DUKES PREFER BLONDES is so much fun! I read it while I was on a business trip. which involved a load of flights and found myself biting the inside of my lip to keep from laughing right out loud at the banter between our hero, Raven, and our heroine, Clara. So I'll say right up front - if you love your romances to come with sharp-as-razors repartee between the two main characters, then add DUKES PREFER BLONDES to your TBR immediately.

The title of the review refers to Sherlock Holmes and I want you to know I mean the Bennedict Cumberbatch one. Raven, in this book, is the closest I can imagine to what it would look like if that Sherlock with his brilliance and prickliness entered into a romance with a woman whose brain can match his own. I found myself, in fact, picturing Raven as Cumberbatch, with his voice in my head as Raven. Which then made me fall down a rabbit trail of who I would cast in the rest of the roles and I had far too much fun with that and that's a whole other post.

ANYWAY. Back to the book.

Another layer to Loretta Chase's story is the social aspect. A huge piece of this story hinges on the awkward world of child labor in 19th century England. From my limited knowledge, the way Chase weaves the themes of exploitation, hope, reform and chance is authentic. Clara's awakening to the complications is compelling and is her real journey in this story.

I recommend DUKES PREFER BLONDES, as I said above, to anyone who likes snappy banter performed by men in wigs and women in corsets and who also enjoy their romances with a side of historical education.

Book Summary

Biweekly marriage proposals from men who can't see beyond her (admittedly breathtaking) looks are starting to get on Lady Clara Fairfax's nerves. Desperate to be something more than ornamental, she escapes to her favorite charity. When a child is in trouble, she turns to tall, dark, and annoying barrister Oliver Radford.

Though he's unexpectedly found himself in line to inherit a dukedom, Radford's never been part of fashionable society, and the blonde beauty, though not entirely bereft of brains, isn't part of his plans. But Clara overwhelms even his infallible logic, and when wedlock looms, all he can do is try not to lose his head over her . . .

It's an inconvenient marriage by ordinary standards, but these two are far from ordinary. Can the ton's most adored heiress and London's most difficult bachelor fall victim to their own unruly desires?

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