An American heiress from Newport took London and St. Petersburg by storm with her heart, beauty, and talent for photography.
Playing the Duke’s Fiancee is a historical romance between a talented photographer who happened to be an American Heiress and a traditional and dutiful Duke set on a more conventional wife.
Our thanks to the author, Harlequin, and Rachel Random Resources for the advanced reader’s copy.
Book Details
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Historical (July 27, 2021)
Language: English
ASIN : B08WX4YS95
Book Description
A pretend proposal
For the unconventional heiress
When American heiress Violet Wilkins crosses paths with William, Duke of Charteris, she has extremely low expectations of the “Duke of Bore.” But when this seemingly stuffy aristocrat offers her escape from a dreadful arranged marriage, she leaps at the chance! To her surprise, the arresting Charteris whisks Vi into an exhilarating make-believe romance. And as she gets to know the man behind the title, she can’t help wanting more…
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
From the Publisher’s Blurb
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Review
Violet Wilkins, the middle daughter of ‘Old King Coal’ Wilkins, was in London with her two sisters; both married to British aristocrats. Not that interested in marriage herself, Violet enjoyed the freedom of being away from her parents and working on her photography techniques.
But things changed when she received a letter from her mother informing her that she was supposed to marry her family business partner, a disgusting man thirty years her senior.
After helping the brooding Duke of Charteris avoid an unwanted marriage, they decided to fake an engagement to protect them from unwanted attention.
The story is sweet and full of beautiful winter landscapes and royal connections. It was interesting to read about how photography worked and the different methods of film development.
I particularly like the fake relationship trope, and the characters were quite charming in their misguided attempts of pretending they didn’t care for each other.
Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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About the Author
Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen–a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject…)
She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma with a menagerie of two cats, a Pug, and a very bossy miniature Poodle, along with far too many books.
When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network–even though she doesn’t cook.
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