"My Dear Miss Dupré" by Grace Hitchcock - American Royalty, book 1

Willow Dupré never thought she would have to marry, but with her father's unexpected retirement from running the prosperous Dupré sugar refinery, plans changed. The shareholders are unwilling to allow a female to take over the company without a man at her side, so her parents devise a plan--find Willow a spokesman king in order for her to become queen of the empire. Willow is presented with thirty potential suitors from the families of New York society's elite. She has six months to court the group and is expected to eliminate men each month to narrow her beaus until she chooses one to marry, ending the competition with a wedding. Willow reluctantly agrees, knowing she must do what is best for the business. She doesn't expect to find anything other than a proxy . . . but maybe her heart will be touched after all.

While I've never watched The Bachelorette or The Bachelor, I have a basic idea of the concept, and it . . . translates surprisingly well into the Gilded Age. Better than modern day, actually, since what Willow is looking for is a husband she can like and respect--she's not expecting to find the love of her life under the pressure of a highly publicized contest. She needs a husband in a hurry, and this is the best way they can find someone she might appreciate for the rest of her life. Now if I were Willow, I would probably strangle Mother Dearest for coming up with the scheme, even if it is done as respectably as possible, but Willow's a lot less stubborn and more open to crazy ideas than I am. 

Based on the viewpoints in the book, it's pretty clear there are only two true contenders for Willow's hand (and even then, it was easy enough to peg the winner). If it were just the romance alone (no underhanded schemes in the background), I'd rather have had only Willow's point of view to keep the mystery of her final choice a lot longer. But it would have made our hero's journey much less impactful, so I can see why the men's points of view were included. It's an entertaining story--not exactly what I was expecting, but enjoyable.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

American Royalty
1. My Dear Miss Dupré
2. Her Darling Mr. Day
3. His Delightful Lady Delia