| Title | : | The Duchesss Next Husband |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0373293518 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780373293513 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2005 |
The Duchesss Next Husband Reviews
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The Duke and Duchess of Windmere have been married for 7 years and have a barren marriage. It is both physically barren (the Duchess has never gotten pregnant) and emotionally barren.
One day, overhearing his doctors talking about a terminal case, the Duke believes that he has less than a year to live. After indulging in self-pity and getting roaring drunk, he decides to set his will in order and make sure that his mother, his wife, and his mistress will be financially secure after his death. He gives his mistress her conge and generous parting gifts. He knows his mother, the Dowager Duchess, will always have her homes. However, he finds out that the Duchess would face an uncertain future if he dies without producing any issue.
When the Duke got drunk, the Duchess knew that something has happened. She follows him to their country estate in the hope that they might get closer as they used to be in the first year of their marriage when her husband was just the Second Son and not the Duke overwhelmed by the grandeur and rigid demands of his position after his older brother’s death.
The title of the novel is misleading. The Duchess’s next husband is never named altho the Duke does make up a laundry list of candidates. The book is less about the Duke looking for his replacement than it is about dealing with barrenness.
The barrenness is the symbol of their marriage. In the Prologue, you see the Duke in one of his weekly visits to the Duchess’s bed and it’s a clinical procedure with the Duke thinking of the Dukedom the whole time. As the Duke reaccesses his life and starts to fall for his wife, he begins to want pregnancy for her own sake. To me, this part was probably the most poignant part of the novel.
I love Troubled Marriage stories so enjoyed TDNH. This is my second Terri Brisbin after the medieval The King’s Mistress (a B- read) and I can see that Brisbin is unafraid to have far-from-perfect H/Hs in both books, which I applaud.
The thing I did not like was that there was nothing in the book anywhere that told me whether it was Regency period or Victorian. Also, I found the Duke rather on the dumb side and too easily manipulated by the Dowager Duchess, the villainess of the story. As a rule, I dont necessarily mind dumb H/Hs as long as they are equally matched in stupidity. (My favorite example of well-matched dum-dums is in Beast by Judith Ivory.) However, the Duchess was a bit smarter than the Duke. She knew something was up immediately and the Dowager had to work a lot harder to manipulate her. I couldnt help thinking their HEA was a bit dubious as long as the Dowager was in their lives.
So, am I ever gonna read another Terri Brisbin? That depends. If she does one with another of my favorite tropes, then Yes. Otherwise, No.
Series: Stand Alone (Yay!)
Sensuality: PG-13
Reason for Reading: a Send Me No Flowers (the Rock Hudson/Doris Day movie) set-up
Grade: B -
2.35*
I love a second chances story about an already married couple but this is disappointing on so many levels. Yes, many newish things in this HR but it's all mangled up.
*with spoilers* -
This was such a terrible book. Three hundred pages of truly coma inducing boring background narrative with NO romance. I mean zero romance. The interaction between the main characters is so ho hum, I seriously thought the romance was supposed to be about the man and his mistress, for whom it was said he felt passionately about. 300+ pages of descriptions about how barren and loveless the marriage is. No indication of how they ever fall in love. Seriously, skip this one. Terrible writing and this book managed such an amazing job of describing just how dull and lifeless their marriage was, that I now feel empty and barren myself. I suddenly feel the need to go get roaring drunk or weep like a baby.
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Protagonistas: Miranda & Adrian
Profesiones: Duque & Duquesa
Pais: Inglaterra -
Ok for a quick read. Manipulative bitch mother in law. Clueless negligent husband blinded by his title and expected duties. Easily cowed, manipulated wife, also blinded by the title and expected duties, and afraid to express her true desires and wishes. Complete lack of marital communication. Until he thought he was dying. That forces him to take stock, and forces them out of their mundane and expected routines. Finally they connect, talk, see each other for who they are, and start to have a decent relationship. Then cue the bitch mother in law again...
Toss in some good friends, stir in some quack medicine, especially by men whose opinions are more for sale, than ethical...
