Duchess in Love (Duchess Quartet #1)

It should be galling for a bride to have her bridegroom flee the country only minutes after saying "I do." But for Gina, who was not yet 12 when she suddenly had to learn to be a proper duchess, it was a relief to find she wouldn't have to deal with becoming a wife to the childhood friend who was now her husband as well. Instead, she devoted herself to administering the ducal estates in her young husband's absence, while the 18-year-old duke settled in Greece to sculpt scandalous statues of naked women. This situation, which suited them both for a dozen years, is finally disrupted when Gina falls in love and asks for an annulment. Cam's response to his virgin bride's unexpected request is an immediate return to England, where he has two momentous realizations. First, the English climate cannot compare to the warmth and sunlight of his beloved Greece. And second, he has fallen in love with the stunning near-stranger who is his wife. While award-winning author Eloisa James is not the first writer to make use of the plot device of an estranged married couple falling in love, she imbues this theme with vitality, passion, and just enough anger on Gina's part to keep the romantic tension sizzling in this delightful historical romance. Gina's friends complicate matters, as the duke and duchess come to realize that, while their marriage so long ago may not have been in their best interests, an annulment now would destroy any chance for true happiness. Sue Stone

Romance