Having recently inherited a dukedom, James Cantrell hopes his childhood friend Cecilia will accept his proposal of a marriage of convenience in order to smooth his way in his new situation. James' emotional cluelessness almost prevents the pair from their happy ending. Happily James does a bit of growing up by the end.

James is a stuffy, unfeeling, selfish, cold, lazy, poor-sport. When his hoarder uncle dies, he suddenly finds himself the owner of a dismal wreck of an abandoned mansion full of who-knows-what up to the rafters. He comes up with a plan. Marry Cecelia, the daughter of his former trustee since childhood. She's really been the one managing his affairs all these years anyway, not her lazy father. When he tells Cecelia this plan she turns down the opportunity to be his drudge and bear his children even though she's loved him for years. What's not to love, right? When a prince enters the scene, bringing a little competition for Cecelia's affections, James slowly begins to wise up about his feelings. In a brief moment of insanity, Cecelia marries him. She's immediately worried James has reverted to his indolent habits, making her responsible for every decision regarding finances and household matters. James has a be careful what you wish for, you might just get it moment when he realizes Cecelia has taken over all decisions just like he wanted her to. Now he's sulky, petulant, and oblivious, along with stuffy, unfeeling, selfish, cold, lazy, and a poor-sport. Oh yes, there's also no love scenes to liven things up.

Get a clue.

James is clueless as a newly minted duke. He's in over his head, so he has a pragmatic and insulting solution that he proposes to Cecelia. I liked that Cecelia was miffed over his arrangement that benefits him and her not so much. I liked that James had competition.

Recommend.

I liked the lightly humorous moments in the romance story. I enjoyed reading and getting to know James and Cecelia’s character. The story did give good details and descriptions of the scenes, which let me visualize the story more. I thought that the writer did a wonderful job with the dialogue between the characters. Some of their conversations were casual, but other discussion brought the story back to the romance between Cecilia and James. I did find that some wording in the book was too flamboyant for the book. It took me a moment to understand the meaning to what the writer was conveying to that particular scene. The does feel like it’s a quick read. This a sweet romantic read for the readers who love happily ever afters.

This did not go as I had anticipted, happily. James started out so pouty and whiny. I did not understand his attitude toward inheirating....he knew it was coming and yet was totally not prepared, or inclined to be, ready for the task. His atyitude seemed more like a second son suddenly thrust into the role.

Cecelia was a breath of fresh air. She was used to the riggors of managing things and did it effortlessly. She has known James for a long time and I would have thpught she would have become better at managing him and getting him more in line with the role and not seem put out with him.

While James did start to come into his own, I had hoped Cecelia would have been more supportive and praising of his attempt. I felt an opportunity was missed there when she turned things over to an outside crew.

There was no grand gesture to cheer. While there were sparks aplenty, they didn't get to a pleasurable working partnership. This was a bit disappointing, but the story was good.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in anyway.

The Duke Who Loved Me was an enjoyable regency romance that swept me away in a romance from another era. And who doesn't love a duke and a marriage of convenience??


The Duke of Tereford is accustomed to getting his own way, but she's going to teach him a thing or two about love...

James Cantrell, the new Duke of Tereford, has inherited a dukedom in disarray and is overwhelmed by his unaccustomed responsibilities. Then he gets an idea. Cecelia Vainsmede served as liaison between James and her father, and she knows a great deal about business matters, his own in particular. She's also quite pretty. Ever the pragmatist, he suggests a marriage of convenience.

Cecelia has always been good at working with James, but she doesn't understand how he can be so obtuse. He clearly doesn't realize that he's the duke she's always wished for, or that his offer is an insult. But when a German prince arrives in London and immediately sets out to woo Cecelia, James will have to come to terms with what he really feels for her. Is running away worth the cost of losing her, or will the duke dare to win her once and for all?

James and Cecelia have always been in each others lives. James has inherited and needs help from Cecelia to bring his house in order. This book had me struggling through most of it. I feel that James is a man who just does not take responsibility for his life. Cecelia felt disconnected with herself and the interactions with others. I just could not become engrossed and connected with the book. It was an OK read here, but I had to start and stop a few times.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This book was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I just lost myself within this amazing story. I most definitely will read more by this author.

The Duke who loved me was a heartwarming and romantic read. This was my first by this author but certainly not my last!

