Bewitching the Duke by Christie Kelley

Colin Barrett, Duke of Northrop, is forced to return to his country home and attend some matters so all is ready for a upcoming wedding.  He has avoided the place for eight years following the death of his child and wife due to, he believes, the ineptness of the local healer.  So when he awakens to the healers daughter cleansing his home, he is irate...but the sassy lady captures his attention.  Has she no sense of propriety?  Women wear their hair bound, not loose around their shoulders.  They wear shoes and don't let the toes peak out and they do not show off their calves at the lake.  Having Selina White on his lands causes him to much pain as every time he sees her he is reminded of all he has lost due to her healing ways.  He finally orders her off his lands but Selina takes her wise woman ways very seriously and will not abandon all the tenants when they need her as the local doctor is normally drunk and unreliable.  With a crazy plan created with the help of the servants, who adore her, she stays put but the arrival of Colin's family causes Selina and Colin to spend more time together.  As love and passion bloom, can Colin let go of the past and find a bright new future, especially after Selina reveals a long kept secret?

This was my first Christie Kelley book and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I will be exploring her backlist!  The sparks fly immediately between the willful Selina and the reserved Colin and I loved watching them fall for each other.  Colin is very bitter about his wife and childs death and feels that a proper doctor would have been able to help them and they would still be alive so he is torn about the new feelings he is having for Selina, the first since his wife died.  Selina slowly finds a place in his heart and life by showing him the value of his tenants, whom he has basically ignored all these years, and also showing a stronger feeling of love that he ever felt for his wife...which also scares him.  The plan created by the servants is a bit silly and I find it hard to believe that Colin did not figure it out but it did not overwhelm the storyline, thankfully.  The addition of his sister and stepmother and a nice sense of family and I loved how they reacted to Selina, it was a refreshing change of pace about the differences in class.  I thought I had guessed the secret that Selina was hiding but I was a bit off so that was nice.  Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I hope we get to see some more stories with the other healers introduced!  A fun, sexy, heart warming, smart, sassy, intriguing read!  4 stars

eARC provided by Kensington Books via netgalley