An Unusual Bride for the Beastly Duke

by Emma Linfield

"For who could ever learn to love a beast?"

The ton, Lady Olivia Fraser quickly learns, is harsher to those that deserve it least.

With her marriage prospects looking bleak after her betrothed left her on their wedding day, she has resigned herself to a life of spinsterhood. Until the day her father announces she is to marry a Duke. And not just any Duke…

With a facial deformity and a proverbial curse looming over his family, Vincent Price, Duke of Kingham, is notorious for being as cold as the castle he isolates himself in. Left to handle his late father’s debts, marrying a rich heiress seems to be the only option. Until the day he meets Lady Olivia.

As Olivia takes it upon herself to transform the dreary castle, her smiles thaw the ice around Vincent’s heart.

When Olivia falls mysteriously ill, Vincent is certain the perpetrator is not the Kingham curse but one of flesh and blood. His worst nightmare becomes reality when, still sick, Olivia disappears. And his only clue to her whereabouts is a trail of torn clothes and broken jewelry…

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Regency

407 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 9, 2020

About the author

Emma Linfield has always been passionate about historical romances. Ever fascinated with the world of Regency England and being utmost inspired by Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s work, she decided she wanted to write her own stories. Stories of love and tradition being mixed in the most appealing way for every hopeless romantic, much like herself.

Born and raised in Southern California, Emma Linfield has a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature, and she has been working as a freelance writer for the past 10 years. When she isn’t writing, Emma loves spending her time with her own prince charming and two beautiful children, all the while enjoying the famous Californian sun and ocean.

So, hop on to this exciting journey of Dukes, Earls and true love with Emma and find pleasure in the old fashioned world of Regency - an Era of pure romance, elegance and high fashion!

(Source: Official Website)

Reviews

[Cat Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

Juvenile

Poor writing style. Tried to sound too fancy but sounded silly instead. One of my favorite tropes - scarred dark bitter cruel duke saved by his woman’s love. But this duke gave in too fast and went too far in the other direction as too infatuated too soon. And the “heroine” (hate to dignify her with that title) was a weenie. She was left at the altar so she becomes a hermit obsessed with being jilted for 2 years. Worse than Mrs Havisham. And my god what did she do with herself every day for 2 years in the country? She never even walked farther than the manor property. Yet she develops a backbone when she is married unwillingly to the scary duke and shipped off with him to the hinterlands? And after never having done anything, we are to believe that she personally along with her maid and housekeeper cleaned the old dusty musty living area of the castle until it sparkled, all in 3 days, and even got red and rough hands doing it? Get real. Had to force myself to read the last third of the book. Speed reading rather than savoring. I have to stop this review although I could go on. And on. I’m afraid I’ll get the reputation of being the bitchy reviewer. I guess I need to write reviews about the books I do like, but it’s the bad ones that motivate me. I’ve never read this author’s works but to be fair I’ll read one more to give her another chance. Oh. And there was NO sex. Barely any kissing. Booooo.

[TheMadHatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars

I am a sucker for Beauty and the Beast re-tellings so was excited to pick this up in a kindle sale.

While I thought the re-telling twist was good (regency romance where the leading male character is scared in the war), I didn't gel with the storytelling/dialogue/pacing.
Things just jumped from terse words to instalove with absolutely no justification. The whole "cursed family" was a bit cheesy and the leading lady was incredibly dense. Yes, let me drink this concoction that was left for me with herbs that I have never seen before and yes, let me have a second glass. Then she is shocked she is poisoned?

We all have a style that we like, especially with romance books, unfortunately this one was not my style. Not a bad read - just not a read for me.

Reading Challenge
Aussie Readers 2022 COVID Challenge: read books with titles that spell out Outbreak (U = Unusual)

[BJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairy tale retelling with introverted h, becoming even more so after being jilted. Her 'loving' father arranges MOC and she sees the H for the first time at the alter. He does absolutely nothing to make her feel welcome in his home, he really is beastly to her. It was rather unconscious on his part, because he is so self absorbed, and she had no real fight in her, just meekly accepted it. The story improved once they actually started to talk. I thought it would suit teen and 'sweet' romance audience. Not me, the jilting was never resolved, no tension between the H and h, and I found it hard to like either of them.

