Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Sebastian Easton always vowed he would avenge his stolen youth and title. Now back in London, the rightful Duke of Keswick—returning from battle a wounded, hardened, changed man—cannot forget the brave girl who once rescued him and his brothers from certain death.

Lady Mary Wynne-Jones paid dearly for helping the imprisoned young Lords of Pembrook, and she remembers well the promise she made to Sebastian all those years ago: to meet him once more in the abbey ruins where they shared a bold, forbidden kiss. While Mary is betrothed now to another, a friendship forged with dark secrets cannot be ignored. Unexpected passion soon burns dangerously between them, tempting Sebastian to abandon his quest for retribution to fight for a love that could once again set him free.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I’m a big fan of Heath, and when her newest book in her newest series was announced, I couldn’t wait to read it. I’ve always loved Heath’s voice and am glad to announce that she has another winner with this release.

Sebastian is the true heir to the Dukedom of Keswick, but he and his younger brothers ran away as children to escape the greedy uncle that wanted them dead. Now that Sebastian and his brothers are older, they are back to claim what is truly theirs, whatever the cost. But they never realized that one of their biggest obstacles would be dealing with the people of the ton. Lucky for them, their childhood friend Mary is still willing to do everything to protect them.

Mary helped Sebastian and his brothers escape from their uncle as children. Now that they are back, she wants to be able to catch up on their friendship and protect them from the rumors around the ton, but Mary’s fiance doesn’t want her to help because of the intense attraction between her and Sebastian. With an attempt on Sebastian’s life, Mary nurses him back to health, regardless of the fact that it leaves her at the center of a scandal, one that includes the one man she always knew she could love.

One of the things I love the most about historical romances is that sometimes the couples get married before they love (or even like) each other. They have time to get to know one another while forced to spend day in and day out together. While Mary and Sebastian had a chance to form a friendship, I loved the moments they spent together after they were married, learning to live with each other, support each other, and fall in love.

I adored Mary and Sebastian right away, and watching them dance around each other provided for such an sweet and endearing read. The tension between those two was off the charts, and each time Mary went back to her fiance I wanted to bop her up-side the head and scream at her for making such a stupid decision. It was obvious from the moment Sebastian walked in the door as an adult that these two would be explosive together.

I am also so excited for the other books in this series because of the wonderful way that Heath portrayed the relationship between Sebastian and his brothers. I loved how different their lives were, the struggles they had to endure to survive. I can’t wait to see how Heath gives them each their HEA, especially since their back stories are still a little bit of a mystery. I just hope that we will get to see them develop more of a friendship with one another, that we will get to see them become even better friends then they’ve already become.

For regency historical romance fans Heath is a wonderful author to pick up. Her books continue to be wonderful. They have a little bit of mystery, a lot of fun wonderful moments as the main characters fall in love, and even quite a few sexy times between the hero and heroine. I can’t recommend her books fast enough to fans of the genre!

All in all I really enjoyed this book. While the mystery subplot was easy to unravel, it was still very enjoyable to read. The romance between Mary and Sebastian was the perfect mixture of sexy and innocent, fun and frustrating and an all around pleasure to read. I’m anxiously awaiting the next in the series.
I give She Tempts the Duke a B+

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Review- She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

A man too dangerous to live. . .
After seven years outrunning enemies, friends, and his own soul-crushing memories, Brendan Douglas is risking everything on a desperate mission. He has vowed to thwart the evil mage Máelodor’s plans to unlock the past and reshape the future . . . unfortunately the precious treasure that is the key to success lies with a woman he jilted seven years before.
A woman determined to find a life of her own. . .
When her golden-eyed childhood hero abandoned her at the altar—disappearing in a storm of magic and mayhem, destruction, betrayal, and disaster—Elisabeth Fitzgerald struggled to overcome her humiliation and loss. Finally, she has found a new fiancé and a comfortable future. Then, the one man she thought she would never see again appears—among her wedding guests. Brendan Douglas has returned.
An inescapable destiny. . .
It’s not just that Elisabeth is promised to another; Brendan knows he is drawing her into terrible danger. But he cannot resist the bewitching, brave, wholly unexpected woman his youthful nemesis has become. He promised to sacrifice everything, but is he willing to sacrifice Elisabeth?
This blurb came from the author’s website here.

