The Duke Meets His Match

 

Original published 11/5/20 on my sister site.

I am not a huge Historical fiction fan, but I am finding more and more that are so well-written I am starting to enjoy the genre. Today I finished reading The Duke Meets His Match, by Karen Tuft.

From the back cover: At thirty years of age, Susan Jennings has long been considered a spinster. Exceptionally intelligent, she has little tolerance for London and the dreaded Season—if that’s how one is expected to find love, it’s not for her. But when an invitation arrives that cannot be ignored, Susan leaves her comfortable life in the country and enters the fashion and frivolity she most despises. She quickly discovers, however, that there is more to loathe in London—and his name is George Kendall.

George, Duke of Aylesham, has learned to keep his distance from cloying females chasing the title of duchess. Susan Jennings, however, proves an entirely different challenge—a woman who has pushed him to the limit of his patience with their every encounter. But their simmering hostility is disrupted by a thoughtless slipup: to avoid a marriage of political strategy, George claims he is already betrothed. And when pressed for the name of the lucky woman, only one name comes to mind: Susan’s. Their forced betrothal proves advantageous, but when their verbal sparring must change in order to be convincing, the line between fact and fiction becomes blurred by something neither expected: love.

My Review: 

I thought the cover was creative and the title definitely matched the story. This book is really well-written, flows smoothly and comes to a nice conclusion...although I do wonder if we will see more stories about members of Susan's family. Susan is a smart, funny, creative individual, with a mind of her own. When her and the Duke first meet, they clash because they are both so outspoken; and it is not a very common trait for women of that time period. The Duke comes across as arrogant, smug and one who thinks highly of himself. As the story progresses it does become a story of opposites attract. That spark that had them clashing is the same spark that makes them good for each other. They both evolve over the course of the story and we see a completely different side of the Duke by the end of the story. There is a bit of suspense and humor in this romantic historical fiction story, making it a very engaging read. The only character I couldn't stand was Prince Regent, or Prinny as he was also known. He was smug, annoying, rude, demanding, and had had an obnoxious habit of saying "we" when talking about himself! Unfortunately, he does not improve as the story goes along! I would recommend this book across multiple genres, as it truly has something for everyone. 

★★★★/5