“How to Entice an Enchantress” by Karen Hawkins is part of the ‘Duchess DIaries’ series which features the machinations of the Duchess of Roxburghe who tries to continue her winning streak of matching up members of the Balfour family. Her goddaughter, Dahlia Balfour, wants romance and that’s exactly why Lord Alasdair Kirk would be unsuitable, with his prickly demeanor, pragmatic but ungraceful approach to life and bitterness about the tragic loss of his wife which left him scarred and handicapped. Dahlia would be willing to ignore all of that in light of the easy companionship they feel for each other but there is the pesky issue of her grudge about how he has treated her father and his abominable tendency to reduce everything to a cold business arrangement. The Duchess will have her work cut out for her this time.
This fun historical romance provides a nice version of the Beauty and the Beast trope as it plays out at a house party. The secondary characters provide a great foil for the brooding and somewhat graceless hero and there are delightful scenes generated by the very pampered and indulged pug tribe that provides companionship for the wily Duchess. I had a little trouble quite believing the attraction between the main characters as the initial phases of their courtship is talked about rather than depicted which makes some of the subsequent events a little awkward for me as it is hard to imagine Dahlia being so protective of the man she thinks capable of wreaking such havoc on her family. I suspect that part of this is due to my not having read the previous book in the series where Kirk undoubtedly is portrayed in a more negative light in order to facilitate the Duchess’ plans but I don’t feel that he becomes an attractive hero until very late in the story, despite his supposed efforts. There are a few anomalies to me, including the about-face of a couple of somewhat nasty females as well as the somewhat scatterbrained companion to the Duchess but it looks like she may soon get her own ‘happy ever after’ and I look forward to reading it. An entertaining light read.
© Night Owl Reviews
I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.
How to Entice an Enchantress (Amazon link)
