Title: The Confessions of a Duchess (Brides of Fortune #1)

Author: Nicola Cornick

Publisher: HQN 2009

Genre: Regency Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

When an ancient tax law is invoked requiring all unmarried ladies to either wed or surrender half their wealth, it's not long before the quiet village of Fortune's Folly is overrun by a swarm of fortune-hunting bachelors. Marry again? Never! Not after what Laura, the dowager duchess, was forced to endure. Even if the arrival of her onetime paramour, Dexter Anstruther, is oh-so-tempting, she knows the secret she's kept from him would destroy any chance at a future together. Young, handsome and scandalously enticing, Dexter suspects Laura has a hidden motive for resisting his charms…and he intends to expose her, by any means necessary.

This one was much more fun than the prequel short story. I really liked Laura and Dexter. The whole hidden child plot in romances is not my favorite, but this one was done better than usual. I was much more interested in the back and forth between the main characters. The subplot involving Lydia was a bit much, but thankfully the book rarely focused on it. What I really want is more from Miles! Here’s hoping the next book stars him and Alice.

Brides of Fortune

• #0.5 The Secrets of a Courtesan

• #1 The Confessions of a Duchess

• #2 The Scandals of an Innocent

• #3 The Undoing of a Lady

Next up on the TBR pile: