Malia Martin’s second romance, The Duke’s Return, features a fresh premise and some interesting plot twists. While it does bog down on occasion, this is one of the more enjoyable historical romances I’ve read in a while. I may be making quite a leap here, but if you fell in love with Avery Thorne in Connie Brockway’s My Dearest Enemy, I think you’ll feel similarly about Trevor Phillips. While Brockway’s book is better, this one’s pretty good..

Sara, the Dowager Duchess of Rawlston, is desperate to have Trevor Phillips, the new Duke of Rawlston, do his duty by his people. The people of Rawlston have suffered for centuries because of a gypsy curse – unless the new Duke marries within a year of becoming the Duke, the curse will continue. If, however, he marries, his wife will have a son and the curse will be broken.

Sara was unable to break the curse in her marriage to Trevor’s third cousin, and though she is not your typical dowager (34 and blondly beautiful), she is not interested in her own happiness. If she were, she might pay more attention to the feelings she gets when Trevor, who’s only 28, kisses or fondles her. Instead, she focuses on her anger at him, at what she perceives are his roguish ways and lack of responsibility. When she does figure out what Trevor is really like, though, it’s nearly too late to do anything about it, and their chance for happiness may be gone forever.

Trevor is an immensely likable hero – strong, handsome, a fabulous cook with a sweet tooth, but he’s got dyslexia and he tries to hide it from the world. Unfortunately, that’s caused him to place his trust in his lawyer, who, instead of sending money to Rawlston, has kept it all for himself. And when Sara tricks Trevor into coming to Rawlston, he simply can’t face all the paperwork, leading her to believe he’s irresponsible and untrustworthy.

There are some nicely drawn secondary characters in The Duke’s Return. First and foremost are Rachel and Helen. Rachel was Sara’s husband’s mistress, and Helen their illegitimate daughter, whom Rachel would like to marry Trevor. Then there are the servants who surround Rawlston, who provide some comic belief, especially the deaf butler.

Author Martin avoids the trap of making Rachel a true villain, and the fact that the beautiful Helen has eyes for another is also a welcome twist from the norm. Unfortunately, the author does fall into the coitus-interruptus trap – on three (or perhaps more) occasions, Trevor and Sara come thisclose to doing the deed, and then, in an effort to heighten expectations, Sara stops the action. Once would have sufficed; after that it became annoying.

The other drawback in this book is that it reads rather slowly in the second half. It’s difficult to determine exactly why that is, but it might have something to do with Sara’s character. Her actions are admirable, but her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of the people of Rawlston gets to be a bit too much. Things pick up near the end, though, when Rachel’s background and involvement take center stage.

I am a sucker for a character who’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing, which is mostly why I recommend The Duke’s Return. It is a qualified recommendation, however, because of the pacing problems in the second half and because of those annoying aborted love scenes. Author Martin makes up for it when Sara and Trevor do finally get together, and their happily-ever-after is indeed a joy to behold.