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.

Guest Post - Author Vicki Dreiling

I am thrilled to welcome Vicky Dreiling here today.  She is the debut author of the fun new novel, How to Marry a Duke.  You can read my review of this lovely book and enter to win your own copy later today.   I was fortunate enough to be able to pose a question to Vicky:  "How would you suggest a "lady marry a duke" in these modern times?"  Below is the fabulous advice Vicky has for those ladies in waiting for their own duke.

How to Marry a Modern Duke

By Vicky Dreiling

I confess the question of how a lady might snag entice the interest of a modern duke stumped me at first. This is because I recently saw a photo posted online of real British dukes who were all gathered at one table. They didn’t resemble any historical romance heroes I’ve ever seen on book covers. This is probably because most had little hair, and the youngest duke was in his fifties. But I concluded the modern dukes must yearn for the family legacy to carry on, which of course means their heirs must marry! Good news for single ladies in search of a ducal husband!


After much cogitation, I decided a lady in search of a modern duke-to-be should first do a bit of research to determine which of the ducal heirs looks the most like a hunky duke on the covers of historical romance novels, such as the hero in HOW TO MARRY A DUKE. Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne bears a remarkable resemblance to the drop-dead gorgeous actor Henry Cavill who starred in the HBO series The Tudors. Sigh, if only Henry, who played the Duke of Suffolk, was a real duke.


Lest some single ladies balk at the idea of settling for a mere heir, I shall remind them that one day said heir will inherit an enormous house with hundreds of rooms, not to mention pots of money. Eventually, dear old dad will stick his spoon in the wall (Regency speak for go to his heavenly maker), and you could be a duchess!!!


But first, a single lady must stalk arrange to meet the duke-to-be of her dreams. The investigation shouldn’t be too difficult. Find out which nightclubs the young heirs of dukes hang out at. Then travel to London. Then shadow your quarry wherever he goes.


If that plan fails, you might use the nineteenth century method favored by Lady Caroline Lamb. She dressed up as a page and infiltrated the abode of the famous poet Lord Byron. That particular torrid affair didn’t end too happily, but perhaps it will for one of the readers here.


I suppose a desperate lady could peruse Internet Dating Services or hire a professional matchmaker. I’ve heard that some matchmaking services specialize in finding true love for millionaires. Perhaps one of the elite British matchmaking services could provide a selection of millionaire sons of dukes for your consideration.


The ladies who pursued Tristan in HOW TO MARRY A DUKE resorted to dropping hankies, parasols, and fans at his feet. That ploy only worked for my heroine, Miss Tessa Mansfield, but you might try it if you happen upon any sons of dukes. Of course, Tessa never planned to drop her fan, and she had no intention of marrying (she already had pots of money and a big house with hundreds of rooms). But as a matchmaker, Tessa could not resist the opportunity to make the match of the century for England’s Most Eligible Bachelor. Unfortunately, she soon discovered that none of the single belles matched his stringent qualifications for a perfect duchess. So she concocted a daring plan involving 24 of the most beautiful belles. But she never dreamed she’d met her own love match in this Regency-remake of the hit TV show The Bachelor.


If none of my previous suggestions for landing a son of a duke prove fruitful, a modern marriage-minded lady might write to ABC TV with a request to feature a young heir of a duke on The Bachelor. After all, ABC once featured a prince on the show. Why not a son of duke? Next, I recommend bribing applying to be a cast member of The Bachelor Son of a Duke. Yes, you can audition for the part. Here’s a link: http://thebachelor.warnerbros.com/


Best of luck in your search for the Bachelor Son of a Duke. Let me know if you catch one.

Thank you so much Vicki.  Very sound advice for the modern woman!  Learn more about Vicki below and don't miss out on my review and giveaway later today.


Vicky Dreiling’s debut Regency historical romance HOW TO MARRY A DUKE is available now. HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL will be on the shelves in July 2011.

Vicky Dreiling is a confirmed historical romance junkie and Anglophile. Frequent business trips to the UK allowed her to indulge her passion for all things Regency England. Bath, Stonehenge, and Spencer House are among her favorite places. She is, however, truly sorry for accidentally setting off a security alarm in Windsor Castle. That unfortunate incident led her British colleagues to nickname her “Trouble.”


When she’s not writing, Vicky enjoys reading, films, concerts, and most of all, long lunches with friends. She holds degrees in English literature and marketing. A native Texan, she shares her home with her daughter and a spoiled mini-lop rabbit that lives in a slightly gnawed cardboard cottage.


Visit Vicky at her website: http://www.vickydreiling.com/index.php