Story redeemed by an ardent apology on his side (though she forgave him too quickly). But the bitch needs to die, preferably choking on her own lonely bitterness and jealousy. Or at least suffer bloody, pustulent, grangrenous boils on her privates forevermore. -
This is not one of this author's best books. In fact, this one was a challenge to get through. Miranda Warfield is married a second son of a Duke and shortly after her marriage to Aidan Warfield became the Duchess of Windmere. That is when, following the advice of the mother-in-law, their marriage went dull and lifeless because it wasn't fashionable to show emotion to one another. And so he has a mistress and she's seemingly barren and the sex is absolutely awful (and scheduled weekly). Then he discovers that he's dying and suddenly things begin to change.
This book has a weird structure - in which the relationship climax (no pun intended) occurs at about the 30-50% mark and then it takes the rest of the book to wrap up the frickin' relationship. 150+ pages of little misunderstandings, him lying to her and their inability to conceive - oh and fade to black love scenes, because their physical relationship was no longer important. It was rather boring. And I didn't care for the characters that much. Miranda is a doormat who has to get drunk in order to express herself. Adrian is a boring sop who is too idiotic to take decent advice - repeatedly, no matter how good that advice proves to be. I did appreciate how everything tied together in the end So I'd skip this one and try a different book by this author if you're determined to read her. -
This book was great and the story was really well written. The only reason I didn't give it four stars was because I really wanted to hear more about their courtship and first few years together. The author mentions that they used to be happy, but that is really all she says. Did they used to love each other? How did things get this bad? Didn't they see this coming? Tell me!! There is hardly any mention of their past or any sweet stories about their meeting.
Even worse is the fact that Adrian has a mistress....that's not ok!! I read romance for the happy-happy-joy-joy, not to hear that the "hero" is an adulterer! -
Lulu' - per RFS
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Fenici, a me!!! Rullo di tamburi!!! Questo romanzo fa per voi! Voi che, come me, non vi accontentate mai del finale e vorreste andare oltre il “vissero felici e contenti”. Sì, perché finalmente Terri Brisbin ci racconta cosa c’è dopo la dura caccia al pollo… ehm, marito; ma soprattutto, ci svela quanto succede fra le mura di casa quando la palpitante fanciulla ha ottenuto l’anello al dito e cosa l’aspetta dopo che si è aggiudicata uomo e titolo.
Non dovete perdervi Il segreto del duca, basato su un equivoco iniziale. Ma… non aveva avuto lo stesso incidente Brenda in Beverly Hills 90210? Ehm, come non detto!
Tornando a noi, dopo uno dei più classici fraintendimenti, il Duca di Windmere è costretto a rivedere un po’ la sua vita. Ha sposato la bella Miranda, ma non gli ha ancora dato il sospirato erede, inoltre ha un’amante come ton consiglia. Matrimonio ed esistenza sono volti anima e corpo al dovere, onere a cui ha piegato anche la Duchessa e che, inevitabilmente, li ha condotti a un rapporto coniugale di facciata e solitudini, sino a renderli due sconosciuti che abitano sotto lo stesso tetto.
Eppure, il fato ha qualcosa di diverso in serbo per loro: una serie di eventi inattesi e un amico fidato riaccenderanno la fiamma fra le loro Grazie. Fiamma che avvamperà, illuminando una relazione ancora possibile e che troppo a lungo si sono negati. Così, mentre il termometro dell’eros sale vertiginosamente e i corpi si fondono, gli animi iniziano a riscoprirsi lì dove l’amore li aveva fatti incontrare e il dovere dividere.
Adoro questo romanzo per come ha reso avvincente e palpitante la rinascita del sentimento.
Ho amato Miranda almeno quanto ho odiato sua suocera, con gli incontri obbligatori dopo le visite coniugali del marito, manco sul viso della poveretta potessero apparire le due strisce rosa del lieto evento! Con lei mi sono infuriata e mi sono innamorata, ho sperato e goduto. Che gioia quando, finalmente, la vecchia megera e la sua simpatia sono state invitate a rimaner relegate nel loro palazzo, lontano dalla Duchessa!
