ARC Review: How to Marry a Duke (A Cinderella Society #2) by Alyxandra Harvey
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Series: A Cinderella Society #2
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Published July 14th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Goodreads Synopsis
When Dougal is plucked from a millhouse as the last Duke of Thorncroft, he doesn’t know the rules of Society. Meg does. She’ll save him from the bullies and the treasure hunters.
Welcome to book 2 in the fabulous series, A Cinderella Society by Alyxandra Harvey.
Meg Swift has a tiny problem with stealing. What else is she to do when her uncle triples the estate rents? She learns how to mend roofs, plant turnips--and how to steal. She’s too busy for her godfather’s parade of single gentlemen at the Cinderella Ball.
Dougal Black has just been plucked from a millhouse as the last of the Thorncroft duchy bloodline. And if he’s not married by the end of the year, the Prince of Wales will choose his bride for him. But Dougal doesn’t know the rules of this new world. Luckily, Meg does.
They will have to contend with dozens of debutantes on house tours hoping for a glimpse of the single duke, and treasure hunters who will stop at nothing to get what they want from the historic Thorncroft Abbey.
Meg can’t abide a bully. So she’ll help Dougal. Even if she has to marry him to do it.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Ever since her parents died, Meg Swift has been 'raised' by her uncle. But raised may be putting it too mildly. Caring more about money, her uncle raises taxes and rents on the estate as often as he can, and forces Meg to take on a maid type role. So Meg has had to turn to stealing in order to survive, and help those on the estate survive. Meg knows she could speak with her godfather, the Duke of Pendleton, or her fellow Cinderella's, but she's ashamed of the truth. When Dougal Black arrives at Pendleton's Cinderella ball, as the new Duke of Thorncroft, he doesn't know how his new world works. Plucked from the mills in the North, he makes mistake after mistake, and it's soon clear that people are watching very closely, particularly when the Prince Regent proclaims Thorncroft needs to marry by the end of the year. Needing help, Meg offers to help him learn how to act in polite society, while also taking an inventory of the Thorncroft estate for Pendleton. As they grow closer, and more of their histories are revealed, Meg and Dougal discover they may be in the right place, at the right time.
After seeing parts of Meg's life in How to Marry an Earl, I wanted to know more about her. As the daughter of an earl, why was Meg stealing things, so skinny, and always hungry? Once we learn the truth, though, it's clear that Meg has been hiding a lot from her friends, though Dougal see's her from the very first moment. The connection between them was palpable, and I loved how neither of them felt like they truly belonged, but together they could face it all. Dougal's extended family, and the members of the Thorncroft family who remained at the estate, were blessings in disguise, and the whole dynamic just made the book that bit better.
Dates Read:
October 9-11, 2022
Rating
3 Stars
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