The Duke’s Quandary by Callie Hutton

The Duke’s Quandary Series: Marriage Mart Mayhem Series Book #2
on March 10, 2014
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 285
Goodreads

London 1814...

Drake, Duke of Manchester is searching the Marriage Mart for a perfect bride. He wants a woman who is poised, sophisticated, and worthy of the title Duchess. But most of all, he wants a woman who does not want the useless emotion of love.

Socially awkward Miss Penelope Clayton isn't meant for marriage. A serious botanist, she has no desire to wed, so being forced by her guardian to participate in the Season to find a husband is torture. She'll never fit in with the ton, especially if they discover she's been pretending to be a man within the scientific community.

As Drake's family makes over Penelope, turning her from naive bluestocking to enchanting debutante, he is put upon to introduce her to society and eligible bachelors. Despite dance lessons and new gowns, Penelope is the opposite of poised and sophisticated as she stumbles from one mishap to the next. Why then, does he find it so hard to resist her?

Every so often I come across a book that I know I will want to read over and over. The Duke’s Quandary written by Callie Hutton is exactly one of those books. I was enchanted from almost the beginning. Miss Penelope Clayton is a lovely character filled with beauty and imperfections….very, very relatable imperfections. “He took in their guest’s appearance with dismay. Her hair was half up and half down, brown curls tumbling about her shoulders. Spectacles slid halfway down her nose, and she tilted her head back, apparently attempting to keep them on her head. Her pelisse was haphazardly buttoned, and she held something wrapped in a cloth close to her chest. Clumps of dirt fell from the material, landing on her pelisse, and then dropping unceremoniously to the floor. She attempted a smile, but her quivering lips never quite made it.” Penelope is a “closet” botanist. At this time in history – 1814 – smart women were looked down upon by the Ton and relegated to the category of “Blue Stockings”. Penelope is extremely intelligent but hasn’t been raised in high society; therefore, she knows little of it. Her aunt decrees that Penelope must go to London for the Season so she can find a husband.  So, Penelope lands on Drake, the Duke of Manchester’s doorstep as the guest of his family. She is in almost every way the opposite of what Drake wants in a wife.

Hutton builds interest in the story with two types of conflict. First the conflict that Penelope feels within herself. She doesn’t have much self-esteem and feels destined to embarrass herself and everyone around her with her clumsy ways. The second conflict is that the hero Drake has his own set of standards that he demands must be fulfilled in a wife – none of those are fulfilled by Penelope in the least. And yet, throughout the story Drake is conflicted by his growing attraction to the hazel eyed Blue Stocking.

“Unable to speak with him being so close, Penelope merely nodded. She peered up and licked her lips. He was so big. Tall, broad shouldered, and muscular. He seemed to seize all the surrounding air. Despite the slight blur in her vision, she drank in his hazel eyes with specks of gold. Strands of his light brown hair, interspersed with golden wisps, fell over his broad forehead. As her gaze lowered, she took in his aristocratic nose above wide, sensual lips. The scent of horses and something musky that she remembered from the evening of her arrival defined him as male. She squashed her desire to fill her lungs with it.”

I absolutely loved this book and am continuing with the rest of the Marriage Mart Mayhem series.