‘From the little I’ve seen of you, I would say that you have need of neither a wife nor a fortune?’
He looked at her for a long moment. He felt as though he should actually pretend that he did need one or the other or both.
He wasn’t going to pretend.
‘Correct,’ he said.
‘Then I cannot allow you to make this ridiculous sacrifice on my behalf.’
Alex raised his eyebrows. It was unusual for a young lady to state that she would or would not allow a gentleman to behave in a certain way. Although nothing about this situation was usual.
How the Duke Met His Match is a delightful Regency romance.
Propose in haste
Repent at leisure?
Alexander, Duke of Harwell, couldn’t stand by and let a rogue ruin heiress Emma. To save her reputation, he shocks himself by announcing their engagement! But the widower doesn’t want to remarry, and independent Emma is equally displeased, even if a paper marriage is the only solution. Yet as Emma bonds with his young sons, filling their home with warmth again, dormant feelings stir in Alex and he wonders if he’s met his match…
Well, I pulled another all-nighter reading this book. I wasn’t expecting to get so sucked into the story, but I did. Sophia doesn’t waste any time hooking her readers in with a scandal that throws the two main characters together. Emma finds herself trying to flee a man who has become too handsy with her and is determined to ruin her reputation in order to get her to marry him. Alex steps in to save Emma and finds himself announcing that he is engaged to Emma to protect her reputation. Neither one wants to marry, but of course, we know that they will eventually fall in love as they spend more time together.
I enjoyed this book. It has this great balance of drama, spice, wit, and heart. The story moves along steadily, and even though there isn’t a lot of action, I still found myself engaged with what was happening. The world that Sophia has created is lush in detail and characters you want to get to know. I love it when an author forces the two main characters together because you know that they are going to clash at times, which means you will get plenty of make-up scenes.
Emma is this beautiful blend of quiet spunk, which you’d think wouldn’t work, but it does in this case. Emma has a quiet strength to her, and she never gets overly angry or acts rashly. But she isn’t a pushover; she has no problem matching Alex’s son’s spunky shenanigans and knows her worth. Alex is that typical broody “I will never love again” hero. This man fights hard against the feelings he is developing for Emma. His reluctance to acknowledge his feelings creates the main conflict between the two. I could have used more grovelling from Alex at the end of the book, but other than that, I enjoyed their love story.
How the Duke Met His Match is an easy Regency romance to fall in love with this summer.
Thank you, Harlequin Historical, for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
