American Heiresses book 1 read in 2025
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223160799-her-duke-of-duty-and-desire
Gabriel Rayborne is now the Duke of Rothbury his father recently passed away leaving him the title and all the problems that go with it and there are a lot including a run down estate and dwindling funds to run the estate not helping is the recent flooding which has damaged the crops that were to bring in a profit for the farmers, there is also another matter that he is a widowed father of 2 young children they are in need of a mother and he is in need of funding to keep his estate and his tenants he had agreed to wed an American heiress sight unseen to obtain a dowry large enough to protect his property. Gabriel weds his American by proxy (her grandmother who is a Duchess) and then he waits... and waits some more for his wife to arrive.
Diana Wakefield is independent and spirited she has come back to England from America and she has some things to say to her grandmother how could she marry her off without even discussing it with her first she wants to have some say in her future, even if she has to run away with the Spanish coins that she has sewn into her dress and then later placed into ribbons and hidden (yes this is a big part of the story and is mentioned multiple times) if necessary she will just flee the country and start a new life with her coins.
However when she arrives and has the discussion with her grandma she has a different plan for her she has created a false identity so that Diana can meet his Grace and the children prior to letting them know who she really is she will go to the household not as herself but as Miss Smith the children's new governess if she finds that family life isn't for her in a month's time her grandma will visit her at the estate and she can let her know then that she doesn't want to go through with the arrangement and she will help her get out of it... only her Grandma shortened the time to two weeks after her arrival how can she make such a big decision so quickly.
That's how Diana finds herself living in what is now legally her home with her husband but from the outside looking in as the children's new governess she has a lot of fresh American ideas that the Duke doesn't always see eye to eye with but she is making a difference with his children and they are happy and that's what makes him happy.
You can see how much Gabriel loves his children and how the weight of the world is on his shoulders as he tries to turn things around for the future of the estate even if it means not marrying for love and staying as far away as he can from Miss Smith his new fiery governess who has been occupying more of his thoughts. The longer Diana is with the children and the Duke the more she is losing focus of her dreams of freedom and wondering if just maybe this could be her new home, with her grandmothers time line approaching quickly Diana has some big decisions to make and she needs to decide soon, can she really leave the children when they have already snuck into her heart... and maybe the handsome Duke has a place there too.
The story was a sweet romance but got a bit repetitive which made parts of the story feel like a slog to get through, the timeline from the FMC's arrival until the deadline of her grandmother coming to check in was short leading to everything in the back half of the book between the couple feeling rushed, the couple didn't really have all that many interactions with each other by the time I was over half way through the book. Would have liked for more actual time spent together with our couple but it was a cute quick read and I plan to read the next in the series.
Gabriel is a hard working man who is not opposed to picking up tools and rebuilding the land right along with his tenants he is also a loving father and I love how the author placed cute interactions between the powerful/imposing Duke and his two children throughout the book. I love our FMC's fiesty American attitude it made for funny interactions with the Duke and a different teaching style as the children's "governess" you could see the children's walls coming down and them falling in love with her right along with the Duke.
*Historical Romance *Hidden Identity (FMC) *Duke *run down estate needs funding
*Book Sirens *secrets *drama *single father *widowed MMC *marriage by proxy
*lack of communication *MMC with a heart of gold *Independent FMC *governess
*American Heiress *no spice for those that like closed door romances
**possible spoilers**
The FMC kind of frustrated me at times because while the Duke was getting closer to her as the governess she was also really upset with him for essentially "cheating" on his wife with her... you are his wife just tell him, you have been there under false pretenses the whole time lady and he's never met "his wife." So Diana is upset with the duke for falling for her instead of his wife but she has been omitting the truth to keep up with her charade of being the governess to see if she even wants to be his wife all while watching him struggle with the estate crumbling around them and no funds to fix it until his bride presents herself at the estate (per her grandma's rules from the marriage contract). She does try to help with what she can without giving away her true identity but it seemed a bit harsh to me that she was getting so upset with him for "cheating" when she has been lying to him the whole time as far as he knows his American bride might not even ever show up at this point since he has heard very little from the duchess about her since her arrival. Also we all know that there are going to be hurt feelings when the truth comes out I found myself telling her to just tell him the truth already!! 😟
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