Dorian Whitaker, Duke of Holland, needs an heir after his so-called “fairytale marriage” ended in disaster. When the intriguing bookseller he’s hired to liquidate his late wife’s library finds love letters revealing an affair, he is drawn into a mystery alongside a lady whose sharp intellect dazzles him and dares him to imagine a new adventure outside the gilded cage of the Ton.
If anyone found out Caroline Danvers writes erotic novels under a pen name, she’d face utter ruin. Except her latest hero inspiration is none other than the Duke of Holland—a man with the power to destroy her family’s bookshop. And yet the real man proves to be so much more than the character she created. Even as they expose the dark secrets of his past, she knows he can never discover her own. But the more time they spend together, the more tempting it is to rewrite their ending and turn fantasy into reality.
Release Date: Aug 20, 2024
Series: Bluestocking Bookseller
Book: 1
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Grand Central
Imprint: Forever
Price: $7.99
My first Bennett novel won’t be my last.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a heroine who’s an erotic novel writer wasn’t one of them. As a reminder, I’ll often pick books I haven’t read the blurbs of to review, and if I did read this one, I don’t remember. I know why I selected the book. It has Duke in the title. I won’t lie, I’m a sucker for a duke time and again.
Speaking of dukes, this one, the Duke of Holland, is no slouch. He’s a duke with a broken heart who finally found a woman he’s attracted to. Only she’s a mere employee of a bookseller. What’s a duke to do? Well, get her to help curate and sell a library, of course. Never mention his ongoing interest or finding ways to be close to said curator.
Caro, our heroine, is in between writing books and trying to save money to purchase her own cottage and live a life of her own. All her own, with no expectations from anyone. She helps her aunt and uncle in their bookstore and happily pockets her paycheck and earnings. Of course, who wouldn’t be flattered that a duke, one she’s highly attracted to, pays attention to her? When working in his library, she unearths a mystery via letters, and she’s invested in helping Holland solve the problem, though it also means getting much closer.
Things that made this book good, well-developed characters that you can’t help but root for. A good look at the other side, I loved not just living in the nobs’ houses or with the rich characters, but hanging out with Caro and her cousins as they navigated the life of have-nots. There are plenty of underlying sub-plots that kept my interest, but I won’t lie, sometimes I found myself skipping over descriptions and details, seeking less telling and more showing.
Overall, I think this is a great start to a new series, and I won’t lie; I want to see Constance and Hattie get their own HEA in the near future. For readers who enjoy Sarah MacLean.
~ Landra
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