I'm reviewing Wed in Haste to the Duke ...

 ... by Sarah Mallory.  It's quite a while since I last read a historical romance, and it was so good to be back with this genre again.  Read on to find out more ...

Beginning with a family wedding, Angeline Carlow comes across an old childhood friend – the current Duke of Rotherton.  He is invited to the wedding as her brother’s groomsman.  It is clear from the outset of the story that these two characters mean something to each other.  But in what capacity is gradually revealed.  Are they just childhood friends who have reached adulthood and nothing else, or is there much more to come for them both?

It was that last question that kept my mind occupied throughout the book.  The Duke, Jason, is a young man with a great deal of responsibility, having taken on the Dukedom as a youngster following the untimely death of his father.  He has a great sense of duty, and he is a very private man.  Add into the mix that he is recently widowed with a young daughter and a teenage stepdaughter, and you have a man who could perhaps be considered to have aged before his time.

Angeline is very practical and equally as sensible as Jason, but she is still unmarried with no apparent offers from suitable gentlemen.  She has slipped into a niche that supports her mother and her siblings, which means that she always puts her family first.

I really enjoyed how the dynamics between Angeline and Jason played out.  The misconstrued actions, the misunderstood reactions, the miscommunications and the misguided assumptions all came together to create a fascinating story.  There was a lot about this story and the interplay between Jason and Angeline that reminded me of the many stories of Henry James.

The narrative voice was easy to read, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me turning the page right through the end and the very satisfactory conclusion. I found the central characters, Jason and Angeline, to be very well drawn. They took me with them across all of the pages of this book.

As a historical romance, I Ioved the detail of the time in which the story was set.  The historical background has clearly been very well-researched and provided a perfect backdrop for the novel.  I will be reading more from this author.

And if you want to know more about Sarah, you read an interview with her Here