Description
From USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Haymore comes an engaging and playful enemies-to-lovers romance about what happens when a high-minded heiress clashes with the dastardly duke next door…
Georgiana Milford may be a wealthy heiress without title, but even she has her limits. It’s vexing enough to be courted by every fortune-hunting noble during the Season—goodness, you’d think she was hiding a gold mine beneath her skirts! But this is not to be condoned. Because during a merry two-week party at a lord’s country home, she’s forced to endure her father’s greatest enemy and the most wretched duke in all of England: the Duke of Despots.
Theo St. Clair has hardly been the Seventh Duke of Desborough long enough to straighten his cravat, yet the ton are already nipping at his bootstraps. Starting with the Milford family, who are convinced he’s exactly like his blaggard of a father. Unfortunately, nothing tempts the scoundrel in him more than the prospect of kissing the prim-and-proper-ness right off Georgiana Milford’s lovely lips…
Now they’re trapped together, forced to wear polite smiles while they trade acidic barbs and pretend to ignore the growing tension charging the air between them. But while there is danger in ruin, it’s the devastating secret her family has been hiding that will shatter Georgiana’s world…
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Sexual Content - 3/5
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Violence - 0/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 0/5
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Summary
Review by Donna F, Reviewer Feb 10 2024
Georgiana Milford is weary of society and fortune hunters. A house party invitation seems like a great distraction until she finds out her archenemy, the new Duke of Desborough, Theo St. Clair, also attends. I felt that in the beginning Georgiana didn’t have a good reason to hate Theo. She seemed childish and mean about it.
Theo inherits a dilapidated estate and hostile neighbors, including Georgiana’s dad, who fuels negativity towards him. A chance encounter with Georgiana in London leaves him flustered but determined to prove his good intentions. He also ends up at the same house party and we have some scenes where they get to know one enough better and she opens her mind.
Note: Charlotte and Lord Trevelyan are friends with Georgiana and Theo. They were a highlight for me and I am interested in reading their story as well.
As they spend time together, misconceptions melt away, replaced by mutual respect and undeniable attraction. Love blossoms, but societal expectations and family disapproval loom large. Georgiana faces a heart-wrenching choice: her family's love or Theo's. Theo struggles to offer her a future without sacrificing her connection to her loved ones.
Will they defy societal norms and fight for their love? Or will their dreams crumble under the weight of tradition and pride? Theirs is a journey of love, redemption, and overcoming prejudice, leading to a hard-earned happily ever after, as seen in the epilogue.
Note: this was a steamy read. Even interesting house party games I had not read about in a historical story before.