Wish Upon A Duke – Stars Bring Us Together

And here we have another book in this series complete. I don’t care if Christmas is temporarily behind us, this series can be read at any time of the year. If you need a feel-good love story and a regency setting, this is for you. Three down, ten to go (I would say nine but there are twelve books, plus a prequel so there.)

Now that his rakish brother is off the market, Christopher Pringle is the center of attention with all the single ladies in the village. But he still feels like he is living in his brother’s shadow when they keep asking him where Nicholas is and he’s not in the mood for one night, he wants a soulmate to spend every night with.

Chris is also an avid traveller and wants to share the joys of the adventure with his wife. Once I learned more about him in this book, I first pictured him to look like Marius from Les Miserables but a little older and perhaps a little more, elegant. He also has a passion for science and astronomy and when he meets Gloria Godwin giving a sky-walk in Marlowe Castle, he is shocked and upset at her seemingly lack of knowledge of the constellations.

I first saw Gloria in the previous book as a friend of Penelope and she always believed in love. But I was ready to defend her when Chris confronted her in the beginning because yes while it’s good to know your facts, there is nothing wrong with using your imagination. I mean, she was doing it for the kids! The children are not going to remember Ursa Major but they will remember it as the Big Dipper! Get it?

That’s the only thing I disliked about him when he kept trying to shoot down everyone’s fantasies with facts. I have had my fair share of encounters with people with that and refuse to let them into my life.

But I’m glad that portion didn’t last because I do love this series and it is always known to make me laugh and go “awww” at certain moments. Gloria agrees to matchmaker Chris as a favour to Penelope but he doesn’t seem to be interested in any of the bachlorettes that she presents to him.

She also lives a very sheltered life much like Noelle from the first book. But Gloria’s reason for wanting to stay in the village, close to the comfort of her books, has more to do with the fact that she is afraid to travel after her father never came home one day when he set sail, so she avoids it knowing it’ll only lead to grief and loss. I don’t blame her because travel can bring forth a lot of anxiety: will I be safe, do I have enough money, do I have a place to stay, will I go with someone or by myself, etc.

Chris soon finds himself falling in love with Gloria once he realizes that they have mutual interests in the stars and he enjoys her pudding. Over time he also begins to understand her love for using her imagination and that she actually does know the stars. This romance felt a lot like a classic opposites-attract relationship done quite well. I was worried that he was going to give up his passion for travel because he loved her, but Gloria soon learns to take one step at a time to step out of her comfort zone so that they can see the world together and I like that. Nobody should be forced to surrender a passion for someone they love, it’s all about compromise.

I am enjoying this series very much for its regency theme as you know and the next book will take me to some new characters I haven’t seen before, it’ll be exciting for sure.