Loved this Historical Romance by Virginia Heath! I love how she brings her characters to life! Next book please!

I am always interested in books where the romance involves older protagonists. Those stories tend to be intricate and complex because so much of the protagonists’ lives has already been lived. They bring experiences and ideas to the relationship that younger characters just cannot. As a result, many of those books tend to deal more with internal conflict as opposed to external conflict as the characters try to overcome fixed ideas in order to fit their lives together. Lilian and the Irresistible Duke by Virginia Heath is one such book that takes an excellent in-depth look into a mature relationship.

I love how Lilian and Pietro connect over art and how so much of their relationship unfolds through the language of art. Art and love both connect to our minds and hearts in a wide variety of ways and Heath shows us the range of possible intricate connections as she explores the protagonists’ relationship. In addition, I enjoyed seeing how art forms the firmament against which we see Lilian’s growth from a person of great responsibility and purpose into one of whimsy, adventure and passion.

I found it clever how Heath worked the opposite positions that Lilian and Pietro found themselves in to bring them together. Whereas she was at a crossroads in her life, poised for change, Pietro was stuck in a rut and unsure how — or even if – he should get out of it. Both are restless and dissatisfied with life and so in reaching out to each other, they discover a purpose to life for themselves and with each other.

My review: https://frolic.media/book-of-the-week-lilian-and-the-irresistible-duke-by-virginia-heath/

Hands up, who is with me in going to Italy? How can you resist a man like Pietro. Yes, he has his flaws but also the language, the love of art, the man himself. The fact that Lilian and Pietro are an older couple was a real draw for me. The story flowed very well and the characters are extremely well written. This is such a romantic story that I dare you not to fall in love.

Series: Secrets of A Victorian Household #4
Publication Date: 1/20/20
Number of Pages: 288

This is a fun author collaboration series that follows the members of the Fairclough family. I haven’t read all of the books, but I didn’t have any problem following this book. The book is excellently written and the characters are fully formed and totally relatable. You’ll feel as if you are friends with all of the characters before you are through reading.

One of the best things is an absolutely delightful epilogue set about five years after the end of the last chapter. I love epilogues and this one was one of the loveliest ever. Not only did we get a very sweet and romantic look at Lilian and Pietro, but we also got an update on all of the characters from the other books in the series. Even though I hadn’t read a couple of the books, I loved seeing what happened to those characters as well. It really was one of the best epilogues I’ve read.

Lilian Fairclough is five and forty years and she’s suffering a bit from what we might call ‘empty nest syndrome’ today. She enjoyed a fairy-tale marriage with the love of her life, but she’s been a widow for ten years. She never even thought of another man during those years and spent all of her time and efforts in raising her three children and running her husband’s foundation. There was little time for anything else. Now, the children are grown, married, and one of them is expecting her first grandchild. She’s needed less and less at the foundation because her daughter and her husband have taken over the every-day running of it. At a loss for what to do with herself now and in the future, she allows her family to persuade her to travel to Italy with Alexandra, her husband’s cousin.

Pietro Venturi, Duca della Torizia, had an entirely different experience with marriage and, as a widower, has sworn that he will never, ever, marry again. At eight and forty, he has spent twenty-five years living a life of no commitments, no emotional involvement, and very strict rules around his affairs. Those rules, however, fly out the window as soon as he meets Lilian. Too bad it took him so long to figure it all out.

Lilian and Pietro had a bit of a history – just a small bit, but it was significant to both of them. The previous December Pietro had been in London and shared an impetuous, mind-blowing kiss with Lilian. Now – all these months later – when he encounters her in the corridor of his own home, he believes she is there to entrap him into marriage. He quickly sets her straight and propositions her. She was totally shocked to realize that it was his home they were visiting and made her position very, very, undoubtedly, clear to him. Well – that didn’t get off to a good start.

As Lilian and Pietro are thrown together more and more – and discover they share a love of art and many other things, their feelings grow. Each fights those feelings – especially Pietro – and they each have their reasons for believing that a relationship won’t work – especially since they live in two different countries. Seeing Pietro grow was a marvelous thing and I came to love him. Lilian had more room for love, but her growth and acceptance of another love was a wondrous thing to behold.

I really enjoyed this story of two very different people with two very different views of love and marriage find their HEA with each other. I hope you will love it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. 

I have not read the previous three novels in this series, which presumably featured the children of the heroine Lillian. There were a few references to their love stories and an entire epilogue devoted to their offspring. Those stories sounded a lot more interesting than this one, which was extremely dull. Lillian travels to Italy on holiday, meets Pietro and looks at every piece of artwork in Rome with him. They have an affair and then she goes home. That is the entire plot, and the descriptions of the artwork served only to demonstrate that you do really need to see it rather than read about it. Apparently one of the things Lillian and Pietro have in common is their sense of humour, but there was no humour at all in the book sadly.

Disappointing.