Review: A Duchess in Distress

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Lady Octavia Lambert has a crucial problem; she is on her third season and yet to find a suitor. As her father wants to save her from a life of spinsterhood, he makes the decision to betroth her to the repulsive and much older Duke of Gillingham. What Octavia would never expect is that when she steps in the Duke’s manor, she would find love in the eyes of Patrick Tremont, son of her new husband.

Will Octavia find the way to escape a miserable life and let the light of a new, warm love brighten up her future?

Patrick Tremont-Ramsbury, Marquess of Westcastle, has never forgiven his father for remarrying so soon after his mother's death. Now that his father has remarried for the third time, he is determined to dislike the new Duchess of Gillingham. Little did he know that when he meets the sweet and caring young woman, he will find himself smitten with her presence. Will Patrick ever dare to dream of a life with Octavia? Will he find the courage to confront his father for the sake of love?

Two souls that want more than anything to make their two worlds one despite meeting under the most unorthodox circumstances…

As time passes, Octavia and Patrick find solace in each other and realise nothing could make them happier than being together. However, they both know that they will have to make sacrifices to keep their love alive. To make things even more complicated, Octavia needs to unveil the true face of a deceptive figure residing in the manor… Can Octavia and Patrick find their happily-ever-after in the midst of all this chaos? Or will they realise that that their love will cause more hurt than it's worth?

Genre: historical romance

Publication date: May 2022

Mature content: no

Review: A Duchess in Distress was the first book I read by Bridget Barton, and I have to confess I'm a bit on the fence about it. There were parts of it I really loved, but I believe the story failed to deliver what the synopsis promised. 

I was expecting some sort of romance between Octavia and Patrick (obviously once her husband is deceased), but there is none. The story practically jumps from the day she becomes a widow to the day of their marriage, with nothing of substance in between. Taking into account that they had little interaction prior to that and in most of the ones they did have, Patrick behaves abominably towards Octavia (both before and during the period she's his stepmother), I have no idea how they could have fallen in love. 

Also, the plot is a bit repetitive in places, going through things we have already been told pages before as if they were something new, and some details are thrown into the plot never to be followed up afterwards.

Overall, none of the characters impressed me. I did read it until the end in hopes of discovering the great Octavia/Patrick romance and even that one is, as I said above, sorely missing...The happily ever after is cute and heartwarming, though, but nothing stands out that would make me actively recommend this book.

Happy readings otherwise!

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