Jennifer Ashley
The Duke’s Perfect Wife
Berkley / April 3, 2012 / $7.99 print, $7.99 digital
Lady Eleanor Ramsay is the only one who knows the truth about Hart Mackenzie. Once his fiancee, she is the sole woman to whom he could ever pour out his heart.
Hart has it all—a dukedom, wealth, power, influence, whatever he desires. Every woman wants him—his seductive skills are legendary. But Hart has sacrificed much to keep his brothers safe, first from their brutal father, and then from the world. He’s also suffered loss—his wife, his infant son, and the woman he loved with all his heart though he realized it too late.
Now, Eleanor has reappeared on Hart’s doorstep, with scandalous nude photographs of Hart taken long ago. Intrigued by the challenge in her blue eyes—and aroused by her charming, no-nonsense determination—Hart wonders if his young love has come to ruin him . . . or save him.
The Madness Of Lord Ian Mackenzie was the first book in Jennifer Ashley’s emotionally daunting and utterly romantic Highland Pleasures series, and each successive book has dealt with a Mackenzie brother, traveling through heartbreak and redemption to eventually find the one woman who will be able to offer the healing only true love can bring. What makes this series a winner is the characters themselves.
The Duke’s Perfect Wife is the long-awaited tale of the oldest Mackenzie brother, Hart, the fourth in the series. Hart is a powerful duke whose ruthlessness barely scratches the surface of his depth of personality. Hart Mackenzie has everything he has ever wanted: His brothers are all safe and happily married, his wealth and power continues to increase, and he is sure to win his bid for Prime Minister. Hart now only needs to find a wife to complement his future post and everything will be perfect. That is, until the one woman who could destroy Hart comes back into his life and makes him do the one thing he has avoided all his life...to feel.
Hart looked into those determined blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for years and felt something break open in him.
Lady Eleanor Ramsey posesses certain scandalous pictures of Hart as a young man, pictures that will destroy his chances of being Prime Minister should they be made public. Eleanor comes to Hart with a proposition: She wants to locate all the pictures as well as find out why they are being sent to her. Since she hasn’t the money to stay in London, she descends on Hart’s townhouse and asks him to “hire” her and pay her to investigate.
Eleanor hasn’t been in contact with Hart since she broke off their engagement many years ago. Hart never understood the reasons behind her refusal of his suit, but as the story progresses, we learn why, and we cheer her strength and principles. Eleanor saw what a future with Hart would be like if he did not change his domineering, ruthless personality. She chose to leave while she still could rather then chain them both in a marriage that would eventually result in hatred on both sides.
When Hart sees Eleanor again, he finds himself plotting to get her back into his life—and his bed. He wants to tie her to him forever, to make her fall back so deeply in love with him that she will never think to leave him again.
“He’d make her see that she needed him as much as he needed her."
As we follow the storyline, we move between the past and the present which gives us the full story, from Hart and Eleanor’s first meeting, all the way to the day she threw him out of her life. Through memories and old letters, we are treated to an intimate view of two people who desperately love one another. The joy you first read of, only to see the resulting heartbreak and sorrow, destroys you as it did them. It’s only when Hart dares to honestly review the past does he see what he did wrong and is able to move forward towards a life with Eleanor.
He’d let her walk away from him because he’d been stupid, and young, and too bloody arrogant. He’d never let her walk away again. Even if he had to lock her in this chamber with him for the rest of their lives, he’d keep her with him, always.
Hart and Eleanor are two delightfully complicated people. A rekindled romance between an older couple is always an intriguing trope. You see from their first scene that they are meant for one another, but that they have issues that need to be worked out. Hart starts off as cold and high-handed: He makes the decision that Eleanor and her father will stay with him and he will not only pay her a salary, but pushes a clothing allowance and such on her. In short, he is prepping his way to make her his wife for real this time. He has a habit of not listening and pushing his wants and needs onto the people around him.
Eleanor is perfect for Hart in that she is the one person he cannot dominate. Her witty banter, passion for life, and independent nature speak to Hart and the man he wishes to be. She doesn’t automatically obey and that both infuriates and excites him. She will always challenge and tempt him.
“Actually, I’d love to tell you to go to the devil and walk off in a huff. But since I need the blunt, I suppose I must say yes.”
Their dialogue is filled with delicious humor and sexual tension. As they move towards a romantic entanglement, you see the way Hart used to be, the way he was with Eleanor when he was younger and less constrained by convention. We watch with delight as Hart and Eleanor circle around each other, parrying one another with sharp wit.
“You may think me innocent, but I am quite worldly, in my own way.”
“I know that. You keep nude photographs of a man in your corset drawer.”
“Which you snooped through, drat you.”“Giving me some idea of the state of your wardrobe. Your gowns are horrible.”
“Well, thank you very much.”
The Duke’s Perfect Wife is a delicious addition to the fabulous Mckenzie family saga, which features intriguing characters with strong personalities.
Tori Benson, Smexybooks and at Twitter.
