The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The daughter of a duke who is pretty oblivious to her family's reputation who pretty much behaves in direct opposition to what society or "the ton" seems to dictate. Imagine what happens when she has a run-in with a duke who is her total opposite. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Andromeda, her sisters, and her brothers all know how they "should" behave, but each of them has their own quirks that mean they tend to ignore what society dictates, like owning a pleasure den, creating art, and sewing clothes. The other aristocrats have their reasons for expecting this kind of unacceptable behavior from the Barringtons, but, they typically spend little time in London until recently where they are attending all of the same balls and other events as the rest of society. Since Andromeda is outspoken, she of course runs right into the duke of Granby and it is as a reader would expect when two opposing forces crash into each other, a crashing of wills and words. What neither of them recognizes is it is the start of a fierce attraction and it happens pretty much at the wrong time, as everyone in London believes Granby is going to propose to Lady Beatrice, including Lady Beatrice and her family. As they both start to realize their true feelings for each other and everyone appears to be aware of it all of the house parties, balls, and opera visits start to take on a sometimes amusing air, but, always interesting. I will have to take a step back and read the first book in the series as I plan to follow this one now that I have been introduced to The Beautiful Barringtons.