Lady Persephone does not wish to marry, cleverly donning the guise of a bespectacled bluestocking to discourage offers of marriage. Fate has other plans the night she falls into the duke’s arms, captivated by the sparkle in his brilliant blue eyes. Society is all agog speculating if the two are more than just strangers.
Restoring the family name is not as important as protecting Lady Persephone, who is now in his enemy’s crosshairs. A marriage of convenience binds the duke and his lady together, but duty is soon overshadowed by desire.
Will love triumph in this sweet tale of love and second chances?
It feels like a million years since I wrote a book review… and it’s been like two weeks. I think I’ve aged at least a decade in the last two weeks y’all.
But I digress.
On to the review! If you scroll through my blog you’ll see that my historical reading is extremely limited. To be fair, what is on my blog does NOT my entire reading repertoire, but I think the percentage balance (if one were into statistics and good at numbers which I am not) is pretty accurately reflective of my reading choices. However, every so often I get an itch for a good historical and Mending the Duke’s Pride absolutely called to that desire.
It’s been well established that I love broken boys and our Duke Jared? He has definitely been through some things that make him quite fitting for that roll. All wrapped up with nightmares of his siblings being trapped in the debtors prison he had to free them from. Not only did he have to rescue them there, he also had to bring respect, honor, and wealth back to the title he now held.
Persephone has basically zero desire to marry. At all. It really isn’t a personal slight against Jared, she just isn’t a fan of the M word. She does her best to lessen the chances of any member of the ton wanting her by dressing down in purposefully unflattering clothes and glasses. However, as historical romances do so well, she is forced into an arranged union with Jared. All part and parcel of restoring good standing to his title.
I thoroughly enjoyed the read love how Ms. Admirand set up the series, giving just enough of each subsequent character to entice you to want to read their stories. The romance, however, was a bit lost and I didn’t feel that spark until the second half of the book. Mending the Duke’s Pride felt a bit more like a historical fiction read than a historical romance. Once things kicked into gear, though, the tension, the pull, and the desire was obvious and endearing.
If you enjoy historical romances with intricate details into the lives people lived in the past, you should pick up a copy of Mending the Duke’s Pride. It’s a delightful read that transports you in time and sets you down in a much more decadent time.
Amelia Foster 