Review: The Heiress Bride (A Duke's Heiress, #3) by Madeline Hunter

                     

Print Length: 320 pages

Publisher: Zebra Books (May 23, 2023)

From Goodreads.com: As the new Duke of Hollinburgh, Nicholas Radnor is handsome, titled, charming, and land poor. The last quality might change soon, because a portion of his uncle's personal estate is about to become available to him and his cantankerous extended family. At the eleventh hour, however, Iris Barrington, the last of the three mysterious women to whom the last duke made substantial bequests, inconveniently turns up on Nicholas' doorstep. He finds her story suspicious and her history ambiguous and her person both flamboyant and... fascinating. Duty calls, however, and he needs to discover if she is, indeed, the heiress his uncle favored or a charlatan with secrets that can endanger them both.

Complete independence has allowed Iris Barrington to become an unusual woman. A rare book dealer, she travels the world and has a sophisticated life. She also has a taste for handsome men, of which, Nicholas is one. Too bad he is also very curious about her, and his attentions are suspicious, as well as amorous. Since she has secrets he must never know, she should probably keep him at arm's length, but his seductive skills make that hard to do, no matter her resolve... 

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My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

As this was the third book in the series, I expected much more than what I got. To begin with, I'm a little confused as to why the author chose to call this one The Heiress Bride when by the end of the story, there still had not been a wedding. Nor was there even an epilogue that showed us what happened to the two main characters after (most of) the mysteries had been solved. Were their investments enough to save the Dukedom? Did they have children? This was even more disappointing because throughout the book, I never really felt like these two did love each other. It felt more like they were partners on a quest to uncover the truth, who occasionally shared a bed, and even then, Iris was more than willing to walk away once she had gotten what she wanted. 

I was also more than a little confused about one of the side plots involving a textile company that Nicholas had inherited. Although we found out the who and the why, there was never a resolution to that specific story arc. I expected there to at least be a showdown of words at some point once Nicholas became aware of what was going on and took steps to end it, but there was nothing. Did the person in the wrong just accept defeat without a word? 

At least we finally got to solve the mystery of the late Duke's passing, although I must say, after the build-up over the three novels, the outcome seemed very anti-climatic, especially when you consider the fact that the person (or persons) behind everything manage to escape without any real punishment. 

At the end of the day, I am happy to have finished this series, and while it didn't end in a way that was overly satisfying for me, I would definitely read more from this author. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                             The Heiress Bride is available on Amazon.com