Awakened by a Kiss, Book 2
From the publisher:
USA Today bestselling author Charis Michaels returns to her Awakened by a Kiss series where overlooked fairy tale characters get their own happy endings, with a captivating romance about Miss Isobel Tinker and the duke who makes her believe in magic.
All it takes….
After a childhood spent cavorting around Europe with a dangerous crowd, Miss Isobel Tinker has parlayed her experience and language skills into a safe, reliable life. Working as a clerk in Mayfair’s Everland Travel Shop, she dreams of someday owning her own travel agency and has vowed never to leave the familiar shores of England ever again. When a handsome duke arrives at her doorstep, she realizes her staid existence is about to take flight.
…is faith and hope
Jason “North” Beckett, the Duke of Northumberland, desperately needs a travel guide. He’s inherited a dukedom but has a final mission for the Foreign Office—rescuing his wayward cousin from Nordic pirates. Isobel Tinker is the ideal translator, discreet and unknown, but she’s also uncooperative, stubborn, and disarmingly beautiful.
And a little bit of trust
In exchange for her help, North promises Miss Tinker her own travel agency upon return and strict professionalism at sea. Isobel cautiously agrees but soon realizes “strict” and “professional” are not how she would describe her feelings for the irresistible duke. As their adventure sweeps them to the shores of Iceland and beyond, can temptation and growing trust give way to the magic of wild, passionate love?
I’ve read a few of this author’s books from a few different series and I’ve liked them all, but this is the first book I’ve read in this series.
Isobel is a unique character, especially for historical fiction. She is the offspring of nobility (her father) who had an affair with her mother, a famous, well regarded actress. As a young child, her father came around often but eventually stopped. Isobel traveled with her mother throughout Europe as she performed. A bunch of the children of the cast and crew ran wild, traveling together and getting into all sorts of trouble, and Isobel was no different.
Isobel’s all grown up now and managing a travel agency for a lovely family. But when the couple who owns it dies, she has to deal with their son, who is lazy, lewd, and just not a very nice person. But she manages because she needs the job and the apartment it comes with above the shop.
The Duke of Northumberland, North as he is known, inherited the position after his father and two older brothers passed away. He never wanted the title. He has been working as a spy for the Foreign Office, and dreads giving it up to run the family estate. He has one last mission, to rescue his cousin and his associated who have been taken captive by pirates in Iceland. North asks Isobel to help, as she has traveled extensively there and knows the language.
It takes a lot of convincing and a major bribe – her own travel agency in her own building with an apartment for her -and she eventually agrees. There is a mutual attraction between Isobel and the Duke, which intensifies as they travel together, but there is also a lot of excitement (pirates!) and drama before they get to their happily ever after. This was a very fast read, and I really liked the characters. I will go back and read the first book, and then just have to be patient and wait for the next.
9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A DUKE by Charis Michaels. Avon (August 24, 2021). ISBN: 978-0062984975. 416 pages.
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