Series: A Duke’s Heiress #3 (Standalone)
Publication Date: 23rd May 2023
Genre: Historical Romance
4 Stars
One Liner: Entertaining and easy to read
Nicholas Radnor, the new Duke of Hollinburgh, is doing his best to handle the responsibilities of his position. Dealing with annoying aunts, managing a draining estate, and trying to find out more about his uncle’s sudden death are keeping him occupied.
Iris Barrington arrives at the last hour, demanding that he fulfill his uncle’s promise and find a rare book that could be hidden somewhere in the estate’s libraries. However, Iris is also the third heir to the dead duke and now is eligible to claim a substantial portion of funds. Iris is shocked by the developments. After all, she is a woman of trade, a rare book dealer traveling across the Continent, and an independent woman.
Nicholas and his family are suspicious of Iris, and she sure has secrets to keep. Yet, as the two come closer, someone is determined to do anything to keep Iris away from her new inheritance.
The story comes in the third-person POV of Nicholas and Iris.
My Thoughts:
Historical romances have their own charm. Lovely dresses, balls, elaborate dinners, house parties, headstrong heroines, and handsome heroes. Of course, we also get a good dose of the snobbish ton as a reflection on the times.
Though this is the third book in the trilogy (?), it works perfectly as a standalone. The couples from the previous two books have an active role in this one and add to the entertainment value.
The writing is easy to read and keeps things simple. It’s not overtly historical but not modern, either. That works for me well.
The lead characters, Nicholas and Iris, are strong and independent. I wish their past is explored a little more, but we get enough to understand their actions and decisions.
There’s a bit of mystery as well (a couple of attacks) that is solved at the end (one is left open-ended and makes me wonder if there will be another book in the series). However, this is predominantly a romance with some steam in the second half (2.5-ish).
The vagaries of the ton are well presented, along with a desire for extravagance without any thought to practicality. Aunt Agnes and Dolores are the typical relatives who decide a person’s worth based on their birth and yearly income rather than their character.
The book has quite a few scenes and discussions about books, though most of it is in terms of the book’s value. After all, the heroine is a rare book dealer.
However, my biggest question is- why is there no epilogue! Why? Historical romances feel so incomplete with an epilogue. I need to know about Iris’s wedding dress, Minerva’s child, Miss Paget, and a few other itsy bits details that neatly tie up the end. Sigh!
There’s a thirty-pound tabby, King Arthur. However, our heroine isn’t a cat lover. She is a no-nonsense woman with a business-oriented mind, which makes her worry more about cat hair on precious books (valid point!). But then, when did cats bother about trivial issues like that?
To summarize, The Heiress Bride is an entertaining historical romance with likable main characters and well-etched supporting characters. Carry it to the beach or pick it up on a lazy afternoon.
Thank you, NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Zebra, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TheHeiressBride
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