Duke Most Wanted

Passion, intrigue, mystery, and love. You'll find all of these and more in the pages of Duke Most Wanted. Celeste Bradley does a wonderful job at once again bringing to life a set of characters that readers will want to learn more about-- and not just the main characters either. In fact, as much as I enjoyed seeing Graham and Sophie falling for each other, I think the side story of two of the servants, John and Patricia's love was just as entertaining, if only a bit more brief in length.

Although the mystery and secrets found in this story did throw me for a bit, I came to terms with them in the end, when the hero and heroine get their happy ever after. My only problem was the sudden twist that was thrown into the story with less than show more 50 pages to go. I won't say what it was, you'll have to read and find out for yourself, but it caught me off guard, and I had a bit of trouble adapting to it for a while. In the end, however, I was able to move on after seeing Graham come to terms with his mistake. I just wish this part had been developed a bit more, since we didn't really get to see how he came to realize what he did wrong, and so quickly forgave Sophie...

I liked Duke Most Wanted much more than I did the previous novel in the series, The Duke Next Door, and I think the main reason for that being so lies in the heroine of the book. Sophie was much easier to connect with than Deidre, whose blonde looks and slightly stuck up and shallow attitude annoyed me.

Unlike her cousins Deidre and Phoebe, Sophie was not the most stunningly beautiful woman in Society, and Graham was able to see from the very beginning that her beauty was more than skin deep, though she wasn't unsightly by any means. Because of this, Sophie was more of a strong- willed heroine, one that changed much in the book from the shy and timid girl in the beginning to the fiery lady who brazenly waltzes in on Graham and his ex-lover, quickly snatching off Lady C's wig and smartly taking her down a few pegs with her witty remarks. Although this particular scene helped Graham to realize his true feelings about Sophie, for me the reader, it provided evidence that the heroine was not just another bubbly bimbo, but one that knows what she wants, and will stop at nothing to get it, even when Society would love to crush her dreams.

The great thing about this book is you could see the connection between the characters, especially Graham and Sophie, and more importantly, you could actually see them falling in love. From just being "friends" at the beginning of this book to doing the well known dance around their feelings for each other, to finally saying "I love you" to one another. It didn't seem rushed or unbelievable, it simply felt like true love between them.

4 STARS! Duke Most Wanted provides not only the right amount of romance and passion between the main characters, but side ones as well, along with a few witty and sarcastic remarks to keep the story going. Add in the slight mystery around the heroine, and the secrets she's been hiding all these years, and you're in for a very delightful read! show less

The third in the Regency set historical Heiress Bride series, I don't think I've read the first or second offerings by Bradley. In the series, grandfather Pickering has left his considerable fortune to the first of his granddaughters to marry a duke. Sisters Phoebe and Deirdre find their loves in the previous two books and with one of the men being the heir to a dukedom, it seems as if cousin Sophie has less than no chance to inherit her grandfather's fortune. But that's fine with her as she's been secretly in love with her best friend, Graham, for ages and he's just the third son with no expectations of inheriting. But fate has other plans, as Graham's father and dumb as posts brothers all die on a safari, leaving the terribly show more impoverished dukedom to Graham. Now he needs an heiress and while he doesn't know of Sophie's potential inheritance, she knows she is just what he needs. Of course, as Graham grapples with his inheritance, Sophie is busy being transformed from ugly duckling to swan, drawing notice from all the ton. She really only wants to captivate Graham although she won't trust even him with her deepest secrets. Can she marry him, claim the inheritance, and live happily ever after?

