I have read all 384 pages of this Historical Romance masterpiece. Did you people seriously think I would willingly chose to read something like this? Are you insane? This review is dedicated to my dear friend (haha) Navessa who was thoughtful enough to challenge me to read this book. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society-just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.Īmiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit.

The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable.ĭaphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince-while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. The Duke and I is a romance set in the Regency era. Librarian note: See alternate cover editions here and here.

Julia quinn duke of ashbourne