In the late Victorian era, a new breed of debutante entered the London Marriage Mart. They were the 'dollar princesses', young women whose families had made incredible amounts of money in America from mining, railroads and the like, and whose ambitious mamas wanted them to marry exceedingly well.
A Good Day To Marry A Duke tells the fictional tale of one such 'dollar princess', Daisy Bumgarten, whose family found a fortune in silver in Nevada. Strong-willed, spirited, and seeing absolutely no reason why she can't do whatever she wishes, Daisy commits a social faux pas of such epic proportions in New York that her family have no choice but to launch her in London and hope she can snag a title high enough to smooth over such past indiscretions.
Did I say epic proportions? When Mrs John Jacob Astor herself condemns you as a brazen hussy without breeding, manners, or taste... only a duke will do to make amends. Realizing the magnitude of her mistake and the fate her actions may have condemned her three younger sisters to, Daisy is determined to make herself into the perfectly marriageable debutante.
The only problem is that the selected duke, while young, reasonably handsome and really quite sweet, is frankly as dull as ditchwater. His younger brother, on the other hand, is everything Daisy knows she should stay well away from. Unfortunately, Ashton doesn't seem inclined to stay well away from her.
Can I just say how much I absolutely adored Daisy? Her unquenchable spirit was so refreshing to read, and I really didn't know until the end exactly how things were going to turn out. This is the first in a series called Sin and Sensibility, the next book to feature Daisy's younger sister Frances, and I cannot give A Good Day To Marry A Duke higher praise than to say I am absolutely itching to read the next in the series. Bravo, Betina Krahn. This was amazing, well-researched, beautifully written and with characters I utterly adored. Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.