LAST DUKE STANDING

A crown princess must find a worthy husband, but no candidate is as tantalizing as the man least suitable for the job.

Crown Princess Justine of Wesloria is heartbroken: Not only is she recovering from an international scandal caused by a previous misalliance, but she's also forced to accept the prospect of losing her father, whose health is steadily deteriorating. She needs to get married and swiftly prepare herself to rule a small but prosperous nation. Prodded by Dante Robuchard, the Machiavellian prime minister of Wesloria, Justine sets sail to England to learn the royal ropes from Queen Victoria and wed an eligible British gentleman. Robuchard, who needs a finger in every pie, asks William, Lord Douglas, heir to the Scottish Duke of Hamilton, to tail the princess and send him regular updates on her progress. Cornered into accepting the mission by his cash-strapped father, who's made an unwise investment in the Weslorian coal industry, the notoriously rakish William does what he can to aid the princess. Justine and William have met before, and they have a history of getting on each other’s nerves, but it appears that he's the only one who can offer her sound advice. As she begins to count on his support, Justine finds it harder to even think of a gentleman other than William, but William’s past threatens to obscure every future prospect. London trots out several secondary characters from her previous books for the first installment of the Royal Match series, and each of them adds to the charm and sweetness of the central love story. While Justine is charming as a sharp princess who knows when she’s being outmaneuvered but feels helpless to prevent it, she is absolutely fabulous as a powerful woman who learns to stand up for herself. William and Justine’s interactions are consistently endearing and witty, but when the focus shifts to his past, the urgency of her present predicament falls by the wayside.

A heartwarming and funny romance.