Pleasure is in her future...

Ellie Bowman is determined: during this year’s Valentine house party, shewill choose one of the men the matchmaking Duchess of Greycliffe--aka the Duchess of Love--has invited for her.  Unfortunately, that man will not be Lord Ned, the duchess’s second son.  Ned is still mourning his wife and will never see “trusty” Ellie as anything other than a childhood friend.  Now if only she could convince her heart of what her head already knows--and persuade the duchess’s thieving cat to stop stealing her red silk drawers and depositing them in Ned’s bed.

Lord Ned arrives at Greycliffe Castle vowing to finally cooperate with his mother’s matchmaking efforts.  He’s been a widower for four years; it’s time to put his past behind him.  He wants a family; he needs an heir.  Ergo, he must get a wife--and this year’s candidate even looks like his lost love.  But his old friend Ellie is behaving strangely, and Reggie, Mama’s cat, keeps bringing him a pair of shocking red underwear.  This outrageous, alluring scrap of silk couldn’t be Ellie’s, could it?   Suddenly his respectable old friend is invading his dreams in an utterly scandalous manner.  

Review

Bedding Lord Ned is the first full-length book in a new series about the Duchess of Love and her matchmaking.

Miss Ellie Bowman is in love with a man who doesn’t return her feelings. She has loved Lord Ned since childhood. She has had to stand by while he married her best friend and console him after the loss of his wife and their child. She has spent many years ignoring the matches the Duchess of Love has arranged for her and pinned her hope on Ned one day realizing he’s in love with her. This party is going to be different. Ellie is going to pay attention to the other men and try to make a match. She wants children and doesn’t want to wait for Ned any longer.

Lord Edward Greycliff lost the love of his life and wants no part in those feelings again. However, he knows that it is time to remarry and have an heir. He knows that his mother, the Duchess of Love, will be inviting ladies to her annual birthday party that she’s sure would be perfect for Ned. He just has to choose one.

I loved this book. Ellie and Ned are fantastic. I loved Ellie’s attitude and spunk. Ned is a somber and not very light-hearted. They are perfect for each other and everyone but Ned realizes it. The secondary characters add so much to the story. The suitors that the Duchess brings together for the party and the couples that form add a lot to the romance that happens between Ellie and Ned. I really liked that Ned and Ellie had known each other forever and that they were able to talk to each other.

My favorite part of the story is the Sir Reginald, the thieving cat. Throughout the story Sir Reginald steals things from the house guests and hides them below Ned’s bed. One item in particular, Ellie’s red bloomers, leads to the eventual happily ever after.

Bedding Lord Ned is full of funny moments and romance.

Also – in the back of the book there is a novella that tells the story of how the Duchess of Love and the Duke of Greycliff fell in love. I recommend reading it first. It adds a lot of insight into the interactions between the Duke and Duchess in the story.

If you like Julia Quinn, you will love Sally Mackenzie.

Reviewed by Carrie

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