Review: The Duke Who Loved Me

The Duke Who Loved Me by Jane Ashford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book--until the very last chapter. I usually do my best to review books without including spoilers, but I don't think I can in this case.
I loved the characters, I loved how they related to each other, I loved the dialogue and how their relationship developed. The secondary characters were great. The plot moved along nicely. Until I got to the very end. I felt completely let down.
Anyone who reads Regency Romance knows that in almost every book, there is a misunderstanding, disagreement, or wrong assumption between the two main characters, and that causes conflict. Once the issue has been resolved, the two characters can live "happily ever after." And anyone who has read Regency Romance for decades, as I have, knows that often the misunderstanding that has caused all the problems is just something kind of silly, like a misheard conversation or an interrupted conversation, and if the two characters would just take a minute and talk honestly about their feelings, everything would come out alright. In a good Regency, we are rooting for the characters to have the opportunity talk to each other and "have it out," and in a badly-written one, we are just frustrated with the characters, want to scream at them, and wonder why they are so dumb that they can't simply talk to each other. Well, in this book, about 2/3 of the way through, this "misunderstanding" happens when an important conversation between our two main characters doesn't quite go as it should. The thing at ruins this book for me is not the "misunderstanding" itself, but what happens after. (view spoiler)[
Cecelia interrupts James as he is about to profess his love and propose because of his true feelings, and she proposes a business-like arrangement for marriage. James is just so happy to have her agree to marriage that he goes along with it, thinking he'll take her any way he can get her. Then marriage ensues, but not quite the marriage either of the two wanted. James gets mad at Cecelia for being so bossy, disregarding his feelings, and taking over all the decisions in their life. Cecelia gets mad at James for what she perceives as him leading an indolent and uncaring lifestyle and fobbing off all the major decisions on her. As the reader, I knew what was really going on. I was waiting for James to say the words "I love you" to Cecelia, and for Cecelia to actually start believing in James and his desire to be better, because she was so preoccupied with the way he'd lived his life in the past that she couldn't see his changed behavior. It started to bother me that Cecelia was expecting James to "change his ways" when it was already more than obvious that he had. The way she took over everything because she assumed that was what James wanted her to do, but then also got mad at James every time she did it, also got on my nerves--if she didn't want to do it, she shouldn't be volunteering to do it! But I was willing to kind of overlook it, because I knew the big "resolution" conversation would have to be coming soon, in which James would say, "of course I love you," and Cecelia would say, "What? You do?! I shouldn't have interrupted you that day and assumed you only wanted to marry me because I like to make lists and am good at organization! I am sorry that I assumed you'd never changed when it was GLARINGLY obvious that you have." And then James would say, "I know in the past I acted like a spoilt teenager, but you have helped me find a way to be better, and I should have said 'I love you' sooner."
Buuuuut...that was not the conversation that occurred. I was to the last few pages of the book and getting worried, because the BIG resolution had not happened yet, and I didn't think there was enough time left. And I was right. James told Cecelia he loved her, and apologized. The Cecelia pretty much said, "You DO love me? Okay. I'm not mad anymore, then." AND that was it. The book was over. Literally. (hide spoiler)]
The ending was terribly underwhelming. I had really enjoyed this book up to that point. The last pages really disappointed me quite a bit. That is why I am taking away a star in my rating. So despite all the wonderful things that went on in this book up to that point, I cannot recommend this book.

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