[Annette Drewett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful tale of Beauty and the Beast! This is a well-developed storyline with strong characters and some twist and turns that you won’t expect. Danger, intrigue, mystery and romance fill the pages of this book and urge you to keep reading to discover the answers. Can Vincent and Olivia overcome their troubles and reach for their happy ever after, or will circumstances get in their way? I enjoyed this book.

[Phylis Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartache and finding a lasting love

This was one of those books that I kept telling myself one more page. A remarkable story that touches the heart with fear, betrayal, deceit, lies, and heartache and finding a lasting love.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/12/2020)! 🎁

[Maria]

FREE today (May 13, 2020) on Amazon.

[antropy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, the energy I have taken to write this isn’t because this book is particularly bad, note the rating, it’s just that I’m in the mood to make observations. IOW it’s not the book, it’s me.

This book attempts to execute a number of basic tropes, including “bride with ‘jilted at the altar’ backstory,” “bride forced to marry hero by parents concerned she will remain a spinster,” “reclusive disfigured hero,” “Peninsular war hero with PTSD,” “villain with an anonymized POV used to create mystery as to identity,” “hero who lost many family members and thinks the legend of a family curse is real,” “hero witnessed traumatic death of a loved one for whom he felt responsible,” “heroine harmed in a manner which incapacitates her for several days providing hero opportunity to appreciate her more,” (that last one twice!), and much much more. That’s a lot, and tbqh, it could be managed. Here it wasn’t.

You will note that all but three of these - POV villain, forced marriage, and heroine in a semi-coma - are backstory. Never good to load them up with that much backstory, especially when you really don’t have much front story in mind. H/h take too long to meet, but in sheer % terms it wasn’t egregious, just felt that way because h was overloaded with irrelevant interactions with minor characters. In addition, author seems no more interested in H/h and their interaction than she does in h’s parents, who for some reason (are they a couple from an earlier book by this author? I have no idea, but it felt like that sort of authorial indulgence) keep getting POVs that are impossible to care about, or than she seems in h’s strange best friend/maid (yes same person) with a way of speaking that indicates her low social class, or in H’s interaction with his manservant, or any of many side characters that both H and h interact with more than each other for the first half of this book.

This observation sums it up: remember how the heroine was incapacitated twice? At the 60% mark, most of H/h’s actual time spent in the same room *was while she was unconscious from these events*.

I think this is because she was bored with them as they lacked chemistry, but that’s kind of unfair since she makes so many choices that make it impossible for them to have any. Y’all, they have to be together to spark, and when they’re apart they have to think about each other. Show me the limerence. And when you have a forced marriage between strangers, UNLESS they are Fitz and Millie from Ravishing the Heiress*, you must sprinkle qualities, characteristics, and interactions, that indicate to the reader that had they met under different circumstances, they would’ve been drawn to one another anyway**, and reflections from H/h about same.

* in which it is clear and realistic that 19yo and a 16yo strangers forced to marry would take a very long time to reach this point (beyond “hey he’s hot” at least) because the author realizes that teenagers are still forming who they will become and are largely just possibilties, and it’s not so much that they grew to *love* one another as it is they grew *with* one another, and because of that they became adults who could not imagine being with anyone else. They are perfect for one another not because they started out that way, but because they ended up that way. To paraphrase the author, the love of your life is the person with whom you build your life. Millie’s mom was right about having a garden, building things together. This is LOVE, not limerence. This is a marriage that lasts. Brb re-reading this book lol.

** exception is when H/h is someone the other would simply never have otherwise considered at all, thus would never have had the opportunity to do so. Bet Me does a good job thinking through this, with the explanation that people make assumptions about the sort of person they’re supposed to be with that mean that they just never interact with the sort of person the other party is.

[Elizabeth Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was a variation on the theme of Beauty & the Beast, a story I happen to love. Of course, the author threw in a bit of a mystery with someone out to get Vincent, determined to use Olivia to hurt him. All of the clues were there, so it wasn't a total shock, but it was a little too far-fetched for me. The lengths this person would go to seek vengeance for something he didn't experience firsthand were hard to believe. The scheming and planning were extreme.

