Book review
With most of their feminine group being around age 23, the self-proclaimed ‘Sinful Wallflowers’ rapidly saw their options for advantageous marriages decreasing incrementally by the season.
And so, the Sinful Wallflowers decided to take matters into their own hands. No longer would they abide by society’s restrictive rules of courtship and appropriateness, in order to guide them to their desired goals. These women, together, vowed, going forward, to be sinful and opportunistic, in their united quest for solidly advantageous futures, both for themselves and their families.
Katherine Danvers, the eldest of four sisters (with a father untimely deceased) lacked the necessary dowry to lure prospective men in her town to marry her. If she failed in achieving such a marriage, her three younger sisters (who would be having their own respective seasons in mere months) would have little to offer their enterprising prospective husbands. So, Katherine, with wily bravery and desperation, decided to sacrifice herself to the wolves.
Katherine knew that the Duke of Thornton had not been seen in public in ten years. And so when the gossip rags impetuously claimed that he was engaged to a mystery woman, on minimal evidence, she determinedly decided to publicly claim herself as this mystery man’s betrothed, on a ruse.
The town in which Katherine resided predictably pounced on this gossip. As a result, Katherine soon found herself to be a local celebrity. The young woman’s bold appearances in society, as the faux future duchess, sparked equal parts adoration and judgment in the tight-knit community in which she lived.
Katherine’s plan was to play up this fiction, until her younger sisters were all happily engaged for marriage during the following season . . . her faux marriage to a duke, having bolstered their respective statuses in society.
Little did Katherine know that Alexander, the Duke of Thornton (who was, at the time, living in a remote castle in Scotland) had been avidly reading of her escapades in London, as well as her purported engagement to him.
Having been scarred with burns on the left side of his body and confined to a wheel chair for most of the past decade, Alexander had long given up hope of thoughts of a public life with a duchess and heirs to his substantial title.
Far from being offended by Katherine’s machinations, the Duke was intrigued by her boldness. Therefore, he vowed to confront her in person at a public ball.
When Katherine meets the enigmatic Alexander publicly at the ball, the chemistry between the pair is undeniable. And so the duo come up with a mutually agreeable ruse, whereby the unlikely couple will spend time alone together in Alexander’s remote Scotland castle, along with his loyal servants, for at least a week.
During this time, Katherine will be able to maintain her ruse, just long enough to protect her family’s reputation, and ensure her younger sisters’ placement in society as marriageable young women. Meanwhile, Alexander will temporarily cure his everlasting loneliness, via the company of a bold and impetuous young female.
Alexander and Katherine certainly didn’t plan on falling in love with one another during the course of their agreement.
But can Alexander allow Katherine (the latter of whom had always secretly desired a large family and a life of travel) to settle for a marriage which (at least according to his doctors) can promise her none of what she seeks for a future?
As someone who rarely gives any book five stars, I have to say, I truly adored this story wholeheartedly, with virtually no complaints!
This was, by all accounts, a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which, (despite its cheeky sideways references to the aforementioned fairy tale early in the novel), cleverly doesn’t truly reveal its true connection to the beloved story, until much later.
Here is a scarred hero who lives in isolation, with servants who love him dearly, and wish him the best, out of loyalty and kindness to him (despite his outward mask of coldness and self-imposed isolation from society).
30-year old Alexander is a person of great wealth and power, who believes himself incapable of ever providing the destined love of his life with the physical connection and children that she desires so ardently.
Unlike with the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, there is no innocent magical rose in a glass, waiting for true love and a kiss to ‘save’ Alexander. And yet, I adore how this beloved fairy tale metaphor is gracefully addressed in this story.
Admittedly, there is not much plot to My Darling Duke, following the initial deception and resulting agreement between Katherine and Alexander. Nonetheless, I truly loved and believed in the slow-burn character development and romance between these two characters. Alexander and Kitty are both stubborn, smart, prideful and determined individuals . . . who ultimately fall in love with one another, through their uniquely sensual encounters and interactions.
I also appreciated that Katherine’s friends / family, along with Alexander’s relations and service staff (even upon learning of their mutual deceit) never judged or worked to undermine the pair. Rather they supported this coupling wholeheartedly. That was truly refreshing!
Further, I liked how, in the final chapters, when Alexander inevitably screwed up, it was ultimately KATHERINE, not Alexander, who made the grand gesture and steps toward seduction that ultimately secured this couple’s Happily Ever After.
(And sure, maybe the medical science behind what occurred, in terms of Alexander’s ‘magical male’ healing, is a bit questionable. But hey, it’s a fairy tale retelling after all, right?)
Admittedly, for readers who like a lot of smut in their period-piece romances, this tale might disappoint them . . .
But if you want a true connection between intellectual and emotional equals, featuring a satisfying and genuine slow-burn connection . . . with a lot of intense, well-written, heat to boot . . . I don’t think you can go wrong with this quick, heart warming, well-written, and adorably R-rated Beauty and the Beast retelling.
- Goodreads rating – 4.05
- REVIEW – Julie