The Heiress Gets A Duke by Harper St. George

Publisher: Berkley Books Page Count: 320 Year Published: 2021

This is the story of August, a progressive heiress from New York, and Evan, a Duke from England who finds his inheritance floundering after his father left the estates in financial ruin. Soon, Evan’s mother encourages a marriage between August’s younger sister, Violet, and Evan with the hope that the marriage will alleviate the debt. The issue is Evan falls for August.

This is a love story, an easy read, and a lovely tale of two independent people who find themselves in a less-than-ideal situation, but who determine how to fix it so that both parties are happy. August, for her part, is hardworking, intelligent, stubborn, and witty. Evan is caring, humorous, and works to make the best of a very bad hand. August’s stubbornness seemed extreme at times, but it often reveals her immaturity around men and relationships. For example, she remains convinced that Evan is a scoundrel with bad intentions a beat too long. It’s obvious she likes him and he behaves in ways that were far more understandable than other male leads in historical fiction I’ve read.

I would’ve liked to see a bit more of August’s friendship with Camille. Camille seemed very important initially, and then kind of dropped off from the story as it continued. Overall, I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to fans of historical romance and Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Steam level: 🔥🔥

Synopsis: “American heiress August Crenshaw has aspirations. But unlike her peers, it isn’t some stuffy British Lord she wants wrapped around her finger–it’s Crenshaw Iron Works, the family business. When it’s clear that August’s outrageously progressive ways render her unsuitable for a respectable match, her parents offer up her younger sister to the highest entitled bidder instead. This simply will not do. August refuses to leave her sister to the mercy of a loveless marriage.

Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild, has no intention of walking away from the marriage. He’s recently inherited the title only to find his coffers empty, and with countless lives depending on him, he can’t walk away from the fortune a Crenshaw heiress would bring him. But after meeting her fiery sister, he realizes Violet isn’t the heiress he wants. He wants August, and he always gets what he wants.

But August won’t go peacefully to her fate. She decides to show Rothschild that she’s no typical London wallflower. Little does she realize that every stunt she pulls to make him call off the wedding only makes him like her even more.”