Why Do Dukes Fall in Love?: A Dukes Behaving Badly Novel

Having been immensely disappointed with two of Megan Frampton’s other romance offerings, Put Up Your Duke and The Duke’s Guide to Correct Behavior, I was equally unimpressed with Why Do Dukes Fall In Love?

Michael, Duke of Hadlow, is cold, exacting, no-nonsense, and unemotional. He hires a secretary, Edwina Cheltam, who has a daughter, Gertrude. With Edwina in his employ, he grows attached to her and her daughter. Edwina learns how to work with a difficult man and grows to love him.

Frampton’s romances are more of a character study, similar to a Debbie Macomber novel, with nondescript, un-detailed settings, and extremely flat secondary characters. Her one-dimensional heroes and heroines come to realize their flaws and work to overcome them by the end. The meat of her novels is in the depictions of her main characters’ thoughts, which are overly detailed.

Frampton’s romance novels have the unfortunate potential to leave readers wanting more, whether it’s a main character’s mysterious backstory or stronger conflict between the hero and heroine. Frampton’s romantic stories have a good framework, but I would honestly like to see more depth from them. Having read more meaningful romances from other authors, I know it can be done.