Twenty-something self proclaimed spinster Tabitha Timmons enjoys her life. She likes living in a Vicarage, spending time with her spinster friends and her dedication to The Society for the Temperance and Improvement of Kempton. Tabitha has no expectation that her friends or she will ever marry they come from Kempton after all. The Kempton Curse is century's old myth that any nuptials to a woman from Kempton will end in disaster. However what are myths without a hero/heroine? This heroine is a charming Vicar's daughter who unexpectedly becomes an heiress of a vast fortune and inherits a fiancé.

The Duke of Preston is a rake and rogue. He thumbs his nose at tradition and duty, instead enjoying fast races and high stakes gambling. Wherever Preston goes scandal follows and that's just the way he likes it. Until a chance occurrence with a group of spinsters causes Preston to abandon his previous intentions so he heads to London for "the season".

Tabitha doesn't have time for balls, she wants to meet and marry her betrothed so she can inherit before her 25th birthday. She doesn't care that her betrothed Mr. Reginald Barkworth is a dull, duty driven gentleman she just wants to get it done and move on with her life. Meanwhile The Duke of Preston who is rarely seen at "ton" events begins showing up at balls to catch "Tabby's" eye and ensure she doesn't make a dreadful mistake by entering a loveless marriage of convenience.

ALONG CAME A DUKE is a tale as old as time. A story of a good girl who meets a bad boy that makes her desire to become a little bit naughty. I dearly love and adore Elizabeth Boyle's works. I have read and own virtually everything she has published that is why this review is probably the hardest one I will have to write. It's not that I didn't like ALONG COMES A DUKE it just didn't live up to my expectation. I feel like I have read this story line so often that it has become predictable, however the characters penned by Boyle are lovable and quick witted, and will leave readers yearning for their happily ever after.

Book Summary

“A young lady with a fortune is subject to all sorts of untoward attentions by the worst sort of vagrants.” Aunt Allegra

A lesson Tabitha Timmons, a penniless spinster, has never needed to heed. That is, until she is left a vast fortune payable only upon her marriage to the very respectable Mr. Barkworth—a match that offers little chance of discovering exactly what her aunt means by "untoward attentions."

But the same can't be said when the Duke of Preston happens along Tabitha's path. He spies a rebellious streak in her that matches his own and he makes it his mission to save her from such a passionless match, interfering in her life at every turn. All too soon, Preston—whose very name spells ruin—has Tabitha caught between the good fortune that guarantees her security, and his kiss, which promises an entirely different kind of happily-ever-after.