The Dowager Duchess (Avalon Historical Romance)

Rating:
Summary: An average read
Review: Louisa Drayton, Duchess of Osbourne, has been widowed for five years. Her brother, Michael, has been missing since the last battle on the Peninsula. Michael's wife, Alice Montgomery, wants to marry her daughter, Beth, to an old man in order to settle her own debts. Louisa takes Beth under her wing and pays Alice's debts to keep Beth from being dragged into a loveless marriage. At the same time, Louisa gives her niece a season in London to hunt for a suitable husband by disguising herself as her elderly Aunt Louisa, the Dowager Duchess of Roth. It is not an easy task to disguise as her elderly aunt although they resemble each other in appearance. There is still a twenty years difference in their age. By putting on some face paint, old-fashioned clothes and a cane, Louisa fools the ton as the elderly Louisa and successfully introduces Beth to the society. But one person, Devon Stanton, doesn't buy it. Devon is the Earl of Streiker and has been attracted to young Louisa from their encounter at Osbourne. When he meets the Dowager Duchess, he is confused and suspicious as he finds himself attracts to the elderly Louisa. With a few more encounters, he soon finds that the elderly Duchess is actually the young Duchess but he keeps the secret to himself until one night Lousia is attacked outside the theatre.

THE DOWAGER DUCHESS is a 10-chapter story. The first eight chapters put readers into a merry chase with Devon and Louisa. The last two chapters introduce the real Dowager Duchess and disclose the reason why the elderly Duchess' life is endangered. Overall, the story is simple and short. The most interesting character is the real Dowager Duchess but unfortunately, there is not much written about her.