Review: The Duke's Absolutely Mad Marriage (The Notorious Briarwoods #3) by Eva Devon

 

Print Length:  185 pages

Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing (July 26, 2024)

From Goodreads.com: The Duke of Westleigh does what he wants. He says what he wants. He takes what he wants. As one of the most powerful men in England, nobody wants to get in his way. After all, he comes from a notorious, mad-capped family. A family that acts first and deals with consequences later. But his family has always been on the side of good.

Yet, the duke has a secret fear. One that plagues his heart. So, when the American woman, Mercy Miller, comes into his life, he immediately asks her to marry him. It is an outrageous thing to do, perfectly in keeping with his family tradition of marrying who they please, despite the ton. But. . . In this match, meant to keep him safe from his fears, will he awaken them instead?

Mercy has a mind of her own, and as she embraces the duke’s wild family, the joy the Briarwoods' antics bring, and the passion the duke sparks within her, can she accept Westleigh's secrets? Or will Mercy’s love save him from the darkness he so desperately tries to hide from the world?

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My Rating: 1 star out of 5

This is easily the worst book in the series for me (thus far). To begin with, as this is the third book in the series, I would have thought we would know a little bit more about the Briarwood Family; mainly their looks and their different hobbies and talents. Sadly, they remain as caricatures of people who seem to just be present in the background to provide comic relief, or move a specific plot point along. To be honest, not only could I not tell you a singular difference between any of them, but there are just so many of them that for me, they have all just blended together. This was also true of the world as well, while there were details for some things, it mainly felt drab. Imagine watching a play on stage. You can see the backdrop against which things are happening, but it's a bit out of focus so you're missing details that would help you visualize the scene better. 

Then we have what the author is trying to pass for romance, when in actuality? It's merely two characters who are using one another for different things. Leander wants to marry Mercy because she's not like the ladies of the ton, and he admires her for it. He also knows she won't back down in the face of adversity (mainly this mysterious "condition" that he suffers from). Mercy on the other hand, had no desire to marry him at all, until she visited a printing press and was talked down to my the owner. It was then that she realized as his wife she would have the money and power to do as she pleased. And what she wanted to do was start her own printing press to print novels written by women. So why not call it was it was? A mutually beneficial arrangement? Instead, the author has them declaring their love for each other when up until this point there had been no interactions that would indicate such strong feelings on either side. Friendship certainly, attraction without a doubt. But love? No. 

Perhaps I wouldn't have been so disappointed with the romance aspect of this one if there had been something, anything at all, that caused even the barest hint of tension. But there wasn't, even with their being ample opportunities (at least three that I can think of). 

Missed Potential #1. Tobias and Mercy's parents. It is stated pretty early on that their parents were staunch loyalists who abandoned their children when the war for independence broke out in the Americas. When they appeared at the Briarwood's home, I expected there to be some drama. I expected there to be some threats. Yet, there were none. Leander tells them to leave, and they do. Why didn't the author have them attempt to blackmail Leander? It was obvious that they did not want either of their children marrying into the family as they considered their own children "traitors to the crown", so why didn't they put that rumor out amongst the ton? Shown people treating Mercy and her brother with open disdain, or giving them the cut direct. Give them something to overcome. 

Missed Potential #2. Leander's "affliction". Instead of having Mercy come upon him and insist upon accompanying him to his country home, the author could have chosen to have him disappear altogether, maybe leaving her a letter that was open to misinterpretation. That would have given the author the space for Mercy to discover the depths of her feelings for her husband and choose to join him in the country despite him telling her not to. And when she showed up, it would have given Leander the message that she cared for him. This could have led to them spending more time just the two of them and then up to that declaration of love that had already come without any reasoning behind it. 

Missed Potential #3. The reason Mercy came to London in the first place. You see, it would seem that she had fled the Americas in a bit of a hurry due to a certain Mister Norris who wanted to take over her family's printing press to the point that Mercy was worried he would somehow force her into marrying him in order to get it. Yet, when he shows up at the Briarwood country estate (and just how did he know how to find that since they were no longer in London), nothing happens. He yells, throws around accusations, and then is led away by three of Leander's brothers. Why not have Mercy and/or Tobias have threats sent to them beforehand? Why not go the old tried and true route of Norris kidnapping Mercy and trying to take her back to America with him? 

As you can see, there were so many opportunities this author could have taken to not only make this book longer, but to add so much more depth to the characters and the world they inhabit than we got. Hopefully the future ones are better.