Review + Giveaway - How to Marry a Duke by Vicki Dreiling

TITLE:    How to Marry a Duke
AUTHOR:    Vicki Dreiling
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 396 pages
PUBLISHED:   Forever, 2010
ISBN#:   978-0-446-56537-0
OBTAINED:   Received from Hachette for Blog Tour and Review

FROM GOODREADS:  Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne is a man with a mission: find a wife he can tolerate as long as they both shall live. Love is not necessary--nor desired. But how to choose among a dizzying array of wealthy-yet-witless candidates? Hire London's infamously prim and proper matchmaker. Then pretend she's not the most captivating woman he's ever met...

Helping a devilish Duke create a contest to pick his perfect mate is the kind of challenge Tessa Mansfield relishes. Her methods may be scandalous, but she's determined to find the notorious bachelor more than a wife--she'll bring him true love. Yet when Tessa watches the women vie for the Duke's affections, she longs to win his heart herself. And after a stolen kiss confirms Tristan's desire, Tessa knows she has broken a matchmaker's number one rule: never fall in love with the groom.

MY TAKE:  How to Marry a Duke is a fun read.  It's not quite as the title suggests as it ends up more of a "how to teach a duke to find love" story.  The premise is pretty straight-forward, the most eligible bachelor in England hires a matchmaker to find him the perfect wife.  That is precisely when things start to go awry, for all involved.

I thought Tessa was an interesting character.  She's independent, well-educated and has no inclination to ever get married.  I like the fact that she isn't a simple debutante and has lived on her own as her own mistress for awhile.  Her chosen "career" is as a matchmaker, although she makes no money from it (she's mega-rich already).  She enjoys spending her time finding suitable husbands for young ladies who may not attract them otherwise.

Tristan was a bit more puzzling.  He is reputed to be a rake, but doesn't seem to exhibit too much rakish behaviour.  He is gorgeous, pompous and rather inept at romance.  I enjoyed his revealing banter with his best friend "Hawk" (Hawk will be featured in the next book - "How to Tame a Rake" - out in July).  

Another character that I enjoyed was Tristan's mother, the Duchess.  She was sort of a behind-the-scenes instigator and master puppeteer.  It would be fun to hear more from and about her.

I won't go too much more into it as I don't want to drop any spoilers.  This was a very enjoyable read with a nice mix of mystery, romance and humor. 

  

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:   

Five Fun Facts

1. Vicky concocted the idea for a Regency-era bachelor competition while watching the hit TV show The Bachelor one night. In a twist of fate, the new season of The Bachelor begins January 3, 2011, the same day as How to Marry a Duke debuts!

2. Prince William is off the market now, but his former status as the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor inspired Vicky to create Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne, the Most Eligible Bachelor in Regency England.

3. Tristan’s most striking physical traits are his vivid blue eyes and square jaw. Vicky used Henry Cavill, the British actor who starred in HBO’s The Tudors as a model for Tristan.

4. The idea to make her heroine Tessa Mansfield a matchmaker came from Vicky’s love of Jane Austen’s Emma.

5. Vicky writes to music and creates a soundtrack for her books. The theme song for How to Marry a Duke is I Believe in You (Je Crois En Toi) by Il Divo and Celine Dion.

Learn more about Vicky and find her on her website, blog, Twitter and Facebook.  Be sure to check out the awesome and instructional Guest Post vicky shared with us earlier.

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon, IndieBound, Powell's Books, The Book Depository

Thanks to the generosity of the author and Hachette Books, we have a copy of How To Marry A Duke for TWO lucky winners.  Details are below:

• Giveaway closes January 31st, 2011.
• Comment on this post WITH your email address:  janedoe (at) iwon (dot) com 
• You may only win a copy of a title once per household, no matter how many blogs you may have your name drawn at.
• Drawing is only open to those with US or Canadian mailing addresses, no PO Boxes.
  

Good luck to all of you and

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.