When the Duke of Hurstbourne receives a letter from his childhood friend asking him to marry his sister Ophelia, Hurst declines. He’s not adverse to taking a bride, but he believes in love at first sight that stirs his desire—not marriage sight-unseen.
Adhering to society’s strict propriety for ladies, Ophelia Stowe has no choice but to present herself as a man to seek the Duke of Hurstbourne’s favor. If not for the dire situation she finds herself in, she wouldn’t have asked for help from the handsome man who had rebuffed her. When the alluring duke’s response is a plan of his own, Ophelia never dreams it would be a proposal of a marriage of convenience.
But the stakes are high, and the good name of the Stowe family will be damaged if a missing antiquity isn’t found. When she accepts his offer, she quickly finds she isn’t immune to the passion building between her and her new husband--or how real the marriage begins to feel.
Love, The Duke by Amelia Grey is the final book in her Say I Do series. I really enjoyed the series and this book was no different. It was a five star hit from the first page. It includes romance and a bit of intrigue that kept me enthralled throughout.
Drake Cheston Kingley, the duke of Hurtsborne is at loose ends. He is well aware that he should marry soon. He would marry someone he fell in love with at first sight or not at all. His two best friends have just married and he hardly sees them so he is especially looking forward to some time away with them. His enjoyment is cut short when a letter arrives from an old childhood friend who has become ill. He asks that Drake honor an oath to come to his friend's aid. His friend the good Reverend Winston Stowe asks that he marry, sight unseen, his sister. Drake is stunned and impulsively writes to decline his friend’s request saying he will return home to meet with him instead. He signs the note with Love, the Duke. Memories come back to him. Growing up, Drake’s own father went through his allowance like water, often leaving no money for food or the servants wages. He found himself spending all his time at the Stowe house. They were the loving family he did not have. He would visit his old friend as soon as he could.
Olivia Stowe was undeniably a beauty so when Drake fails to find her brother and her, she takes matters into her own hands and seeks him. Drake is shocked to find her in his study dressed as a man. It was a guise he sees straight through but Olivia is desperate. She doesn’t seek marriage but his knowledge and access to the ton. Someone stole a priceless chalice from a locked box in the church her brother ran. If the theft is discovered before she can track the piece down her brother would be accused of the theft and her family’s reputation would be ruined.
Olivia suspects a visiting nobleman who recently visited the chapel and was shown the piece by her ailing brother. A servant only catches part of the crest on the side of the carriage seen leaving the church just after the chalice went missing. Drake offered his assistance as best he could. Olivia took matters into her own hands when she attended parties with her mother. She would search libraries and studies on her own to see if she could find the chalice herself.
Drake finds himself enchanted with her when he first sees her dressed as a woman across a crowded ballroom. He follows this vision to the study and discovers its’s none other than Olivia. He warns her to not go sneaking into darkened rooms. Drake’s efforts to stop her land them in compromising situations.
The best solution would be a marriage of
convenience where he can keep an eye on her but close proximity works its magic
to the delight of this reader. I hope you pick up a copy today and enjoy it as
much as I did!
