Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake (TLC Book Tour)

 

What is your first read of the New Year?

My first read was Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake.  I read this delightful book in a day.  This story has everything I love in a romance; witty and sexy main characters, a marriage of convenience that develops into true love, and hints of a fairy tale romance.

Julia Beaumont has one ball to try to find a husband.  Her evil stepmother has not allowed her to attend balls during the season for ten years.  She is firmly on the shelf now, but her sick stepmother has allowed her to chaperone her young stepsister to the Weatherford Ball.  While at the ball, she meets the notorious rake, Gregory Carter, the Duke of Ashworth.  She helps him out of a tricky situation, but they have one stolen kiss.  Julia leave her slipper behind at the ball.  Gregory returns the slipper the next day and before they know it, they have decided on a marriage of convenience.  Julia will not have to spend her life as a nursemaid to her stepmother and Gregory will no longer have bored married ladies chasing after him.  Will this marriage of convenience turn to true love?

I would highly recommend this book to fans of the Bridgerton series.  I would say this book is medium to high level of steam.  I loved the chemistry between Julia and Gregory and how it was a slow build to their romance.  I also enjoyed that they both had an inner depth and past hurts that the other had to discover to learn more about their character. There was also a lot of humor in this book that had me laughing out loud. This was a very fast light read and an enjoyable story.

Favorite Quote:

“But Gregory had other craftier ideas.  He was 80 percent crafty ideas, 15 percent smug virality, and 5 percent effortless smoulder.”

Review Copy from Entangled Publishing.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the TLC Book Tour. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.