Good Duke Gone Wild (Bluestocking Booksellers, #1)

by Bethany Bennett

[Lindsey Gray]

4.5 Stars!

February 1814, London

Both Dorian Whitaker, Duke of Holland, and Caroline Danvers, have been pining for each other since the moment they met eighteen months earlier. Caroline would be the perfect duchess if not for the facts that she was only a vicar’s daughter, worked in her uncle’s bookshop, and secretly wrote erotic tales under the nom de plum Blanche Clementine. Her latest novel, A Dalliance for Miss Lorraine, has been an overwhelming success. The ladies of the ton are all a flutter and drew some similarities between the hero and the Duke of Holland. Things get confusing and a bit awkward for Holland and his mother because of this.

As part of her duties at the bookshop, Caroline appraises books for sale. When Holland needs to liquidate his late wife’s book collection so he could pass on the money to the only family she had left, her cousin Timothy, he asks if Caroline would take over the job. She is eager to help, until she finds an incredibly romantic love letter stuck between the pages of one of the books. She returns the letter to Holland thinking he wrote it while he was away from his wife working on the King’s behalf. It turns out to be another stab to the heart for Holland as his wife had confessed to an affair in a letter before she died. Despite the pain and grief he’s suffered over the prior five years, he can’t help his feelings growing stronger each moment that passes in Caroline’s company. While Caroline continues to write a new novel using Holland as a muse a second time, her forbidden kisses with Holland inspire her to put pen to page. The burgeoning feelings between the two complicate matters for Holland’s mother and her plans to marry Holland off a second time.

Once again, Bethany Bennett has given us a multidimensional story with several delightful subplots. First, we have Holland and Caroline working together to find his late wife’s affair partner. Second, Caroline and Holland’s love story full of passionate kisses up against a bookcase. Third, the ever evolving pursuit for Caroline’s cousin, Constance, to find a husband. Lastly, Holland’s best friend, Oliver, the Earl of Southwyn, and his long-standing engagement. I love how Bennett developed each part and brought so much life to the page through her characters. She brought on my giggles and my tears as I fell in love with Caroline, Holland, and the world around them.

Each thread is pulled this way and that throughout the story, yet only two are brought to a satisfying conclusion. Oh, how satisfying they are! I’m excited to see where this series is going. There are at least two more booksellers who could have stories told.

I received Good Duke Gone Wild for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.