Four Weddings and a Duke
After the stranger she meets at a wedding turns out to be none other than the Duke of Beaubrooke, Lavinia Wynnburn is mortified. Not that she was expecting an offer of marriage, but she did express some unfashionably radical opinions. Alexander Reddington, however, shares her views. He is much more interested in his botanical research than the fashionable world, but after his father and older brother die, he unexpectedly inherits not only the title, but also its obligations. One of which is to marry one of the three Wynnburn sisters. The oldest and youngest are more socially adept, but of course it is Lavinia whom he chooses.
Although they do seem compatible and find each other physically attractive, the marriage gets off to a rough start. They have much to learn about each other’s expectations and their own social duties, but if they hope to establish a happy relationship, they will have to make adjustments before it is too late. As an exploration of the challenges confronting newlyweds, the cautionary note is valuable, but the plot rambles, the distracting rivalry/friendship between Alex and Nigel grows rather bizarre, and Americanisms feel out of place in a romance set in 19th-century England. Uneven.
