Shannon C’s review of The Trouble With Dukes: The Windham Brides, Book 1) by Grace Burrowes
Historical Romance published by Forever 20 Dec 16
Grace Burrowes is one of my favorite romance authors working today. It’s hard for me to be objective about her books. I go to them when I want to visit a warm, comfortable place I’ve been before, and then I invariably read three or four of her books. This first volume in her Windham Brides series brings nothing new to the table, but I wasn’t expecting it to, and I was charmed as I read it anyway.
Hamish MacHugh was fierce in battle during the Napoleonic wars. But he doesn’t want the bedamned dukedom that’s fallen into his lap. His sisters, though, need to come out and have seasons of their own, so he stays in London and, basically, tries not to make an ass of himself. The bright spot in his life? Megan Windham, who gently guides him throughout London society and makes sure he doesn’t stumble too badly.
This is the first book in a spin-off series to Burrowes’ previous books about the Windham family. Megan is the cousin of those characters, and so I think you could pick it up without having read about any of the other Windhams. They all show up anyway, so if you like that sort of thing, you’ll probably end up reading all of their books like I did.
What I love about Burrowes’ books is that she gives her characters a chance to be friends. In other variations of the wild-savage-stuck-in-the-city trope, the more refined character at first views the savage with condescension. I like that Burrowes doesn’t have Megan go that route. She’s kind to Hamish from the start, and always smooths the way for him the best she can, because it’s the decent thing to do. In return for which, Hamish is quick to see Megan’s worth the way that others – excepting, of course, her male relatives – have not. Their romance is conflict-free, which makes it, unfortunately, unmemorable, but it is sweet.
Objectively, there are definitely flaws. The book needs a bit more of a driving conflict to keep these two crazy kids apart, other than Megan’s loathsome suitor, who is a one-note villain who all but kicks puppies for fun. The presence of the Windhams gets tedious at times, and while Burrowes writes her men with shades of nuance, she has yet to do so with many of her women. And I’m not super fond of Hamish just starting to call Megan Meggie without really consulting her about whether he should.
That all said, I pretty much devoured this book in one sitting and then went on to read three more Grace Burrowes books. She is the Lays potato chips of authors – I can’t ever read just one, and I’d still recommend this one.
Grade: B
Summary:
“Smart, sexy, and oh-so romantic.”
—Mary Balogh, New York Times bestselling author
THEY CALL HIM THE DUKE OF MURDER…
The gossips whisper that the new Duke of Murdoch is a brute, a murderer, and even worse–a Scot. They say he should never be trusted alone with a woman.
But Megan Windham sees in Hamish something different, someone different.
No one was fiercer at war than Hamish MacHugh, though now the soldier faces a whole new battlefield: a London Season. To make his sisters happy, he’ll
take on any challenge–even letting their friend Miss Windham teach him to waltz. Megan isn’t the least bit intimidated by his dark reputation, but Hamish
senses that she’s fighting battles of her own. For her, he’ll become the warrior once more, and for her, he might just lose his heart.
