Barbara’s rating: 3.3 out of 5 Stars
Series: Drop Dead Dukes #2
Publication Date: 3/26/24
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 368
Prudence Thorne has been raised differently than most females of her time. Her mother died when Prue was very young and she was then raised by her father – who allowed her to pursue skills that were different than other young ladies. While fashionable young women were restricted to dance, music, embroidery, etc., Prue learned to shoot, ride like a demon, and handle a rapier. She was strong-willed and not afraid of anything or anyone – even a duke. I liked Prue and was rooting for her and her HEA.
Jasper Vincent, Duke of Montford, lost both of his parents early in his life and was raised by his grandfather – his mother’s father. Jasper has a different view of himself than his friends and family do. Jasper sees the fearless rake who is always finding some new way for excitement, while his friends see through to the caring man with a good heart. They also see the rake and troublemaker – but believe that is his way of protecting his heart. So, what is he to make of a woman who goes toe-to-toe with him and even attempts to blackmail him? Strangely, I liked him from the beginning and that usually isn’t the case. I was rooting for his redemption and HEA.
For me, this was the typical ‘daughter/sister does whatever to save father/brother, etc from ruin after gambling debt trope. It was well written and a nice read, but nothing so attention-grabbing that I’d want a second read. For me, that isn’t unusual, so you might feel entirely different. I enjoyed the sniping/banter between Prue and Jasper, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scene where she shot him in the rear with buckshot. What I didn’t enjoy was where Prue acted totally out of character and ran away sniveling. I know the author needed a scene where there was a conflict – but – this was just too unbelievable given all we’d been led to believe about Pru. What I would have preferred was for her to stand up to the antagonist, then confront Jasper, and the two of them work together to exact revenge. One of the antagonists paid a price – but that was just the lackey – I wanted the real aggressor to pay – big time. The bottom line for me – I liked the characters, I liked the story, but wouldn’t care for a second read. However, I will read the next book in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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