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DUKE MOST WANTED
The Heiress Brides - Book 3
Celeste Bradley
St. Martin's
ISBN 9780312939700
May 2008
Historical Romance
The late Sir Hamish Pickering willed his significant
fortune to the female descendant who could marry a duke.
A generation has passed without success and now the
challenge falls to three granddaughters, cousins Phoebe,
Deirdre and Sophie. Phoebe is the dutiful vicar's
daughter who gave up her chance to win the fortune by
choosing true love over life as a marchioness. Society
belle Deirdre has married the jilted marquis and
lovingly assumed the role of mother to his young
daughter. Bookish and plain Sophie feels she has no hope
to win a duke of her own or the Pickering money,
especially since Deirdre (who doesn't need the money) is
poised to inherit any day now. Sophie knows her new
found freedom is tenuous. Returning to her unhappy home
is out of the question and so she sets herself once more
on a jeopardous path to find a position as a decent
man's wife. The man Sophie loves, Graham is out of her
reach, especially now, as his father's unfortunate
hunting expedition has made him the new Duke of
Edencourt.
Graham had never expected to inherit as the youngest son
of a duke, instead, he had immersed himself in such
frivolous pursuits as whiskey, cards and widows. It was
only upon becoming friends with the intelligent and
fiercely witty Sophie, did he begin to see the idleness
of his mind and actions. When the reality of his title
and the true state of affairs came to light, it was
Sophie he wanted to
take into confidence. Graham needed a rich wife and fast
if he was to save his crumbling, debt-laden estate and
the starving cottagers who still called his family lands
home. Suddenly, his search for a bride was derailed as
Sophie (now called Sofia) became a glamorous socialite
in search of a husband. Knowing that his Sophie had no
money of her own and unaware of the Pickering fortune,
Graham found himself in an impossible situation, his
desire for Sophie versus family honor (such
as it was) and a new sense of responsibility.
Graham feels he knows everything he needs to about
Sophie, but in fact, he is due for quite a shock...
WOW! DUKE MOST WANTED is the captivating third
installment of author Celeste Bradley's Heiress Brides
trilogy. Filled with adventure and romance, DUKE MOST
WANTED will have readers on the edge of their seats as
the heart wrenching relationship of Graham and Sophie is
explored. Elements of humor contrast with a growing
sense of danger in this vibrant narrative, as multiple
villains try to bring Sophie down.Once again, readers
are blessed with the delightful supporting characters of
the magical dressmaker Lementeur, and Fortescue, a
proper butler with secrets and passion for a fiery Irish
ladies maid named Patricia. The enchanting couples from
the previous books,
DESPERATELY SEEKING A DUKE and THE DUKE NEXT DOOR, do
make an appearance in the story, but greedy reader that
I am, I wanted more! Perhaps little Meggie might one day
get her a story of her own?
Though Graham is not my favorite hero of this trilogy, I
was completely delighted with his character growth,
which continued even in the face of a tremendously
shocking revelation! The author deftly
throws quite a tantalizing curve ball at readers while
still preserving sympathy for Sophie's character. At the
start of The Heiress Brides trilogy, Ms. Bradley was a
new-to-me author but now I feel that I am a devoted
reader, and greatly look forward to experiencing more
from this bestselling author! Highly recommended!
Reviewed by Melissa Fowler
Rating 4 1/2 |