There were some wonderful descriptions in the book. Battle scenes were so well-described, I felt nauseated. There’s an evocative description of rain at Vincent’s home near the beginning that was divine, even using personification for the building with “hollow eyes” and the “open-mouthed statues” with “silent screams directed upward to a god who had all but abandoned this place.” Some of the depictions of the rooks in the abandoned parts of his home were equally note-worthy. Olivia’s impression of her cold and somber new home upon her arrival in the darkness was also exceptional, the light casting “startling shadows upon the floor, almost sentient in their movements,” and darkened doorways reaching out “like clawing hands.”

The book is not without its problems, which is why I’m only giving it 4 stars. It went on too long and I found myself begrudgingly reading after I felt it should have ended. A few times, the narrative veered too much into the realm of being didactic and I felt as if the author stopped just short of saying, “The moral of the story is…” If a story has been told well (and, in this case, I felt it had been), telling the reader the moral of the story is both unnecessary and insulting. Additionally, generally, I’m in favor of epilogues, but I seldom see the need for extended epilogues. At that point, it seems like the author is either trying to pad the word count or just doesn’t know how to tie up loose ends by the end of the actual story. Perhaps this is a requirement of being a part of Cobalt Fairy publishing, since it seems to happen consistently with these authors, but I don’t like it. Overall, however, I appreciated the book and the inconsistencies were insignificant compared to my enjoyment.

[Space Cowgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

 Is it the Kingham Curse💔?

Regency Era Romance💕 and Mystery🔪🔫
The first third of this book is sad and grim. Vincent🐺Kingham, the Duke of Ilderton, has seen nothing but sadness and grief in his adult life. He was from a family of seven, with three older brothers and a younger sister. They are all gone, dead. His sister's tragic fall from the Scottish castle's🏰 turret roof trying to save her 🐱kitten in a storm, haunts him most every 🌙night in his nightmares. The rest of his nightmares consist of horrible battles💣🔥🔪🔫 against the French, when he is severely injured🔪 and loses his eye, among other grave injuries.

He feels as if his life has been cursed, and he has been spared death in order to be an unwilling witness for the future. He locks himself away in the huge dark Ilderton castle🏰, as it slowly crumbles down around him.

Olivia💃💋 is the daughter of an English Earl, her tragedy of literally being left at the altar👰 by her betrothed causes her to retreat into herself. The family of her once betrothed spread rumors among society, and put the blame on her. Three years later, at 25, her mother talks her into going to a ball, but it all is stirred up again. She will never find a husband, and has resigned herself to bring a sad, unhappy spinster.

Her father knows she must marry👰, as she only has one brother to inherit, and he has taken himself into the war with France, too. Not knowing if his son will survive, her father does what he must to insure Olivia's future. He makes a business deal with the Duke🐺. Vincent will marry Olivia👰 in exchange for her huge dowry💰. He can certainly use the 💰money to repair the castle🏰.
But how can two broken lives💔 ever be repaired? How can two reclusive strangers even find enough friendship to tolerate each other? Vincent🐺 has no expectations of an heir, he doesn't even know if Olivia💃💔 can even come to stand the sight of him.

All this sorrow and the horror of war🔫🔪💣🔥 takes up the first third of the book.

ARC Provided by Bookfunnel🌀
I also got this ebook with KU.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

ONE NAILBITING BLOCK BUSTER!!!
Ah snap! Emma unleashes this incredibly compelling, flawlessly composed delectable treat, laying out one thrilling storyline and gripping plot, wrapping this baby up sleek, shiny and tight. One heart pounding, pulse racing, adrenaline pumping, nailbiting, page flipping, block busting bombshell, propels this gem to a whole new level. Satisfaction rocks this jewel, bringing it home with such intensity and precision, riding roughshod and delivering one chart topping delight. Braided, bound and entangled, displaying the explosive ups and agonizing downs, grounding in it's strength and awe inspiring in it's depth. Anarchy, escapades and havoc run amuck, booting this gem into a tempest, bursting it into a frenzy with an life-changing culmination. Rolling with the drama intrigue turmoil underlying threats abduction danger spiraling suspense and precarious situations along with a boatload of determination, you have one mind-blowing masterpiece. The attraction and chemistry builds as each layer is peeled back exposing an undeniable connection, binding them to one another perfectly. The characters, banter, dialogue, interactions and charged atmosphere along with relatable qualities and individual traits, blend and flow, transforming into genuine charismatic personalities. The scenes are written with such realism, impressive talent and unique insight, blasts this sparkling jewel to life, making the storyline pop. Awesome job Emma, thanks for sharing this little treasure with us.

[Jeanie's Kindle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feared this might be a rewrite of Beauty and the Beast, fortunately it was not.
Lady Olivia was about to marry but upon her arrival at the church, she found the groom had fled. Through no fault of her own, she is ruined. She will be scorned by society.
Duke Vincent is a fourth son. He never planned to become a duke. He was a captain in the cavalry. He was seriously injured trying to save a young soldier he had befriended. His wounds were severe and many were facial. He lost the sight in one eye. His entire family was gone. The author only tells of the death of his young sister ( she tells this repeatedly).
After two years of being slighted at every social event, no one offers for Olivia's hand. No one even asks Olivia to dance. Her brother is a soldier and her father begins to fear for the future for her and her mother. In the event of his death, he wants to ensure they are cared for. Their estate is entailed and will go to a cousin who he is not sure will not sure will not turn his wife and daughter out with nothing. He needs to secure their fortunes. Olivia needs to marry.
Duke Vincent has become a recluse due to his facial scaring. He has become known as "the gargoyle".. Olivia 's father arranges a marriage between the two as a business arraignment.

[Joan Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!

Words can not express what a beautiful love story this was. The story had a Beauty and the Beast type theme with a Duke named Vincent who was injured during the war and came back with facial and body scars. Vincent was such a wounded soul and had suffered so much tragedy and loss in his life that he refused to love again for fear of losing that person too. Vincent had erected up walls and if not for a death bed promise to his Father to rebuild their family estate, he would not have gotten married at all. Olivia had been jilted at the alter and her reputation was in ruins through no fault of her own so her father arranged a marriage with the Duke to try and give his precious daughter some happiness. It was tough going between these two wounded souls who both were so deserving to be loved. There was a bit of intrigue as well that added to the story. This was a clean romance with no sex scenes and only some kissing. I usually like my romances with a lot more spice but this one kept me interested throughout. Thumbs up! I highly recommend it!

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This book has everything and kept me up reading 'til late at night more than once! A sweet young lady looking forward to her wedding only to be jilted and then for years later ostracized by society's "ton", and a brave Duke who nearly lost his life on the battlefield while attempting to save another's life (which left him badly scarred and disfigured), having lost his entire family & believing in the family curse. Both are harmed by idle gossip until a match is made--sight unseen--for marriage. It was rough going initially, but through a series of incidents and attempted murder (or is it?), they come together and a HEA is imminent. Right when I thought I had it all figured out, the suspenseful romance turns a corner, and the fast-paced mystery accelerates. LOVED this clean suspenseful regency romance, and I highly recommend it. I received a complimentary ARC of this book and have voluntarily given my honest opinion.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story.
The details of the wedding prepartions , the jilting of our fair miss...her rejection from society all could well have occured...

Our hero, his self imposed seclusion at his family home, the disfigurement to his person and the pain of all he had endured ,truly were such poignant and heartwrenching emotions that i have no doubt that this man could have done as was written in these pages.




I could truly believe the characters written , the dilemmas they each found themselves in abd the measures taken by our leading lady 's parents to ensure her wellbeing in the event of her parents (, namely her father ) death(s).
I thought the backdrop for both our hero and heroine were extremely possible. Her , being jilted on her wedding day...him ,trauma both physical and emotional from war, were very believable .
Well done , Miss Emma!

[isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a nice and quick read. The plot is good and I loved the flow of the events. The character development between characters I loved as well. Though to me it felt like when Olivia finally realized she was falling in love with Vincent it just kind of happened. Before this book I finished reading “The Duke I thought I knew” also by Emma Linfield. There were a lot of parallels between the two actually, but Clayton and Anastasia’s relationship made more sense. You actually saw their relationship grow instead of just throwing it in there. I knew Olivia and Vincent would eventually love each other but I felt like they really had no steady romantic development and it was just all of a sudden love. Besides that though the book was an enjoyable read and I love how much they care for each other <3.

