Seven Days a Duchess by Emmi West

 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Most Improbable Union

The ton has seen many a desperate dash to the altar, but the Duke of our tale takes the prize for punctuality. Faced with a father's will that demands a bride and an heir within a mere twenty-four hours, he finds his solution in Marian—a woman whose father’s debts are as pressing as the Duke’s deadline. It is a marriage of convenience in the most literal sense, though Marian enters the arrangement with her bags already mentally packed. She signs the registry with one hand and plots her escape with the other, fully intending to vanish the moment her seven-day "sentence" is served.

What follows is a wild, if somewhat improbable, dance of wills. The Duke, initially painted as a cold monster, spends his nights attempting to secure his inheritance while inadvertently losing his heart to the very woman counting down the minutes until her departure. While the shift from cruel taskmaster to devoted husband offers a certain warmth, the sheer speed of the transformation requires a level of suspended disbelief that even a seasoned reader of Regency fiction might find taxing. It is a curious, fast-paced romp that proves even the hardest hearts can melt under the pressure of a ticking clock and a stubborn bride. A perfectly serviceable diversion, even if the plot’s logic feels as thin as a debutante’s muslin gown.