Month: July 2026

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“Duchess For The Weekend” is out

It is here!

“Duchess For The Weekend” has officially been released.

Have you already met Effie and the Duke of Silverthorn?

No?

Then allow me to tell you why I fell hopelessly in love with these two.

To win the attention of the gentleman she has adored for years (and to save herself from financial ruin), Miss Euphemia Gordon devises a daring plan.

She will lure Sir Charles into the library, kiss him, and leave him with little choice but to make an honourable offer.

It is an excellent plan.

Unfortunately, the gentleman who steps into the romantically candlelit library is not Sir Charles.

It is his cousin. The dark, arrogant, thoroughly infuriating Duke of Silverthorn.

Rather than exposing her disastrous scheme, the Duke makes her an unexpected offer.

There is, however, a catch. Several catches, in fact.

His most outrageous condition?
Effie must accompany him to the countryside for an entire weekend and pretend to be his fiancée, fulfilling what may well be his elderly aunt’s dearest wish.

One reluctant “yes” later, she finds herself wrapped in a breathtaking gown, travelling in his magnificent carriage towards the secluded country estate.
After all, no one will ever find out. Certainly not Sir Charles.
The aunt is delighted.
The Duke proves alarmingly convincing in the role of devoted fiancé, and begins acting like a man in love, making it increasingly difficult to remember it is all merely pretence.

Especially once Sir Charles finally begins to notice Effie…
…and the wrong gentleman becomes impossible to forget.

“Duchess For The Weekend” is available on Amazon.

Enjoy reading!

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Allow me to introduce… the Duke

If I can say of Effie, the optimistic heroine of my new book “Duchess For The Weekend,” that she has become very dear to me over the past few months, then of the Duke of Silverthorn I can only say this:

It was love at second sight.

The first time I met him, I found him utterly impossible. Oh, certainly, he is devastatingly handsome. Tall, broad-shouldered, with a powerful chest concealed beneath an impeccably white shirt. His face is equally unfair. Dark brown eyes. A strong, elegant nose. High cheekbones. And a dimple in his chin. (I regret to inform you that I have never developed any resistance to a dimpled chin.)

But appearances are not everything.
In fact, the Duke does his very best to ensure one notices his personality first.
Because the moment the Duke opens his mouth, one immediately forgets about the dimple.

The Duke is in no hurry to marry.

He is, however, exceedingly particular about the lady who will one day become his Duchess. She must be beautiful, well-bred, and, above all, never, ever impertinent.

This places Effie firmly at the bottom of his list of prospective brides.

Not that it matters.

Miss Gordon’s affections are directed elsewhere, namely towards his cousin, Sir Charles.

(A fortunate circumstance for everyone involved.)

The difficulty begins when these two sworn enemies strike a bargain: The Duke agrees to help Effie win Sir Charles’s heart, though not without demanding a number of favours in return.

His most outrageous condition?

Effie must accompany him to his aunt’s secluded country estate for an entire weekend and pretend to be his fiancée, allowing the old lady to believe her dearest wish has finally come true.

It is only one weekend.

In a remote corner of Kent.

No one need ever know.

With her back against the wall, Effie has little choice but to agree. Only to watch the cold, thoroughly disagreeable Duke transform into the most attentive fiancé she could ever have imagined…
“Duchess For The Weekend” will be released on 28 July 2026.

Until then,
Warmest wishes,
Emmi “Hopelessly Smitten with Her Own Duke” West

P.S. Because “Duchess For The Weekend” is almost here, I shall leave you with three more clues about the actor who inspired the Duke:

  1. He has portrayed the world’s most famous consulting detective more than once. (And yes, a brand-new case has just arrived this summer.)
  2. For three seasons, he played another taciturn, rather gruff hero, one who wielded a silver sword, grappled with extraordinary powers, and endured the company of a bard he would happily have left behind.
  3. And finally, he was, quite simply, magnificent in a certain comic-book adaptation.
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Duchess For The Weekend is coming soon

Today, I should like to introduce you to someone who has become very dear to me. Allow me to present the heroine of my new book: Miss Euphemia Gordon, better known as Effie.

Effie has exactly one chance to save her future. It involves luring the gentleman she has loved for years into the library… and kissing him.

Not, of course, because she intends to trap Sir Charles into offering for her by appealing to his honour.

Heavens, no.

She merely wishes to give fate a gentle nudge.

Naturally, fate has plans of its own.

Because the gentleman who enters the library at the stroke of midnight, where Effie waits with her eyes closed and her lips poised for a kiss, is not Charles.

It is the arrogant, brooding Duke of Silverthorn. 

Charles’s cousin. 

And the one man she dislikes more than any other.

Can you imagine Effie’s horror?

She is expecting the kindest gentleman in her acquaintance, the man who has occupied her heart for years, a gentleman who bears an alarming resemblance to a Greek sun god.

Instead, when she opens her eyes, she finds herself staring at the dark, glowering, thoroughly disagreeable Duke.

And as though that were not enough to terrify a lady who has thoughtfully arranged dim, romantic lighting for the occasion, His Grace manages to make it worse. 

Rather than exposing her spectacularly disastrous scheme, the Duke presents her with an outrageous proposition…

That is the beginning of my new book, “Duchess For The Weekend.”

What awaits you?

  • a spinster who risks everything for a midnight kiss
  • the wrong man stepping out of the shadows
  • a collection of scandalous books that falls into the wrong hands
  • Aunt Octavia (a force of nature whom no email could ever adequately describe)
  • a troublesome hat and an orange gown (some fates are surely worse than death)
  • a journey to Dymchurch, Kent, during which Effie and the Duke discover there is only one bed available giggle

The book will be released on 28 July 2026.

You are probably wondering whether I have neglected to mention the most important person of all: the grumpy, brooding hero. I have not. But if you wish to make the acquaintance of the Duke of Silverthorn in all his dark and thoroughly intimidating splendour, you must wait for my next post, in which I shall properly introduce His Grace. 

The cover reveal will follow shortly thereafter!

Warmest wishes,

Emmi “The Cruel” West