While I liked Cecelia and James, I was sad to find their story a bit lackluster. Even with the tension between them and the wonderful cast of side characters, I was bored on more than one occasion. Some readers might enjoy a slower paced and lower stakes romance like this, however it unfortunately wasn't for me. I may return to the series in the future depending on which side characters get books of their own, especially because I did like Jane Ashford's writing style and would be interested to see where she takes the characters.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca via Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

James Cantrell is now the seventh Duke of Tereford, a title he inherited from his great uncle. He now must investigate the home his uncle had lived in. Oh, what a dire mess. It’s musty, filled with all sorts of collections, and perhaps a rat or two. In addition, there is no staff to clean it up.

James’s old friend, Cecelia Vainsmede, is the daughter of Nigel Vainsmede who had been designated as his trustee when his father passed away. James and Nigel have never gotten along so Cecelia acts as their go-between. At age 22, Cecelia has taken over the duties her father is no longer interested in. As James is not sure where to start to get his life in order, he asks Cecelia to marry him and suggesting a marriage of convenience. She promptly turns him down. Now, he is determined to pursue and woo her hoping he can convince her to marry him. So, when he starts showing up at some of the events she is attending, he is peeved to find Karl, a foreign prince trying to woo her for himself.

This book is a crazy mixture that left me frowning through most of it. I have read many of this author’s books and know she writes with humor, but many of these characters are unlikeable. The prince needed to be checked out long before. James is a man who just doesn’t know how to step up and take responsibility for his life and everything that goes with it. It’s hard to believe that Cecelia has spent most of her life taking care of things for everyone. It’s a good thing though since she is surrounded by people who are so lazy. An OK read here, but not something I would care to read again.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Opposites attract and communication is key in Jane Ashford’s The Duke Who Loved Me, the first book in her Duke’s Estates series. James, the new Duke of Tereford, has always been obstinate. And if something wasn’t going his way, James was always willing to get his fists involved. Or leave his long-time acquaintance Cecelia to handle it. Her finesse with organization and paperwork led James to offer a deal to Cecelia: he’ll offer marriage and she can handle all his ducal paperwork that he knows she enjoys, and she gets to be a duchess in exchange. James knows most ladies of the ton would gladly take that deal. But not Cecelia. She has a mind of her own, and a new princely suitor. But if they’re going to find a happily-ever-after, both James and Cecelia will have to learn to communicate, learn to cooperate, and learn to trust in their deep-seated love for each other.

I thought The Duke Who Loved Me was a sweet Regency romance featuring two faulted individuals who both had a lot to learn about love and sacrifice. I felt that both James and Cecelia had a lot to learn when it came to compromising, even though emphasis was seemingly placed on James and his need to be right. I liked that neither main character was held up on a pedestal; they’d both made mistakes, with each other and in society’s eyes. This book is definitely a slow-burn; James might make his intentions known quite early on, but many obstacles fall into their path before James and Cecelia can get together. There was an unexpected will they/won’t they component that I wasn’t expecting, and I was happy to see things finally falling into place.

I sadly wasn’t truly drawn to either James or Cecelia as characters; I honestly found other characters, like James’s grandmother and Cecelia’s aunt, to be more intriguing than some of the storyline featuring our two main characters. They weren’t poorly done, and I’m sure my lack of connection was on me and not how Ashford wrote them. I am looking forward to the next book in The Duke’s Estates series, and I hope to see some appearances from James and Cecelia as Ashford focuses on another duke’s tale.

The Duke Who Loved Me is a clean romance; interactions are all fade-to-black, and even mentions of lurid acts are creatively censored (both for the audience as well as the delicate ears of the ladies of the ton).

Overall, The Duke Who Loved Me was well-written and centered around a unique plot in Regency London. I wish I felt more engaged with the main characters, as I often found myself not even caring if they ever wound up together, but even despite that I thought this was a sweet romance with a lot to bring to the historical romance genre.

I enjoyed reading it! I was in total need of a good regency romance and this book didn't disappoint. Jane Ashford is a new author to me and I loved her writing style. I totally recommend this book!
Thank you for the review copy!

When the duke of her dreams offers Cecelia a marriage of convenience, she turns him down. She's not interested in being treated as an efficient manager of James's properties, now in disarray thanks to the hoarding tendencies of his predecessor. She wants James to see her as a woman. When a foreign prince begins courting her, James realizes what he stands to lose. But is it too late to convince her that his heart is involved?

