A new duke and a woman with a secret in her past get a second chance at love in this delightful and charming Regency romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the Windham series. Robert Rothmere is hiding a past no duke should have endured, but he’s not hiding it well enough. Sooner or later, his enemies will learn that he spent years locked away at a private asylum. To get their … a private asylum. To get their hands on his wealth, they’ll try to send him right back to his worst nightmares. If Robert is to foil their schemes, he needs to marry a perfectly proper, blessedly boring, deadly dull duchess, immediately — and he knows exactly which quietly delightful lady he’d love to entrust with that role.
Lady Constance Wentworth has cultivated a reputation for utter forgettability. She never speaks out of turn (in public), never has a daring thought (that she admits aloud), and never comes close to courting scandal . . . as far as anybody knows. Her path crossed Robert’s years ago, though, and she’s never forgotten the extraordinary lengths he traveled to keep her safe when she hadn’t a friend in the world. She longs to be his demure duchess . . . but little does he know that to marry her would be utter madness.
Robert Rothmere, the Duke of Rothhaven suffered unimaginable torture at the hands of a quack doctor running a madhouse. Robert’s father sent him away when he was eleven after he had developed epilepsy from repeated falls off a horse. His father thought to lock him away forever, but his brother Nathaniel finds out about him 10 years later and brings him home. Unfortunately, because of the torture he suffered, Robert is hiding away at the ducal seat while Nathaniel continues to act as the duke. Five years later, Robert is finally ready to accept the responsibility of being the duke with the help of Lady Constance Wentworth. However, not everyone is content to leave the happy couple in peace and a competency suit is brought against him. Can he hold it together while being questioned by the commission or will a fit at the wrong time doom him to a madhouse once again?
I found this book a compelling read and have high praise for Ms. Burrowes for her handling of such a difficult subject. While Robert and Constance are hardly the typical couple found in regency romances, their path to each other was exactly what each needed. The book was full of twists and turns and I found it hard to put it down especially as I neared the end. When everything looked bleak, an unlikely hero emerges to grant Robert and Constance their happily ever after.
I voluntarily read this advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.
Remember to be Fierce
Grace Burrowes continues the exploration of the Wentworth family’s secrets, with a serious and honest romance. The Truth about Dukes picks up right after A Duke by Any Other Name, at Nathaniel former Duke of Rothhaven and Lady Althena Wentworth’s engagement party. Meeting again after ten years Robert Rothmere and lady Constance Wentworth have a lot to catch up on, and quickly. Robert has finally been brought home to be the Duke of Rothhaven, and society is not accepting of disabilities. Grace Burrows does a great job in her books representing characters with a variety of disabilities. The patience and understanding Constance has for Robert is a true representation of an accepting friendship. She has a wonderful artistic eye, and her descriptions of Robert are delightful to read. Robert’s respect and kinship with Constance is refreshing. Despite his traumatic life and anxiety, he still has a lot of room to support Constance in her struggles. Constance and Robert find a kinship in both their particularities, and together find a way to challenge society’s opposition with dignity. There are plenty of references, and meetings with previous characters in the Rogues to Riches Series. Including hints to the next book How to Catch a Duke with Lord Stephen Wentworth. Grace Burrowes creates a wonderful slow-burn romance about finding love in shared understanding.
It took a few chapters for me to engage, but it wasn’t long before I was flipping pages. Robert Rothmere has lived years in the shadows. He has the fainting sickness, epilepsy. Taken as a child and hidden from his family, he’s gradually worked his way back to establishing himself as the Duke of Rotthaven. Constance Wentworth has a connection with Robert from years ago. As they reestablish their relationship, Robert’s put on trial for his competency to manage his estate and Constance must confront her past. Very, very clever resolutions to the story. Kudos to Burrowes. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
I love Grace Burrowes and the wonderful characters she creates, which is why I adore the fact that she writes in series. The Rogues to Riches series has been as entertaining as all of the others. After the end of the last book (A Duke by Any Other Name), I was anxiously awaiting this series to learn about the history of Constance and Robert. They did not disappoint (not that I thought they would).
Robert suffers from epilepsy (otherwise known as the falling sickness) and was thought dead for many years while he was, in reality, trapped in a hospital and the subject of experiments. Constance grew up in poverty with an abusive father and made some bad decisions along the way while her brother was earning a fortune to care for the family. She also came across Robert once upon a time while working at the hospital where he was detained. The two became close and then never saw each other again until their siblings are getting married and he is a Duke, no longer in the hospital.
The two characters have much to work through, but their firm foundation of friendship makes them a force to be reckoned with as they conquer the obstacles life throws in their path. Settled on a path towards marriage and love early on in the book, they still face a myriad of exterior forces such as vain and greedy neighbors hoping to strip Robert of his title and an illegitimate child.
My one frustration with the book is the characters from the previous stories in the series. It seems that, the further along in the series you get, the more they lose their original personality. This has become painfully true of the original duke, Constance’s brother, Quinn. He no longer has a mind of his own, but defers all thoughts and decisions to his wife, Jane. She now runs the entire family as his Duchess because he dares not displease her. A desire to please one’s wife can only go so far before a man who is theoretically the richest and one of the most powerful men in England just comes off as being spineless.