The Duchess Society: Book 0.5
Publication Date: July 22, 2021
A scandalous countess plays matchmaker…for a man she once longed to take for herself.
Georgiana Whitcomb, Countess Winterbourne, is known as the Ice Countess for her rebellious ways and refusal to marry again. But a scandalous Christmas wager fashioned by Georgiana’s childhood obsession changes everything.
The demanding duke needs a bride…
Dexter Munro, mere days from becoming the Duke of Markham, made a promise to his dying father to find a wife by the Twelfth Night. Except the only woman he’s ever desired has vowed never to marry again. Not even to become his duchess.
Georgiana and Dex share a sizzling attraction and a wicked past…but is their scorching passion enough to melt the Ice Countess’ heart?
*This book was previously published in the A Scandalous Christmas anthology.*
I love a good Christmas short story. And I love historical romance. So, when I was asked to review The Ice Duchess, well, it was a no-brainer. And the fact that Tracy Sumner is a relatively new-to-me author was a bonus. She’s been on my radar for a while, but I haven’t read much of her work. The Ice Duchess is a short novella prequel to her The Duchess Society series.
The Ice Duchess is a reunion story. Georgiana and Dexter were childhood friends. They had crushes on each other and even shared a kiss. But then Dexter went off to travel the world working as a geologist (a nice little surprise), and Georgiana ended up married to an old man. Fast forward several years, and Dexter is back home because his father, the duke, is dying, and now Georgiana is a widow. She also has a little “business” of helping young women get prepared for marriage.
The Ice Duchess is a short story, but it’s packed full of action and character development. Both characters have feelings for each other beyond friendship. But while Dexter figures out pretty quickly he’s in love, and Georgiana needs to be his duchess, she hesitates as she likes the freedom widowhood gives her, and she’s scared of another marriage. As these two work through these misgivings, they both grow and fall in love. It was beautiful to read.
As a prequel to a series, I’m now curious to continue reading about this Duchess Society. I found The Ice Duchess to be a fun, quick read and even ended up shedding a few tears. Historical romance fans should give this book a try.
Award-winning author Tracy Sumner’s storytelling career began when she picked up a historical romance on a college beach trip, and she fondly blames LaVyrle Spencer for her obsession with the genre. She’s a recipient of the National Reader’s Choice, and her novels have been translated into Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish. She lived in New York, Paris and Taipei before finding her way back to the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
When not writing sizzling love stories about feisty heroines and their temperamental-but-entirely-lovable heroes, Tracy enjoys reading, snowboarding, college football (Go Tigers!), yoga, and travel. She loves to hear from romance readers!
