Sally MacKenzie
Grade: C
Genre: historical romance
Sex scenes: mild
Source: NetGalley
Duchess of Love: (1) Bedding Lord Ned, (2) Surprising Lord Jack, (3) Loving Lord Ash
Romance Reading Bingo Challenge 2014: A book with a 'class differences' relationship
Estranged for the eight years of
their marriage, nothing about Kit and Jess’s relationship has ever been normal.
They had been childhood friends, but when circumstances force the future Duke
of Greycliffe to marry the family groom’s daughter in order to save Jess’s
reputation, their relationship has never been the same. As a result of
society’s poisonous gossip, Kit thinks that Jess has slept with every male in
the county; while Jess believes Kit to have had his fair share of discreet
affairs. Kit has finally faced up to the reality that he needs an heir - which
requires reuniting and reconciling with his wife who has every reason to hate
him for abandoning her. To top it off, his mother is the infamous matchmaker,
the Duchess of Love, who considers her eldest son’s unhappy marriage her one
failure.
Their reunion doesn’t get them
off to the best start, though they both commit to a trial period in an effort
to make their marriage work. It’s the classic case of each party refusing to
profess their love for each other and thus realising that they’re both in the
same boat. Given their class differences, Jess has never thought that she was
good enough for Kit and their eight years of separation has only reinforced
that belief. In turn, Kit never considered that Jess might return his feelings.
As the pair are forced to face the London social scene, there’s only a matter
of time before truths from eight years ago rise to the surface that will change
their marriage … for the better.
I found this to be a very lukewarm read and the sex scene was just plain awkward. It didn’t help that in the case of the latter, the build-up had been so prolonged that by the time we got to it, it was just a huge anti-climax (no pun intended). That said, there were glimpses of some very good writing. I didn’t particularly like either Jess or Kit, but I was convinced by their love for one another. I particularly like this snapshot of Kit’s feelings soon after the pair have reunited.
“He’d
forgotten the full affect her presence had on him. He felt a bit giddy, a
little irresponsible, always on the verge of doing something he’d regret when
he was with her.”
Their mutual distrust of one
another was infuriating. Jess is sure that Kit didn’t come to bed because he
sought out the comforting arms of a willing servant and similarly, Kit is
convinced that Jess will return to her flirtatious ways in London. They’re both
completely blind to each other’s utter devotion and while this can sometimes be
captured excellently, I felt that it was a little overdone in this case.
Loving Lord Ash did have redeeming features: there were moments of
funny dialogue and I liked Jess’s huge dog, ‘Fluffy’. The idea that the Duchess
of Greycliffe is society’s matchmaker and overall font of all romantic
knowledge was brilliant, even more so because it’s a widely-known fact. I’m
always willing to try new authors, especially authors who write historical
romance; I’m open to trying another Sally MacKenzie novel but it's going to have to be a stunner.
Image courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.
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