Review: ‘The Heiress Gets a Duke’ by Harper St. George
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Netgalley, the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Heiress Gets a Duke
by Harper St. GeorgeSeries: The Gilded Age Heiresses #1
Published by Berkley on January 26, 2021
SubGenres: Historical Romance
Format: eArc, Paperback
Pages: 309
Source: Netgalley, the publisher
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Even a fortune forged in railroads and steel can't buy entrance into the upper echelons of Victorian high society--for that you need a marriage of convenience.
American heiress August Crenshaw has aspirations. But unlike her peers, it isn't some stuffy British Lord she wants wrapped around her finger--it's Crenshaw Iron Works, the family business. When it's clear that August's outrageously progressive ways render her unsuitable for a respectable match, her parents offer up her younger sister to the highest entitled bidder instead. This simply will not do. August refuses to leave her sister to the mercy of a loveless marriage.
Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild, has no intention of walking away from the marriage. He's recently inherited the title only to find his coffers empty, and with countless lives depending on him, he can't walk away from the fortune a Crenshaw heiress would bring him. But after meeting her fiery sister, he realizes Violet isn't the heiress he wants. He wants August, and he always gets what he wants.
But August won't go peacefully to her fate. She decides to show Rothschild that she's no typical London wallflower. Little does she realize that every stunt she pulls to make him call off the wedding only makes him like her even more.
The Heiress Gets a Duke is the first book in Harper St. George’s The Gilded Age of Heiresses series. I’ve never read a book from this author before and have meant to try one of Harper’s books, and I finally made time for one, thanks to the Romanceopoly Reading Challenge.
I still consider myself relatively new to reading Historical Romance because it was one subgenre that I didn’t read much of when I was younger. As I get older, I find myself wanting to read more of this subgenre, especially when it has the Marriage of Convenience and/or Arranged Marriage tropes. This was my first Historical Romance ever that was set during the Gilded Age, so I was delighted to start it.
Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild, finds himself taking the title he never wanted. After he takes the title, he realizes his family’s money is gone, and now he needs the fortune of a heiress that he needs to marry to save the countless lives that are at risk. The issue is the American Heiress, August Crenshaw, whom he wants to marry, doesn’t want anything to do with him, even if she kissed him at a fight that she attended, but she had no idea he was a Duke at the time. He originally was arranged to marry her sister, but he fell for her after realizing she was the one who kissed him. He’s not going to walk away without fighting for August, but he’s not going to pressure her and will do anything to win her over in a way that will surprise her.
After reading The Heiress Gets a Duke, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed Harper St. George’s writing style and how she was very descriptive when it came to being in the Gilded Age times. I loved the hero in this story, Evan Sterling, and how he took in to count August’s feelings and didn’t want to pressure her, but he did have to think about others when it came to him having to marry someone. He even shows August what he plans to do with the fortune after he marries her, which made me respect him because he wasn’t thinking about himself but others. He never wanted the Duke title, but he was acting like a Duke should. I loved how Evan was all about August’s feelings because he knew she was giving a lot to marry him, and he didn’t want her to hate him because of it. It was apparent he was madly in love with her.
When it came to August, I liked her but found her character quite annoying at times. She wouldn’t work with Evan, even though he wasn’t the enemy. Her parents were the enemy because they wouldn’t give her a choice when it came to marriage, and they were about to turn her world upside down. I felt for her when it came to her parents and didn’t really care for them much, especially how her mother treated her. I did like August’s independence and how she had an unconventional job where she worked at her family’s company during this era. Her grandfather and father saw the potential of what she did for the company, and even Evan noticed it when he started to get to know her. She was obviously attracted to Evan, but she didn’t want to give in to those feelings.
I loved the banter between Evan and August, but when it came to their conflict at the end, it felt rushed. The conflict that ends up happening had already been addressed earlier, but August wasn’t going to hear anything more of it and was making a drastic change in her life.
Thankfully, this book does end in a HEA, but I wish the ending hadn’t been rushed like it was because I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Will I read more books from this series? Possibly in the future, but not right now, especially since the secondary characters were interesting, and I want to read their books. I’m glad I finally read a book from Harper St. George, and I definitely want to read other books from this author.
If you enjoy Historical Romances with the Marriage of Convenience trope with a Duke who needs an Heiress to help him with his troubles, then add this book to your TBR.
Trope(s)/Element(s):
✓Gilded Age Romance
✓Marriage of Convenience
✓Enemies to Lovers
✓He Fell First
✓Setting: England
✓Virgin Heroine
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About Harper St. George
Harper St. George was raised in rural Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.
She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and two children. When not writing, she can be found devouring her husband's amazing cooking and reading. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website at harperstgeorge.com.
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