When Tess and Cameron consult a lawyer in London, they learn the marriage cannot be annulled. The only way to end the marriage is divorce which will require Cameron to accuse Tess of adultery. Cameron is not willing to take that action but still hopes to end the marriage.

Months pass as they live separate lives under the same roof with their situation unresolved. Cameron’s brother and his mistress are killed in a carriage accident making Cameron the duke and Tess the duchess. Going over his brother’s financial accounts, Cameron discovers a monthly payment. It appears his brother was being blackmailed. Cameron is determined to uncover the circumstances behind the blackmail and his brother’s death before making a decision about his marriage. Tess cannot help but wonder: was the previous duke’s blackmail connected to the blackmail that led her father to allow her marriage?

The marriage of inconvenience plot provides an opportunity for the hero and heroine to battle against their circumstances and each other while being irresistibly drawn together. Since they’re already married, succumbing to their mutual attraction doesn’t require a quick detour to the altar. It’s a setup that can work if the hero and heroine are obviously tempted to take advantage of the situation. It’s not enough they’re sleeping under the same roof – they need to want to sleep under the same covers. What His Unexpected Bride lacks is sexual tension. A G-rated story means no more than kisses, but it doesn’t mean the hero and heroine are dispassionate. Tess and Cameron live side by side for months and may as well be roommates for all the heat they generate and all the fooling around they do. When Tess decides she’s falling in love with him, the big question is what took so long. He’s responsible, honorable, respectful, good looking, a military hero, and a duke. It takes her months to figure out this guy’s a good catch? On the other hand, what’s to fall in love with? He’s more interested in his plant samples than in the heroine.

Cameron’s obsession with settling his brother’s affairs is his professed reason for allowing their personal situation to remain in suspension for so long. Or maybe it’s just that he’s testosterone-challenged and any excuse works. He’s remained good friends with his former mistress even though she has a new protector and visits her several times to chat. He appears to have a stronger relationship with her than he wants to establish with his wife.

Tess is no more dynamic than Cameron. She allows their unresolved marriage to drift for months. She’s living with him in connecting bedrooms, and her most pressing interest is the whereabouts of her pet hedgehog which escapes from its cage on repeated occasions. I have serious concerns for the ducal succession with two such passive characters.

Readers who enjoy the possibilities of marriage of inconvenience story lines may want to think twice before getting this version. His Unexpected Bride doesn’t meet expectations.

--Lesley Dunlap