Fortune Favors the Duke by Kristin Vayden

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cambridge Brothers, #1

Release Date: December 28, 2021

Lady Catherine Greatheart and Quinton Errington, the Duke of Wesley have much in common, but sadly most of it is painful. Catherine was engaged to Quinton’s older brother Avery, the previous Duke who tragically died days before their wedding. Now after six months of mourning Catherine’s elderly grandmother gently reminds her that she must reenter the marriage mart, something Catherine has been dreading.

Quinton “Quin” enjoyed his life as his brother’s “spare”, he taught politics and history at Cambridge, along with his friends, who also happen to be second sons. When his brother is killed at his own bachelor party, along with his friends (the elder brothers of Quin’s friends), he has no choice but to end his career and take up the title and the responsibilities that go with it. For months he tried to split his time between Cambridge and London, but now knows he can’t serve two masters and has resigned himself to London. Something he dreads, but as luck would have it on his first day back, he runs into Catherine. He is a little surprised by his reaction to her and tries to ignore it. But when his mother takes her under her wing and they spend more time together, the harder it becomes. It isn’t until Catherine’s grandmother suffers a traumatic medical emergency and Catherine’s future may be in jeopardy that he contemplates letting himself have a future with her, but is that even something she would consider, or does her heart still belong to his brother.

This was a good read, not perfect, but enjoyable with very likable characters. Based on my personal preferences, I wish the author had clearly stated when in time the story was set, I was able to piece it together by some hints that were dropped – Regency in case you are interested. In addition to that, there are title errors/inconsistencies and honestly, I wasn’t a fan of Catherine’s repeated declarations of love for Avery, the book is set just 6 months after his death, so for her to fall in love with his BROTHER that soon after his death was a bit off-putting – if her relationship with Avery hadn’t been touted as a love match, I probably wouldn’t have given it another thought, but she repeatedly mentions/thinks how much she loved him and lost him. In the end, while I didn’t love the story, but I did like it and I would definitely read the next book.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*