The Perfect Duchess by Erica Taylor

Andrew Macalister, oft regarded as the Stone Duke of Bradstone, hates his annual birthday ball tradition. He dislikes facing those around him who only see him for his title, and has given up on a chance to live a normal life. That is, until he spots Lady Clara Masson across the ballroom. Clara's twin sister is the woman who infamously jilted Andrew at the altar five years ago, but little does Clara know, Andrew had been smitten with her since childhood, and he finds her presence a ray of sunshine in a dreary dukedom.

When Clara's life is threatened by her evil brother, Johnathan, Andrew must do the only thing he can think of to save her: propose marriage. Between Clara's trust issues and Andrew's battle with societal norms, two find romance under dangerous circumstances.

REVIEW:
This book had a strong premise and decent plot in the beginning, but unfortunately as the characters developed they became less appealing to the reader. Lady Clara vacillates entirely too much- one day she loves and trusts Andrew, the next she doesn't. Rinse and repeat for more than half the novel. Andrew in the meantime is entirely too caught up in the image of who he thinks he needs to be- it seems unlikely one so privileged would be so unable to express himself to get what he wants/needs. I also had a very hard time with the whole plot with Jonathan the evil brother- his actions 5 years ago make little sense given that his father was still alive, and in the present day, it seems it would be a lot easier to dispose of an unwanted sister by murdering her in the country rather than staging a loud public fight in London then planning to have her kidnapped off the street. I was also unhappy with the final motivation for his actions though I won't say more in order not to spoil that element of the story. All in all, a sadly disappointing read.