Duchess by Design

Captivating . . .

Sparkling characters, able plotting, and joie de vivre make the first in Rodale's Gilded Age Girls Club an utterly enjoyable standout.

In Gilded Age Manhattan, anything can happen . . .

Seeking a wealthy American bride who can save his family's estate, Brandon Fiennes, the duke of Kingston, is a rogue determined to do the right thing. But his search for an heiress goes deliciously awry when an enchanting seamstress tumbles into his arms instead. . . and true love is always in fashion.

Miss Adeline Black

aspires to be a fashionable dressmaker—not a duchess—and not even an impossibly seductive duke will distract her. But Kingston makes an offer she can't refuse: join him at society events to display her gowns and advise him on which heiresses are duchess material. It's the perfect plan—as long as they resist temptation, avoid a scandal, and above all do not lose their hearts.

Rodale's Gilded Age-set series launch

is a smart, bright love story that perfectly balances messages of female empowerment and social potential with romantic tensions created by class and gender dichotomies ripe for revolution.

Overall, after a year of mediocre to decent to very occasionally brilliant romance, Duchess by Design

stands out as unique and refreshing. It's more than worth your time.