The Confessions of a Duchess

April 6, 2009
Cornick (Deceived
) introduces the small village of Fortune’s Folly in the nondescript launch of her Brides of Fortune Regency romance series. When unscrupulous Sir Montague Fortune, jilted by a rich woman, reinstates the medieval Dames’ Tax, the population soars with impoverished men seeking wealthy spinsters and widows who would rather marry than pay half their money to the odious squire. Sent to the village by the Home Secretary to investigate a murder and determined to find a well-dowered wife, Dexter Anstruther encounters his feisty ex-lover Laura, the dowager duchess of Cole. While Dexter follows clues to the murder mystery and Laura unites the single women in a humorous war against Sir Montague, the two are distracted by lust and endless opportunities for verbal sparring. Witty but lacking historical depth, this romance is neither disappointing nor outstanding.

May 1, 2009
After one of the women living inFortunes Folly rejects his proposal of marriage, Sir Montague Fortune gets his revenge by reinstating an old law requiring any unwed woman in the village to surrender one half their fortune to him. Even though she has very little to lose financially, Laura, the dowager Duchess of Cole, would rather fight Sir Montague than marry again, until Dexter Anstruther suddenly arrives and threatens to upset her carefully planned counter-campaign. Officially, Dexter had come to Fortunes Folly to catch himself a rich wife. Unofficially, Dexter is investigating the suspicious death of a local magistrate. While neither one has anything to do with Laura, Dexter finds he still cant forget the only woman he ever loved. One of the secondary characters from Unmasked (2008) is given a second chance at romance in this wonderfully original, sinfully amusing, and sexyRegency historical by the always entertaining Cornick.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)