Never Desire a Duke

Starred review from September 2, 2013
Dalton’s Regency debut resonates with genuine feeling. Sophia and Vane Barwick, the Duke and Duchess of Claxton, were happy newlyweds, in love and expecting a baby. Not even two years later, they’re estranged, with Vane on a diplomatic assignment in Vienna and Sophia in London dealing with gossip and spiteful innuendo about Vane’s licentious past. Sophia wants a legal separation—after she gets pregnant again, to replace the child she conceived with Vane but miscarried. Vane, battling his own demons and desperate for Sophia’s love, uses the occasion of a freak snowstorm that traps them in his childhood home to try to win her back. Unlike some one-note tortured heroes, Vane is sincere and appealing. Sophia’s pain is very real, and every interaction is fraught with honest emotion. As they struggle to recapture their romance, readers will feel deep sympathy with both characters and hope for them to find happiness. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds.