Book Review: THE LADY'S DISGRACE by Callie Hutton

Book:  The Lady's Disgrace

Author:  Callie Hutton

Publisher:  Entangled Publishing, LLC

Genre:  Historical Romance

“…if I came with no dowry, you would still entertain the idea of marrying me?”- Abigail

“Yes, I would.”- Joseph

“Then you are wrong.  You are a fool.”- Abigail

Blurb via Goodreads:

A lady is nothing without her reputation. Jilted and humiliated by her once-betrothed, Lady Abigail Lacey is the laughingstock of London. Worse still, the humiliation is now reflecting badly on her family. Now her brother, the Duke of Manchester, is desperate... until he finds a way to rescue his sister's damaged reputation, and remove her from the glare of disapproving society. 

He must marry her off. Quickly.

When Rector Joseph Fox drops by the Lacey household, he certainly didn't expect to leave as a man engaged to a long-time family friend! Yet while he never could have aspired to have her, Lady Abigail always ignited a forbidden longing in him. But Abigail has one condition—their marriage is to be void of passion or physical pleasures. Faced with a platonic marriage of convenience, Joseph is determined to embark on a sensuous adventure with only one goal: to seduce his new wife.

My Synopsis:

Nothing is worse for a woman than being left at the altar by a wayward fiancee, more so if she a Lady, the daughter of a Duke.  Lady Abigail is now the hot topic of the Ton, being pitied and laughed at.  Her callers have dropped like flies.  No one, it seems, wants a discarded woman.  Her brother, the present duke, wants to save her from further humiliation by marrying her off quickly and taken away from London.

Enter his childhood friend, church Rector Joseph Fox, whose visit quickly turns into a business deal.  Her dowry for his agreement to a marriage.  What the Duke doesn't know is that for many years, Joseph has had a special liking for Abigail.  He just never acknowledged it knowing very well that a simple man like him, albeit a landed man, can not hope to marry a woman of her stature. 

The impossible has happened and he gets his chance.  He happily marries Abigail hoping that in the end it would become a true love match.  But having been hurt and humiliated the way she was, Abigail has decided to fulfill her duties as a wife and no more.  But can she really hold her heart away from the husband who wants nothing more than make her his entire world?

My Review:

Loving historical romances the way I do, I expected much from this story and was not disappointed.  I loved the characters and the way the story developed.

Abigail, though strong, has been weakened by humiliation.  I like that despite her circumstances, she came off strong and independent enough for a woman in that period. 

Joseph is kind, dependable and very loving, the perfect match to Abigail.  His patience in wooing his wife is something else.
There is an extra twist to the story, a threat to Abigail's life, that makes the book more interesting. 

If you like historical romances, you may want to pick this up. I'm happy I did.