Maya Rodale has written a pair of refreshing characters who against all odds fight their way to each other.

A Groom of One’s Own is the first book in Maya Rodale’s Writing Girls series and we are introduced to Miss Sophie Harlow, a girl newspaper writer, which is seen as being a little scandalous. Sophie writes “Miss Harlow’s Marriage in High Life” which covers, obviously, weddings of the ton. The thing is, Sophie hates weddings, for a good reason.

Henry William Cameron Hamilton, The Duke of Hamilton, known as Brandon to all, is a proper gentleman. He is not a rake, he does not drink in excess and he does not make a fool of himself. He takes his responsibility to his family and his tenants seriously, which has led to his engagement to the very proper Lady Clarissa. With their wedding touted to be the wedding of the year, the families hire Sophie to cover it from the beginning of the planning to the final ceremony.

Things, however, start to go wary. Brandon and Sophie have a connection that cannot be ignored, and it does not go unnoticed by others. Lady Clarissa does not love Brandon but is willing to do her duty until the appearance of a Prince Frederick von Vennigan of Bavaria. But Brandon refuses to jilt Lady Clarissa and she will not jilt Brandon because of her parents. Plus there is a shocking secret that comes out and could ruin all involved. So despite loving Sophie, Brandon being the gentleman he is proceeds with the wedding as planned.

Lord Roxbury is Brandon’s philandering friend who steals the scene whenever he pops up. While he has no plan to settle down, he is always willing to give his thoughts on Brandon and his dilemma:

"An English gentleman is someone who knows exactly when to stop being one," Lord Roxbury declared.

So with the aid of Lord Roxbury and Brandon’s mother Lady Hamilton, Brandon and Sophie, respectively, come up with separate plans to help everyone get what they want.

Brandon is not your typical hero. He is not brooding or tortured or even a rake. He is genuinely nice guy trying to do the right thing. I found him refreshing from the usual reformed rakes that usually grace the pages of a romance. He does a pretty good job resisting Sophie but the sexual tension between them jumps off the pages. Sophie herself is not the normal heroine. She has fought the odds and became a writer in man’s world. She is strong and independent.

This was my first book by Maya Rodale and I was excited to read A Groom of One’s Own. While it started with a bang, the middle, for me, seemed to drag just a little bit. I was mad at Brandon and stubborn Sophie for playing a cat and mouse game with each other. I wanted Lady Clarissa to grow a backbone because if she did then she could fix the whole problem. But the last third of the book had me turning the pages. I was engrossed with the story, hoping that everything would end up right. A Groom of One’s Own kept me in suspense until end. ~ Jamie