Review: The Duke's Defiant Debutante by Gemma Blackwood

 

Print Length: 189 pages

Publisher: Gemma Blackwood (March 22, 2018)

From Goodreads.com: The reclusive Duke of Redhaven is not somebody to be trifled with.

Fortunately, neither is Miss Angelica Stirling.

Lively, clever, and rather too outspoken, Angelica does not have high hopes for her first London Season… not that she particularly cares. Who needs a husband when you have a good book?

When she receives a surprise proposal from Edward Thorne, Duke of Redhaven, it seems too good to be true. And it is.

The Duke is handsome, mysterious, and brooding – and everything Angelica doesn’t want in a husband. Is one of the biggest fortunes in England really worth the trouble?

Edward returns to London after a decade’s self-imposed exile in need of one thing: a bride. But his strategy of proposing to the first agreeable-looking girl he meets backfires spectacularly. Angelica is anything but the docile debutante he took her for.

Before long, Edward is facing a predicament he never imagined. Angelica has run away from London – and she’s taken his heart with her. 

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

The one thing that held this back from being a 5 star read for me was Angelica's complete lack of faith (and common sense) near the middle of the story. Until this point, Edward had been nothing but kind to her, taking her desire to get to know him to heart, and even including her sister (who I might add he ends up having to carry and put to bed after her illness acts up). However all it takes is a letter written before he made the attempt to get to know her, and three people who obviously wish him ill to have her doubting him? Seriously? If I were Edward, I would have contemplated why I wished to marry someone who thought so little of me that she wouldn't even offer me the chance to explain. To me, it wouldn't have taken a huge leap for someone as intelligent as Angelica liked to think herself to look at the situation and see what was really going on. 

Other than that, I really enjoyed this story. It's a sweet and clean romance (meaning other than a couple of kisses there is nothing of a sexual nature included), and short enough to be read within a day. I would definitely be interested in reading more about her sister Lily - is she able to overcome her illness and find a love of her own? What happened to Edward's cousin and his wife (as I feel like their story-line especially was left on a very unsatisfying note).

However, even with that, I definitely do enjoy this author's work and I look forward to reading more from them! 

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                                                     The Duke's Defiant Debutante is available from Amazon.com

                                                             (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)