| American
Sarah Hamilton wakes up in an inn to find a naked man in her
bed, in fact, a naked duke, and witnesses to the fact at the
door. If
Sarah hadn't promised her father on his death bed that she'd
return to
live in the country of his birth and seek out his brother, the
Earl of
Westbrooke, she wouldn't be in this predicament: misdirected by
an
inebriated young man who turns out to be her cousin, the new
young Earl of
Westbrooke. The Duke of Alvord has no choice but offer for her
to save her
reputation. Being American, Sarah wants nothing to do with the
wild and
debauched aristocracy, and can't understand what all the fuss
was about
since nothing happened...at least she doesn't think anything
happened
since she'd lived a sheltered life.
The Duke of Alvord had been considering offering for another
woman, a
woman who left him cold, but now that Sarah has fallen into his
lap, er,
bed, he's quite attracted to her and more than willing to marry
her and
hopefully beget an heir. Someone's been trying to kill him, and
he thinks
it's his greatly unhinged cousin who believes the dukedom should
be his.
If James can father a son, his line would continue and the
Alvord estates
and its title would not go to Richard, a cruel and nasty piece
of work.
James manages to convince a stubborn Sarah that if she won't
marry him
immediately, to at least allow him to continue to try to
persuade her to
marry him--and to marry him if their situation became public.
Sarah comes
to live with James and his aunts and sister since her cousin's
bachelor
establishment is no place for an unmarried young girl. But with
her
cousin as head of the family demanding that she marry Alvord to
stave off
scandal and with James using his kisses to convince her to
become his
duchess, her own heart and body rebel against her. Now with the
chance
that Alvord might marry and produce an heir, the villainous
Richard
redoubles his effort to eliminate him--or Sarah first.
THE NAKED DUKE is a well-written and enjoyable first novel. Ms.
MacKenzie
has a wonderful voice and is quite at home in the Regency era.
At times,
humorous and quite suspenseful, readers won't want to put it
down until
they read "The End". James is a remarkable hero and
every woman's fantasy,
and Sarah's a no-nonsense American yearning to have her way,
heart and
soul, with her naked duke. A word of caution for delicate
readers:
Richard, the villain of the novel, does things that will make
you feel
uncomfortable, but never fear, love and good, of course, triumph
in the
end. THE NAKED DUKE is a much- welcomed addition to the Regency
historical
genre and is highly recommended!
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