A bit of modern vernacular and a somewhat inconsistent resolution/smoothing over of feelings - the hero was upset because heroine lied to him, not because he set some kind of unattainable standard and put her on a pedestal. I don’t judge her at all for what she did but the hero was justified in being hurt. Also, with the wrong name on the wedding license, they are, in fact not married. I would have preferred a bit more angst and self-sacrifice on her part in the end, with the hero coming to grovel. But, heck, close enough. But a solid, awesomely angsty plain heroine book. Right up my alley, even if it’s hard for me to relate to a slender heroine. Not that I don’t think body issues come in all sizes but while society may not completely celebrate the flat chested, try being overweight and then whine about not having enough curves or whatever. /rant ( )

Duke Most Wanted
2 Stars

Synopsis
Sophie Blake is tall, thin and plain. She never thought to marry let alone set her sights on a duke until Graham Cavendish, the only man she has ever felt comfortable around, unexpectedly inherits a title and a mountain of debt with it. Suddenly, Sophie is in the running for the Pickering inheritance and for the man of her dreams.

Review
This series is my first encounter with Celeste Bradley and overall, I'm not impressed. Her plots are simplistic and her characters superficial and one dimensional, even more so in this book than in the previous two.

The first 3/4 of the book are boring and drawn out. Graham's sudden realization that Sophie is the love of his life is completely unrealistic and the fact that it stems from her physical transformation presents him as shallow and egotistical.

The action heats up in the final 1/4 but it is too little too late even though the twist regarding Sophie's identity is entertaining.

I've heard that Bradley's other series are better so I may give her another try sometime. ( )

A delicious Regency read!! Engaging characters and an entertaining plot line. Nice amount of steam to keep the story popping!

They really are quite a pair! Sophie was easily my fav of the cousins!!

I love a lively historical with all the pomp and circumstance! Really enjoyable read!

A fun series. ( )

Silly, but fun. There were some loose ends that could be left alone, but could be explored some in a future novel if Bradley wanted to. ( )

The third and final book in the Heiress Brides series, was a great one for the most part. The ending however, pretty much ruined most of the fun for me since Sophie's character, who seemed the most likable of the heiresses thus far, took a turn for the worse.Sophie is the third cousin contesting for the Pickering fortune. Sophie however, has no plans to marry a duke and win the money. She is pretty much content with her books, her German fairytales and her friendship with Graham, fourth son of a duke. Besides, she's extremely plain; who would want her anyway?But when Graham unexpectedly becomes a duke, and an impoversished one at that, things change abruptly. Graham has to find a rich wife to save his family estate from ruin. Sophie, shocked with the thought of losing Graham to another woman decides to take matters in her own hands. She applies to Lementeur, the most famous London dress maker, who agrees to transform her into the most desirable lady of the ton. Graham, deprived from her company for the days while the transformation takes place (he doesn't know anything about it of course) begins to realize how much Sophie's friendship means to him. And when he sees her as the belle of the ball, his surrender to her charms is complete. He still fights his attraction though, since he feels he has an obligation to his tenants to save the estate from ruin and Sophie has no money to offer to that cause. However, as they keep on seeing each other and Sophie is surrounded by possible suitors, his jealousy grows and grows until he can hardly fight his feelings for her anymore. At that point, the plot takes a twist and suddenly everything is not as it seems. Unfortunately, that twist did not change things for the better and it made the happy end somewhat unbelievable for me. But since this twist happened only 50 pages before the end, I would say I enjoyed the book as a whole though it turned out as my least favorite of the series, with the second, The duke next door, being my favorite one. ( )