Romancing The Duke
Typically if I’m reading a romance I’m looking for a contemporary piece preferrably one with some humour.
I only read this competently written historical romance because of an intriguing online recommendation that talked about this book’s depiction of fandom in glowing terms.
This seemed a good enough reason to give Romancing The Duke a try.
The heroine is the penniless daughter of a famous writer who made a fictional version of her younger self the star of his novels.
She inherits a castle from a family friend, a fan of the novels. Only to discover that the castle is falling to bits and is still occupied by a blinded Duke who claims the pile is still his.
The fandom bits are the best thing about the book.
I liked the way the author captured the burden and privilege of having a popular public persona.
As examples the limits on who the heroine can appear to be in public and the absolute loyalty she can call on from the fans of the books.
I’ve definitely read worse romances and if you have a background in fandom and a weakness for historicals then you’ll lap this one up.