The Duke and The Enchantress by Paullett Golden
4 stars
The Duke And The Enchantress is book two of The Enchantresses historical romance series.
The book is set during 1790 in Northumberland. The story opens with newlyweds Charlotte and Drake, as they travel home from London.
With only a month of courtship before their hasty marriage, Charlotte is anxious about the future. She realises that the couple know very little about each other, and she is frightened about what she may be expected to undertake in her role as Duchess.
Upon arrival at Drake’s home, Lyonn Manor, Charlotte is introduced to his mother, a woman who makes it very clear that she disapproves of her son’s choice of wife. Feeling lost, alone and bullied by Drake’s dragon like mother, Charlotte almost despairs that she will never achieve the type of married life that she once dreamed of.
Readers of the series were introduced to Charlotte and Drake in book one; now we get to see them in a flip-side setting. If you’ve read book one, like me, you may have already formed your opinions of them. This book, however, shows a very different side to the couple. We get a chance to understand their characters deeply. I’m pleased with how my impressions changed between the two books; I quite disliked them at times in the first story, so this is a clever turnaround.
There’s also a musical sub-plot which works well, particularly with how the author linked it to the whims and fashions of society. It brought an unusual element to this genre. I’m enjoying this series, and am hoping that Drake’s sister will get to star in her own story very soon.
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Some fairy tales begin with the kiss.
Drake Mowbrah, the Duke of Annick, needed a wife. After choosing an acceptable bride, he traps himself in a marriage of convenience and must tap his creativity to woo his frigid wife and fuel her passion. Drake battles scandals, duels, and his own carefully crafted reputation to win her heart.
Charlotte Trethow dreamt of a fairy tale marriage to the perfect man. When she marries the Duke of Annick, all her dreams should have come true, but no one told her happily ever after doesn’t start with wedding bells. Charlotte is thrust into a world with a plotting housekeeper, an interfering despot, and an unconventional husband.
This is the love story of Charlotte and Drake as they turn a marriage of convenience into a fairy tale romance.
Rosie Amber 