A Most Suitable Dutchess

I love the whole marriage of convenience turning into love so I enjoyed this story.I think it was a case of opposite personalities attracting and then eventually falling in love.I would have liked Marcus and Penelope to spend more time together,but their time apart helped them to realize their feelings for each other as their time together helped them to appreciate their differences.I also liked how Penelope handled the servants at the ducal estate when they tried to intimidate her.The author created a rival for Marcus' affections in Steven Wolcott a former beau of Penelope's.His reappearnce helped Penelope to realize her love for Marcus.

This book is what I've come to expect from Patricia Bray's Regency stories-- a lighthearted comedy of manners that's just the thing to curl up with on winter's evening. The author has a knack for creating interesting characters that come alive, and then placing them in absurd situations.Highly recommended.

He loves his farm, and breeding beagles. She loves her literary society and educational charities such as building a new observatory. On the surface, these two have nothing in common. Yet, due to a string of meddlesome people (a dead Duke, overly-helpful brother, and anxious soon-to-be sister-in-law, as well as the usual gossips) circumstances conspire to marry these two off. The conflict starts at once -- she wants to live in the city, he wants to return to his farm. They compromise by taking a lengthy tour of his newly inherited ducal estates.That's when this quiet character study really comes into its own. Cut off from the props of their previous lives, the hero and heroine must discover what's truly important about their lifestyles, themselves, and their spouses. No one is more surprised than they as they discover when it comes to what's really important, they're more alike than different. But when the honeymoon is over, and they resume their former lives, can the tenuous bonds formed in isolation withstand the stress?As always, Ms. Bray's characters are a delightful mix of insightful human commentary and Regency absurdity. (I loved the scene where the butler, having been brushed off and told to put the latest wedding gift in the room with the others before he can say what the gift is, gets to announce that the gift has just eaten one of the other gifts.) Fans of her previous books will not be disappointed.