Steamywindows♥♫'s Reviews > The Runaway Duke

I really like this author's writing style, and enjoyed this story despite the implausibility of a duke running away to live as a groom for years. That aside, this is a very nice romance about an unusually honest, curious and courageous young woman and a man who finds himself enchanted and finally besotted by her.

I loved the story of when he meet her. He had to rescue her out of a tree when she still a young girl, out of grief for loss of her beloved dog, she climbed a tree and wouldn't come down. He assuring her that her dog was indeed in heaven despite the vicar's opinion. Kind man. Years pass and they form a bond which matures in a very respectful way. though he is definitely quite a bit older than her, you never get an "ick" feeling out of his care for her. Eventually their love matures, though we "see" it before they do.

The story kept my interest, and when I expected a heavy handed plot device, I was pleasantly surprised by a subtler twist. No great dramatic misunderstandings that make you think "are your stupid?", but enough action to keep me interested in the outcome for all the characters. The very young (just eighteen) heroine was not portrayed with predictable childishness but rather exhibited a lot of really quite admirable behaviour. The hero did engage in some self deception, but in the end redeemed himself quite nicely. The author was even able to create empathy for the villeins - fake duchess and rakish scoundrel included.

A charming read. I definitely recommend this book.