Welcome to Romancing the Stacks. This is a series of reviews featuring one of my favorite genres: Romance Novels! Nothing is better than curling up with a good romance. This review will explore The Duke Buys a Bride by Sophie Jordan.

I didn’t mean to pick up this book. I literally rolled my eyes when I saw the cover of the book thinking another romance novel where the hero literally pays money for the heroine as if she were a prostitute and they fall in love despite the completely awful start to the romance. I don’t like the idea of purchasing a person. The only time I enjoyed a plot where a person was purchased was a modern day romance with a Bachelor auction for Charity, that is the only acceptable time to buy a person and start a romance. I know the hero in the novel does it to set the lady free, but there is such an unbalance of power. I was simply doing my job, and placing the book on the shelf but that part of me that simply adores romances was like at least read the summary. The summary was typical with nothing that stood out, but my romance novel loving side was like now you need to see how they fall in love. So I read this book with low expectations to fulfill this weird need I have to simply know how these two unlikely people fall in love even though I have read enough of these novels to know exactly how they fall in love. You never know maybe this book will surprise me.

Summary:

The last thing Marcus, the Duke of Autenberry, expects to see after sleeping off a night’s drunken shenanigans is a woman being auctioned in the village square. Before he can think about the ramifications, he buys her, thinking he’s winning the girl her freedom. Instead, he discovers he’s bought a wife. Alyse Bell is almost rid of the shackles that bound her in a name-only marriage, but the day her friend promised to purchase her in a wife auction, he vanishes, leaving her to face a mob of unsavory bachelors intent on owning her body and soul. But the appearance of a wicked, wealthy stranger changes her path forever. Marcus doesn’t know what to do with the impertinent chit who clearly isn’t duchess material! Insisting their marriage isn’t legitimate, they leave for his estate in Scotland, hoping to devise a plan to get rid of each other. However, on a journey fraught with misadventure, their attraction grows and Marcus realizes he’ll do anything to keep this fiery woman for his own.

Book Review:

Apparently this is another book that is third in a series. I am not great at picking out books that are first in a series. With some romance novels you don’t need to read the books in order to enjoy them. This is not one of those books. There was a lot information missing from this book that might be more clear in the first two novels. Randomly you find out that Marcus’ best friend hooked up with his step-mom. That is all you find out about that. They never resolve his anger towards his friend for doing that, no conversation, or anything. Than you find out he had an older bastard brother that his father never acknowledged and only found out like a year or two ago. He had been engaged to his brother’s current wife. You do find out he proposed to her just to spite his older brother. Never has a conversation with the brother or anything. No apology or bonding session. Marcus also has some major daddy issues that are never explained. When he buys Alyse Bell, he thinks my father would use her for all she was worth and than toss her. No more information. None. No deep conversations about his relationship with his father even with Alyse. Marcus does keep saying he is not the same person as he once was. I have a feeling he has a character arc in the first two books and this is the final chapter of that. The romance is boring. Alyse has never had a man consider her feelings like Marcus that makes her fall in love with him. I have no idea why he falls for her. It was just like Boom! Marcus loves Alyse out of no where. It took me a while to read this book as my mom stole it from me. She did request I get the first two. She enjoyed this book, I did not. Maybe if I read the books in order I would have enjoyed it, but I don’t want to.

The Rogue Files:

1. While The Duke Was Sleeping
2. The Scandal of It All
3. The Duke Buys a Bride
4. This Scot of Mine
5. The Duke’s Stolen Bride

Rating:

Out of