Review: Secret Confessions of the Enticing Duchess

Secret Confessions of the Enticing Duchess by Olivia Bennet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Secret Confessions of the Enticing Duchess" was another enjoyable read from new-to-me author Olivia Bennet. Ms. Bennet is very skilled at crafting an engaging, suspenseful story arc and keeping me guessing as the twists and turns unfold. I also found the main characters, Miss Abigail Thorne and Percival Montague, the Duke of Northcott, to be likeable and well-developed. It took me a little while to really warm up to Percival, but after learning more about his tragic childhood and family history, I couldn't help but feel compassion for him and root for him to find love and happiness with a family of his very own.

I always enjoy historicals featuring characters with "non-traditional" backgrounds, and this one was particularly interesting for me given that the heroine was the one who was not an aristocrat. I've read a number of stories with working class heroes, but not as many with working class heroines. It was interesting to see the challenges Abigail and her mother faced in building their business, as well as how Abigail navigated her relationship with Percival differently from how a "gently reared" young lady might have done. The one (small) thing that bothered me was Percival's seeming indifference towards Abigail's reputation as he pursued her. While she may not have had a "ton" reputation to protect, shopkeepers relied heavily on respectability to build their businesses, and Percival's public pursuit of Abigail as a potential mistress could easily have harmed the dressmaking shop's business prospects. Fortunately, that did not happen, but things easily could have turned out differently considering how fickle "ton" clients could be!

In any event, I look forward to reading more of Ms. Bennet's works in the future.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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