When A Duke Says I Do
Baron’s daughter encounters silent Hero during her nightly roamings painting her ordered mural instead of the famous French artist who she commissioned. She suffers from a sleep disorder since her twin sister died when they were 12 and she comes to view Hero as her silent evening companion. What she doesn’t know is that Hero is not mute as everybody thinks and he begins speaking to her in her later visits. They establish an honest companionship which soon becomes a secret love affair. They know their affair is temporary because of their difference in social status but heroine delays in telling him that there’s a more urgent reason. Her arranged marriage to another man is about to become official on her upcoming birthday. When Hero finally finds out about her engagement an unexpected twist happens.My first Goodger book and it was meaty. The story was full of issues that stacked many odds (i.e., H voluntarily mute & suffers from panic attacks when with strangers, H rejected & assumed dead by father, h suffers from sleep disorder due to fear of dying in her sleep just like her twin sister, h also pretty much isolated but likes the social scene & is close to her household staff & family) against Hero & heroine’s romance. It brings them together while it technically pulls them apart. They had an emotional & sexual chemistry that was evident by their actions and their openness to each other. I liked that Hero and heroine didn’t play games but were honest about what they thought/felt with each other yet understanding each other’s readiness or lack thereof.
What I didn’t like was how quickly heroine mistrusted Hero after the lies his father told her & how easily she agreed to his father’s demands to marry his other son ASAP. Hero was justified in his anger & sense of betrayal towards her. She chose to believe his father who she knew was a ruthless schemer & manipulator and didn’t hold to her promise to wait for his word before she does anything re: their r/s. She really needed to grovel more instead of just saying sorry and trying to charm him. It showed how great of a person Hero was & how much he loved her to marry her despite her betrayal & let her be part of his life.
Recommended.
