Sunday, January 24, 2016

Jilting the Duke by Rachael Miles

Broken Promise, Broken Heart

Aidan Somerville, Duke of Forster, is a rake, a spy, and a soldier, richer than sin and twice as handsome. Now he is also guardian to his deceased best friend’s young son. The choice makes perfect sense—except that the child’s mother is the lovely Sophia Gardiner, to whom Aidan was engaged before he went off to war. When the news reached him that she had married another, his ship had not yet even left the dock.

Sophia does not expect Aidan to understand or forgive her. But she cannot allow him to stay her enemy. She’s prepared for coldness, even vengeance—but not for the return of the heedless lust she and Aidan tumbled into ten years ago. She knows the risks of succumbing to this dangerous desire. Still, with Aidan so near, it’s impossible not to dream about a second chance…


REVIEW:
This historical romance features former lovers reuniting after the death of the man who was best friend to one and husband to another. Aiden and Sophia are both enjoyable characters, and I definitely liked the relationship both had with Sophia's son. The book is well-written and the dialogue believable. The problem for me was that the central "secret" that drives the plot is clearly obvious from the beginning to any discerning reader. It was impossible for me to believe that Aiden couldn't figure out the truth long before he did, which would have negated his admittedly absurd revenge plan. All in all this was an enjoyable enough read but I couldn't get past that one central absurdity.