Originally published as part of At the Duke’s Wedding, a romance anthology. Republished here with a bonus epilogue. Gareth Cavendish, Duke of Wessex, believes he’s chosen the perfect bride… until he meets her sister and lightning strikes—literally! Now he’s the only member of society dreading the wedding of the season. Or is he? Cleo Barrows can’t fathom why her knees weaken every time the … the handsome duke approaches, or why her sister isn’t in the clouds at the prospect of marrying him. But the more often wedding plans throw Cleo and Gareth intimately together, the faster time is running out to turn the celebration of the summer into the scandal of the year.
Approximately 140 pages.
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A terrific page-turner from start to finish! So well written, I didn’t want it to end.
When I Met My Duchess is a fabulous historical romance by Caroline Linden. This is a fairly quick read, perfect for those with limited reading time. Ms. Linden has provided readers with a well-written book populated with a phenomenal cast of characters. Gareth is the Duke of Wessex and after meeting Helen, he had his cousin make the arrangements for their wedding. Cleo is a widow, shop owner and Helen’s sister. There’s plenty of drama, humor, spice and suspense in this story. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from Caroline Linden in the future. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger
I voluntarily read a complimentary copy of this book that I received from Bookfunnel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
What is an honourable Duke to do when he discovers that he has chosen the wrong bride? In this short but delightful Regency romance, star crossed lovers find themselves in the untenable situation of having to go through with a wedding that will only bring heartache and disappointment. Gareth’s noble attitude towards duty and his intended reveals the true nature of his character, even at the expense of the love he feels for Cleo. She is already the black sheep of the family and despite her strong feelings for Gareth, Cleo would never do anything to hurt her sister. Cleo’s social climbing, rapacious parents are a stumbling block, but when the dam bursts there is no holding them back from their viciousness. Although a fairly short novelette, one that can be read in an evening, it is nevertheless an enjoyable romance and comes to the right conclusion.
Recommended!
This is really such a cute novella.
In it we have Cleo who is a widow and her sister, Helen who is betrothed to the Duke, Gareth.
There are such a large variety of scenarios which could be written about with that information but I’m willing to bet that you would not be able to guess what really does happen.
This story is written so beautifully, that you should definitely read it for yourself and I simply have to recommend this one to you.
I was supplied with a copy as a gift and my voluntary review above is unbiased.
Gareth Cavendish, Duke of Wessex was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his bride to be Miss Helen Grey. He, his mother, his sisters, and his cousin were awaiting their arrival hoping they would get their before the rain started. They arrived in the last person out of the coach was Helen’s sister Mrs. Cleopatra Barrows as she exited the carriage there was a loud explosion caused by lightning striking an oak tree. Gareth also felt like he had been struck by lightning on seeing Mrs. Barrows, it was love at first sight though he didn’t realize it at first. Caroline Linden has written a book were four people discover love that they didn’t expect to. Excellent read and you should read it…
Cleopatra Barrows arrives at Kingstag Castle to attend the wedding of her sister Helen and Gareth Cavendish, Duke of Wessex. She’s a widow that married for love and her parents can’t stomach that he was in trade, but they don’t mind the money her draper’s shop brings them. Gareth is sure he’s found the perfect bride and thinks that love will come later, and then he meets her sister Cleo. All of his careful plans go by the wayside the more he gets to know Cleo. And of course she must not have feelings for her dear sister’s husband to be, but no matter how hard she tries, Cleo has a hard time staying away from the fascinating duke. I always enjoy a conundrum where there are perfect couples but they have to figure out who they belong with and how they’re going to get there without anyone getting hurt, and this story was a lovely example of that.
Great read
When I Met My Duchess, by Caroline Linden, was originally published in January of 2014 as part of At The Duke’s Wedding. Wedding was a compilation of stories by various authors. I’m glad Ms Linden made this novella available to me, it’s been a short but enjoyable read. I rarely give 5 stars but I loved this story enough to cough up the additional star.
I adore this plot. The Duke of Wessex doesn’t believe in love until lightening, literally, strikes when he meets Cleo Barrows. Unfortunately he’s betrothed to her younger sister Helen. He’s convinced, until he’s not, that his brain was fried by the strike & he’s going to be honorable about his commitment. He & Cleo spend the story trying to ignore each other, to no avail. In the meantime Helen is in love with the dukes cousin, James. They’re also trying to avoid each other. Honor & duty abound and love smashes it all to pieces. The future in-laws are awful pieces of work, great love to hate couple. At 112 pages is short but packed with entertainment, there’s even a bonus epilogue. Happy reading.
#CarolineLinden #WhenIMetMyDuchess #AtTheDuke’sWedding #historicalromance