Insomma, mie care, un romanzo intenso e delicato, qualcosa che fa battere il cuore e sorridere. Una lettura che non posso che consigliarvi, sbirciando un po’ oltre la stagione che ormai è stata declinata in tutte le salse. -
leído en Mayo 2013
Me encantó esta historia, los personajes, la trama... todo... tengo buenos recuerdos de este libro!! -
3.5 stars *sighs*
Poor Miranda. Adrian wasn't a bad person at all but he made mistakes... -
This book was basically a combination of all things I don't like in a romance novel - mistaken assumptions that don't get challenged until the conclusion, a doormat female, and an overbearing male. I actually really loved how all the mistaken assumptions were tied together at the end by the dowager, in order to play the hero/heroine against each other, but otherwise I didn't really enjoy this book.
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Me había olvidado de este libro. Lo leí have algunos años y esta segunda vez me pareció igual de romántico. Este libro es la definición de romanticismo. Lo recomiendo mucho. Sus protagonistas son muy dulces, ambos. La historia te atrapa con un muy buen gancho desde el principio. Es una historia particular; me he leído muchos otros libros históricos y pocos tienen este tema.
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Uno más a la lista de los más... horribles protagonistas, por sus acciones humillantes hacia la protagonista, es de aquellos que deben sufrir mucho para reparar el daño causado, pero no, son fácilmente perdonados y olvidado todo el dolor causado... pufffff :O :O :# :#
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I was so hoping the ‘hero’ died so she could marry a man who would never treat her the way the Duke had treated her. I hated this book and the HEA was too far fetched to believe.
The author really hated Miranda, huh? And the ‘hero’ was such a weak-willed man, it was embarrassing. -
Good romance novel, a bit more explicit than I would generally choose to read.
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Cute story. I liked it much better than I thought I would based on the back of the book.
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Me ha resultado un libro muy curioso porque pocos libros he leido que los protagonistas lleven siete años casados.
Adrian no me gusta... eso de que haya hecho todo lo que le ha dicho su madre, hasta echarse una amante, pues no me ha gustado nada de nada... si no llega a pensar que iba a morirse no hubiera cambiado su forma de vida, y eso no me gusta
En cambio Miranda me ha encantado, porque se enfrenta a todo y por mucho que la duquesa viuda la haya hecho, ella sigue en pie
Mi nota 7 -
I absolutely love this novel! I've read it a number of times, and each time I'm reminded of how much I love it. The horrible position Miranda finds herself after a fluke causes her husband to become a Duke. Too swept up in propriety their marriage falls to the wayside and with no children and the possible upcoming death of the Duke it becomes imperative that things change. And they do, drastically. Never able to really get to know eachother, they discover each other as if it's the first time all over again. A wonderful and at the same time cautionary tale of the era, where marriages were arrangements and happiness came at a price.
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Gostei da mocinha, ela deveria dar um pé na bunda do mocinho e ficar com o Parker!
Mocinho é um imbecil que mantém uma amante e a mocinha só serve pra ele tentar procriar, pois o prazer ele busca e proporciona para a tal amante.
A mocinha tem personalidade e é apaixonada pelo imbecíl.
A sogra é uma megera.
A melhor amiga da mocinha é ótima.
O melhor amigo do mocinho, Parker, é tudo de bom!!!
Ela perdoa muito fácil... -
Imposible no encariñarse con los protagonistas, él tan humano con sus ataques de asma y ella deseando ser la perfecta esposa para él...
Después de un prólogo algo inusual, me sorprendí queriendo leerla de corridito, aunque no me fue posible... porque el tiempo siempre tan engorroso se me escapaba de las manos.
Creo que no había leído nada de Terri Brisbin y me dejó con ganas de seguir leyéndola. -
this was a totally new storyline for me, and i struggled a bit at first to "like" these two. but it was worth the struggle, this story, and i'm happy to say that after initially wanting to throttle adrian, i grew to really like him. definitely a keeper.
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Great story of a couple that has grown apart falling in love again.
It is definitely a bit spicier than some Regencies of this era. -
3.7
