Book Review: What a Gentleman Wants by Caroline Linden

At First Sight: Marcus Reece, Duke of Exeter has spent most of his life getting his brother David out of one scrape or another and, after the last one, he was forced to send David off to the countryside to rusticate a little while the whispers of scandal died down. 

Little did he know that, on his way to the family's home, David would get himself into an accident and met Hannah, a young widow who's vicar husband passed a few months before. Spending a month in Hannah's company, David starts to feel some affection for her, and really wants to help her and her young daughter (since they are being forced out of her husband's vicarage as a new vicar will be arriving soon). 

So he concocts a crazy plan that results on Hannah marrying Marcus, even though they had never met and neither is none too happy about the situation, yet they are forced to play the part of a happy couple for the benefit of his step mother and younger sister, who are just delighted that Marcus finally fell in love. 

Second Glance: I was surprised by how much I got into What a Gentleman Wants, the writing flowed so nicely and, even though the plot was on the crazy side, I found myself believing it because the characters were well done. 

Marcus and David are twins but have polar opposite personalities, there is a bit of resentment between them but, under that, a lot of affection. And it's this affection that makes David pull this elaborate prank. It's Marcus' affection for his sister and step mother what makes him pretend he totally meant to marry a vicar's widow, and it's love for her daughter that makes Hannah go along with the charade.

But in the middle of all those lies, some true feelings being to come to the surface.  

Bottom Line: Like I said, I really enjoyed the What a Gentleman Wants. I was really engrossed in it, even if it did require for me to make a few leaps of faith and logic to go along with the story. I grew to like the characters more and more as the story progressed and at the end I was rooting for them.