This book is so cute! James and Cecelia are adorable together. The banter between them is entertaining and endearing. The secondary characters round out the cast in a heartwarming way (I confess I'm a sucker for kids and pets). I look forward to reading more in this series!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Childhood friendships don’t necessarily marriages make! _____ 2.5

We have the rather irresponsible tear away James Cantrell, inheriting his dukedom and discovering it’s not as orderly as he supposed. Mind you his father and then his trustees did rather push James away.
The way forward is to marry his old chum and whizz at organising things, Cecelia Vainsmede. After all she’s helped him all his life. They’ve known each other since they were thirteen and fifteen respectively. Ideal! A marriage of convenience is not what Cecelia wants with a James. If she looks into the dark corners of her heart she wants more and is not prepared to settle for less.
Cecelia needs a distraction, and the advances of a rather handsome German prince seems just the ticket to add a bit of energy to the mix. There are some problems with this. Wires do get crossed. The least not being James realising that maybe Cecelia means more to him than the very helpful childhood friend.
Oh, and did I mention that Cecelia has taken under her wing not one but four young ladies looking to her for advice about all things to do with the season.
An untaxing read, an ending without verve, with a hero who really needs to just grow up. James is a bit of an unthinking fribble, not unkind—just thoughtless. Still maybe leopards can change their spots?!

A Sourcebooks Casablanca ARC via NetGalley

An enjoyable read
This was a new author for me and I’m happy to say that I liked her writing very much. The thing I enjoyed most are the dialogues, in particular the banter between the main characters, and I also took great pleasure in reading the internal workings of the hero and the heroine’s minds. But while Cecelia is an awesome character from the very start, witty, competent and with a sharp mind, James is not as lovable at the beginning. He’s spoiled, lazy, selfish and he doesn’t know how to lose… But it’s really wonderful to see him grow and change during the book and see his true nature brought to the surface, that of a caring, young man who is capable of good deeds, love and compassion.
I would have preferred that the “real” HEA occurred a little before the last pages, though. But I’m sure we’ll see more of Cecelia and James in the following books of the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the first book in the Duke's Estates series. 

James the new Duke of Tereford has inherited a dukedom from his Great Uncle who they discover may have been a hoarder.

James can't figure out the estate on his own. He wants to ask Cecilia who would be a mediator between himself and his father about business matters since they were younger to help him. He decides that she should be his partner/wife in this. How romantic!! He also gives this Darcy-ish practical business proposal to her. Unbeknownst to him she actually has feelings for him and would have said yes if he had not said she would be great at the business of his estate and maybe talked of love or romance lol. So like Elizabeth she says No. 

Then of course a Prince shows interest in her so now he has competition and realizes that the feelings that he has for her and that she is his. Well she does not like any of that behavior from anyone.

I just love Cecilia, she just wants to stop being used for what she can do and what she is good for. She wants to find that HEA and she was hoping it would be with her life long friend but he's proving to be quite dense. He's the most handsome man but just can't seem to tell her what he wants to say.

This was definitely Sweet since I am seeing this book in the bundle that was sent out and it does fall into that category. I never watched hoarders but I like American Pickers so the cleaning and sorting through this mansion for treasures was fun!

This ends on a story beginning for an Earl's story. Can't wait!

Add this to your TBR!

Thank you sourcebookscasa and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

I have read a few books by Jane Ashford and I have enjoyed all of them. The Duke Who Loved Me is a sweet story about two people who are thrown together at a young age and have the chance to really learn each other. Overall, it is a nice sweet story. However, James did seem to chance on the inside but he never really showed it to the people around him. There was a lot of 'how will this marriage make it if we can't have a decent conversation' to 'everything is perfect' in literally two paragraphs. I would have strangled him with the diamond necklace...

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book reads a bit like a historical romance mixed with a rom-com and the results are fantastic.
James and Cecelia are total opposites who have been butting heads since children because Cecelia thinks James is too superficial and James thinks Cecelia is too uptight and organized. They are the epitome of opposites attract!
When James inherits a Dukedom in horrid disarray, he decides that the easiest way to deal with it is by marrying a woman he knows is good at fixing messes. So he proceeds to give Cecelia the worst marriage proposal ever uttered, which of course gets him immediately rejected and starts a domino effect that sees both their lives changed forever. Along the way, we meet interesting characters, get to experience the Ton gossip mill all a flutter, and see two people perfect for each other grow and realize that a little bit of compromise, acceptance, and communication can lead to a very happily ever after.
It's a fast-paced, fun, romantic read that I couldn't put down. Ashford's writing creates both fun and slightly outlandish situations for the characters to go through that kept me turning pages and enjoying every step of the way.

Many very happy thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the early read!