The Accidental Duchess: Fairbourne Quartet, Book 4

Always the books are in good condition. Thank You

Madeline Hunter is a truly wonderful writer. The prose flows beautifully and effortlessly, and I am a fan. Her characters are generally rich and complex, with much more seething under the surface than what is visible to the outside world. Her characters are rich in emotion and her writing is unique. Unfortunately, the plot and the characters in this novel are not all that interesting, I am sad to report. This is the last book in the series and it just fell a little flat. Lydia the h has been introduced in prior books and we know that something is wrong with her. Her personality has changed and she has become almost addicted to gambling. The rest of the time she is moping about. We find out here that Lydia thought she was in love with/had a crush on the man Penthurst the Duke H killed in a duel. This duel as we know from prior books seriously disrupted the close friendship of the 4 Hs in this series as the deceased, Baron Lakewood, was also a friend. The series is about not only the romances of each of the 4 men, but also about resolution of their friendship. As many reviewers have commented, it is difficult to like or even feel much sympathy for Lydia on a number of levels. She comes across as moody, bratty, selfish and spoiled. She acts in very irrational and at times stupid ways. Her obsession with Lakewood's death seems unbelievable given the small number of encounters we learn the two actually had. Penthurst is too narrowly drawn a character and we don't get that sense that much emotion exists or else he keeps it so tightly tamped down, we never really get to know who he is really is. He is clearly honorable, responsible etc. But who is he at his core? We never really find that out. Several of the characters from the other books in the series reappear, but they seem somehow a shadow of the characters they were in their own books. My slight dissatisfaction with this book is that it is not really a romance. This book is about wrapping up the loose ends from the other books, revealing what a cad Lakewood really was, and Lydia's slow realization that Lakewood had only pretended to care for her and that her moping aboput was all in vain. The premise about what can flow from a single event--the duel--and the repercussions it can have long after provides food for thought and I think the author does a fine job with that. However, all the other books had more of a plot than this premise and the stories seemed more believable for it. This novel seemed to drag on for a long time, dwelling on boring details that were not that interesting, to be honest. I also did not like the resolution of the two "villains" and the hurried explanation at the end. My biggest complaint, however, is there seemed to be nothing other than physical attraction between the H and the h for most of the book. Neither really liked the other at the outset, nor did either even admire or respect the other. As the story progressed, we did not see much interaction between them on an emotional rather than physical level. It was a little hard to believe at the end that they really did believe they loved each other. It seemed a little forced and artificial: ok, I have wrapped up my story and now these two need a HEA, so tell each other you love the other. I left with the impression I was pretty sure that whatever attraction they felt for the other would very soon evaporate. There was just not enough build-up of their relationship for me to believe it would last very long. There was a hint or two that perhaps they had actually been attracted to each other in the past, but for various reasons ignored that attraction and never admitted it to themselves. If the author had done even a little bit more with that, I would have been a lot happier. This is the first Madeline Hunter book that ever left me feeling a little disappointed. It is by no means a bad book; in fact, in many respects it is good. Just not up to the author's general standards and the rest of this series.

First of all, M. Hunter is a decent writer. The plot was well done and story original. Somehow I have this book four but not the first three books. The characters from the first three books made appearances in this one so I figured out the basics of what had already took place and didn't like this book well enough to buy the others. I had a hard time following the story. Sometimes during conversations it was sometimes hard to follow who was speaking or what they meant. I would have to go back pages to try to make sense of what was happening. Worst was Lydia. I don't know when I've hated a character more. I'm still wondering why the duke married her. She had an ugly personality and a gambling addiction. The fact that her winnings went to charity didn't redeem her in my mind. She claimed she gambled so she could give her OWN money to charity that she earned!! Stupid. She could have easily given money to charity. So what if it was an allowance given to her by her brother. Charity certainly doesn't care where it comes from. Lydia was a sister to an earl, had lived a rich life with money, servants and freedom. Why she felt sorry for herself is beyond me. I didn't feel any love or passion even though there was plenty of sex. For some reason the relationship was lacking. Empty heroine who had nothing to offer. She wasn't even kind. At least the duke was ok but Lydia should not have been a character in a love story.

This is the last book of the four book series. Of the four, the second book about Cassandra and Ambury, and this one are the best. The previous book (The Counterfeit Mistress) was very disappointing and the characters in that book still annoy even when they appear in this one. The lead characters in this book have moved in and out of the previous three so we are somewhat familiar with them. Lydia was rather unpleasant and bratty and Penthurst eccentric and superior. The characters have filled out considerably and they are interesting, especially Lydia as she attempts to deal alone with the consequences of her own poor choices. Penthurst remains a bit eccentric but given the very young age at which he shouldered large responsibilities, his self possession and (mostly) adherence to the expectations of his class make sense.One of the things I enjoy about Hunter's work is that she doesn't try to make her period heroes into champions of 21st century gender equality. These men are kind and understanding of their wives frustrations at the limits imposed on them, but that doesn't stop them from exercising their authority and imposing limits of their own. They subscribe to the belief that they have a right and obligation to control their wives behavior for their own good and do sometimes annoyingly treat them like children - and certainly like the dependents they are. Where the women prevail it is usually through manipulation. That might be objectionable from a modern perspective (I wouldn't put up with it!) but makes perfect sense within the context of the time period of the story. There is nothing much more annoying in period romances than plot, dialogue and social and political beliefs and activity that are based firmly in the 2000's. Authors committed to those elements should write modern romances and stay away from historical romance writing.In some ways, Lydia acts immature for her age and Penthurst is older than his years. The shifting dynamic between the two is believable and the emotional attachment develops slowly for both of them. Both have what appear to be good reasons to resent and dislike the other but they both see advantages to their marriage of necessity and instead of wallowing in self pity and anger try to make the best of the situation. In the end of course (the very end) they are in love.You can skip books one and three but reading book two before this one will fill in some critical information regarding the conflict between these two - not strictly necessary but helpful.

My fish but what an idiot the heroine was. However hero was delicious so enjoyed it inspire of her! Would have loved a prologue to this series.

The culmination of this series and a great finale. Having discovered Madeline Hunter's books last year I have now read all of them and enjoyed them tremendously. Good writing, good plots, good romance, well drawn characters and all with a touch of humour. Perfect!

Another excellent read from Madeline Hunter. She may never match her medieval series but always writes a consistently good story with sensuous meaningful dialogue and intriguing characters. This is fitting end to her latest quartet.

it was as good as the others

Good