[Laura Veltkamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilariously unbelievable

Funniest book I've read that I'm quite sure was not intended to be humorous. So three stars because I've never laughed so hard in my life. Factual blunders were a few, among them earls younger sons being called lord first name, they're an honorable. So frustrating when so easily a rectifiable a mistake like this is made, so was impossible to take it seriously. And then the shaking hands with staff and the unlikely friendships with the servants. And the cockney accent of the maid, upper maids wanting to get ahead were encouraged to mimic the higher classes. And then the drama and histrionics at every turn, combined with the weather being in direct correlation with the protagonists moods, and the very unbelievable plot line, weak inconsistent characters... I could go on. If you have a sense of humour it's great for a laugh. Beyond that, not much.

[Dawn Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one fantastic story that captured me from the prologue, Emma Linfield has written a story that has heartbreak, danger, mystery, and love. The characters are well developed and so darn easy to fall for.
Lady Olivia is a young woman who was left at the alter and has only suffered from the harsh gossip, until her parents announce she is to marry a Duke. Vincent Price Duke of Kingham is a man who has guilt and nightmares he is said to be a cold and ruthless man, he is now to marry Lady Olivia. This is just the start of a great storyline that will have you hooked and turning the pages has quickly as you can to see what waits around the next corner. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

[Jan Crenshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma Linfield has a command of words that holds your interest

Emma Linfield has a command of words that holds your interest without explicit sexual exploits needed or desired. This story had many exciting plots which developed easily and kept the reader keeping their wits on edge and engaged. One of the major attractions to me with any novel is when the author is confident & talented enough to lead the reader to discover the plot themself and not spoon feed every detail !

[Diane Horne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Unusual for the Beastly Duke By Emma Linfield, Cobalt Fairy

Four stars, cute story, both Olivia who came from a good home but jilted on her wedding day, during that time she was considered ruin .. Then the Duke Vincent was scarred, and carried lots of baggage. .. They got married, she went through a lot with him and whoever was trying to hurt her.. But love prevails and it ends happily.

[Carol Guthrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the author's creativity in finding a way to re-write Beauty and the Beast. This rendition portrays a wounded man who has mostly given up on life, a beauty who is unwanted among her peers, and an antagonist who creeps the reader out. I am still unsettled by who the evil man turned out to be, as well as his reasoning. I would give the book a four-star rating if it didn't have so much filler.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Beast was not so beastly

This is a great read wonderful characters , a Duke who is scared inside and out and afraid if he loves
Anyone's only death will follow them. But one young lady will see the real man behind the scars, and the pain he lives with. And he will
Discover a remarkable young lady
Behind the fear and pain she too lives with.
Thank you❤

[Catherine Tijerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma wrote a good storyline. Vincent and Olivia are brought together by unfortunate circumstances. There is mystery and romance. Will they find their HEA? I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a good read. I received this ARC in exchange for a voluntary honest review which I have freely written here

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Gothic Romance

True Gothic romance including a crumbling castle, ghosts of the past, a haunted Duke, and sinister suspect. The Author creates a perfect backdrop for Olivia and the Hero. The dialogue runs smoothly and characters have depth. While characters develop, it is logical. Excellent book.

[Mary Malko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read

I expected this book just to be another average regency read but was surprised to find a an enjoyable mystery romance that captured my interest. My only criticism would be that i would have liked to know a little more of Henry and a little more about Samson's background

[Gerri Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read an historical romance in awhile but I enjoyed this one. It's full of anger, loneliness and suspense. Vincent is a badly scarred ex-soldier who is convinced he is bad luck and Maggie thinks she is bad luck and no one would want to marry her.

[Vicky Jones]

A beautiful gargoyle

Horrible beginning. My heart ached for Vincent and his bride. Even though I had guessed the identity and true identity of the villain the ending went well. The extended epilogue was the cherry on top.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love prevails

War wounds have left many men scared inside and out. How cruel society could be. While a man seeking revenge hides among them, the Duke and his wife are in great danger. Love begins to develop and a chance of happiness..

[Noma Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! Both the man and woman think they are unloveable because of past happenings. Then they marry and find out different. There is a mystery they are trying to solve! I recommend this book to romance readers who like a little mystery thrown in!

[Kathy Parish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly pleasant take on the classic “Beauty and the Beast” story. Well developed characters and plot line. Nice plot twists and the expected fairy tale ending. I thoroughly enjoyed as an escape from day to day stress.