#Review: CHEERS TO THE DUKE by Sally MacKenzie

 

3 of 5 stars

Edward Russell, Duke of Grainger, never expected to inherit the title. He was a former solicitor who had a young son to take care of after his wife's death and he carved out a good life for them, at least he thought he did. When the title comes to him, he feels overwhelmed by all the responsibility and wants to marry again, but the young women being thrown in his path only see his title and riches. He wants to fall in love again with a sensible woman. One of the most sensible women he knows is Lady Jo Havenridge who runs a charity house for women and their daughters. Edward's coffers fully support the Home and after a year of communication by mail, they are finally set to meet at a friend's christening. Can Jo relax enough to enjoy the party or will her worries over the Home continue to plague her?

I liked Edward better than Jo in this story. Jo is so controlling about every detail that she is slowly driving the very women away who only want to help make the Home a success. After a disastrous first marriage, Jo vowed never to marry again and have a man tell her what to do, but there's something about Edward's sensible character that speaks to her as a woman. There's so much internal dialogue though. I think a lot of it could be cut and the story would flow better. I also thought that Jo's friends were quite pushy even though they thought they were helping. Not much stands in the way of these two except their own self-doubts. While they eventually sort out their feelings to a HEA, it was a bit of a slog to get there.

I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.