Arabella and the Reluctant Duke by Sofi Laporte

A runaway Duke’s daughter. A dashingly handsome blacksmith. A festering secret.

Everything was a lie ….until it all unravelled.

Being a Duke’s daughter is not what it’s cut out to be. Surely, there must be more to life than embroidery, balls, and finding a husband? Running away to work as a governess, Lady Arabella does not count on being hired by a precocious 14-year-old girl who runs the family….and a dashingly handsome father.

Mr Philip Merivale, inventor, blacksmith, and widowed father of three lively children, is not amused. There is one thing he dislikes the most: the aristocracy. Clearly, the pretty girl who answered his daughter’s advertisement must be a lady. Why did she choose his family for her social experiments? She must be taught a lesson on middle-to-lower-class life.

Adjusting to her new life is difficult, especially when Philip is bent on challenging her at every turn. As the spats between the two grow to undeniable attraction, Arabella uncovers Philip’s devastating secret that jeopardizes everything. How can Arabella succumb to love when her real identity is what Philip despises the most?