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The Unclaimed Duchess
The Billingham Bastards, Book 2
Jenna Petersen

Avon Books/HarperCollins
September 2010/ ISBN 978-0-06-193499-5
Romance – Historical (England, 1816)
Amazon


Reviewed by Leslie Halpern

A prologue from 1796 reveals the beginnings of Anne Danvers’s crush on Rhys Carlisle, Duke of Waverly. His adolescent allure increased dramatically when he came to her rescue during children’s games at a picnic. Her crush continued throughout her childhood and into her adult years. None of this would seem strange except for the fact that Rhys had been her betrothed since birth, an arranged English marriage where love was never expected and often undesired.

In the case of rank-obsessed Rhys, tending to his Dukedom and snobbishly putting everyone else in their place below him kept him busy most of the time. Although he acknowledged Anne’s beauty and suitability throughout the years and submitted to marriage with her when the time was right, he had no intention of ever letting her into his heart. Even so, his mysterious abandonment of his wife and home right after their honeymoon left Anne feeling humiliated and betrayed.

This is where the official story begins. Determined to locate her missing husband, Anne contacts his good friend, Simon Crathorne, the new Duke of Billingham, who visited Rhys right before his departure. Through Simon, Anne learns that a terrible secret has been revealed to Rhys that threatens not only their marriage, but also his very life. Undeterred by Simon’s refusal to reveal the details of the dangerous secret, Anne journeys to the Carlisle country home where Rhys may have gone as a refuge. When she finds him there, she tries to bond with him physically and emotionally, but Rhys still refuses to reveal the secret, only saying that their marriage must end in order to “save” her. Throughout their stay at the country home and even after their return, Anne repeatedly and unpleasantly uses sex as a weapon to try to force him into staying with her.

This novel follows the first in The Billingham Bastards series, which began with What The Duke Desires the highly compelling story of how Simon and his wife, Lillian, met and fell in love. Rhys, however, is much harder to love – at least for the reader – than Simon. His coldness toward his friends and family, his disdain for the untitled or lower titled, and his preoccupation with rank give him lots of room for growth as a human. Although Anne helps him with this personal development, she seems to get the short end of the stick in this particular match.

Reviewer's Note: Sexuality, Profanity

Reviewed 2011
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