The Lost Duke of Wyndham

Will the real Duke of Wyndham please stand up?

Jack Audley has been a highwayman. A soldier. And he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.

Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine... until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she's not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have...

I was starting to lose hope, after the fiascos which were the last two Bridgerton novels (hold your horses, Quinn fans, I love Quinn, too, but the last two were garbage!). Quinn's THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS MIRANDA CHEEVER gave me much hope for a literary comeback and that hope was not disappointed.

I loved THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM and for the first time in a long time I actually want to keep on reading romance novels. I was definitely not in the mood for anything romance related for a while. When I first read about Quinn's new novel, I was initially reluctant to read it for fear THE SECRET DIARIES was merely a fluke incident. I was afraid THE LOST DUKE would be terrible, perhaps even as bad as IT'S IN HIS KISS (which I nearly ripped to shreds upon completion). However, I gave Quinn another chance and wow...she did not disappoint, not even close.

The hero is as romantic as they come and the heroine is right for him on so many levels. The novel is of the "love at first sight" variety with the hero knowing from the start that he wants the heroine as his for good. Of course, there's the struggle with emotion that is typical of any romance novel, but altogether I was not aggravated or displeased by it. Often times, writers take this too far and leave me exhausted and angry by the time they decide to unite the lovers for good. Not the case here. If you want love that is simple and without the five million ridiculous obstacles thrown in to fill in ten chapters, then THE LOST DUKE is for you.

The heroine's overly compassionate nature irked me at times, but overall I enjoyed the book immensely and look forward to its sequel, to be released October 2008.