While this is a well-written romance, as Bradley's works generally are, I can't get over the huge plot twist she throws into the works, making the interior thoughts of one of the characters completely and patently untrue. Unless the author's intention was drawing said character as completely unhinged, believing in their own concocted story, this didn't really work. I was reading along happily, enjoying Sophie's long-suffering love for Graham and his dawning attraction (could it be love?) towards her when I was walloped in the face with this enormous twist, placed in the narrative solely to push the happily ever after out farther and to require some convoluted wrangling to make that ending still happen. I. Didn't. Appreciate. It. At. All. And not because I am averse to well done plot twists. I'm not. This one came out of thin air (one small foreshadowed comment on page one doesn't make it believable) and made the character in question completely suspect, especially since this immense twist was never acknowledged, even when the character was speaking internally. The resolution of this enormous plot twist was well done but I can't get over being rankled by its necessity. Color me grumpy but as a result, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this one. show less

A bit of modern vernacular and a somewhat inconsistent resolution/smoothing over of feelings - the hero was upset because heroine lied to him, not because he set some kind of unattainable standard and put her on a pedestal. I don’t judge her at all for what she did but the hero was justified in being hurt. Also, with the wrong name on the wedding license, they are, in fact not married. I would have preferred a bit more angst and self-sacrifice on her part in the end, with the hero coming to grovel. But, heck, close enough. But a solid, awesomely angsty plain heroine book. Right up my alley, even if it’s hard for me to relate to a slender heroine. Not that I don’t think body issues come in all sizes but while society may not show more completely celebrate the flat chested, try being overweight and then whine about not having enough curves or whatever. /rant show less

Duke Most Wanted
2 Stars

Synopsis
Sophie Blake is tall, thin and plain. She never thought to marry let alone set her sights on a duke until Graham Cavendish, the only man she has ever felt comfortable around, unexpectedly inherits a title and a mountain of debt with it. Suddenly, Sophie is in the running for the Pickering inheritance and for the man of her dreams.

Review
This series is my first encounter with Celeste Bradley and overall, I'm not impressed. Her plots are simplistic and her characters superficial and one dimensional, even more so in this book than in the previous two.

The first 3/4 of the book are boring and drawn out. Graham's sudden realization that Sophie is the love of his life is completely unrealistic and the fact that show more it stems from her physical transformation presents him as shallow and egotistical.

The action heats up in the final 1/4 but it is too little too late even though the twist regarding Sophie's identity is entertaining.

I've heard that Bradley's other series are better so I may give her another try sometime. show less

The third and final book in the Heiress Brides series, was a great one for the most part. The ending however, pretty much ruined most of the fun for me since Sophie's character, who seemed the most likable of the heiresses thus far, took a turn for the worse.Sophie is the third cousin contesting for the Pickering fortune. Sophie however, has no plans to marry a duke and win the money. She is pretty much content with her books, her German fairytales and her friendship with Graham, fourth son of a duke. Besides, she's extremely plain; who would want her anyway?But when Graham unexpectedly becomes a duke, and an impoversished one at that, things change abruptly. Graham has to find a rich wife to save his family estate from ruin. Sophie, show more shocked with the thought of losing Graham to another woman decides to take matters in her own hands. She applies to Lementeur, the most famous London dress maker, who agrees to transform her into the most desirable lady of the ton. Graham, deprived from her company for the days while the transformation takes place (he doesn't know anything about it of course) begins to realize how much Sophie's friendship means to him. And when he sees her as the belle of the ball, his surrender to her charms is complete. He still fights his attraction though, since he feels he has an obligation to his tenants to save the estate from ruin and Sophie has no money to offer to that cause. However, as they keep on seeing each other and Sophie is surrounded by possible suitors, his jealousy grows and grows until he can hardly fight his feelings for her anymore. At that point, the plot takes a twist and suddenly everything is not as it seems. Unfortunately, that twist did not change things for the better and it made the happy end somewhat unbelievable for me. But since this twist happened only 50 pages before the end, I would say I enjoyed the book as a whole though it turned out as my least favorite of the series, with the second, The duke next door, being my favorite one. show less

Shy, plain, bookish Sophie stands to inherit a fortune if she marries a duke. Her friend Graham unexpectedly inherits an impoverished dukedom. Simple, right? Wrong.

A fun Regency, with a beauty of a twist about four-fifths of the way through.

Silly, but fun. There were some loose ends that could be left alone, but could be explored some in a future novel if Bradley wanted to.