Book Review : The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath


The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath
Series : Once Upon a Dukedom #2
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : Avon
Publication Date : September 28th, 2021
New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath continues her Once Upon a Dukedom series with this lush love story of a duke who discovers what he desires in a wife may not be what he needs...

Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. However, restoring the dukedom—left in ruins by his father—to its former glory demands all his time, with little room for sentiment. He places an advert encouraging the single ladies of the ton to write why they should be the one chosen, and leaves it to his efficient secretary to select his future wife.

If there exists a more unpleasant task in the world than deciding who is to marry the man you love, Penelope Pettypeace certainly can’t imagine what it might be. Still, she is determined to find the perfect bride for her clueless, yet ruthlessly charming employer.

But when an anonymous note threatens to reveal truths best hidden, Kingsland has no choice but to confront the danger with Penelope at his side. Beguiled by the strong-willed, courageous beauty, he realizes he’s willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe within his arms. Could it be the duchess he’s hunting for has been in front of him all along?

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It's been about a while since The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath was released, but I just got around to posting a review for it! Even though I'm a huge mood reader, I've made an effort to read spooky books this month. So, The Duchess Hunt was actually my last read from September and surprisingly it was something that I really enjoyed. And I say 'surprisingly' mainly because I can count on one hand the number of 2021 historical romance releases that I actually enjoyed, even though it's one of my favorite genres! Even the lastest Lisa Kleypas book which was a highly anticipated read for me ended up being a huge disappointment. Fantasy and HR are two of my favorite subgenres and I read these books the most, but this year was one for contemporary romance books for me and I have no complaints since I've loved almost all the ones that I read. So, I was so happy that I found a new HR release that I fell in love with since the last one was Bombshell.

Lorraine Heath has always been one of my favorite authors, and she always manages to write beautiful romances which are a little angsty with secrets and stuff, but with amazing characters as well! I'm rarely ever in the mood for angst, but I can always read her books because I love her writing and characters, and I trust her I suppose?😂 Anyway in this one, we've got Hugh, the Duke of Kingsland, who hands over the task of searching for a bride for him to his secretary - Penelope, who's been in love with him for eight years. As much as it pains her to do it, she sets about to get the job done, but both of them have secrets that might threaten their orderly lives and an anonymous note could mess things up for them!

Things that I liked : 
✨ Workplace romance - Boss/secretary relationships are so fun to read about and I loved watching these two navigate and develop their relationship
✨ Pining - I'm a sucker for pining heroes/heroines and Penelope has been in love with Hugh for a long time, while Hugh has started to like her as well but he refuses to own up to his feelings (typical stubborn HR male🙄)
✨ Angsty pasts of both the characters
I love the class differences that they had to navigate and the slow burn development! 

On the other hand I'd have loved more glimpses into their interactions from when Penelope started working for him and how she fell for him. And Hugh really needed to be hit on the head at times. As much as I loved certain aspects of him he was too stubborn at times and really needed a wake up call. Plus, I just wanted more between them you know? Like why did he not notice Penelope's characteristics all these years? That could have been done better. And while the secrets that they'd been keeping from each other were heavily hinted at, his was just glossed over in the end. I felt that equal precedence should have been given to both of them! But, in the end, I loved seeing them coming together and the chemistry between them was amazing! I'm glad that I enjoyed this book as much as the first one in the series! Looking forward to the next one!❣️✨

You can also find my review on Instagram here : 

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Lorraine Heath has always had a soft spot for emotional love stories. No doubt because growing up, watching movies with her mom, she was taught that the best movies "won't half make you cry."​​​​​​​

She is the daughter of a British beauty (her mom won second place in a beauty contest sponsored by Max Factor® during which she received a kiss from Caesar Romero, (the Joker on the original Batman TV series) and a Texan who was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Lorraine was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, but soon after moved to Texas. Her "dual" nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both heritages through her stories.

When she received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her to create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” She began her career writing training manuals and computer code for the IRS, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since.

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