The Bourne Matrimonial Agency has one rule: Never fall in love with the client. A simple thing to remember . . . unless you’re a matchmaker with amnesia.
The Duke of Rydstrom requires a wife. Preferably one with a large fortune and a complete lack of curiosity. The last thing he needs is a meddling matchmaker determined to dig up his dark family secrets.
All Jacinda wants is to find a bride for a duke. How hard could that be? He’s handsome, enigmatic . . . and hiding something. She’s sure of it. Determined to discover what it is, she travels to his crumbling cliffside estate. Yet, by the time she washes up on his beach, she can no longer remember who she is or why the duke is so familiar to her. All she knows is that his kisses are unforgettable—and she intends to use every skill she can to discover what’s in his heart . . .
When Miss Bourne can’t remember what brought her to his ancestral home, Rydstrom intends to keep it that way. Yet as the days pass, his true challenge will be safeguarding his secret while resisting this woman who—confound it all—may well be his perfect match.
Release Date: May 29, 2018
Series: Misadventures in Matchmaking
Book: 1
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon Books
Price: $6.99
Jason Bourne, you’ve got nothing on Jacinda.
I really enjoyed this story. From the machinations of a woman who can’t help but hunt for the truth, to the hero who’s just trying to do right by his people and protect his family. This story pulled at my heart strings and had me turning the pages.
Let’s start with the heroine, Jacinda. She’s a tried and true sleuth. A regency Nancy Drew who doesn’t search for every mystery, but will attempt to uncover any skeletons in the closet for clients of her family’s matchmaking business. Because if people want to make a match they should be honest about who they are and where they come from, at least that’s how Jacinda feels. The truth shall set a person free and she knows that the hero is hiding something. This is how our heroine finds herself traipsing across the countryside to the hero’s home, except she ends up in a minor ship wreck with a good case of amnesia. Bonus points to Lorret for pulling off this amnesia trope without turning me off, this is one of my least favorite tropes, but in this story, it works extremely well.
Now, our hero, Crispin (Duke of Rydstorm) absolutely despises Jacinda’s tenacious ways, but is maddeningly attracted to her. Then he gets stuck caring for this woman in his home. A woman bent on uncovering his secrets and making things difficult for him. All he wants is a rich wife, someone who’ll never live at his family home, someone willing to make a good match and bring the money to restore his estate. It’s a quandary, and these two mismatches find themselves at odds continuously.
The amnesia is the perfect catalyst to get these two to stop acting suspicious of each other, though the attraction also helps. I loved watching Jacinda and Crispin fall in love. There are a few twists and turns that are unexpected, the mysteries drawn out appropriately. There is plenty of tension, forced proximity (thanks to a lack of proper chaperones), and it was easy to fall into this read and get absorbed.
This is the perfect opener for Lorret’s new series and I can’t wait to see what’s in store. For readers who enjoy Tessa Dare.
~ Landra
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sounds like another good one