Series: The Duke's Den, #2
Tropes & Traits: illegitimate hero; swoonworthy
Publication Date: 04.30.19
Genre/Setting: Historical; Victorian; London, England, 1845
Heat Level: 3.5/5
Rating: 5 stars!
Although self-made man Aidan Iverson has attained wealth and gained power, especially through his partial ownership in Lyon's Gentleman's Club, his uncertain birth and clear lack of title leave him barred from certain circles. Regardless of his business acumen, his inferior birth means that no matter what he could potentially contribute to society, he remains on the outskirts of polite society. Aidan pulled himself up from the workhouse where his mother left him and he won't accept loans or incur debts from anyone. He wants to make it on his own terms but now it seems the best way to ingratiate himself in society is to marry an eligible highborn lady.
Well-educated granddaughter of a wealthy baronet, Miss Diana Ashby is everything a proper lady should be, apart from her scientific and decidedly unladylike interest in inventing. She has no desire to marry, at least not yet, and only wants to be left alone with her work.
As a partner in the Duke's Den, Aidan receives many applications from hopeful inventors in search of funding and when Diana appears to present her invention, the two wind up with a different sort of deal: Aidan will help her find investors and she'll help him find a noble wife. If she fails, at the end of one month's time she will marry Aidan herself. As the two spend more time together in collaboration, Aidan realizes that Diana is all he's wanted all along but convincing her that she means more to him than his ambitions may prove impossible.
Aidan views marriage as a very logical business transaction but he truly longs for a family and for answers about his origins. Diana wants to make up for her father's mistakes by creating an invention that will help her family's dwindling finances; she has no time for fanciful notions of love. She began to get on my nerves a bit toward the end but I loved Aidan and I couldn't put this book down. It was a great read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Well-educated granddaughter of a wealthy baronet, Miss Diana Ashby is everything a proper lady should be, apart from her scientific and decidedly unladylike interest in inventing. She has no desire to marry, at least not yet, and only wants to be left alone with her work.
As a partner in the Duke's Den, Aidan receives many applications from hopeful inventors in search of funding and when Diana appears to present her invention, the two wind up with a different sort of deal: Aidan will help her find investors and she'll help him find a noble wife. If she fails, at the end of one month's time she will marry Aidan herself. As the two spend more time together in collaboration, Aidan realizes that Diana is all he's wanted all along but convincing her that she means more to him than his ambitions may prove impossible.
Aidan views marriage as a very logical business transaction but he truly longs for a family and for answers about his origins. Diana wants to make up for her father's mistakes by creating an invention that will help her family's dwindling finances; she has no time for fanciful notions of love. She began to get on my nerves a bit toward the end but I loved Aidan and I couldn't put this book down. It was a great read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2540967653?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
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