Heir to the Duke

by Jane Ashford

January 5, 2016 · Sourcebooks Casablanca

Buy →

B+

More Info →

View Book Info Page

Oftentimes the romance novel ends when the special license is procured and the vows are said, and the happily ever after is assured. This one begins when the very traditional courtship is over and the vows are said and the heroine goes, “Thank fucking god now I can be myself” and the hero goes “Wait what.”

Nathaniel Gresham is a Viscount and the heir to a duke, and he has five rambunctious younger brothers.

“And hadn’t he told his father, when Robert was born in his [Nathaniel’s] sixth year, that four sons were quite enough? Even for a duke, six sons were excessive.”

He’s spent his life being the one they go to with their problems, and they’ve gotten quite into the habit of asking him for things like, “Hey can you hook me up with a bishop? Thanks, bro” and “Hey bro, I can’t find all the guys I served with on this one ship, can you find them for me?” He’s also been aware of his position as heir, so he’s always kept himself to a higher standard of behavior and “kept a rein on his wilder impulses.”

The book opens the morning of Nathaniel’s wedding to Violet, the daughter of the Earl of Morely. She has been controlled in all things by her grandmother (dressed in an inappropriate amount of ruffles, not allowed to read or do anything of interest or eat food or anything), and Nathanial’s brothers have stolen his clothes and sent Violet to go wake him up. She’s not as shocked by his state of undress as one might expect, and they go on to their married life with very different expectations.

She’s ready to go live life and have the adventures that her family would never let her have, and he’s expecting that things will go one more or less the same, with the exception of occasional nookie. Violet throws a wrench into that (extremely boring) plan by asking if they can go to Brighton for the summer. She’s never even seen the sea before.

So they go to Brighton where Violet promptly fires her maid (who is her grandmother’s creature) and goes shopping for new, more flattering clothes, and catches the eye of the Prince Regent. Things are great! Nate, however, is suddenly just not sure who this woman he married is, and begins to question his whole life- he’s the oldest, so he’s gotta be responsible for everyone, right?

Right?

There are elements of both people I found really fascinating. First, as an eldest child (…sort of. It’s complicated) I have also had this sense of responsibility for my younger sibling, so I get why Nate thinks that it’s his job to take care of everyone’s woes. Add the idea that he’s going to be the duke, and he’s going to be the head of the family, and the constant stream of younger siblings who all learn that he’ll take care of everything…. Yeah, I can absolutely buy that he doesn’t know how to have fun or how to let his brothers grow up on their own.

And this leads into the most interesting facet of Violet. She’s suddenly got this freedom and she has no idea how to manage it. None. She doesn’t fall into choice paralysis; she has a list of things she has wanted to do once she became her own woman. But suddenly having to figure out how to adult when you just don’t have any experience usually leads to some tears and mistakes (such as not knowing how to manage flirting from the Prince Regent).

This leads into the issue with helicopter parents carefully protecting their children from all problems and anxieties and then suddenly those kids need to function out in the world and HAVE NO IDEA HOW. Never mind the little things like finances, or possibly laundry. There are things like, “I don’t know how to motivate myself,” or “I wasn’t immediately good at this thing, so I am a dumpster fire of human trash and a total failure.” You have to let people try and fail; it’s how they develop coping skills.

Violet does a lot better than expected, but Nate? Oh, Nate. Once he decides to cut loose he goes waaaaaaay off the rails. I’m a total sucker for “how do I adult” and “how do I relationship” stories, with extra points if this is happening after the wedding. Y’all are stuck together, so you better figure it out.

I was also fascinated by the character of Violet’s grandmother. She’s an Evil Matriarch and has her entire family (and at least half the ton) under her thumb. She has reasons for acting the way she does (not good ones, but you know, reasons), and it’s fun to see how Violet takes after her.

The resolution involves some secrets, and some parenting, and a lot of growing up and being less “family fixer” and more “head of the family but let your sequel bait brothers figure their own shit out (why do you need a bishop, anyway?)”

Delightful. Didn’t give me a good book noise, but engaging and fun and hey, we don’t get to go to Brighton a lot. Yay for new places!