Review of How To Lose a Duke In Ten Days by Laura Lee Guhrke

Title/Author: How To Lose a Duke in Ten Days (An American Heiress in London #2) by Laura Lee Guhrke
Publisher/Date published: Avon, April 29 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: They had a deal...

From the moment she met the devil-may-care Duke of Margrave, Edie knew he could change her life. And when he agreed to her outrageous proposal of a marriage of convenience, she was transformed from ruined American heiress to English duchess. Five years later, she's delighted with their arrangement, especially since her husband is living on another continent.

But deals are made to be broken...

By marrying an heiress, Stuart was able to pay his family's enormous debts, and Edie's terms that he leave England forever seemed a small price to pay. But when a brush with death impels him home, he decides it's time for a real marriage with his luscious American bride, and he proposes a bold new bargain: ten days to win her willing kiss. But is ten days enough to win her heart?

So I really like Laura Lee Guhrke's writing style! I totally swooned for When the Marquess Met His Match and had already met the female half of this couple in that book and was INTRIGUED! And I do adore a good marriage of convenience turned love match plot :)

So we were off to a good start. And I really did like How To Lose A Duke in Ten Days! I really liked Edie and how she's made a life for herself the only way she could think of and it's worked for her so far. Well, aside from the fact that she's refusing love and everything, but she doesn't know what she's missing alright? And obviously Stuart is the perfect person to show her. Also: otherwise we wouldn't have a plot, so I support her decision. At first.
Edie has had to overcome something truly traumatic and I loved how strong she is and how business-savvy. This woman is running multiple estates without blinking an eye. That is truly admirable! And basically raising her sister aside from that, I totally loved their relationship!

Stuart was a guy I could easily imagine falling for. He's charming and is usually able to find a way to get his way, except for with Edie and it's pretty funny to see! I loved how he persuaded Edie's sister to go away to boarding school by telling her there'd be a trip to Italy (which wasn't planned yet) and then convincing the headmistress to actually go on said trip which he would be paying for. Brilliant!
Also, Stuart is a good guy. He may not have always made the best decisions, but he's a truly good guy who wants to make this marriage between him and Edie work and I love him for that.

So Laura Lee Guhrke deals with a heavy subject: recovering from sexual abuse. And I really appreciated the way she handled it. A lot of times when this is in a romance novel, it's something like 'love (or lust) fixes everything' and I'm like WTF??? That's probably not how it works (not that I have any first-hand experience, but it just feel implausible most of the time)! Things like that that have been with you for years don't just go POOF never to return again. I like that she handled it in a way I could imagine being somewhat closer to reality, even though there's still a little of love cures all going on.

I stayed up pretty late finishing How To Lose a Duke in Ten Days and it was totally worth it! Laura Lee Guhrke knows her stuff! The only thing that was missing for me was a tear-inducing moment, but other than that I was happy with it.

My rating: 4 stars