Good Duke Gone Wild

Caroline, the cast-out daughter of a vicar, makes her way in life as a writer (anonymously) of erotic novels. She meets Dorian, Duke of Holland, outside her cousin’s bookstore. He almost knocks her over, and the first time they embrace is as he keeps her from falling. For the next two years, Caroline thinks of the duke and works in the store, saving her royalties to buy a quiet cottage. Dorian spends those same years feeling that he has failed his dead wife and happily glimpsing Caroline whenever he visits the shop. But their mutual attraction seems doomed: he needs to marry suitably; her career is scandalous. When he hires her to sell off his wife’s library, their proximity and the secrets Caroline finds in the pages of the late duchess’s books make them forget reality. They engage in an affair as they work together to uncover more about the duchess’s past. Their agreement makes for an odd-feeling situation for much of the novel and throws off the pacing. Thankfully, the last quarter of the book showcases Bennett’s (Dukes Do It Better) full strengths with plotting, characterization, and dialogue.