Put Your Best Duke Forward
Series: Dukes in Danger #6
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
Published September 15th 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Joseph Chisholm, Duke of Wincham doesn’t need a damn horse trainer to tell him what he already the loss of his leg makes riding impossible.

His doctor, on the other hand disagrees. Doctor Walsingham recommends a trainer who has never failed, and so Joseph begrudgingly agrees to meet the man. He’ll soon see the situation is impossible.

So when a dazzling beautiful woman—in breeches!—arrives at his door, even Joseph’s self-imposed isolation isn’t enough to make him forget the impropriety of the situation.

But Harriet Godwin, or Hattie to her friends, doesn’t care. This irritating Duke who’s never cared much for his neighbors or his tenants can go to hell as far as she’s concerned…

Except that the debts her father left on her horse stud farm have to be paid, one way or another. An agreement is made and Hattie begins Joseph’s horse training. But as the grumpy Duke re-learns how to ride a horse, could his heart be re-learning how to rejoin life? After such a tragedy, is there any point in returning to Society?

And when danger strikes, just how far will Joseph go to protect this woman he’s determined not to like?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Returning from France with an amputated leg, Joseph, Duke of Wincham, is even more irascible than ever before. He hates the fact that he can't walk or ride like he used to, and he won't let anyone help him. But following a fall, he allows the highly recommended doctor to pass his details onto a horse trainer, Godwin, in the hope that he'll be able to find some joy again. But when Harriet Godwin arrives on his doorstep, the woman who saw and insulted him, and claims she can get him in the saddle within a month, he'll take that bet. Hattie knows that this will be her hardest work ever, but she's running out of money, and the £50 the duke will pay will be enough to save her stud farm. As the two work together, throughout thick and thin, it's clear that what may have started out as simply a job, has soon become so much more.

Another lovely addition to the Dukes in Danger series. As I read through this series, I don't think they are less companion books, and more books which are simply in the same universe. There's very little overlap between the characters, though some names are mentioned. Put Your Best Duke Forward is very much a self-contained book. Hattie has been the sole owner and operator of her family's stud farm since her parents' deaths, and it's been a struggle. Getting the chance to work with the often absent Duke of Wincham will be more than enough to save the farm, and tide her over into the new year. But when she inadvertently insults Joseph, they get off on the wrong foot, so to speak. It's hard for her to convince him she knows what she's doing, but helping to ease his pain in their first lesson was a good start. I liked how she didn't let him get his own way, and was just as fiery as he was. They really were made for each other, and I didn't even mind how quickly Joseph realised he wanted to make her his duchess. The ending was cute, and it's definitely setting up for book 7.

Dates Read:
September 3, 2023

Rating
3 Stars