Episode 4: How to Succeed in Marriage without Really Trying

In the last installment of The Real Duchesses of London, Elizabeth, Countess of Westhampton, is rattled when her husband, William, finally returns home after deserting her days after their marriage by just appearing at a ball out of the blue. Elizabeth has had to deal with backlash that one would receive after such a public desertion and has developed a very thick, tough skin. The ton of London has assumed that she could not satisfy her husband in bed and that is why he left. In truth, William had his trip to America planned before he even married Elizabeth and it did not even occur to him what his quick fleeing would look like to society. William had thought he saved Elizabeth from a wretched life with her uncle when she was nineteen and he thought of her as a young girl who needed some space to finally be allowed to grow into herself before he was with her. With Elizabeth thinking that her husband is not attracted to her and William unsure how to handle this new, bold, confident woman in front of him, how can they ever come together and be happy? And with two cartoons out this time, one showing William groveling to her and one with Elizabeth groveling to him, will the true artist finally be found out?

This is yet another fun, sexy novella from Lavinia Kent and it has prompted me to purchase all her full length novels as a result. If she can draw me into a good story in a novella, I can't wait to see what she does with a full length book! William and Elizabeth, though they had a quick courtship and a long separation, overcome their past misconceptions to find a strong future together. And phew...when they do consummate the marriage, another hot scene that may or may not involve a glass prop ;) I love the steamy scenes Ms Kent writes, they often involve some steamy props or locations to add a fresh twist. The ending of this one, while it did finally reveal who the cruel cartoonist was, did leave a few threads dangling so I am hoping we get to revisit these ladies again soon! Overall, another great story of love, the mending of friendships and how important those friendships can be with a few giggles thrown in! A great way to spend a couple hours! 4 stars

I received the ebook from the publisher via netgalley.com

You may have heard me mention before that while I like the novellas I've read lately, I always have this feeling that if it was a full-length novel, it would be better. Well, maybe I was just not reading the right novella! This one didn't feel like it lacked depth at all!

There were some real problems between Elizabeth and William and I loved that! I mean, CONFLICT! YAY! I teared up a couple of times and it was wonderful!

The thing is with novellas, you HAVE to get sucked into the story right away, else it will be over before you know it, leaving you disconnected. I immediately felt pulled into this one and I loved that.

I do think I could have benefitted from reading the previous novellas in the series in regards to the relationship of the duchesses, but well, I managed.

I loved this one and I think I should be reading more of Lavinia Kent's books :)

My rating: 5 stars