Category Historical Romance A-Z: Marriage Deal With the Devilish Duke by Millie Adams

 

Title: Marriage Deal With the Devilish Duke

Series (If Applicable): Scandalous Society Brides (Book 2 of 3, Completed)

Author: Millie Adams (Pen Name of Maisey Yates)

Category Line: Harlequin Historical

Released: September 2021

Time Period: Regency 

Primary Tropes: Compromised Into Marriage, Single Dad, Brother's Best Friend, Rake, BDSM

Content Warnings: Ableism, Suicide  

 

The Pitch: 

Lady Beatrice Ashforth suffered from asthma as a child. Since that was mostly fatal and undiagnosable in the regency period, she's lived an incredibly sheltered life. Even though she's gotten a grip on her illness and desires independence, her brother, the current Duke of Kendal, continues to treat her like an invalid child. He won't even give her a season. Beatrice decides to leap for freedom by compromising herself with a friend, but accidentally compromises herself with her brother's best friend instead.

Brooding widower Philip Byron, Duke of Brigham, has no desire to ever remarry. He has multiple reasons. His previous marriage was a disaster, he has undiagnosed autism, his son, William, also has undiagnosed autism, and he's a bit dominant in the bedroom. All of these "issues" obviously makes him a terrible prospect for the highly sheltered Beatrice, even if he finds her quite...appealing. Post compromise, Kendal demands he do right by Beatrice, and also insists that Brigham never consummate the marriage. Not only will pregnancy kill Beatrice, she is too pure for Brigham's darker proclivities. Brigham agrees. Surely Beatrice won't demand to be her own woman or be the yin to his yang behind closed doors, right?

Diving In (Mild Spoilers):

I didn't expect to come across a book I would definitively call an Erotic Romance in this series, but "Marriage Deal With the Devilish Duke" has the core romantic relationship so interwoven with their sexual dynamic that I have no choice but to consider it one. There are not many scenes on page--I believe only two--but many of their interactions are about sex, about desire. There is a sense of charged tension throughout the novel that I adored. They dance around each other verbally, Beatrice pushing and prodding Briggs until he snaps. And when he finally does, it is delightful.

I feel like I had the experience reading this that many people had reading "50 Shades of Grey" back in the early 2010s, this giggly glee at how "wrong" and "taboo" everything feels. Briggs infantilizes Beatrice constantly, wanting her to be his ward more than his wife. While it is a glaring--and often irritating--character flaw in Briggs, it does make their relationship actually feel controversial. He believes that sleeping with his wife in the way he desires is unforgivably sinful to such an extent that I, as a reader, started to feel the same. Isn't it fun to buy into a character's neuroses? 

On a more serious note, part of why Briggs' concern over Beatrice works is because it is not entirely unjustified. Beatrice's asthma was debilitating to her as a child, and since there was not sufficient medical knowledge to help her, the fear that pregnancy could be fatal is valid. Also, Briggs is reeling from his own childhood trauma. Briggs is autistic, and his father was emotionally abusive, making him feel unlovable and useless. This affects how he raises William, hiding him away on his estate and keeping him from children his own age. This is a well-meaning attempt to protect him from the pain of his own childhood. Of course, this parallels Briggs's treatment of Beatrice. He wants to shield those in his life with good intentions, but the result is isolating, stifling, and abusive in its own way.

By asserting her own agency, even with her physical struggles, Beatrice begins to carve out personhood for herself, for William, and also for Briggs. The third act resolution is less about penance and more about self-acceptance, which is a genuinely sweet element in a book filled with forbidden tension and grim glimpses into how hostile the regency era was to those with disabilities. 

Speaking of which, I have neglected to mention a content warning that might have stuck out like a sore thumb in the description. Briggs's first wife, Serena, suffered from mental illness. As she's referenced in passing, I don't have an exact diagnosis, but given the mood swings, my guess is either depression or bipolar disorder. As this was the regency period, no medical aid was available, and Serena ends her life. There is a very brief flashback where Briggs recalls finding her body. It's not too graphic, but I feel like this might have warranted a content warning in the book itself.

Worth a Shot?:  

I, personally, loved Marriage Deal With the Devilish Duke. I found it dark and delicious, a book I didn't want to put down. I'm floored, and thrilled, that a book this brooding and crackling was published by Harlequin Historical at all. 

That being said, I don't think this is for everyone. The topics delved into are simply too intense. If you read my review and were intrigued, please seek it out. If not, maybe skip this one. There are fluffy books in the pipeline, I promise you.

Availability: 

Ebook, Mass Market Paperback (Out of Print, but can be cheaply acquired secondhand) 

Author Website:  None for this pseudonym, but Yates's main site: https://www.maiseyyates.com/