Review- Lorraine Heath The Duchess Hunt

The Duke of Kingsland needs a wife since his potential fiancee ditched him in the last book. His secretary, the stalwart Penelope Pettypeace is tasked with finding him a duchess. Pettypeace is determined to find him the perfect wife even though it will break her heart since she has been in love with him for years. But she's resigned to unrequited love because not only is she a commoner but she also hides a terrible secret and a scandalous past.

I love Lorraine Heath. She's one of the few authors I still auto-buy. I like her authorial voice, her prose is clean and not flowery, her books are romantic, her heroes sexy and she has a wicked way with a plot twist. All of these things are present in this book. I loved the dialogue, the humor, and the revelations that even after reading most of her books I didn't see coming. I liked Penelope. I loved her strength, her directness, and the way she just told it like it was. She was also a virgin but she wasn't shy about what she wanted and it came across as genuine and organic to her character.

But, I hate to say his book fell a little flat for me. I devoured the first book but this one I put down and had to force myself to pick it back up. The first half was a slog. I couldn't understand why after eight years of working alongside Penelope Hugh had a sudden hard-on for her. What made him change his mind and see her as an attractive woman and not just an efficient secretary? This is never satisfactorily explained. I'm normally trash for the unrequited love trope but I felt I was being told and not shown Penelope's pining. The longing and yearning that LH shows so well in other books were missing here. 

This brings me to the big secret. Penelope has a huge secret and this is set up to be the conflict. Then halfway through it turns out the duke has an even bigger secret and that one is uncovered and resolved within a few chapters. Penelope's big revelation gets dragged on until the very end and then everything is rushed and we get a HEA. The pacing was way off and I disliked Hugh's reaction to her revelation which seemed out of character for him. 

I liked the second epilogue though. I love when I get a glimpse, no matter how small, at modern-day descendants. 

So in the end this wasn't bad. It was just okay. Recommended.⭐⭐⭐/5

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