How Not to Marry a Duke (The Daring Ladies, 2)
Despite the matchmaking efforts of his godmother, Daniel Millstone, Duke of Warwick, prefers to spend his time developing and improving inventions, and he is not happy at the interruptions caused by his new neighbor and her troublesome menagerie of pets. She turns out to be Lady Adeline Cameron, the half-Arabic half-sister of an old enemy, the Earl of Foster, but when he overhears the earl order her to marry a moneylender to pay off his debt, Daniel impulsively claims that he is courting her.
They share a physical attraction, but the false courtship does allow them to discover how well-suited they are in other important ways, and this process is involving. Both, it turns out, are concerned to help others: Daniel with his inventions, Adeline with her skills as a healer, and they soon learn to admire each other’s ability. The progress towards marriage based on love and mutual respect does take time, largely because they are reluctant to admit their growing feelings for each other, but it provides the opportunity for lessons on the dangers of prejudice, the value of tolerance, and the rewards of kindness, as well as insights into Arabic culture and cookery.
Recommended.
