2023 New Release challenge
ARC Review: Not the Duke You Marry (The Kent's Row Duchesses #3) by Jess Michaels
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Series: The Kent's Row Duchesses #3
Author: Jess Michaels
Published November 14th 2023 by The Passionate Pen, LLC
Goodreads Synopsis
The final highly anticipated book in the The Kent’s Row Duchesses series by Jess Michaels!
Theo, Duke of Lightmorrow and Bernadette, Dowager Duchess of Tunbridge, grew up together and both experienced the pain of families who didn’t appreciate them. Now that their mutual friends are married, they’ve rekindled a friendship that is also highly flirtatious. When one tipsy night Bernadette admits she wishes she could take a lover, Theo is shocked. At first he tries to put Etta off the idea, but he soon realizes she’s too tenacious and decides there’s only one way to keep her volunteer as the man in her bed.
Bernadette’s feelings for Theo are complicated, but so are the ways she views herself. Man after man in her life made her feel unworthy, so it’s hard to believe that someone so popular and certain and talented as Theo could actually want her. And if he does, that he could desire more than just a few powerfully passionate nights together. But she’s having trouble separating her body from her heart, even if she knows it can only lead to sorrow.
Can a near tragedy and pleasure like no other lead to happiness for these two? Or will one careless night years ago end their future before it can begin.
This is the third in The Kent’s Row Duchesses Series and can be read as a standalone book.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Bernadette, now Dowager Duchess of Tunbridge, and Theo, Duke of Lightmorrow, were friends as children. But since that time, their relationship has become nonexistent, and if it wasn't for their new friends, they wouldn't be in each other's lives any more. Always thrown together, they've managed to reconnect like it was yesterday, but the flirtatious aspect of the friendship is new. As is Bernadette's revelation that she wants to take a lover. Theo has always cared for her, and when he realises she is not joking, he offers to spend a few nights with her, to keep her safe and protected. The only problem is that their hearts and feelings aren't ready to give up after knowing how good they are together.
I have needed these two to get together since their first scenes in book 1. It was clear to everyone but themselves that they were in love with each other, but they just needed a push. Theo definitely fell harder for Etta, but she needed to work through her past insecurities, stemming from her childhood and her marriage, before she felt lovable. Theo was always at her side though, championing her, as were the other Duchesses and their partners. This book definitely tied the series up nicely, and was a great conclusion.
Dates Read:
October 22, 2023
Rating
3 Stars
