Who Wants to Marry a Duke
Series: Duke Dynasty #3
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Published August 25th 2020 by Zebra/Headline Eternal

Goodreads Synopsis
Stepsiblings in search of the truth about their mother's succession of beloved husbands—and their own surprising identities as eligible young nobles—are the endearing stars of this dazzling series from New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries...

A past kiss with adorably bookish Miss Olivia Norley should be barely a memory for Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornstock. After all, there are countless debutantes for a handsome rakehell to charm beyond a young lady whose singular passion is chemistry—of the laboratory type. But Thorn has not forgotten—or forgiven—the shocking blackmail scheme sparked by that single kiss, or the damage caused to both their names. Now Thorn's half-brother, Grey, has hired the brilliant Miss Norley for her scientific expertise in solving a troubling family mystery. And the once-burned Thorn, suspicious of her true motives, vows to follow her every move...

For Olivia, determining whether arsenic poisoning killed Grey's father is the pioneering experiment that could make her career—and Thorn's constant presence is merely a distraction. But someone has explosive plans to derail her search. Soon the most unexpected discovery is the caring nature of the reputed scoundrel beside her—and the electricity it ignites between them...
Goodreads

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

After a fateful meeting nine years ago that lead to being found in a compromising position, and a failed proposal, neither Olivia Norley, or Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornstock, have met. When Thorn's half brother, Fletcher, the Duke of Greycourt, hires Olivia to discover whether his late father for poisoned, Thorn can't help but be suspicious. He always believed Olivia had planned for them to be discovered, and was in cahoots with her stepmother about blackmailing Thorn, and doesn't want to see his brother hurt. So, he tags along with the group, and involves himself in Olivia's experiments, with an apparent purpose for him to keep an eye on her, but really he is more and more intrigued, and doesn't want to be away from her. After an incident in which it seems she is at risk, he whisks her off to his own estate, with a companion of course, and neither can deny their attraction any more.

Everything about this book just drew me in from the get go. I adored Olivia, who wasn't like most society misses, and after she refused Thorn's proposal all those years ago, she fared fairly well, but cared only about her love of chemistry. She wants to be a chemist, and by developing a test to detect arsenic in bodies, this would be the push she needs. Thorn, on his part, was standoffish at first, but as we learn more about him, and understand why he was so suspicious of Olivia, he definitely grew as a character. He's also a secret playwright, using his life in Germany, and his experience with Olivia as inspiration, but he doesn't want anyone to know the truth. Olivia adores those plays, and he gets a bit jealous when the 'named playwright' meets her, and she swoons. Both he and Olivia want to deny their chemistry, but it's clearly difficult, and they were made to be with one another. I loved them together, and can see how both characters will continue to grow in their future relationship. I hadn't realised this was the third book in a series when I requested it, but it wasn't necessary to read the others as we learn enough about all the characters here. I do think if I had read the other books in the Duke Dynasty series, I might have picked up some quirks of the different characters, and I will be trying to read them at some point. Sabrina's writing was flawless, and I look forward to book 4!

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