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Title: The Duke’s Stolen Bride
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publication Date: October 22, 2019
Trope(s): Teach me how to kiss
Sub-genre: Historical
Heat Level: Hawty McHawt
The Duke’s Stolen Bride is the fifth novel in Sophie Jordan’s The Rouge Files series, though I have only read one other one (This Scot of Mine). I liked This Scot of Mine, but I can’t say I was blown away by it, though clearly I enjoyed it enough to pick up this one (pretty sure this is only the second book of Sophie’s I’ve read). This book was way sexier than I expected (though I should have known as the quote from Sarah MacLean on the cover says it’s “Deliciously sexy!”) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Marian, who you may remember as Clara’s governess from This Scot of Mine, has returned to her small hometown to take care of her sisters after her father passes away. Despite her father’s respectable job as the town doctor, he has left his children with basically no money, leaving Marian to struggle to feed and care for her two teenaged sisters. Marian receives a proposal from a local man, but can’t stomach the thought of marrying him, so she turns to a local woman (a “widow”) who has made her own money and retired comfortably, and asks her for advice. Marian knows the woman was a courtesan and she wants to know how she can become one too. The woman tells her to find a lover to teach her the tricks, so of course Marian turns to the elusive Duke of Warrington (aka Nate), who lives nearby. At first the Duke refuses her offer of a no strings attached, teach me how to sex affair, but eventually he relents and damn. These two have some intense chemistry. When Marian’s original suitor blackmails her into an engagement, Nate steals her away and makes her his wife. But Nate has promised never to marry and Marian doesn’t want a marriage on paper only, she wants to be with a husband who loves her. More drama with the ex suitor puts everything into perspective, and Nate is able to admit his true feelings. And they live happily ever after.
This was one of those books that I threw in my cart at Target without reading the back copy, so I had no idea what to expect going in. And I was pleasantly surprised. The sexual tension between Nate and Marian is off the charts from their first meeting, and it was one of those books that once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the idea of Marian taking her financial matters into her own hands and exploring the option of a career where she could make her own money and control her own fate. But I equally loved the relationship between Nate and Marian and how they both had to learn to open up to one another and rely on one another. I also enjoyed Marian’s sisters, who were not nearly as annoying as teen girls can be ;o)
The Duke’s Stolen Bride further convinced me to read more Sophie Jordan in the future, and after the cover reveal for her next book, The Virgin and the Rogue, you can bet your ass I’ll be pre-ordering that one. Because yowza that’s a hot cover.
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars