Review of “Duke in Darkness” (Wickedly Wed #1) by Nicola Davidson

Davidson, Nicola. Duke in Darkness. [New Zealand]: Nicola Davidson, 2020. 

ASIN: B07N5L5BBG | $4.99 USD | 305 pages | Regency Romance/Erotic Romance

Blurb

Colonel Gabriel Jordan-Ives once lived to serve king and country, with high hopes for a future of love, marriage, and children. Now he exists as a poor recluse, haunted by horrific war memories and struggling with a maimed body—until the day he unexpectedly inherits his cousin Exton’s dukedom and must leave his sanctuary for London, rejoin the ton he cannot abide…and secure the line with a legitimate heir.
Often punished for her hot blooded, curious nature, Lady Lilian Nash transformed herself into the perfect duchess-in-waiting to please her family. However they demand more—wed her late fiancé’s mad cousin—or they’ll be financially ruined. Her marriage of convenience is confusing; Gabriel is unlike any man she’s ever met, an untamed aristocrat both generous and secretive, a scarred yet powerful husband who introduces her to wicked pleasures in the bedchamber even as he forbids her from touching him.
But as the brutal shadows of his past intrude on their present, and cruel enemies attempt to destroy a growing bond, can love save a duke in darkness, or will the shadows consume them both?

Duke in Darkness is the first in a new full-length series. Please note it contains explicit language and sexual content.

Review

5 stars

Thus far, I had only read Nicola Davidson’s shorter works, but the premise of  Duke in Darkness intrigued me and I was curious what she could do with a full novel. And as I hoped, it delivered, and it’s probably my favorite Nicola Davidson book yet. 

She perfectly crafts two characters who each have obstacles to face that aren’t magically fixed by sex or falling in love (although in typical Davidson style, it’s sexy and kinky in the best way). I had heard praise in particular for the PTSD rep, and it’s well done in how it shows Gabriel learning to cope with this trauma, with support from Lilian. 

And while Gabriel’s a recluse, Lili’s story complements his in that she comes from a repressed background and must unlearn the insane things she learned about proper behavior, including in the bedroom, from her domineering grandmother. I like how this conflict was fleshed out (and I hate that old woman), and rooted for Lili to work through it, particularly when it became an obstacle to her finding true happiness with Gabriel. 

This is a fabulous book, and once again, Nicola Davidson demonstrates the perfect balance between sex and intimacy, as well as high heat and intricate characterization. I recommend it to anyone who loves erotic historical romances. 

Author Bio

NICOLA DAVIDSON worked for many years in communications and marketing as well as television and print journalism, but hasn’t looked back since she decided writing wicked historical romance was infinitely more fun. When not chained to a computer she can be found ambling along one of New Zealand’s beautiful beaches, cheering on the All Blacks rugby team, history geeking on the internet or daydreaming. If this includes chocolate – even better!
Keep up with Nicola’s news on Twitter (@NicolaMDavidson) Facebook (Nicola Davidson – Author) or her website www.nicola-davidson.com

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Review of “To Catch an Earl” (Bow Street Bachelors #2) by Kate Bateman

Bateman, Kate. To Catch an Earl. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2020.

ISBN-13: 978-1250306111 | $7.99 USD | 326 pages | Regency Romance

Blurb

Working undercover for London’s first official police force, the Bow Street Bachelors have an obligation to serve the city’s best interests—even while they’re falling for the city’s most alluring women…

SHE KNOWS HOW TO STEAL A KISS.

Alex Harland, Earl of Melton and dedicated rake, never pictured himself as an agent of inquiry. But the thrill of investigation is a challenge he now embraces. When he’s asked to pursue the Nightjar, a notorious thief who is reclaiming France’s crown jewels, the case throws him into the path of the beautiful and equally elusive Emmy Danvers, reminding him of the only puzzle he’s never solved: the identity of the mysterious woman who once stole a kiss from him—and left him wanting so much more…

WILL HE SURRENDER HIS HEART?

The daughter of a thief, Emmy learned long ago how to keep her secrets safeguarded—and, as the notorious Nightjar, her love for Alex Harland is one of them. With the determined earl hot on her trail—and making her hot under the collar—Emmy has no choice but to keep her distance. But when a moment’s danger threatens Emmy’s life as well as her name, will Alex finally discover that he’s followed every clue…to true love?

“Full of intense emotions and dramatic twists….Future installments will be eagerly anticipated by Regency readers.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on This Earl of Mine

In the series

#1 This Earl of Mine 

Review 

3 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

After the generally lackluster (in my opinion) first book in the series, I had some trepidation when it came to To Catch an Earl. However, the detective/spy aspect of the first book did give me some hope for the series trajectory, and the main attraction of this one was the fact that the heroine was involved in thievery, and the hero the honorable one out to catch her (although he doesn’t know it initially). 

And while it’s a great premise and one I enjoy objectively, I feel like this one was a bit flawed in its execution. I mean, theoretically, Alex and Emmy work: while they are on opposing sides, both are committed to their own respective forms of justice, even if Emmy’s is a bit unorthodox. 

However, while there’s an obvious spark between them, I just didn’t get what it was that drew them together in the long-term. And while the author’s note does attempt to  bring it all together with the explanation of koi no yokan, or “the sense of inevitability upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love,” I just didn’t buy it. YMMV, but I prefer a bit more substance than that. 

This was kind of just…ok, which sucks, as it was off to a pretty good start. I do think others will like it, as Bateman does have a consistently engaging writing voice, along with crafting a pretty good external plot, and again, the feelings about the romance aspect are primarily a matter of taste. 

Author Bio 

Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of Regency, Victorian, and Renaissance historical romance. Her Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, is a Romance Writer’s of America 2019 RITA® Finalist and her Regency-set A Counterfeit Heart (Secrtes & Spies series) won the 2018 Book Buyer’s Best contest for Best Historical Romance.

Kate wrote her first historical romance in response to a $1 bet with her husband who rashly claimed she’d ‘never finish the thing.’ She gleefully proved him wrong. Her books feature her favorite intelligent heroines, (badasses in bodices!) wickedly inappropriate banter, and heroes you want to both strangle and kiss. 

When not traveling to exotic locations ‘for research’, Kate leads a not-so-secret double life as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several TV shows in the UK, each of which has up to 2.5 million viewers. Before writing romance, Kate was director and valuer at her own UK Auction House, Batemans in Stamford, Lincolnshire. She currently splits her time between Illinois and her native England and writes despite three inexhaustible children and that husband . . .who still owes her that dollar.

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Review of “She’s Faking It” by Kristin Rockaway

Rockaway, Kristin. She’s Faking It. Toronto, Ontario: Graydon House, 2020. 

ISBN-13: 978-1525804564 | $15.99 USD | 384 pages | Women’s Fiction

Blurb

“Smart, fun, fast-paced.”—Helen Hoang, USA Today-bestselling author, on How to Hack a Heartbreak

You can’t put a filter on reality.

Bree Bozeman isn’t exactly pursuing the life of her dreams. Then again, she isn’t too sure what those dreams are. After dropping out of college, she’s living a pretty chill life in the surf community of Pacific Beach, San Diego…if “chill” means delivering food as a GrubGetter, and if it means “uneventful”.

But when Bree starts a new Instagram account — @breebythesea — one of her posts gets a signal boost from none other than wildly popular self-help guru Demi DiPalma, owner of a lifestyle brand empire. Suddenly, Bree just might be a rising star in the world of Instagram influencing. Is this the direction her life has been lacking? It’s not a career choice she’d ever seriously considered, but maybe it’s a sign from the universe. After all, Demi’s the real deal… right?

Everything is lining up for Bree: life goals, career, and even a blossoming romance with the chiseled guy next door, surf star Trey Cantu. But things are about to go sideways fast, and even the perfect filter’s not gonna fix it. Instagram might be free, but when your life looks flawless on camera, what’s the cost?

Review

4 stars 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I was drawn to the premise of She’s Faking It and how it follows someone without any direction in life as she falls into a career as an Instagram influencer. While I’m not a big fan of some of the popular real life influencers, I’m not opposed to reading a story about one if the story is well done…and this one is, for the most part. 

While I haven’t been in Bree’s precise situation, I can relate to the feeling she has of feeling like she has no idea what comes next in her life. I enjoyed seeing her take chances and work on improving her life, and it gave me some things to ponder about my own life. 

I also really liked her personal relationships with family and friends, especially her sister, who has things more “together” than Bree, and gives her the book that starts her off on her journey. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I like its insights into both the world of social media and the issue of not living up to the typical expectations for success. I recommend it to fans of contemporaries, especially those who are interested in stories focused on social media. 

Author Bio

Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker and recovering corporate software engineer. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she finally traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of code. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, browsing the aisles of her neighborhood bookstores, and trying to catch up on sleep.

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Review of “Heart and Hand” (Gold Sky #1) by Rebel Carter

Carter, Rebel. Heart and Hand. London: Violet Gaze Press, 2019. 

ASIN: B07RDLX28B | $3.99 USD | 272 pages | Historical Romance

Blurb

Can a Mail Order bride find love with two husbands?

 It doesn’t take long for Julie Baptiste to realize she yearns for more than the non-stop engagements and niceties dictated by New York high society. So, she decides to do something bold and answers an advertisement for a mail-order bride in Gold Sky, Montana.

Ex-Union soldiers Forrest Wickes and William Barnes have been inseparable since the War. They share everything, including the desire to find a wife. A woman who is willing to marry them both and provide the isolated town with a much needed teacher.

When Julie arrives in Montana the three of them must figure out how to navigate the boundaries of their new lives. Can Forrest and Will come together to provide what Julie needs and protect the heart of the woman who’s made her way intimately into theirs?

And how will a debutante-turned-teacher manage frontier life with two husbands?

Heart and Hand is a romantic and passionate MFM romance and Book 1 in the Golden Sky Series.

Review

4 stars

I had heard a lot of good things about Rebel Carter, but I wasn’t sure about Heart and Hand in particular, as I’ve heard that MFM can sometimes be biphobic. However, while I’ve still come to prefer when “everyone is into everyone” and look forward to one of the later books where that is the case, I love that this is still a book where the relationship between Forrest and Will is just as deep as each of their relationships with Julie, even if it is purely a deep platonic relationship instead of a romantic one. 

While some aspects of the hurdles the three face are a little ridiculous and a bit overdramatic, like “the other woman” stuff, I did like how they worked through their issues together, or the others would try to encourage the third to give the relationship another shot. 

It’s also refreshing, given both the fact that Julie is mixed-race and this is a poly romance, that this story doesn’t dwell too much on the angst over whether something is unorthodox or even illegal in the context of the time period…in Gold Sky, it’s accepted, a theme I expect will carry over the course of the series. 

This is a delightfully original historical romance, and one I’d recommend to anyone looking for a fun new take on the genre. 

Author Bio

Rebel Carter loves love. So much in fact that she decided to write the love stories she desperately wanted to read. A book by Rebel means diverse characters, sexy banter, a real big helping of steamy scenes, and, of course, a whole lotta heart.

Rebel lives in Colorado, makes a mean espresso, and is hell-bent on filling your bookcase with as many romance stories as humanly possible!

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Review of “About a Rogue” (Desperately Seeking Duke #1) by Caroline Linden

Linden, Caroline. About a Rogue. New York: Avon Books, 2020.

ISBN-13: 978-0062913623 | $7.99 USD | 384 pages | Regency Romance

Blurb

The eBook edition of About a Rogue includes a bonus short story in Caroline Linden’s Desperately Seeking Duke series!

The first book in the new series Desperately Seeking Duke from USA Today bestselling and RITA award-winning author Caroline Linden.

It’s no love match…

Bianca Tate is horrified when her sister Cathy is obliged to accept an offer of marriage from Maximilian St. James, notorious rake. Defiantly she helps Cathy elope with her true love, and takes her sister’s place at the altar.

It’s not even the match that was made…

Perched on the lowest branch of his family tree, Max has relied on charm and cunning to survive. But an unexpected stroke of luck gives him an outside chance at a dukedom—and which Tate sister he weds hardly seems to matter.

But could it be the perfect match?

Married or not, Bianca is determined to protect her family’s prosperous ceramics business, even when Max shows an affinity for it—not to mention a dangerous ability to intrigue and tempt Bianca herself. And when Max realizes how beautiful and intelligent and desirable Bianca is, he’ll have to prove he’s no rogue, but the passionately devoted husband she craves…

Review

5 stars 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

The premise for Caroline Linden’s Desperately Seeking Duke series appealed to me, because while I don’t love aristocrats, I love when a person who thought they didn’t have a chance of inheriting suddenly is the new titleholder, or will likely become so at some point in the future. And that premise is perfectly set up in About a Rogue. 

Max is a great hero, as he embodies everything soove about the subject of the  “unexpected inheritance” trope: due to their position in life up to this point, they’ve had to fend for themselves. While his reputation is somewhat…checkered, shall we say…he proves what he’s capable of when his new father-in-law gives him a role in running the family’s business. I also respect that, while him and Bianca giving into their attraction was a foregone conclusion, he never pressed the issue and waited until they came to an accord. 

I could understand Bianca’s frustration with Max, both due to his reputation and the fact that she felt a bit possessive of the business and her role in it. However, I can understand why others might see her as a bit unreasonable.

There’s also this beautiful short at the end of the book (only in the eBook, but it *might* still be available  in print to those who order from her local indie, Porter Square Books) following Kit (Max’s valet) and Jennie (Bianca’s lady’s maid) set during the course of the main story, and given the death of servant focused romance, this was an absolute joy to read. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the extended family as the series continues. If you love historical romance, you won’t be disappointed. 

Author Bio

Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a degree in mathematics from Harvard University and worked as a programmer in the financial services industry before realizing writing fiction is much more exciting than writing code. Her books have won the NEC-RWA Readers’ Choice Award, the JNRW Golden Leaf, the Daphne du Maurier Award, and RWA’s RITA Award, and have been translated into seventeen languages around the world. She lives in New England.

Sign up at http://www.carolinelinden.com/signup…. to get notified about her books and receive a free short story exclusively for subscribers. 

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Review of “Protect the Prince”

Estep, Jennifer. Protect the Prince. New York: Harper Voyager, 2019. 

ISBN-13: 978-0062797643 | $16.99 USD | 432 pages | Fantasy 

Blurb

First, Evie has to deal with a court full of arrogant, demanding nobles, all of whom want to get their greedy hands on her crown. As if that wasn’t bad enough, an assassin tries to kill Evie in her own throne room.

Despite the dangers, Evie goes ahead with a scheduled trip to the neighboring kingdom of Andvari in order to secure a desperately needed alliance. But complicating matters is the stubborn Andvarian king, who wants to punish Evie for the deaths of his countrymen during the Seven Spire massacre.

But dark forces are at work inside the Andvarian palace, and Evie soon realizes that no one is safe. Worse, Evie’s immunity to magic starts acting in strange, unexpected ways, which makes her wonder whether she is truly strong enough to be a Winter Queen.

But Evie’s magic, life, and crown aren’t the only things in danger—so is her heart, thanks to Lucas Sullivan, the Andvarian king’s bastard son and Evie’s . . . well, Evie isn’t quite sure what Sullivan is to her.

Only one thing is certain—protecting a prince might be even harder than killing a queen…

In the series

#1 Kill the Queen 

#3 Crush the King 

Review

3.5 stars

After the enjoyable first installment, I had high hopes going into Protect the Prince. And while it’s not as good as the first book, I feel like most of the elements I liked remained consistent.

The political intrigue is on point once again, and I love the structure of the book with it split into parts based on the asssassination attempts on Evie’s life. And I loved seeing Evie trying to navigate her new role as queen as she tries to secure an alliance with Andvari, whose king wants to see her punished.

However, another prominent aspect of the book is her romance with Lucas, and it was super cringey, especially the sex scene. 

This was a fairly solid installment otherwise, and I can’t wait to get to book 3 to see how things continue/wrap up. If you liked the first one, you’ll like this one too. 

Author Bio

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Jennifer is the author of the Crown of Shards, Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy, Bigtime, and Black Blade fantasy series. She has written more than 35 books, along with numerous novellas and stories.

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys hanging out with friends and family, doing yoga, and reading fantasy and romance books. She also watches way too much TV and loves all things related to superheroes.

For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.jenniferestep.com or follow her online on Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub, Amazon, and Twitter. You can also sign up for her newsletter.

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Review of “A Bride of Convenience” by Jody Hedlund

Hedlund, Jody. A Bride of Convenience. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2020.

ISBN-13: 978-0764232978 | $15.99 USD | 384 pages | Historical Romance/Christian Fiction

Blurb

Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime.

Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant. While there, he’s devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she’s marrying another man.

With mounting pressure to find the baby a home, Zoe accepts a proposal from a miner of questionable character after he promises to help her locate her brother. Intent on protecting Zoe and frustrated by his failed engagement, Abe offers his own hand as groom. After a hasty wedding, they soon realize their marriage of convenience is not so convenient after all.

In the series 

#1 A Reluctant Bride

#2 The Runaway Bride

Review

4 stars 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A Bride of Convenience is the third book in Jody Hedlund’s Bride Ships series, although it can be read as a stand alone. However, her historical research remains impeccable as always, and I’ve loved exploring different perspectives of the Bride Ship Brides through both of the books I’ve read so far. 

Marriage of convenience isn’t always a favorite trope of mine, but Hedlund makes it work here depicting Zoe and Abe getting into the situation due to the young child Zoe finds herself caring for. I liked how each of them are struggle to figure out what the other expects in this new marriage, as well as grappling with some former potential love matches from their past who try to interfere.

The characters themselves are also relatable, Zoe especially. I admired her compassion for others,  which led her to taking the baby in, even though it made her marriage prospects a bit dimmer, and she bonded with Abe due their shared love for helping others. But I also liked that they did have flaws and could learn from each other. 

This is a solid installment in the series and another great book by Jody Hedlund. I recommend this to anyone who loves sweet/inspirational historical romance. 

Author Bio

Jody Hedlund is the author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

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Review of “Destination Wedding” by Diksha Basu

Basu, Diksha. Destination Wedding. New York: Ballantine Books, 2020.

ISBN-13: 978-0525577126 | $27.00 USD | 320 pages | Women’s Fiction

Blurb

From the internationally bestselling author of The Windfall. . . . What could go wrong at a lavish Indian wedding with your best friend and your entire family?

“A witty and romantic novel perfect for all readers.”—Terry McMillan, author of It’s Not All Downhill From Here

When Tina Das finds herself at a crossroads both professionally and personally, she wonders if a weeklong trip to Delhi for her cousin’s lavish wedding might be just the right kind of escape. Maybe a little time away from New York will help get her mind straight about her stalled career, her recent breakup, and her nagging suspicion that she’ll never feel as at home in America as she does in India. Tina hopes this destination wedding, taking place at Delhi’s poshest country club, Colebrookes, will be the perfect way to reflect and unwind. 

But with the entire Das family in attendance, a relaxing vacation is decidedly not in the cards. Her amicably divorced parents are each using the occasion to explore new love interests—for her mother, a white American boyfriend, for her father, an Indian widow arranged by an online matchmaker—and Tina’s squarely in the middle. A former fling is unexpectedly on the guest list, a work opportunity is blurring the lines of propriety on several fronts, and her best friend Marianne’s terrible penchant for international playboys is poised to cause all sorts of chaos back home. The accommodations are swanky, the alcohol is top-shelf, but this family wedding may be more drama than Tina can bear and could finally force her to make the choices she’s spent much of her life avoiding.

Infused with warmth and charm, Destination Wedding grapples with the nuances of family, careers, belonging, and how we find the people who make a place feel like home.

Review

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Destination Wedding caught my attention thanks to the colorful cover, and the blurb sounded interesting as well. And while I have mixed feelings on it, I still feel like it’s a pretty solid book. 

The writing is compelling and even funny at times, making this a fun, quick read that was easy to get into and kept me turning pages. I also felt India as a setting was well drawn, especially when the characters were talking about the changes occurring around them. 

However, there’s a lot of emphasis put on the relationships between these different characters attending the extravagant Indian wedding, and I found some of their drama a little petty, particularly Tina’s indolent approach to her work and Marianne’s gold digging tendencies. The only redeemable characters were Tina’s divorced parents, because of their enduring friendship and sort-of partnership. 

If anything, this book is full of desi family drama, so I think it’s worth taking the good with the bad. If that sounds like your sort of thing, then I recommend picking this one up. 

Author Bio

Diksha Basu is a writer and occasional actor.

Originally from New Delhi, India, she holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University and now divides her time between New York City and Mumbai.

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Review of “Meet Cute Club” (Sweet Rose #1) by Jack Harbon

Harbon, Jack. Meet Cute Club. [United States]: Jack Harbon, 2020. 

ASIN: B084JTR86W | $4.99 USD | 232 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

Jordan Collins doesn’t need a man.

What he needs is for his favorite author to release another one of her sexy supernatural novels and more people to sign up for the romance book club that he fears is slowly and steadily losing its steam. He also needs for the new employee at his local bookstore to stop making fun of him for reading things meant for “grandmas.”

The very last thing he needs is for that same employee, Rex Bailey, to waltz into his living room and ask to join Meet Cute Club. Despite his immediate thoughts—like laughing in his face and telling him to kick rocks—Jordan decides that if he wants this club to continue thriving, he can’t turn away any new members. Not even ones like Rex, who somehow manage to be both frustratingly obnoxious and breathtakingly handsome.

As Jordan and Rex team up to bring the club back from the ashes, Jordan soon discovers that Rex might not be the arrogant troll he made himself out to be, and that, like with all things in life, maybe he was wrong to judge a book by its cover.

