"The Duke's Perfect Wife" By: Jennifer Ashley Review

"The Duke's Perfect Wife" 

By: Jennifer Ashley

Synopsis from Amazon:

     Lady Eleanor Ramsay is the only one who knows the truth about Hart Mackenzie. Once his fiancee, she is the sole woman to whom he could ever pour out his heart. 
     Hart has it all--a dukedom, wealth, power, influence, whatever he desires. Every woman wants him--his seductive skills are legendary. But Hart has sacrificed much to keep his brothers safe, first from their brutal father, and then from the world. He's also suffered loss--his wife, his infant son, and the woman he loved with all his heart though he realized it too late. 
     Now, Eleanor has reappeared on Hart's doorstep, with scandalous nude photographs of Hart taken long ago. Intrigued by the challenge in her blue eyes--and aroused by her charming, no-nonsense determination--Hart wonders if his young love has come to ruin him . . . or save him. 

My Thoughts:
       Have you ever had a secret? A secret place to eat or that special place to go when your feeling stressed that no one knows about and you want to keep to yourself? Jennifer Ashley is my secret. You don't hear her name mentioned much in the historical romance field of authors, yet she is one of the best writing today and I love to share her amazing books with my friends. "The Duke's Perfect Wife" is the fourth book in the Highland Pleasures series and features the fourth and final Mackenzie brother, Hart and his long lost love Eleanor. Seriously, one of my favorite books this Spring and I'm buying copies to give to everyone!
       Hart is the Duke of the family and has long since been known for being a manipulator. Even from the beginning of the series, Hart has earned the ire of his brothers by thinking he knows what is best for them. Hart is on the cusp of being elected the Prime Minister of England. It isn't until Eleanor, a woman he had previously been engaged to during his twenties, shows up on his doorstep with nude pictures of him that he realizes that he may not have everything as well figured out as he could.
      Eleanor is down on her luck, poor, living with her father in Scotland and has no prospects for the future on the horizon. When she receives nude photos of her ex-fiancee, she realizes this may be her chance to save her own little family. She packs up her Father and moves to London in the hopes that Hart will take her in and allow her to investigate the matter of who is sending the photos and why.
     I love romances where the characters have a shared past. I don't know why, but I really enjoy the period of learning who they are now as opposed to who they were then. Hart and Eleanor have a complicated past, made even richer by the involvement of the Mackenzie family and Hart's secrets. The story is rich in sensuality, shared experiences, and character growth.
      Without a doubt, Jennifer Ashley's "The Duke's Perfect Wife" is one of my favorite romances of the year. I loved Hart and had been waiting for his happily ever after a long while now. (To those that have read this series, Ian may be my favorite with Hart a close second!) Eleanor was feisty and driven, yet I found her realistic and pretty bad ass.  I devoured the book in less than 4 hours in one night and I can't wait for the next installment featuring a cousin. Write more Ms. Ashley, we can't wait! :)

Book Details

Publisher: Berkley

Date of Publication: April 3, 2012

# of Pages: 320

ISBN: 978-0425247105