The Window Seat on a Rainy Day

I think somewhere down the line I may owe Caroline Linden an apology. I was convinced when starting The Way to a Duke’s Heart that I wouldn’t like Charles de Lacey at all. From his previous appearances he seemed too selfish, too indolent, and so removed from his family’s struggle to solve the Durham Dilemma that the author would have to do a lot of work to make him even remotely sympathetic. In the end, I was completely wrong about so much and came to see Charlie as the best of the brothers and this book as probably my favorite of all three.

How Ms. Linden worked her magic of character reform was by showing the reader exactly why Charlie acted the way he did for ten years. Within the span of the prologue we see that he was treated differently than his brothers, causing small feelings of inadequacy within the young Charlie’s mind. He is put to a higher standard within the family all because he is the heir. Then, as a young man Charlie falls in love with a young woman, but his father coldly refuses to give his blessing to the union, causing an even greater rift to form between the two of them. After leaving his father’s home, Charlie decides to live a life away from all of those expectations and becomes the very worst of his character. Having that backstory to work with, reading about Charlie’s journey away from the wastrel lifestyle and assuming his role as head of the family became a joy. Every time Charlie would put another part of that life behind him, it was great to see him realize how much more he could contribute to the dukedom.

For the Full review, please go to http://thewindowseat13.blogspot.com/2012/08/caroline-linden-way-to-dukes-heart.html