Review

5 stars

I discovered Jack Harbon through Twitter, and heard some good things about his recent release, Meet Cute Club, so I decided to give it a try during my free Kindle Unlimited trial. It sounded incredibly cute, and I love meta romance books lately, that involve romance readers (as this one does).

And that’s one of the pluses with Jordan, one of the two leads and an unapologetic romance lover. He runs a book club (the titular Meet Cute Club), and his enthusiasm was infectious. Considering romance is typecast as for and catered primarily  to straight cishet women, I loved seeing a guy in the LGBTQ+ community who was open about his status as romance reader.

Rex, the other protagonist, is cast as kind of the outsider and a bit of a critic of romance, but he isn’t the demeaning sort many readers in real life have encountered, due to his effort to give the genre a chance and even joining the Meet Cute Club, where he develops a love for romance as well.

The trajectory of their relationship is adorable, with some challenges along the way as they work toward their happily-ever-after. 

This book is an underrated gem, and one I think needs more exposure. I recommend this if you love fluffy rom-coms and meta romance books.

Author Bio

Jack Harbon is your typical, eccentric twenty-something writing stories much more interesting than his real life. If he’s not writing, he’s either reading domestic thrillers about women in peril, watching trashy reality TV shows, or playing The Sims.

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Review of “A Good Duke is Hard to Find” (Isle of Synne #1) by Christina Britton

Britton, Christina. A Good Duke is Hard to Find. New York: Forever, 2020.

ISBN-13: 978-153717492 | $7.99 USD | 384 pages | Regency Romance

Blurb

Get swept away by the new Regency romance from the author who Publishers Weekly calls “irresistible.”

After her third fiancé leaves her at the altar, Lenora Hartley is beginning to think she’s cursed. One thing’s for certain: she needs to escape London and her father’s tyrannical attempts to find her yet another suitor. The Isle of Synne, an isolated and idyllic retreat off Britain’s northern coast, is blessedly far from society’s gossip, but it also carries haunting reminders of her first fiancé. Letting go of the past to find happiness seems impossible — until Lenora is thrown in the path of a gruff, mysterious blue-eyed man who makes her pulse race.

Next in line for a dukedom he doesn’t want to inherit, Peter Ashford is only on the isle to exact revenge on the man who is responsible for his mother’s death. Once he’s completed the task, he’ll return to America where his life can finally be his own. Yet when he meets the beautiful and kind Miss Hartley, he can’t help but be drawn to her. Can Peter put aside his plans for vengeance for the woman who has come to mean everything to him?

Review 

2.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Christina Britton is an author who’s been raved about by a number of people I trust in the romance community, so I didn’t hesitate much to request an ARC for A Good Duke is Hard to Find. I had some misgivings about the execution of the vengeance plotline, exacerbated somewhat by a review from a friend who took issue with that very thing, but I still tried my best to remain optimistic and go in with reasonable expectations.

And there are a few good aspects of the book. The heroine, Lenora (who Britton states in her acknowledgments, is named after Lenora Bell, one of my favorite authors), is likable, and had a lot of potential as a woman who has been jilted a few times, although she did take a bit longer than I wanted to grow a spine and resist her father’s manipulations. 

However, I never warmed up to Peter. I felt he was both a cold asshole and someone so consumed by vengeance that would only make him miserable in the end. Who does he think he’s settling scores with by refusing to marry and continue the ducal line? The old duke? He’ll be too dead to care. And while there is some claim of romance between him and Lenora, I never felt that, because both (but especially him) are so focused on their own issues that dominate the story.

However, Britton does have an engaging writing style that kept me from putting it aside, and the supporting cast on the Isle of Synne is awesome (I need more Lady Tesh!), so I’m still hopeful for the next book in the series. 

So, this is definitely a case where it largely wasn’t for me. But if you like a story about a grumpy hero growing beyond his need for vengeance, then this is the book for you. 

Author Bio

Christina Britton developed a passion for writing romance novels shortly after buying her first at the tender age of thirteen. Though for several years she turned to art and put brush instead of pen to paper, she has returned to her first love and is now writing full time. She spends her days dreaming of corsets and cravats and noblemen with tortured souls.

She lives with her husband and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area. A member of Romance Writers of America, she also belongs to her local chapter, Silicon Valley RWA, and is a 2017 RWA® Golden Heart® Winner. You can find her on the web at www.christinabritton.com, Twitter as @cbrittonauthor, or facebook.com/ChristinaBrittonAuthor

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