Heir Of Danger is the conclusion of Alix Rickloff’s Heirs of Kilronan trilogy. Despite my OCD tendency that drives me to start every series with the first book, I went ahead and started with this one because I really liked the blurb and it reminded me of the epic fantasy romances I used to read. I highly recommend that you read the first two books before picking this one up. You can follow the action and infer some of what happened previously but there is a lot of back-story and world building that I think would add to the reader’s understanding and enjoyment. I say this because I was somewhat lost in the beginning specifically with some of the non-English pronouns used to describe different groups of people. I actually looked in the back hoping to find a glossary. I could also tell that some of the characters had some painful past history with each other that I would have enjoyed knowing.

Even though it took me a little bit to grasp enough of the backstory to really get into why Brendan was risking his life, I was immediately sucked in with my introduction of the villain Maelodor, and Elisabeth’s first encounter with Brendan. I think that was when Elisabeth captivated me as a character. Initially I wasn’t sure that she would be a strong enough character to help make her own destiny or if she was just going to be swept along by events. I was very pleased to see that Elisabeth refused to just accept what happened and continued fighting for information and to make her own decisions. Her strength of will was rather important as the book continued.

Brendan was a tortured hero in more ways then one if I have ever read one. It seemed like everything he tried to make up for in past events, it just made things worse. Yet I could also see how he made it worse on himself so he certainly wasn’t blameless. It was fascinating to watch Brendan as the story unfolded and see his struggle to complete what he saw as his redemption, sacrificing himself along the way, without dragging anyone else he cared about down with him.

This novel had revenge, betrayal, kidnappings, death one of which I think came too easily, love, magic, visions, and things that really weren’t quite as they seemed. Given the sheer amount of activity in this last book I had to wonder if the first two moved at a slower pace and built everything up to this or if Ms Rickloff kept things moving quickly throughout the entire series.

I give Heir of Danger a B+

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Review – Heir of Danger by Alix Rickloff is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

With two months left to find a husband to fulfill her grandmother’s ultimatum, Lady Celia Sharpe sets her sights on three eligible bachelors. Becoming betrothed to one of these wealthy, high-ranking men will surely prove her capable of getting married, so hopefully the wedding itself won’t be necessary for Celia and her siblings to receive their inheritance. Step two of her audacious plan is hiring the dangerously compelling Bow Street Runner Jackson Pinter to investigate the three men she’s chosen. But with Lady Celia bedeviling Jackson’s days and nights, the last thing he wants is to help her find a husband. And when she recalls shadowed memories that lead his investigation into her parents’ mysterious deaths in a new direction—putting her in danger—Jackson realizes the only man he wants Celia to marry is himself!
This blurb came from the author’s website here.

I usually find it bittersweet to read the last book in a series I have enjoyed. Bitter because that means the series is over and sweet because I get all the answers *rubs hands together*. A Lady Never Surrenders is the final book of Ms Jeffries Hellions of Halstead Hall series. I reviewed book four, To Wed A Wild Lord, back in November here. I was really looking forward to reading this for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to know what happened with the suspicious deaths of the Hellions’ parents. And given that I had predicted this particular couple *happy dance* I wanted to see how their relationship was going to develop.

I have to admit that I felt sorry for Celia. Thinking about the amount of internal pressure she had to be under thinking that if she didn’t either marry within the next two months or convince her grandmother, Hetty, to rescind her ultimatum then all of her beloved siblings would lose any chance of inheriting. Celia also had to deal with the fact that no man had ever expressed interest in her before word got out that she was an heiress so how could she hope to find someone who actually wanted her and not her money? Not to mention that she enjoyed a lot of activities that were considered extremely unladylike and her future husband probably wouldn’t agree to let her continue.

Jackson on the other hand seemed like he was caught between a rock and a hard place. Hired to do a job, forced to investigate the potential suitors of the woman he wanted and unable to offer for her himself based on their life circumstances. He also had to deal with the fact that she seemed bound and determined to drive him absolutely insane without really trying. And then there was the pesky issue of what appeared to be a double murder instead of a covered-up murder/suicide.

I made the mistake of thinking that the very meddlesome Grandmother Hetty would have softened given the fact that she now had a gentleman caller but she continued to play a significant role. I already considered her a force to be reckoned with but when she went to work to prevent Celia from making what she considered a horrible mistake I got to see what she was really made of. Those couple of scenes and her refusal to consider anything else made it evident how she was able to care for all five children and create the family business into the empire it became.

I enjoyed the balance between the murder mystery and the building relationship between Celia and Jackson. Both had their fair share of twists and turns while continuing to progress. My only quibble was that a few parts of the mystery were tied up a bit too conveniently but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment as a whole. I can’t talk anymore about “who done it” without spoiling not just this book but the entire series. Ms Jeffries kept me captivated between the humor, the smexy times, the mystery, the Grandmother, and watching both Celia and Jackson overcome scars that had been inadvertently caused by their loving family. Once again I recommend that you start with the first book because this one builds on actions that have taken place in all of the others.

Check back later today for an interview with Ms Jeffries!

I give A Lady Never Surrenders a B+

Links to purchase

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|

Review – A Lady Never Surrenders by Sabrina Jeffries is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Publisher: Awe Struck Publishing
Publish Date: Out now
How I got this book: From the author

She will use her body to discover his secrets…

Poor and innocent, Aubriana Welbrey is concealing a terrible truth–her smuggling brother murdered the local revenue officer and she will do anything to protect him…even spy on the dark and dangerous Lord Ravenspur–a traitor to England, according to Sheriff Hodgeson who hired her. But to garner all of Ravenspur’s secrets, she must first become his mistress.

He will play the fool for no woman…

Alexande Telford, the Marquis of Ravenspur, is no insouciant Lothario as the ton believes–he’s a spy for the Crown, on a mission to capture the murderer of the revenue officer and stop a traitor from betraying England to France. Then there is his lovely new mistress, which Alex suspects may be somehow involved. Can he seduce her secrets without surrendering his own?
This blurb came from the author’s website here.

As I started reading The Rogue Who Loved Me I noticed that Ms Hyatt started with an excerpt from a poem. I have found that while some authors dive right into the story others use different techniques to almost cue the reader’s mind before things really get going. I have seen prologues, quotes from (in) famous people, quotes form literary works and excerpts from poems. The quote, from one of Rudyard Kipling’s poems, that Ms Hyatt used not only made me expect intrigue but also a very vivid world as all of Kipling’s works included. I thought this was significant to mention because I noticed an immediate change in my perspective, mental outlook, and expectations for the novel I was about to start.

I will admit as I read that I was slightly concerned about my expectations rising too much because everything seemed pretty straightforward at the beginning and I was sure I knew who the traitor was and who had committed the murder. I also didn’t like the hero initially because he certainly fit the description of a rake. Not just by his actions, what people said about his reputation but his very thoughts. Then I realized that unlike most rakes in historical romances I actually got proof that he was a rake besides having that title. Ms Hyatt used an alternating first person POV that gave me insight into Alexande’s character and I could actually see how his thought patterns changed from the pretty despicable rake to someone who I thought could actually be in a faithful relationship. I was cheering him on by the end of The Rogue Who Loved Me.

Aubriana was also a much more complex character then she seemed at the beginning. She certainly did not fall into Alexande’s bed or arms easily. It was fascinating seeing her mental conflict as she struggled with her attraction for Alexande, her fear for her brother, and her reluctance to spy. She was certainly determined to succeed at whatever she attempted and that became readily apparent as she settled into her position with Alexande.

I can’t say a lot about the murder, the traitor and the required misunderstanding without spoiling the book but I will say that I was very nicely surprised by the conclusion of those three elements. As a side note I would love to read the butler, Mr. Wiggins’s story *grin*.

I give The Rogue Who Loved Me a B

Links to purchase: Kindle eBook

Review – The Rogue Who Loved Me by Ingela Hyatt is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Meet the Blackthorn Brothers—three unrepentant scoundrels infamous for being mad, bad and perilous to love.

Handsome as the devil and twice as tempting, Robin “Puck” Blackthorn lives for the pleasures of the moment. His only rule—never dally with an innocent woman. But when an encounter at a masquerade ball leaves him coveting the one woman who refuses to succumb to his charms, Puck realizes that some rules were made to be broken…

Scandalized to discover that the masked man with whom she’d shared a dance—and a forbidden embrace—is in fact the ton’s most celebrated rake, Regina Hackett vows to keep her distance. Yet when her dear friend vanishes, it is to Puck that Regina must turn. And as they embark on a dangerous journey through London’s darkest alleys, Regina will discover that beneath Puck’s roguish facade lies a man who will stop at nothing to protect her—or to convince her to take a chance on an unrepentant sinner.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

Regina Hackett’s father has more money than most but a happy home life is something she’s never known. Regina and her cousin Miranda make a snap decision one night to go out to a masquerade ball, and Miranda gets kidnapped. Regina pairs up with Puck, the sexy bastard son of a Marquis to find her dear cousin.

Puck lives life to the fullest, and Regina is one woman he never expected. They are up against time and a ruthless slaver while trying to find Miranda, but Puck refuses to let any harm come to his dearest’s cousin. But when the slaver’s identity is revealed, Puck and Regina might not be able to recover.

I was so looking forward to this book, I love regency historical romances, and had high hopes for Puck and Regina. I hoped that the sub-plot with the kidnapping would also provide some good suspense reading, but unfortunately that part failed to live up to my expectations.

As for Puck and Regina, I really enjoyed them both as characters. Puck was such a fun loving and easy going hero. It was obvious that he lived life to the fullest, and didn’t let his unfortunately status play a factor in his life. He was impulsive and funny and charming and yet once he fell for Regina, he was completely protective and doted on her left and right. Watching him morph from this even keel gentleman at the beginning of the novel to a hardened spy was great as well. I was especially happy when he walked away from danger at the end, proving to Regina that she was all he wanted and needed.

Regina was great as well. There were times I thought she pushed for too much freedom, and that some of her reactions were not what I would have expected from a woman of that time. However, she was strong and sure and so obviously cared for her cousin. I did think that she handled the entire kidnapping/slavery aspect a little too easily, especially after discovering the holding place of the girls. However, I thought that the emotional backlash of finding out the identity of the slaver was very well done.

For me though, the suspense aspect wasn’t all that suspenseful. I’m not sure if it’s just that the suspense of the era didn’t really interest me, or the sub-plot just wasn’t what I expected. I enjoyed the slavery aspect, but had a harder time really getting into the story, whereas other contemporary stories I’ve read about female slavery kept my attention better. Part of it could be that I guessed the identity of the slaver fairly early on in the book, and would have liked that to have been a bigger mystery.

All in all the romance aspect of this story was very well done. I enjoyed Puck and Regina’s relationship and thought it developed well and played out wonderfully. However, the rest of the book fell somewhat flat for me.
I give A Midsummer Night’s Sin a C

Review – A Midsummer Night’s Sin by Kasey Michaels is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

To fulfill his grandmother’s ultimatum, Lord Gabriel Sharpe pursues a spitfire he believes desperately needs him. Then the tables are turned….

Like everything daredevil Gabriel Sharpe does, pursuing Virginia Waverly is a high-stakes game. Ever since her brother Roger died racing Lord Gabriel, Virginia has yearned to take her revenge on the reckless lord by beating him at his own sport. But when she challenges Lord Gabriel to a race, the hellion who has always embraced his dark reputation as the “Angel of Death” counters with a marriage proposal!
Gabe knows Virginia’s family is in dire financial straits—why shouldn’t she marry him and solve both their problems? She claims to be appalled by his proposal, but her response to his kisses says otherwise. So when the two of them begin to unravel the truth behind Roger’s death, Gabe takes the greatest gamble of all, offering the cunning and courageous beauty something more precious than any inheritance: true love.
I got this blurb from the author’s website HERE.

Thanks to Pocket we have one copy to give away. Details are at the end of this review.

I have been a fan of historical romances ever since I read my first two romances; A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodwiss and The Bride by Julie Garwood so when I find an enjoyable historical romance author I tend to try to read everything I can get my hand on by them. Sabrina Jeffries is one of those authors that I know I can pick up and spend a few hours in a different world. I was browsing in a bookstore when I first spotted Ms Jeffries’ books. She tends to write series so my OCDness wouldn’t let me just pick up an book and get started, I had to find the FIRST book. She had just released The Truth About Lord Stoneville, which happened to be the first book in her Hellions of Halstead Hall series. I decided to give it a try and thoroughly enjoyed it. This enjoyment resulted in my adding the next books in the series to my wish list so I was really excited when we were offered the opportunity to review To Wed a Wild Lord, book four of The Hellions of Halstead Hall.

The basic premise of the series is a family of five children whose parents died under suspicious circumstances. After the sudden deaths of their parents, their grandmother raised them. Then one year she got fed up with their less then socially appropriate behavior so she laid down the law. All five had to get married within a year or they would lose their inheritance. So far three of the siblings have met their grandmother’s ultimatum.

Lord Gabriel has decided that since he feels at fault for the death of his best friend, Roger, and the subsequent gradual slide into genteel poverty for his sister that he can kill two birds with one stone. Marrying Roger’s sister would keep her from encountering any of the unpleasantries that occur when you are reduced to living off of a distant relation’s charity or working in one of the few professions available to a gently reared-noblewoman who has fallen on hard times. That marriage would also satisfy his grandmother. Noble as Lord Gabriel’s plan was, he failed to take into account exactly how Virginia Waverly felt about him.

I think it takes a very delicate balancing act to turn enemies into lovers without veering into “I hate your guts, I wish you would die, I love you forever,” and giving the reader whiplash as the emotions abruptly switch between opposite end of the spectrum. Yes I have heard people say that love and hate are merely different sides of the same coin but I need a transition between them if I am going to feel that the emotional connection between the characters is believable. Ms Jeffries hit that balance perfectly.

The interaction between Lord Gabriel and Virginia gave both the characters and the readers a chance to get to know them and who they were without the trappings forced on them in polite society encounters. The slow emerging of facts behind Roger’s death also forced not only Lord Gabriel and Virginia to look at Roger as a whole but forced some of the supporting cast members to examine how personality traits and a series of seemingly unconnected conversations can result in a life changing event.

Ms Jeffries made her main characters work for their Happily Ever After (HEA). As I continued to read it was fascinating to watch the shift between Virginia demanding that Lord Gabriel make all the changes to Lord Gabriel refusing to accept Virginia unless she also grew and risked rejection of her internal self. I enjoyed watching the character growth on both sides because I felt it drew me deeper into the story.

I recommend that if you are going to read this series that you start with the first book because part of my joy came from seeing the changes in Lord Gabriel and his siblings as the year progressed. There is also the underlying theme of solving the murder of their parents and each book contains developments in that case. I also think there is some hinting towards the final relationship that would be missed otherwise. I give To Wed a Wild Lord a B+.

As I mentioned earlier, thanks to Pocket we have one copy of To Wed a Wild Lord to give away. The winner will be announced on Monday the 21st. To enter leave a comment talking about what you enjoy most in a series that involves siblings. Good luck!

Links to purchase:

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Review & Giveaway – To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

“Sebastian Madinger, the Earl of Wriothesly, thought he’d married the perfect woman-until a fatal accident revealed her betrayal with his best friend. After their deaths, Sebastian is determined to avoid a scandal for the sake of his son. But his best friend’s widow is just as determined to cast her mourning veil aside by hosting a party that will surely destroy both their reputations and expose all of his carefully kept secrets…

Leah George has carried the painful knowledge of her husband’s affair for almost a year. All she wants now is to enjoy her independence and make a new life for herself-even if that means being ostracized by the Society whose rules she was raised to obey. Now that the rumors are flying, there’s only one thing left for Sebastian to do: silence the scandal by enticing the improper widow into becoming a proper wife. But when it comes to matters of the heart, neither Sebastian nor Leah is prepared for the passion they discover in each other’s arms….”
I got this blurb from the authors website here.

A large percentage of historical romances make some mention of cheating wives or husbands but they are usually involved with someone who is single. If the single individual is a male then he either ends up becoming the hero when he changes his rakish behavior out of love for the heroine, or is a worthless bounder who is a direct contributor to the death of the cheating wife. If the single male is cast as the villainous type he sets the stage for the bitter betrayed husband to meet the woman who heals his heart and proves that the “fairer sex” is worthy of trust and love. If the single individual is a woman then she must be a member of the demimonde or a worker in a house of ill-repute and contributes to the death of the cheating husband. That death leaves behind a “grieving” widow who must be brought out of her secluded husbandless life. Or the single woman is the innocent heroine acting out of love and naivety or forced, usually by blackmail or threat to her family, into the situation and whom the hero rescues. I haven’t read any before that look at what happens to the surviving spouses if the cheating individuals both happen to be married and as a result of their infidelity they both end up dead. Ms March decided that she was going to explore this in Romancing the Countess.

I was curious to see how Ms March was going to pull the two obviously wounded people together given their different reactions based on both gender and one could almost say different stages of grieving. This is a two-part grief, on one hand dealing with death of a person and on the other with the disillusionment about their marriage. Both the hero and heroine started at the same spot regarding their death grief but Sebastian had the added shock of learning the truth about his marriage, unlike Leah who had known for months. While I liked the overall premise, I had some difficulty understanding Leah’s behavior at times and I thought that both characters exhibited signs of TSTL syndrome upon occasion.

I could understand why Sebastian wanted to ensure that any thought of scandal involving the death of his wife and that of Leah’s husband was never really considered. His main concern was protecting his son from scandal but I also think he used that as an excuse to ignore his own feelings about learning his wife’s true character and that of her lover. I think his behavior and manner towards Leah actually ended up leading to more speculation then his leaving Leah alone would have done. It appeared very evident to me that he actually goaded Leah into doing something that the Ton, her in-laws and family thought was unacceptable. I think he used his internal justification of trying to enforce proper behavior to conceal his attempt to take out his anger/hurt/frustration on Leah for not feeling/behaving the way he thought she should. While he did eventually redeem himself I think to atone for the results of his behavior he needed groveling not just insistence on marriage once Leah found herself in a rather unpleasant situation.

Now Leah herself didn’t quite make sense to me. I understood more after she confided in Sebastian about why she behaved the way she did regarding her husband’s infidelity, but I think I understood that too far into the book. Her characterization outside of that seemed inconsistent. She demonstrated that she knew enough about the Ton, her in-laws and her family to carefully hold the line between acceptable if somewhat surprising behavior for a widow and that which would put her out of society’s good graces. When she went from carefully walking that line to leaping beyond it, even with Sebastian’s behavior as a goad, I think she completely lost me. Her actions were not spur of the moment but required deliberate planning so when she claimed later in the book that she didn’t really know what would happen as a result I was not able to accept that.

While I didn’t have a good connection with either the hero or heroine I did enjoy their interaction together, and I remained continued to wonder how Sebastian and Leah were going to resolve their situation. Ms March crafted an entertaining read I was just not able to completely immerse myself in her story because of what appeared to be character inconsistencies.

I give Romancing the Countess a C

Links to purchase:

BN Nook | BN Paperback | Amazon Book | Kindle eBook | Book Depository

Review – Romancing the Countess by Ashley March is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Interview & Giveaway: Carrie Lofty is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Publisher: Pocket Books

How did I get the book: E-arc from the author

Release date: Out now!

 Barnes and Noble Nook

Review: Flawless by Carrie Lofty is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: NetGalley

What woman would refuse a Duke’s kiss?
Running from a dark secret past, Isabella Masters craves peace and stability, a life far from the prying eyes of society. She does not dream of landing a lord.

But in the arms of a stranger with magnificent eyes, she loses herself in one breath-stealing kiss— only to discover she has been misled by a reluctant Duke. Angered but enthralled, she dares not submit . . . though her passionate heart begs her to.

He cannot wed her . . . but he must not lose her. Only one possibility remains— one too scandalous to consider . . . yet too tempting to resist.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I had the pleasure of being able to read this book while on vacation in London, so I have to admit to being in the spirit of historical regency romance books while I read this one.

Isabella is on the run from her past, hiding out as a wetnurse for families in the country, but when the woman she is working for is called back to London, Isabella starts to worry that her past will catch up to her, and that the life she has made for herself with fall apart. She meets a man along the journey and hopes for the first time that maybe she can make a small life for herself.

But what Isabella doesn’t know is that Mark is really a Duke posing as a commoner. He inherited from his uncle and doesn’t know the first thing about being a Duke. What he does know is that he wants Isabella, in whichever way he can have her. But as their secrets start to unravel, will the unlikely pair overcome her past and his position?

I’m the first to admit that at times I find myself getting bored with the historical romance genre, there are a few authors who can still rope me in and keep me begging for more. After reading this, I might have to add Kent to that list. I adored this story. Sure there were a few things that didn’t jive with me, but overall it was a great read.

I loved Isabella, especially since she was so slowly revealed to us. She was one of those characters who kept peeling back layers of her past and her feelings and kept coming more and more evolved as a character. I really enjoyed every part of her, especially as she dealt with Mark being a Duke, and facing her family once again. It was so well done and I loved that.

Like Isabella, Mark was an exception character as well. He started off so depressed and almost disappointing. He was unsure of himself, hating his new position, and just going with the flow of everything. I wanted to shake him up a bit, but as his friendship with Isabella went on, and he really learned how to become a Duke he became so much more. I loved watching him figure out HOW to become a Duke, and how he was so ready to scorn society at the chance to have it all with Isabella.

Their romance felt special to me, maybe because it happened in such obvious parts. First they became friends when Isabella thought he was a simple servant for the Duke. The two were able to both let go of everything except themselves and just be real together. They built a foundation that turned out to be real and solid. Then, after Isabella found out his secret they started building a sexual relationship while working out their trust issues. Those moments were hot and steamy, but also romantic to watch Mark shed his duties and go back to being her friend. Then they came together as a matched pair, even and ready to take on the world. I loved it.

All in all I really enjoyed this one. It did have a bit of a slow start for me, but once it picked up, the romance and passion between Isabella and Mark swept me away and kept me turning the pages as quickly as possible. The love story in this one might just be a new favorite.
I give What a Duke Wants a B+

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Review – What A Duke Wants by Lavinia Kent is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter