WHAT THE DUKE DESIRES

Author: Jenna Petersen ISBN: 9780061470820 11/2009 HISTORICAL Publisher: AVON
Time Period: 1816 Regency

The duke always gets exactly what he wants . . . As the new Duke of Billingham, Simon Crathorne has one main duty to fulfill: find a proper wife and continue his family's exalted name. But of all the eligible women who have come to his country party, he desires only one. And she may be the most unsuitable bride of all. Lillian Mayhew is desperate to expose a devastating secret about Simon's distinguished late father so she can salvage her family's reputation. Yet from the moment she meets her rakishly handsome host, she begins to question if she can destroy his world so callously. She once wanted nothing more than to destroy his good name—and now she wants nothing more than his kiss. Caught between vengeance and ecstasy, Simon and Lillian begin a passionate affair. But betrayal lurks behind every stolen touch—and the duke's shocking past may be his ultimate undoing . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Jenna Petersen (also writing as Jess Michaels) sets her historical romance WHAT THE DUKE DESIRES in the countryside of Regency era Britain, where Simon Crathorne has recently become the Duke of Billingham upon the death of his father. His mother, despite her inexplicable disdain for him, has organized a two-week house party for her son in order for him to find a suitable bride. Lillian Mayhew is anything but suitable since her mother committed suicide, but her friend Gabby has helped her to be invited. Lillian isn’t at all interested in the Duke; her goal is to bring his late father’s misdeeds to light so that society will quit revering him and sniping about Lillian’s mother. Her vengeance may have to take a back seat when she and Simon are immediately attracted to one another.

Petersen sets her characters in the midst of internal conflict right off the bat and doesn’t let up. Simon and Lillian are drawn to each other not only physically, but they also hit it off intellectually and ethically. Lillian is at once torn about what to do because she realizes she’ll be no better than Simon’s father if she drags his family name through the mud. All of the other chaperones, as well as the Duchess, continue to let Lillian know how much they wish she’d go away and leave Simon to someone of his own station in life. Even Simon’s best friend Rhys tries to warn him off of the inappropriate Lillian. Simon feels for anybody who is in straightened circumstances, and Lillian’s strength endears her to him even more. When he begins to clean up his father’s accounts, he makes terrible discoveries and Lillian decides to drop her quest. As she is about to confess her treachery, Simon declares his desire for her and then some of the chaperones walk in on them in an intimate moment, which causes him to declare that Lillian is his fiancée. Now what will she do? These characters are so well drawn that I was immediately sympathetic to them both.

Petersen's setting and the action flow seamlessly and fit in such a way so as to not draw attention to them, but they support everything the characters need. The passionate passages are beautifully told and add a nice amount of heat to the process, making it difficult for Lillian to do the right thing.

WHAT THE DUKE DESIRES is a tale of attraction, vengeance, and redemption, with a good dose of passion thrown in. Petersen never disappoints when it comes to characters that I fall in love with. I’d love to meet whomever she uses for her inspiration.

Susan Barton