Author: Christi Caldwell
Genre/Age: Historical Romance/Adult
Series: The Heart of a Duke (Book One)
Publisher: Christi Caldwell Publications
Format: ebook via Purchase
Rating: ✺✺✺✺
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: After the tragic death of his wife, Jasper, the 8th Duke of Bainbridge buried himself away in the dark cold walls of his home, Castle Blackwood. When he’s coaxed out of his self-imposed exile to attend the amusements of the Frost Fair, his life is irrevocably changed by his fateful meeting with Lady Katherine Adamson.
With her tight brown ringlets and silly white-ruffled gowns, Lady Katherine Adamson has found her dance card empty for two Seasons. After her father’s passing, Katherine learned the unreliability of men, and is determined to depend on no one, except herself. Until she meets Jasper…
In a desperate bid to avoid a match arranged by her family, Katherine makes the Duke of Bainbridge a shocking proposition—one that he accepts.
Only, as Katherine begins to love Jasper, she finds the arrangement agreed upon is not enough. And Jasper is left to decide if protecting his heart is more important than fighting for Katherine’s love.
You're hot then you're cold...
Jasper never plans to marry again after losing both his wife and baby during childbirth. Even the feelings stirred after rescuing a woman from a frozen lake isn't enough to convince him to reconsider. But when the lady comes to him with a proposal, he has trouble turning her down. Their spark is impossible to ignore and soon Jasper can't get enough of the feisty woman.
The angry duke is the last man in the entire world that Katherine ever considered marrying. Yet, he's the first man she runs to when her future starts to crumble around her. She has a list of reasons he should marry her and she makes an offer for his hand--something completely inappropriate for a lady to do. To her surprise, he actually agrees.
But after the vows are said and the couple finds themselves living together over the holidays, they realize just how big of a mistake they might have made. Neither of them can ignore their attraction to each other. And despite the many reasons Jasper wants to stay away from his new wife, she's just as determined to win him over. A battle of willpower ensues for the both of them.
This is probably the most intense round of hot-and-cold being played by a couple in any book I've ever read. I don't mind some back and forth and I thought this ping-pong game would become tedious after a while. Strangely, it didn't really bother me as much as it probably would have, had I not liked the couple so much already.
Katherine was a character I enjoyed reading about from the first page. She put up with her sister's antics better than I likely would have. She was a sweet woman, yet she still had the courage to go after the duke. I think she got in over her head once feelings got involved and I could relate to that part too. I rooted for her to win her man from the start.
Jasper, on the other hand, wasn't a very likable character at the beginning because he was mean to everyone. I don't mind some broodiness, but this guy took that to a whole new level. I'm surprised that I still found myself liking him as much as I did. He was struggling with the idea of falling for Katherine while fearing his tragic past would repeat itself. I could understand his pain.
The romance was building up so well in Part One before it hits a wall. I tend to dislike books that rip couples apart for months on end, just to add conflict to the story. In this case, I let it slide because it seemed like separation for the pair would be beneficial. Give them something to think about and a reason to miss one another. The ending wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was cute, though.
In closing...
I wish KindleUnlimited or my local library had this series available because I would probably binge-read it over a weekend. Alas, I'll have to wait and purchase them one at a time. For this one, four suns!
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