The proud and arrogant Duke of Everingham is determined to secure a marriage of convenience with heiress, Lady Georgiana Rutherford. He's the biggest prize on the London marriage mart, pursued by young unmarried ladies and their match-making mamas, as well as married women with a wandering eye. He can have any woman he wants. Or so he thinks. . .
...Hunts an independent lady . . .
Lady Georgiana Rutherford--irreverent and unconventional--has no plans to marry. Having grown up poor, Lady George has no intention of giving up her fortune to become dependent on the dubious and unreliable goodwill of a man. Especially a man as insufferable as the Duke of Everingham, whose kisses stirs unwelcome and unsettling emotions . . .
...Sparks are sure to fly
The more she defies him, the more the duke wants her, until an argument at a ball spirals into a passionate embrace. Caught in a compromising position, the duke announces their betrothal. George is furious and when gossip claims she deliberately entrapped the duke--when she was the one who was trapped--she marches down the aisle in a scarlet wedding dress. But the unlikely bride and groom may have found love in the most improbable of places--a marriage of convenience.
Comment: This is the final installment in the Marriage of Convenience series by Anne Gracie, which I have been following, and that is now concluded.
In this final story, it's finally the time for Georgiana "George" Rutherford's HEA. George was brought into the family after her uncle Cal (hero book #1) discovered she was living alone with a servant/friend and he decided she would have a season, just like his half sisters (heroines books #2 and #3). George was easily accepted by the other family members and she is very glad she has someone she now cares about, but her true wish has been to live alone with her animals at a country estate. Things change when she catches the eye of Hart, the duke of Everingham, who was betrothed to her aunt Rose, but that wedding didn't happen. Now she is in the path of the duke but can't seriously think he would want to marry her, so when he starts making it obvious and a compromising situation forces to be wed, can George find any happiness in this future?
I was quite eager to read this story. After getting to know George in the previous books, I was taken by her very quickly because she is one of those unlikely heroines in historicals who behaved as if society didn't matter much. She is seen as an "original" for her ways and almost genuine naivete of what is supposed to be acceptable and not, and although this might seem far fetched, I was still interested in reading the romance and how she and the duke, whose personality is so different from hers, would match.
George has been determined that once she is allowed to take over her inheritance, she will go to the countryside to live alone with her animals and she believes the family she gained is enough to make her feel happy if she needs company. She has also refused marriage proposals and told everyone she would not marry, but when the duke, for curiosity's sake, kisses her, she can't help but realize that there's some reason, certainly, for why her aunts have been enjoying their marriages so much but her decision is only swayed when circumstances make her accept the duke's proposal.
I did like her a lot, of course she has a personality more suited for a contemporary period, but it's always fun to see the reactions when in certain scenes. The fact she had been dismissed by her late father and had no help for a long time, made her be resourceful, think for herself and if she couldn't solve a problem, she would not feel despaired. Once she had her family, she felt happy and comfortable in knowing someone would be there for her. Seeing her fall in love with her duke, despite her reticence and a few weaker scenes, was not always perfect, but certainly consistent to her character.
Hart, the duke, had showed in the previous books, mostly the third, and we only had glimpsed his "cold, stoic" persona, as described by some characters. Now that we can learn more about him and his past, of course he starts being more interesting and, after a while, not that badly suited for George. There are always a few details I'd change to my personal preference, but when things were almost over, I think the duke realizes one or two things in a rather convenient way, and this, too, could be done more realistically, but I won't complain much.
Some of the situations that Georgiana and Hart deal with are obviously product of romanceland, and not really believable, but that is what makes some of these "light" historicals so fun and captivating. I was quite dedicated to see the evolution of their relationship, which begins in a rather reluctant way, considering Georgiana's attitudes. However, as time went by and as they got to spend some time together and dealing with the need to be married to avoid a social scandal, they slowly realize they actually like one another and start seeing in each other traits that make them someone they can care about.
This is what I love the most about a romance, how the protagonists face the possibility the other person is more than a name or a position, and they can be special for them. There are plenty of shenanigans before they admit this to themselves, and to one another, but I kind of went with the flow and really liked how they slowly fell in love. The author did include a few scenes where we could see them "bond" and this was key to show instead of tell how things were progressing. Closer to the end, I think there was a situation that came out of nowhere and was a bit too obvious that the intention was to "force" Hart and George to face the reality of their feelings... I think the author could have done this in a better way.
No comments:
Post a Comment