Customer Reviews

The Accidental Duchess

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The premise was great - the bride marries the wrong man! The rest of the book is attempts to untangle this mess. I was captivated in the first few chapters, but then became frustrated with the increasingly outlandish reasons/ways the heroine is prevented from finding out the truth behind her marriage to Harry. The actual blooming of Gwen and Harry's relationship gets sort of lost between the twists and turns necessary to keep Gwen in the dark. Gwen does seem very naive about all of it. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is good, but it takes too long for it to um, come to fruition. One can't help but feel that if Harry had taken 5 minutes to have a little chat with Gwen right after wedding, things could have resolved themselves happily much, much sooner. In essence, sort of a silly frustrating read.

Jessica Benson has done it again! In the tradition of "Lord Stanhope's Proposal," Benson has written a delightful, laugh-out-loud regency with a hero and heroine you will adore! Ms. Benson has gone further this time, however - she has written what may possibly be the most romantic, sensual love scenes I have ever read (and I've read too many to be comfortable telling you). I pre-ordered this book in August based on her first book, and was thrilled to have it arrive yesterday. I won't bother telling you the plot - you don't have to know anything but the blurb to read the first few pages - and you don't have to read anything more than the first few pages to be hooked for the book. When her groom tells Gwen "You bring me to my knees, Gwen" I just about went to mine - and I was lying down! This book is fabulous! For Regency lovers, it is Georgette Heyer with seductive romance added. For romance lovers, it doesn't get any better than this. And if you've never read a romance, you may want to start elsewhere - this book will ruin you for any other romance! I'm trying not to go on and on, but I have to stress again that this book is funny, sensual, and, above all, truly a ROMANCE - unlike so many other books on the market today, you know why these two people fall in love! If you've never read Lord Stanhope's Proposal - get that one too. Ignore the silly title and cover - it, too, is funny, romantic, and has heroes you can really root for. I've purchased about 15 to 20 of this book for friends and family - and they all loved it. Two more things and then I'll let you order (I suggest RUSH DELIVERY): 1) Another strong point in Ms. Benson's favor is that her plots are tight and have wonderful twists, the characters stay true to themselves, and the secondary characters are beyond wonderful. You will know these people! 2)Contrary to what you may think by reading this review, I am NOT Jessica Benson, nor am I related to her, nor do I know her. However, to be perfectly honest, I wish I was Jessica Benson, or was at least related to her or knew her - she's that good. Please buy this book - you won't regret anything except that it's over! I have to go now, I'm going to read it again. Enjoy!

This is the first book that I have read by Jessica Benson and I stayed up half the night finishing it. "The Accidental Duchess" is an unusual historical romance (set in England in the early 1800's) in that it is told from the first-person point of view by Lady Gwen, a new bride who discovers that she unintentionally has married her long-time fiance's twin brother. The arch tone of the narration and Gwen's witty, frequently hilarious asides to the reader distinguish this book from others of the genre. The cast of characters is huge and amusingly detailed (and in some cases quite over the top!) The characters of the twin brothers, Bertie Milburn, a charming fribble and Gwen's original intended, and Harry, the paragon Earl of Cambourne, the elder twin by 15 minutes and Gwen's actual groom, are delightfully drawn. There is a hilarious scene in which Gwen's girlfriends list all Cambourne's "good points", "bad points" (none, of course!) and "traits as they relate to Milburn" that reads like a 19th century version of "Bridget Jones' Diary".
The character of Gwen is charming but a little bit more difficult to get a hold on (surprisingly, since the she is narrating the story.) She is described as biddable and obedient at the beginning of the book, but frankly she never seems to be so. She seems a bit ditsy at the start of the story, but by the end she is spouting off facts about the Corn Laws and taking control of her life.
The weak part of the book, in my opinion, was the reasoning behind continuing to keep Gwen in the dark about the real circumstances of her marriage (Hmmm, wasn't she was following her parents' wishes to marry Bertie in the first place..) and the explanation for Cambourne and Milburn masquerading as each other (Huh?!) Obviously, both of these circumstances were necessary for the plot to work and the book is so clever in other ways that the holes in the plot logic are forgiven.
In summary, this is a unique, very well-written romance with numerous laugh-out-loud lines (and scenes) and delightful, frequently quirky characters that remind me of some of Georgette Heyer's more broadly-drawn secondary characters (although with more bawdy mouths!) Highly recommended and a fun read!

I honestly tried to give the book a chance but even I cannot be that generous. I was so intrigued by the plot description only to be let down by the actually product. Besides the fact that all the major characters in the book treating the heroine like a complete twit, there was also the problem of the actually writing style. The book simply did not flow well!!

THE ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS is a merry tangle of mistaken identity when Lady Gwen marries the wrong man. Since birth she had been betrothed to Bertie Milburn. Something is going on that Gwen is not privy to. Why is Harry pretending to be Bertie while he is around town and then trying to seduce her when in private. Harry can't tell Gwen the truth of the matter. What do her parents have to do with anything? You'd be surprised. Everything comes to a head when Bertie gets back in town.

Jessica Benson is a masterful storyteller who certainly has her characters at fever pitch trying their hands at seduction, changing their ways, and taking charge of their lives for better or worse in the game of marriage. You don't want to miss how this one turns out. I loved I! THE ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS is a novel you will want to savor and read more than once.

Suzanne Coleburn, Reader to Reader Reviews

This was very difficult book to read - the writing style was bizzare and it did not flow. The idea of the twin brothers - and the bride marry the wrong man was fun idea. It had it's moments but over all I would not recommend this book.

I've read Jessica Benson's other regency romances and was really intrigued by the whole married-the-wrong-twin concept. Given that I enjoyed "Lord Stanhope's Proposal" and "Much Obliged (Zebra Historical Romance)", I was looking forward to reading this story. Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy it very much.

Gwen is a little too childish, something the author was apparently aiming for judging by some of the dialog, in a frustrating way. I found myself wanting to roll my eyes and tell her to just get over herself in some instances. She's nice enough and gets it together some toward the end.

Cambourne comes off a little cold through most of the story for me to really believe he loves her. I would really have liked to have had some of the story told from his perspective. Just to get a glimpse of what was going on beneath that too cool exterior. Towards the end we see the control really slip and it's only then that I find myself liking him. Although he is very much preferable to his brother.

I found myself interested in Gwen's friends very much and, really, I thought she was setting them up for a series. I'd really like to find out what happened with Cecy's marriage trouble and Myrtia's man troubles. Who else thinks she'd end up with Gwen's brother James?

All in all, it was ok. I guess I just feel that so much more could have been done with this premise that the reality left me a bit flat.

Not for the Trad Regency purists but an enjoyable read all the same. Once you suspend your disbelief (the whole "I married the wrong man" premise is entirely unrealistic) you can depend on an entertaining read. It certainly was refreshing and I preferred it to Benson's older book, Lord Stanhope's Proposal. Gwen is a delightful heroine and the first person narrative allows us to know her better. There are perhaps too many twists and turns for a book so short but that's a minor quibble.

I read this book in 3 hours I'couldn't put it down. I recomend it for a weekend reading.

This book has a dopey, teenage heroine who is probably more like what society girls were really like in the Regency Period than Amanda Quick or Celeste Bradley's heroines. However, since I am a 21st century woman, I had a really hard time relating to this flighty twit. I gave up on this book and turned it in to the used bookstore with no regrets.