Member Review

Miss Edwina Fine and her sisters were raised in fear of what society would think of them being triplets with red hair and green eyes. Edwina knows that she'll have to hide the truth of her birth if she hopes to find a husband who can help her fulfill her father's dying request of her seeing her sisters wed and comfortable. So when a letter arrives from the Duke of Stonerick asking for her hand in marriage, she jumps at the chance despite not really knowing anything about him and knowing that she'll have to hide her secret from the irresistible duke.
Rick, Duke of Stonerick, enjoys being single, but an unknown fever and a pushy mother have him worried about the fate of the dukedom if he doesn't produce an heir. It's with this in mind that he randomly picks a name from a list his mother presents him with and writes a simple marriage proposal. The lady he picked, Miss Edwina Fine, is anything but simple, and she'll show him that marriage isn't as inconvenient as he thought. But can he keep his fevers a secret from his observant new wife?

I honestly never warmed up to Edwina. For a character whose backbone and gumption are so admired by her partner, she spends so much time being terrified of silly things and letting that get in the way of her happiness. I get that her dad considered the taboo of triplets to be massive and that she arrived at the marriage bed with next to no knowledge and some pretty atrocious advice, but you'd think she'd be more open to things. However, she is the perfect complement to Rick. It's the moments when they're together, with Rick pushing against her deeply rooted misconceptions, that make their relationship real, because it's in those moments that Edwina fights back and shows that backbone Rick fell in love with. It shows that they both push the other to look at things differently. Even when it's obvious that Rick is more willing to put in the work than Edwina is becuase she's so stubborn about following her father's wishes despite the very real consequences they'd have on her sisters.
My favorite part of the story were the moments with other characters, where both Rick and Edwina get the chance to fully show off their personalities thanks to the fun characters that Grey surrounds them with. Edwina's sisters are as bullheaded as she is and they clash like only loving sisters can. Rick has his mother to butt heads with and an unexpected nemesis that makes him forget his veneer of civility. As romantic as their story is, I loved it when Rick and Edwina got to interact with others more. Which is maybe not the best way to recommend a romance, but it worked for me.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the romantic read!