Over the past six months, Lady Sara Downey lost her husband to another woman, found herself destitute, then discovered she was a widow. Fighting to survive, she opens a dress shop in London only to become the victim of a vicious blackmailer.
Ever since his wife ran off with another man, Philip St. James, the sixth Duke of Brentwood, vows never to fall prey to the conniving female gender again. … again. Imagine his surprise when a chance meeting finds him staring into the beautiful eyes of the widow of his ex-wife’s lover. While he’s able to fight the immediate attraction, his conscience and honor won’t allow him to ignore the fact she is being tormented by an unknown assailant.
He promises to protect Lady Downey, but can he guard his heart from the sweet widow?
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I read this book a long time ago , The Duke and the Dressmaker, I loved it then. I was thrilled to see it available again as I hadn’t purchased it before. I think I read it via Kindle Unlimited. This is a story that cannot be put down. Characters are so real. I have read all the Clan Grant series and all those that have followed. You will not find more wonderful stories. I highly recommend this book and anything by this author. You will never be disappointed.
There are several characters, some secondary but all are noteworthy. Mary St. James, Dowager Duchess of Brentwood is mother to the Duke of Brentwood. Mary did not like Miranda Montrose, who is the mistress of Phillip. She was screaming at a young lady in front of the church.
Phillip’s wife ran off with another man also married. Sounds interesting, he gets a divorce from her and swears to never marry again or give his heart away. As you can see it starts to get very interesting. They are going to one of his friend’s wedding and it seems to be quite an affair. All the ton is turning out for it.
Lady Sara Downey was glad her husband was gone. He took all their money and sold their property, actually, I should say hers. Her father had put away a small fortune for Sara alone. So she took it bought a building and opened a modiste shop. She didn’t know if she was going to make but she would try. She thought the duke was handsome but his ice-blue eyes turned her off. A strange and smelly man showed up at her shop demanding money. Apparently, Lord Downey was a gambler and owed a lot of money and the smelly man wanted it now.
I enjoyed this story but was heartbreaking for what she had to go through. The tale was entertaining, brought the emotions out to the fore and watching their feelings change was amazing. There was fear, death and definitely a lot of terror. All while she tries to conduct business to feed herself. The characters were wonderful and some very protective, they seemed very realistic. There were a lot of turns and surprises in the book. It must have been hard to keep track of it. The author did a wondrous job of keeping it all straight. I definitely recommend this for the over eighteen bunch.
I received this ARC from the author and voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you.
I loved this book but I knew I would because I read the first edition of this “The Duke and the Dressmaker” several years ago. The new one is even better – I loved the secondary characters like the duke’s mother, Mary St. James, Dowager Duchess of Brentwood & his 14 year old sister – they both added a lot to the story!
The handsome & rich, Philip St. James, the Duke of Brentwood, has sworn to never form an attachment to a woman again where his heart would become engaged after his wife ran away with a married baron. He, after spending a lot of money, was granted a divorce – so he was single & planned to stay that way much to the chagrin of the husband hunting young ladies & their matchmaking mamas. But, when he meets the wife, of the man his wife ran off with, something about her entrances him & he is drawn to her like a moth to a flame.
Sara Downey has had a tough time, her husband abandoned her 6 months ago & took all the money with him & sold all their assets. Only because of her father’s wise choices for her before he died was she left with an inheritance that her husband could not touch. Leaving her homeless & destitute, Sara decides to use the money left by her father to open a dress shop. She loves designing dresses, is an excellent seamstress & she is making enough money to get by on without worry, especially when she decides to save money & secretly live above her shop. And then her world turned upside down when a horrible man threatens & carries through with some of the threats when he demands payment for her, now dead, husband’s gambling debts.
After Sara & Philip were introduced by a mutual friend, the dangerous, blackmail, physical abuse of Sara begins & Philip know he must find a way to protect her. The more they are thrown together with the events that take place, the stronger the bond grows between them. I highly recommend this read to all historical romance readers as it has everything you look for in a romantic HEA.
I was gifted the Advanced Reader Copy of this book & all opinions are my own & have been voluntarily given.