Review: The Duke's Accidental Wife (The Dukes of War #7) by Erica Ridley

Print Length: 200 pages

Publisher: Intrepid Reads (March 01, 2016)

From Goodreads.com: Miss Katherine Ross is a wealthy, eccentric socialite who knows precisely what she wants: No husband. No children. No candlelit tête-à-tête with the insufferably emotionless Duke of Ravenwood. She's convinced his heart is ice — until she touches that chiseled chest for herself. One lapse in judgment is all it takes to turn both their lives topsy-turvy...

The Duke of Ravenwood isn't cold and haughty, but a secret romantic who has always dreamt of marrying for love. Instead, he gets Miss Katherine Ross — a headstrong hoyden intent on unraveling his carefully ordered world. He doesn't know whether to kiss her or throttle her. Can they survive each other's company long enough to turn a compromise into love? 

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Let me begin by saying that for the most part, I adored Katherine! I love a strong willed and nicely written female lead, and on that front I was definitely not disappointed. She was the epitome of everything I have come NOT to expect from your normal historical romance. Normally these characters (while strong in their own right), adhere to strict codes and hold propriety above all else while she is the sort of person to do what she wants when she wants it and to heck with everyone else. 

Ravenwood was also a complex individual - one one hand he puts on a front in front of everyone pretending to be a cold and unfeeling person when it reality he is exactly the opposite. I found this conundrum of him to be perfectly executed and extremely sweet. 

I enjoyed watching the romance bloom between them - when it was shown to us. I feel that a lot of this novel was more them doing their own thing (he dealing with Parliament and her trying to find her way around being Duchess as well as caring for her Aunt) and figuring out that they were in love with each other than it was the actual romance. For some reason (perhaps due to how different these two people were) this seemed to work for this story. Although I would have loved to have seen more of an interaction between these two to lead up to the romance, I felt that the way it was done was much more in character for these two than anything else. 

The one real complaint that I have with this story is that I felt Katherine had a justifiable fear of childbirth, and I think that should have been explored more than it was. It seemed as though she went from one extreme to the other simply for love - when even the most level headed and in love person would still have those fears and would need more to relieve themselves of them than what we saw here. I was also a bit turned off in the beginning when she was so willing (eager even) to consummate the marriage, but he was turned off by the idea of having to use a French Letter, even though at this point they were still virtually strangers. 

Overall however, I would recommend this story (and this author) to those who enjoy a well-written historical romance that is easy to get lost in. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. 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 Duke's Accidental Wife is available from Amazon.com