The Duke’s Captive The Duke’s Captive

The Duke's Captive

The Duke's Captive

Avon, Jun 29 2010, $7.99

ISBN: 9780061474842

In 1856 young widow Viola Bennington-Jones was married for about eleven months when her spouse Baron Cheshire died several years ago. She has one objective in life; being the best momma to her four year old son John Henry though she loves to draw and is quite good at it.

However, her comfortable world as an aristocratic single mom raising a baron abruptly ends at a gala. There she sees Ian Wentworth who has returned to London as a wealthy Duke seeking revenge against those who drugged and held him captive, starting with Viola. He flirts with her while pretending he is unsure when they met and commissions her to paint his portrait. .He plans to also go after her sisters who incarcerated him as well. Her biggest fear is he will remember what happened between them as she conceals a secret from him.

This is an entertaining refreshing Victorian romance in which his captivity five years earlier makes for a brisk read. Viola and Ian are an intriguing gem of a pairing as each cooks up a humble love pie but that delicacy may not be strong enough to overcome their previous encounter.

Harriet Klausner