Review: How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days by Laura Lee Guhrke

They had a deal . . .

From the moment she met the devil-may-care Duke of Margrave, Edie knew he could change her life. And when he agreed to her outrageous proposal of a marriage of convenience, she was transformed from ruined American heiress to English duchess. Five years later, she's delighted with their arrangement, especially since her husband is living on another continent.

But deals are made to be broken . . .

By marrying an heiress, Stuart was able to pay his family's enormous debts, and Edie's terms that he leave England forever seemed a small price to pay. But when a brush with death impels him home, he decides it's time for a real marriage with his luscious American bride, and he proposes a bold new bargain: ten days to win her willing kiss. But is ten days enough to win her heart?

Edie Jewell needs a marriage.  As an American heiress with new money, she's low woman on the totem pole in British society, and she's also running away from a scandalous non-betrothal haunting her.  Stuart, Duke of Margrave, needs a marriage.  His family is in debt and could possibly lose everything except the entitled estates.  They meet at a ball, and Edie shockingly proposes a marriage of convenience -- if he marries her, she'll provide all the funds he and his family could ever need.  Even more surprising is that Stuart accepts.  They marry, and Stuart leaves for Africa on safari.  

It's on safari and expedition that Stuart is confronted by his immortality.  He dreams of Edie and makes a plan to return to her and turn their marriage of convenience into a real marriage.  Edie, however, is 100% against this plan.  She likes her life just as it is.  When Stuart suggests a bet of sorts, Edie cannot say no.  

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed How To Lose a Duke in Ten Days.  Romances about reconnection are hit-or-miss with me.  Edie and Stuart have a great connection, despite spending so little time together prior to their marriage.  And of course, Edie doesn't lose the duke -- she gains a husband!  

(A very special thank you to Avon Romance, HarperCollins, and Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC of How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days.)