My Inconvenient Duke

In a neat twist, Chase fits this continuation of the LJ-starred “Difficult Dukes” series in and around A Duke in Shining Armor and Ten Things I Hate About the Duke. The story of Lady Alice Ancaster and the Duke of Blackwood begins before the events of those two books take place, filling the space when Alice’s future was in jeopardy—because if her wastrel brother Ripley won’t shape up, their beastly cousin will inherit when Ripley inevitably dies in some accident, duel, or wager. To protect her future, Alice goes on the marriage market and is about to promise herself to a lovely middle-aged man when Blackwood finally wakes up and sees that Alice really needs to spend her life with him. Chase, lauded for her deftness with dialogue, smart plots, and emotional resonance, expects readers to pay attention and rewards them with subtle, clever, and swoony storytelling.