Series: All the Duke's Sins, #2
Traits & Tropes: hidden identity; heroine is illegitimate; titled hero; hero needs to marry for money; compromised
Publication Date: 05.24.22
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; Staffordshire/London, England, 1805
Heat Level: 2
Rating: 4/5
As the illegitimate daughter of a duke, raised amongst working class miners, Cailin Audley is struggling to find her place in her father’s world. She merely wants her independence back and the freedom to explore the museums and educational opportunities to be found in London. Unfortunately, she keeps making social faux pas, one of which sees her and her family off to the country for an intimate house party rather than face the rigors of the Season in London. Cailin quickly recognizes that her family is trying to manipulate her into marriage, and she is having none of it. She’s experienced a broken heart before and has no interest in going there again, especially not with the roguishly charming Duke of St. James.
Courtland Balfour, the Duke of St. James, is floundering under the weight of the debts his father left him to deal with. He can see no way out and loathes that it seems his only option is to become a fortune hunter and find an heiress to marry lest he find himself in debtor’s prison. But he’s always done all he can to protect his siblings and now is no different. He knows his duty and is prepared to do it, so of course the one lady he’s genuinely interested in has no interest in marriage and couldn’t care less about his title. When a desperate act sees these two firmly in the middle of another scandal, Courtland takes the chance to try to convince Cailin of his feelings for her.
Full disclosure, I really wasn’t sure about this book at first. It’s a terribly slow burn and Cailin begins the story by costing a man his job and seeming unconcerned about it, unable to fathom why he might be annoyed with her. She has a difficult time seeing beyond her own loneliness to the plight of others and seeing that they can still share those desolate feelings with her, despite having high rank. Thankfully, she does learn this as she comes to know Courtland and care for him. They each open the other’s eyes to a different way of viewing the world around them and I really enjoyed their conversations. I only wish they’d had more conversations earlier on or maybe that Cailin’s animosity hadn’t endured quite so long, just so we could’ve had more time for them to ‘court’ and get to know each other on the page. That said, these two were definitely an example of ‘when you know, you know,’ and they didn’t really need more time together. I loved how Courtland just completely lost any smoothness or charm he’d had with women around Cailin and became all nervous and prone to anxious chattering. I found that adorably endearing and a sweet glimpse of the genuinely good, caring, protective man he was beneath his roguish reputation. His sisters were all complete pills and their antics drove me crazy. He definitely handled them with more grace and patience than I would have, and I loved finally seeing him get something for himself for a change rather than always having to care for others. In the same way, I was glad to see Cailin stand up for herself to her protective and sometimes overbearing brothers, saying who she wanted to be with and in no uncertain terms. Overall, I really did enjoy this story and I look forward to the next installment in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4253815270
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3551719940
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