“This enchanting story will sweep readers off their feet and into a whirlwind of romance and intrigue.” – NIGHT OWL REVIEW TOP PICK A wealthy entrepreneur with a dark past, Gavin Graystone is not looking for love. But he does need a wife. Setting his sights on Charlotte Vanderley, a lady of impeccable breeding – albeit questionable temperament – he makes it clear from the very beginning that … it clear from the very beginning that emotion will have no place in their relationship. As far as he is concerned marriage is a business contract. Nothing more and nothing less.
Desperate to escape her engagement to the lecherous old Duke of Tarrow, feisty, free-spirited Charlotte jumps at the opportunity to marry Gavin. Running away with him will mean defying one of the most powerful men in all of England, but Charlotte has never let a little adversity – or a surly rogue – stand in her way. Gavin may not be a fairy-tale prince, but he’s certainly better than a man three times her age. And he’s an excellent kisser.
But marriages of convenience rarely go as planned, and as Charlotte and Gavin embark on a journey that will take them from Gretna Green to the rolling hills of Southampton and the crowded streets of London, they find themselves doing the one thing they both vowed they would never do.
Falling in love.
more
The best kind of happy ever after. Runaway Duchess gives you a marriage of convenience and different social class, mixes it up with feisty banter and undeniable attraction that leads to a wonderful enduring love story for Charlotte and Gavin. Another gorgeous regency romance by Jillian Eaton.
Lady Charlotte Vanderley lives with her overbearing mother, who has drawn up contracts with a duke who is old enough to be Charlotte’s grandfather & is the most vile disgusting man who it is rumored to have killed his first two wives. She must figure a way out of this horrible marriage before it’s too late.
Gavin Graystone is handsome & very wealthy but is a commoner who has spent his life on the mean streets & clawed his way up the ladder – he looks good, smells good, has riches but he needs a way to be accepted into society.
Gavin & Charlotte meet at a ball & at their second meeting they discuss what each is up against & Gavin asked Charlotte to marry him. It would be a marriage in name only, a business transaction – they agree & elope to Gretna Green. Things never go the way they are planned & Charlotte begins falling in love with Gavin instantly but he will be harder to win over because of his dark past. I highly recommend this romantic, fun, dangerous adventure.
It seems that Julia Roberts was not the only “Runaway Bride”, but Lady Charlotte Vandelay had the same idea! Being forced to marry a much older man, Charlotte agrees to elope and marry Gavin Graystone, a commoner. A very rich commoner but one no less.
Of course, their union was just a business arrangement. She could get him accepted into circles he usually would not have access to and she would avoid a horrible marriage!
Perfect right? Well of course a perfect love takes a journey to get to it’s destination and the fun, suspense and a plethora of challenges brings this tale to a happy ending!
This was a nice change from the typical regency stories in which this is a romance between a commoner and a member of the ton. It makes it more fun and romantic when there is diversion from the norm. Gavin and Charlotte meet at a ball and have quite the chemistry! Charlotte needs to escape an engagement to an old lecherous duke and Gavin , though filthy rich, thinks marriage to a nobleman will make it easier for him to move around in the ton. They decide to run away and marry. The back and forth banter between the two was fiery, flirty, and fun! I was completely engaged in the story from the beginning. The characters were fun, unique, and likable. This was a fun and entertaining book and I’m glad I picked it up!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Can They Help Each Other?
I have read a fair number of this author’s books, and I tend to run hot and cold on them. Sometimes I absolutely adore them, but other times they don’t quite work for me. I have to say this is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. She managed to create characters who felt unique and relatable and imbued them with chemistry that was hard to deny. You can’t help but feel for the heroine as the book opens as her cold but elegant mother has announced her engagement in the paper—without informing her—to an elderly duke who took a shine to her. As she later finds out from her maid, he is one real dangerous guy, possibly responsible for the deaths of his two previous wives. She desperately wants out of it, of course, but she realizes that her mother has struck a poor bargain that includes their property as well. If she skips out on the marriage, her mother will lose everything. Our hero is the son of a baker who got through his early life by winning brawls. He slowly and wisely invested what he made and is now wealthy, moving amongst the “ton” but not accepted by them. While he would prefer to marry a young woman from his own class, he realizes that it might be better for him if he marries a legitimate blueblood. So their purposes start to intertwine, she needing a wealthy husband to marry so she can escape the evil duke and set her mother up and him wanting a wife from an established “ton” family to hopefully garner the respect he desires. They had already shared a passionate moment early on when she stumbles on him in a study during a ball, but he believes this marriage will be one strictly of convenience. How will that work out?
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Book one in the London Ladies series a beautiful, well written story that had me rooting for these two. Gavin Graystone and Charlotte Vanderley’s story of a very strong, opinionated woman, and a man afraid to love. I want to read the next book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lady Charlotte is engaged to a much older cruel Duke who is rumored to have murdered his previous wife. When she meets Gavin who is wealthy but has no title at a ball their attraction is so strong they decide to run away and marry. Enjoyed this entertaining book with the ups and downs of Charlotte and Gavin.
Lady Charlotte is betrothed to an evil elderly duke who may have killed his previous wives in order to pay for her mother’s debts. She meets Gavin Greystone, a wealthy money launderer at a ball and they decide to run away and marry to save her from the duke and so he can have the connections married to a lady of the ton. They have a tumultuous relationship filled with arguments, a crazy servant, and the mad Duke who doesn’t want to give Charlotte up.
Runaway Duchess by Jillian Eaton was a fun book to read. I read it twice and am glad that I did because I must have skipped several chapters the first time around. Charlotte Vanderley, is engaged to be married to Duke of Tarrow, a lecherous old man. She can’t stomach the idea and decides to marry a man she just meets, Gavin Graystone, a commoner. I enjoyed the story and like the idea of a peer marrying a commoner. This journey to HEA has friendship loyalty, a carriage accident, snobby butlers, and so much more.
This book, which was previously published, is revised with additional pages. I am very disappointed in myself because I had the original book in my kindle and never read it. This book is about Gavin who is not part of the ton but is a wealthy businessman and Charlotte who is engaged, against her will, to a horrible “old and grotesque” Duke who she does not want to marry. There is evil and a little mystery in this book, but I really liked how Gavin and Charlotte relationship grew. Jillian Eaton writes a story that flows smoothly, which is enjoyable.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A rogue and a red-haired hellion.
One moment you are dancing the next you are being ravish by a handsome stranger Charlotte night at the ball had turned rather interesting. Gavin was a rogue and did not have a drop of noble blood but he is an outstanding character. Charlotte is being forced to marry will Gavin be her white knight? The story flowed so well and I loved how it was written. There is some great action in this one too. There are bad guys to the right and bad guys to the left but two stubborn and disagreeable people dealt with the challenges. I loved the piece and I highly recommend it.
This book was so good I spent my Mother’s Day reading it! Ms. Eaton creates wonderful characters in Runaway Duchess. I loved Gavin and Charlotte but all of the characters feel real. I loved the scene with the priest and Gavin! An enjoyable story! Highly recommended!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
2.5 STARS
I did like the premise that the H was the commoner and he wanted a Titled lady. Usually it is the other way so I did enjoy the uniqueness.
The author states at the beginning of the story this was first published in 2013 and this current one has quite a few renovations in this latest version with 50 bonus pages never before read. Well, that bothered me because this has not only many editing errors, but incorrect words, distance in traveling etc. If you are reworking a previously told story, you should want to put out a better product.
The h’s mother is a cold women and sells her daughter for status. When the H saves her from marrying a man 3 times her age, she makes him promise to take care of her mom and get her out from under the Duke. Does the h do this when she takes up with the H, no? She is gone from home anywhere from a couple weeks to goodness knows how long, because this is one of the errors. Anyway, being told when she does return how her mother was frantic does she send a letter stating all is well – your worries are over – NO! She waits over 4 weeks to see her mother and only as she is leaving does she explain everything.
There are some surprises in villains and parts of the story I enjoyed. The ending is abrupt which I can’t figure out why. If you added 50 pages why not gives us an epilogue?
There is lovemaking, within marriage, heat level 3 out of 5.
No cheating, no cliffhanger, HEA, romance (which the H fought through most of the book not wanting the h) and a tad of spice. (ljb)