A Good Day to Marry a Duke

Krahn’s first Sin & Sensibility Victorian romance is a fine beginning to a promising series. Wealthy Daisy Bumgarten has been shunned by New York high society for her new money and brazen, uncouth ways. She travels to London for a fresh start, planning to marry a nobleman and pave the way for her three younger sisters to do the same. She has hopes of landing Arthur Graham, the Duke of Meridian, but her plans are thwarted when his younger brother, Ashton, an impoverished scoundrel, agrees to assist his conniving relatives by seducing Daisy and discrediting her claims of having noble English ancestry. Ashton has always been protective of his bookworm older brother and refuses to let anyone manipulate him for his title. As Daisy and Ashton each seek to conclusively prove or disprove her heritage, respectively, they uncover more common interests and goals—including their intense attraction to each other—than historical documents, but familial obligations and Arthur’s growing interest in Daisy hinder their chance at happiness. Full of wit, deceit, manipulation, and a thoroughly entertaining mix of American and English cultural references, this amusing romance has set the bar high for the sequels. Agent: Gail Fortune, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Dec.)