Forever my duke

The fluffy second regency romance in Drake's Unlikely Duchesses series (after The Duke I Once Knew) features a refreshing heroine but a lackluster hero. Feisty American school teacher Natalie Fanshawe abhors the foibles of the British aristocracy. But when her best friend dies, Natalie must travel to England to fulfill her deathbed promise to deliver newly orphaned six-year-old Leo into the arms of his grandfather, a peer of the realm. Once in England, an ice storm strands Natalie and Leo in the same inn as Hadrian Ames, the haughty Duke of Clayton. Though Hadrian is on his way to propose to another woman and Natalie is considered an old maid at 26, sparks fly between them from their first meeting. Natalie's disdainful, outsider's view of the peerage adds a new complication to typical regency tropes, but Hadrian is painted with broad strokes that will keep readers from fully embracing him as a love interest. Still, this light outing is sure to keep returning readers invested in the series. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (Jan.)

Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton, believes he's found the ideal wife--she's kind and beautiful and the marriage would fulfill an agreement made between their fathers years ago. But he begins to doubt his plan when he meets Natalie Fanshawe. A proud American, Natalie is visiting England only as long as it takes to return six-year-old orphan Leo to his relatives. When their paths collide at an inn on the road, Hadrian is bewitched by Natalie's bold opinions but wonders if a loveless marriage is indeed the answer, while Natalie questions if she can put her principles aside for a man who treats her and Leo with compassion. VERDICT American and English cultures clash in the parlor and the bedroom in Drake's latest outing (after The Duke I Once Knew). Readers looking to cheer on two unlikely lovers will gravitate to this title.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash

Second in a historical romance series featuring dukes who fall for governesses.Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton, is on his way to the village of Whitnash to court 18-year-old Lady Ellen Godwin when an ice storm forces him to take shelter at an inn. The prospective union has long had the blessing of both the Earl of Godwin, who fostered Hadrian as a child after his father died, and Hadrian's late father himself. Hadrian thinks little of women in generalthey pout, plead, scheme, and simperbut recognizes that at age 29, it is time for him to produce an heir. When a lovely American guardian chases her young charge, Leo, into his room at the inn, Hadrian's outlook abruptly changes: "The world faded as he stared at the vision standing before him." Natalie and Leo barely survived a vicious attack on their American frontier mission by renegade British soldiers. The massacre took the lives of Leo's parents, one of whom was Lord Godwin's eldest daughter, Audrey. Natalie promised a dying Audrey that she would return Leo to her family in England. Hadrian becomes Natalie's reluctant defender when Lord Godwin and his second wife greet Leo and his American guardian with extreme skepticism. Natalie's tall, willowy beauty, her forthrightness, and her rejection of hierarchy set her apart from other women, and soon Hadrian's instant attraction becomes something more, although he allows her to believe he is still interested in Lady Ellen until nearly the end of the novel. In 2020, this "not like all the other girls" trope is more apt to generate reader antipathy toward the hero than admiration for the heroine. A gratuitous attempted rape of Natalie by a groom merely provides a pretext for the duke to seduce her rather than a means to address her post-traumatic condition.A fresh plot is undermined by stale romance elements best left in the genre's past. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.