncomfortable. I couldn't quite wrap my head around how this was so casually explained away because to me, I think there needed to be something much more drastic pushing Hugh to do something like that. Up until this point, the book was easily five stars, but this plot point did detract from my enjoyment. Then Penelope's secret was outed and while is was quite tragic, my sympathy wasn't completely there for her because she continued hiding it from him until the bitter end. I understand the shame that went along with it but there was a lack of trust on her part that was disappointing after he opened up to her with his massive secret.
The chemistry and drawn out anticipation over this couple made this romance really enjoyable for the most part. While there were some issues I had with the plot, the dynamic between Hugh and Penelope made up for a lot. I also really liked the detail that Lorraine Heath put into the epilogue, and thought it was an interesting way to close the story. If you're looking for a historical romance that's a little different from the common opposites attract, this could be the right book for you.
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They were both on the same wave length to the point that they could even finish each other's sentences and anticipate what the other would want or need. He put his complete trust in her abilities to handle his business empire if he had to travel in search of new opportunities. More importantly, he believed that she knew him so well, that she could even handle the tedious task of finding him a suitable wife better than he could. I will say that once the two of them started to explore their interest in each other a little bit, it felt a bit odd that they continued their discussions of her quest in finding him a wife. They were being a bit willfully ignorant about reality. The reality was that he was behaving jealously at the thought of her dancing with another man, he was possessive, and protective over her when she got sick. Then he would turn those thoughts off like a light switch and pretend that everything was casual until his permanent partner was found.
They both also had very big secrets that they held back from sharing with each other for the majority of the book. Once his secret came out, I'm not going to lie, it made me uncomfortable. I couldn't quite wrap my head around how this was so casually explained away because to me, I think there needed to be something much more drastic pushing Hugh to do something like that. Up until this point, the book was easily five stars, but this plot point did detract from my enjoyment. Then Penelope's secret was outed and while is was quite tragic, my sympathy wasn't completely there for her because she continued hiding it from him until the bitter end. I understand the shame that went along with it but there was a lack of trust on her part that was disappointing after he opened up to her with his massive secret.
The chemistry and drawn out anticipation over this couple made this romance really enjoyable for the most part. While there were some issues I had with the plot, the dynamic between Hugh and Penelope made up for a lot. I also really liked the detail that Lorraine Heath put into the epilogue, and thought it was an interesting way to close the story. If you're looking for a historical romance that's a little different from the common opposites attract, this could be the right book for you.
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