The Runaway Duke (Zebra Ballad Romance)

Rating:
Summary: Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence
Review: Lady Catherine intends to see her younger brother, the eighth Duke of Chatham, Jonathan Carlisle married. Nine mistresses in ten years have kept Jonathan satisfied, and he has no intention of falling in with his sister's matchmaking. So he ducks her introductions to yet more eligible women by escaping with friend Bertram Lewis on a "very urgent business trip." When Bertram cancels at the last minute, Jonathan sets out alone, only to be threatened at gunpoint by kidnappers. Then a flash of lightening startles his horse and he is thrown from his horse over a cliff.

Sighted clinging to a log, Jonathan is rescued from the waters and cared for by Dr. Edger Pickering and his daughter Melanie. Recognizing that his damaged fine clothes indicate wealth, the doctor and Melanie carefully conceal their identity. Melanie's eight-year-old son does not speak, so does not represent a threat to their anonymity. When he awakens from his coma, Jonathan immediately realizes that Melanie is keeping secrets. Fearful she might be part of the kidnapping plot, he claims amnesia. Soon they find themselves fighting their mutual attraction and the truths they both conceal.

In the most endearing installment yet of the infamous Lady Cat's family, THE RUNAWAY DUKE combines mystery and romance in a marvelously entertaining read. Melanie's determination to protect her son lends her character startling strength given the years of abuse she endured at her deceased husband's hands. Jonathan's certainty that she is the woman for him despite the impediments between them will warm reader's hearts as he determinedly seeks the answers to Melanie's problems. Further, the exciting conclusion provides a powerful climax to this carefully plotted tale. An absolutely memorable read, THE RUNAWAY DUKE earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh Plot but Distracting Writing
Review: The eighth Duke of Chatham, Jonathan Carlisle's sister, is trying to get him married off. The problem is that his mother was their father's second wife and she was a servant before they married. Carlisle doesn't want to marry a Pampered Princess of the Ton, but he also does not want to marry someone who is not of the same class as he, because his mom was treated poorly by society.
To get away from his matchmaking sister, Carlisle takes an 'urgent business trip' and while is set upon by paid killers. Dr. Edger Pickering and his daughter Melanie, who are hiding in the country, save the Duke's life and care for him while he recovers and during his recovery he discovers that Melanie and her son need his help.

This is the first book that I have read by Susan Grace and as much as I enjoyed the plotting the writing was distracting. I'm not sure how exactly to describe it - it's not that the prose is horrible, it's just that it was written at like a sixth grade reading level. The plot is fresh the characters are likeable, but the writing is distracting in its simplicity and the characters hold views and conversations that don't fit into the era that it is written in.