Series: Marrying the Duke (Book 3)
Will the third time be the charm? A duke can’t marry just
anyone. His wife must be of good family, be fertile, be young. Struggling
playwright Sarah Pettijohn is absolutely the last woman Gavin Whitridge, Duke
of Baynton, would ever fall in love with.
She is an actress, born on the wrong side of the blanket,
and always challenges his ducal authority. She never hesitates to tell him what
she thinks.
However, there is something about her that stirs his
blood . . . which makes her perfect for a bargain he has in mind: In exchange
for backing her play, he wants Sarah to teach him about love.
And he, in turn, has a few things to teach her about men
. . .
Good book. I was glad to see Gavin finally get the girl,
after losing out (to his own brothers!) in Match of the Century and The Fairest ofThem All. In the first book the woman he's been engaged to all his life because
of a family arrangement, has actually been in love with his brother Ben for
years. In the second book he loses out to the twin brother who has been missing
for years and suddenly reappears.
For the most part in the first two books, I liked Gavin.
I also felt a bit sorry for him. As the heir, he was raised very strictly by
his father, with a sense of responsibility and importance of appearances
drilled into him. He's been so intent on his responsibilities as duke that he
has never taken the time to cut loose like others of his class. It has made him
rather stiff and awkward around women, and he usually has no idea what to say
to them. He is also no real believer in love, though when he sees it in the
previous two couples he does the right thing and steps back. He's not perfect,
though, and has his moments of reacting badly. At the end of the previous book,
he is in pursuit of Jack and Charlene, who are eloping to Gretna Green. With
him is Char's Aunt Sarah, who rubs him the wrong way. They arrive before the
wedding, but Gavin sees the light and lets Char go, leaving him alone again.
Sarah is an independent woman with a mind of her own and
plans for her future. She is a survivor of a life that hasn't been easy. She is
the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and his mistress. For years she watched
her mother go from man to man and vowed she wouldn't follow in her footsteps.
She married a man who turned out to be abusive, causing her to doubt her
judgment about men and keep them at a distance. After the death of her husband
she became an actress to earn the money to care for her orphaned niece, then
worked as an assistant playwright. She is determined to put on a play of her own
writing. She makes a deal with a pair of theater owners to do so, but things
don't go the way she planned. Gavin ends up rescuing her from a dangerous
situation.
I loved the relationship that built between them. In the
previous book there had been sparks of antagonism, but those were mixed with
sparks of attraction. Gavin's rescue of Sarah brings his attraction to her to the
surface. There is also a need to protect her when he discovers the conditions
she's living in. The protection he offers isn't what she wants, as it goes
against everything she wants for herself, and she has no problem telling him
so. But circumstances cause her to have to take him up on it. This is where
Gavin shows his true self. He wants her very much, but is sensitive to the fear
he senses in her. I loved the way he backed off and talked things out with her.
I loved Sarah's confusion, as she had very definite expectations and Gavin
didn't match any of them. The connection between them when they finally came
together was not what either expected. Over the next few weeks they got much
closer, as Gavin found himself wanting to spend as much time as he could with
her. I loved the way they shared their lives, sharing bits about their days and
supporting each other. Sarah made a good sounding board for his problems, and
he was an active supporter of her play.
But Gavin still has to find a wife, because as much as he
wants her, Sarah doesn't fit the requirements he's been looking for. He's
understandably reluctant, even as his mother and aunt find the
"perfect" woman. I ached for Sarah as she realized that she had
fallen in love with Gavin, but that nothing could come of it. I loved how she
picked herself up and went on, because that is what she does. I also ached for
Gavin, who wanted what he believed was impossible to have. I loved the
conversation with his first fiancée's father, and the difference it made to his
outlook. Gavin's big moment at the end was sweet and romantic, and so out of
character for him that it was irresistible.
There wasn't much in the way of secondary characters
except for one fellow nobleman. Though he had started out as a friend of
Gavin's, he turned out to be a real loser. Rov's pursuit of and attitude toward
Sarah earned him Gavin's enmity. The duel scene showed just how awful a person
he was, and that wasn't even the end of his troublemaking. I enjoyed the final
confrontation with him and how Gavin dealt with him.
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