Cursed & Cherished: The Duke's Wilful Wife

Edmond Dunsworth, the Duke of Cromwell was introduced to us in the first book in this series, Forgotten and Remembered. Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone, however it does help if the books are read in order. Edmond, the easy-going, smiling Duke who is used to smoothing trouble waters for his friends, suddenly finds himself desperately in need of a huge amount of funds and the only way he can fix the problem is to marry money as soon as possible. He is directed to Mr Hanford and he makes an offer for Anna, even though everyone has told him that her sister would make a more suitable wife. Anna agrees to marry Edmond on her terms, but she comes into the marriage with an attitude that made her a most disagreeable person. Unfortunately, her resentment to the marriage is fuelled by a bitter friend and it is only when Anna begins to see her husband in his true light, that she realises that her stubbornness is robbing her of a blessing. Anna subconsciously knows that there is a riddle to be solved, because the facts in her life are not adding up. Being inquisitive of mind, she starts her own investigation and wishes that she had left well alone. Secrets are exposed and when the truth finally comes out, Anna's worst fear is that the man she didn't want to marry, would reject her after all. The book started off slowly and I didn't particularly enjoy Anna's rants. Fortunately Edmond's good nature couldn't be suppressed and when he started seeing the "warrior woman" in his wife, he began to appreciate not only her strong-mindedness, but also her intelligence. The language in this book runs smoothly and is easy to read and it came to a happy conclusion. I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.