Book Review: Loving Lord Ash

Author: Sally McKenzie

Publication Date: March 4, 2014

Publisher: Zebra

Series: Duchess of Love #3

A Little Misunderstanding. . .

Kit, the Marquis of Ashton, is in a sticky wicket. He married young and for love—how naïve. He discovered his mistake the very day of his wedding, but he is saddled now with a wife he's reluctant to trust. And however much evidence he gathers against faithless Jess, he can't seem to prove her guilt to the final judge—his foolish heart.

Jessica knows she's bobbled her marriage, however innocently. A fairytale wedding makes no difference if she hasn't got the marquis charmed to show for it. Well, she's had enough of accidental encounters with naked gentlemen and near misses explaining things to her husband. It's time to buck up and go win her man back—even if she has to fight very dirty indeed.

My favorite quotes from this book are some of the notes that appear before each new chapter. They are from what is supposed to be Venus’s, the Duchess of Love, Love Notes.

Fear is rarely a good companion.

The angrier the man, the more desperate his love.

In love, expect the unexpected.

But sometimes you will want to keep his family at arm’s length.

Your family will always discover your secrets.

If you pry, you’ll see things you’ll wish you hadn’t.

This series has held my attention from the very first book, Bedding Lord Ned. So far I have read each of the new releases in the series in one sitting. This book was no different, and I have been dying to read Lord Ash’s story. In this third edition to the series we are presented with the Marquis of Ashton’s story; he has moved back home with large, sometimes overbearing, family and left his wife, whom he no longer trusts, at their manor house. Granted, he has been in love with this woman, Jess, since they were only children, but after finding her in the arms of another man, he knew that he could no longer be around her. However, his life is progressing forward and he has yet to sire an heir. He goes home, hoping to reconcile with her, but finds her with another man yet again. What will be the fate of Jess and Lord Ash?

Following the sons of the Duchess of Love on their wild goose chases towards love has been a blast, and I must say that I was mostly looking forward to Lord Ash’s story. I liked that Sally McKenzie went out of order with her sons. This is odd for a series like this, but was appreciated and even built up some suspense for me. The first book started with her second son, then to her youngest, and the last book wrapped it up with her oldest son, Kit. I cannot say which one I like the best, but I will say that Lord Ash’s story was a thrilling end to this series, and his character was definitely worth the wait. In some ways he was everything I expected him to be, and in others he was a total surprise. Neither was a bad thing!

As I mentioned before, I am never able to put these books down. The same is true with this one. These books never fail to make me laugh. The Duchess of Love always has something up her sleeves and the moments shared between her and any character are to die for. All of the other main characters are just as wonderful as well; they get themselves into all kinds of mayhem and mix-ups. I am forever indebted to Sally McKenzie because of the joy her books always bring!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Zebra Books in exchange for my honest review***