Title: The Duchess Hunt
Author: Lorraine Heath
Series: Once Upon a Dukedom #2
Pages: 364
Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. He places an advert in the newspaper encouraging the single ladies to write why they should be chosen, and tasks his efficient secretary to select the woman for him. Penelope Pettypeace finds this task most unpleasant but will do it to the very best of her abilities, even if it breaks her heart.
I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and was very distracted today trying to sneak reading in while at work. Hugh, aka Kingsland, was a great hero. One of my favorite things in romances is when the hero realizes his feelings for the heroine after getting territorial and protective of her interacting with other men, and Kingsland fit this perfectly. He was very dense in not realizing his feelings sooner but man did I enjoy seeing him struggle to hold back his emotions when other men were around Penelope.
“I would willingly die for you. I will kill for you . . . I will live for you.”
Penelope was a fantastic heroine! She was extremely smart, independent, and extremely confident in herself. She was never intimidated by King or the other nobility she interacted with. She is a very driven woman, much like King, and is successful in her own investments. Penelope was just a wonderful, independent heroine who has rebuilt her life from the ground up.
Their relationship was a slow one but very satisfying and addicting. They both have control issues and struggle to let anyone close to them, especially since they both are hiding secrets. As their trust deepens we see them reveal their secrets, which were a bit surprising because I wasn’t expecting either of them. I just really love that Hugh’s duchess was right in front of him for eight years and he was completely oblivious to it. Like I said, I was addicted to their relationship and loved every minute of their slow romance.
Overall, this was a wonderful historical romance. This was my second Heath book and I will definitely be reading more. I really love her writing and her characters. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book of this series and see The Wolf fall in love.
Trigger Warnings: Abusive father. Parental and sibling death mentioned briefly.
Previous books and reviews for the series:
Red-Haired Ash Reads 