Product Description

Marcus Reese, Duke of Essex, has spent most of his life pulling his twin brother out of trouble. An occasional thank you would suffice; instead, his resentful sibling forges his name to a marriage license and presents him with an unwanted wife. She's a vicar's window with a mind of her own who may be the first person in Marcus's well-ordered life to make him feel...completely out of control. Hannah can't help but curse her own idiocy. Dire straits have led her to the altar with a gentleman she hardly knows. Played for a fool, she's embarrassed, furious, and worse, married to an equally outraged stranger - an exasperating man who unleashes all manner of emotions in Hannah, not to mention unwanted desire. Reluctantly, she agrees to play the wife until he can sort out the mess. But the nearness of the undeniably attractive Duke and the passion in his black eyes unsettles her well-guarded heart - making her want to do so much more than "act" the role of blissful bride...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98185 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

From Booklist
When David Reece is injured while racing his carriage through quiet little Middleborough, vicar's widow Hannah Preston not only winds up taking care of him but also accepting his offer of marriage since it offers a practical solution to many of her own problems. It is only after Hannah arrives at her new home in London and meets David's twin brother, Marcus Reece, the Duke of Exeter, that she discovers that the roguish David has apparently played one of his infamous jokes by signing Marcus' name to the wedding register. Until he can sort things out, Marcus suggests pretending to proceed with the wedding, but Hannah quickly discovers that their marriage of convenience is going to be anything but convenient. Linden deftly adds danger to the mix in her latest elegantly written Regency historical as her delightfully autocratic hero tries to crack a counterfeiting ring while romantically clashing with the book's quietly efficient, equally stubborn heroine. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

BRAVA!
Marcus Reece, duke of Exeter, had always acted to preserve the family name, and his twin brother's along with it. To keep his brother, David, from being called out for a duel of honor, Marcus again cleans up David's mess and sends him out of London for awhile. But David ends up injuring his leg when his carriage wrecked during a race in a small town called Middleborough. The vicar's widow, Hannah Preston, takes care of David as he heals. David comes to care for Hannah, and for her small daughter, Molly. David is sincere when he proposes to Hannah, but the day before the wedding he panics.

Hannah curses her own idiocy. With few choices open to her, she weds a gentleman she hardly knows. David escorts Hannah and Molly to London, says he must be away on business for a bit, and promptly disappears. Hannah does not learn that David forged Marcus's name to the marriage license until the cold and aloft duke appears before her in person with accusations. Of course, Hannah is ready to simply walk out. But before she can, David and Marcus's sister, Celia, and stepmother, Rosalind, arrives and proceeds to gush all over Hannah and Molly.

Reluctantly, Hannah agrees to play the part of Marcus's duchess for a while. In doing so, Hannah will help secure Molly's future and Marcus can keep his relatives from hating David. The entire mess would sort itself out within only a month or two. Meanwhile, Marcus can continue his investigation with Bow Street of a counterfeiting ring. David seems to be mixed up in entire counterfeiting scheme and Marcus hopes to prove his brother innocent. But with tempting Hannah nearby, Marcus is having trouble concentrating. Marcus learns that by playing the part of husband, he has a chance to claim happiness.

***** Caroline Linden's characters are so vivid that, for awhile, I forgot they were all part of a fictional piece. As I read, I could easily see the events unfold before me and felt as though I were a part of everything. An outstanding story that I hated to see end. BRAVA! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

When Hate Turns To Love - a shelf keeper!
I won't rehash the plot as the other two reviewers did so well, but let me just tell you that you don't want to miss this one! If you like your hero's ala proud Darcy types and bold heroines with a bit of steamy love scences added to the mix, you'll love this one! Marcus, Duke of Exeter is the arrogant snob who looks down upon his plain provincial 'wife'. Seeing Hannah be able not only to stand toe-to-toe with him, but slowly peel away his crusty layers to show the true man he really is, is priceless. When the truth of his identical brother's trickery is publically revealed, will either of the two want out of their 'marriage'?

Excellent regency historical! A must read!

Really, really good!!
This book was fascinating for me. I didn't know if Ms Linden was going to be able to keep me interested in the "deceived into marrying the wrong man" theme for long enough but, Boy, did she ever.

Marcus and Hannah are mature enough that they made logical decisions regarding their marriage. Hannah actually tried to leave and go away when she found that David had signed his brother's name in the parish registry. She had no place to go but her conscience would not allow her to stay and let the Duke be responsible for her. The author was able to convince me that she really would have left and wasn't just giving lip service to the things she was saying. Marcus was willing to make great sacrificies in order to protect the honour of his family. By having the counterfieting plot woven into the story Ms Linden provided a bridge for these two characters to get to know each other and fall in love. Very, very cleverly done.

Marcus seems to be a cold, unfeeling member of the English aristocracy. Hannah seems to be a provincal, plain widow. It was wonderful to watch this author move these characters toward the outcome we wanted to happen. I might have liked for Hannah to have been a widow for more that six months. That short time period bothered me a little. Wonder why the author didn't give her more time to get over the death of a husband she is portrayed as really loving?

Read it. Judge for yourself. It is well worth the time and money.