Tracy Anne Warren, The Husband Trap

The Husband Trap

Tracy Anne Warren

Ivy, Apr 2006, 384 pp.

ISBN 0345483081

It should be the happiest day of her life when Janette Violet Brantford marries the man she loves, Adrian Fitzhugh, the Duke of Raeburn. The problem is he thinks he is marrying her identical twin sister Jeanette Rose Brantford who was going to jilt him two hours before the wedding. Violet wasn't about to let that happen, because the money given to the Brantford family by the duke has already been spent to settle the gambling debts of the father and son.

When they leave for their honeymoon in Dorset, Adrian notices his wife is quieter and more thoughtful than she usually is. He thought he would have to rein in her spirit, because during their betrothal all she wanted to do was party. They settle into married life and Adrian falls in love with the woman he married, which gladdens Violet who has to work at being flighty flirty. She also has to hide from him that she hates crowds, loves learning and wears glasses. She lives in fear that he will find out about her deception, because she doesn't know what his reaction will be once he gets over the initial shock.

The plot device of twins switching identities has been used many times in romances, but Tracy Anne Warren puts a fresh spin on an old clich . She has the wrong twin already getting married when the action starts, so readers know Violet as a married lady and have no understanding of what led up to the deception. Violet should have been honest with her husband, though in fairness she feared the results, but continuing a pointless charade demeans her in the readers eyes. Still THE HUSBAND TRAP is an amusing Regency frolic.