Only a Duke Will Do is a lighthearted romance with funny family dynamics and some delightful, over-the-top moments. While it didn’t quite reach five stars, I was completely satisfied.

In 1816, three friends make a solemn vow that they will hold out for the right man, in spite of the pressures of society upon them and the desires of their socially ambitious mothers. Lady Amelia Westfield is an intellectual tomboy looking for her equal in status and positioning; her only goal is to marry a duke. Unfortunately, all of the ones who present themselves to her at balls and parties prove to be inferior, to put it lightly. She cannot stand listening to them ramble about their hunting trips. If she could marry her friends – smart and sharp-tongued Juliana and pensive Selina.

When we first meet our hero – second son of a duke Lord Nicholas Drake – he’s threatening another man with a pistol after accusing him of cheating at cards! Nicholas has a violent temper and is enraged that his brother Richard, the future duke, has fallen for Miss Charnwood, whom the family believes is completely unsuitable. At a ball, Nicholas is secretly eavesdropping on a conversation when Amelia comes tumbling into his arms and boom, a meet cute! Amelia had been running from the lecherous Lord Davenport, so Nicholas barely seems like a better alternative when he kisses her wrist. She is outraged by his behavior – even if his kiss to her wrist leaves her tingling.

When Nick learns that his mother wants Richard to marry Amelia, he decides to put her in Richard’s path to break the enchantment Miss Charnwood has woven over him. He blackmails Amelia into flirting with Richard and hopefully to separate him from the Charnwoods and solve some of the families’ financial problems. But naturally Nick realizes that Amelia is the who he wants to be with, much to his horror. Now there are four hearts in play, all with the potential for shattering thanks to Nick’s machinations. Can a cad become a hero? Or is he forever doomed to be the family’s bad boy second son?

I did like Nick – mostly. He figures out on his own that he needs to stifle his temper and doesn’t make his anger Amelia’s problem. He’s tender and solicitous during the bad times they face together, which is a lovely changeup from many of the heroes I’ve had to deal with. Amelia brings out the kindness that’s already in him until he finally realizes what he actually wants from life. He’s terribly funny and has a scampish way about him with a sense of humor that keeps him from being insufferable.

Amelia sometimes comes off as overheated and dithery, but she’s also playful, wry, has a sense of humor and is nice. I liked this bit of complexity of character, as well as her deep love and loyalty for her brother, Hugh, and his wife. Her friendship with her three friends is fantastic – I want to know what ends up happening to both of them.

The connection between Amelia and Nick works because they know how to push each other’s buttons, but in a loving way that helps them both grow up. Nick stops using his temper as a cudgel, while Amelia becomes less reckless and finds that being a duke’s wife matters less as she falls for this second son.

The historical research really resonated with me too, though I doubted a girl and a fellow would ever have quite that much time together alone. I liked the swirl of balls, dinners, parties, trips to the much-hated opera, and the warmth between our hero and heroine. Only a Duke Will Do is a lovely story that’s well worth reading again and again.

Lisa Fernandes has been reviewing romance novels ever since her great aunt left a Billie Douglas book out in the bathroom. She’s currently working on a biography about Julian Sands.