Dukes Do It Better by Bethany Bennett

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Dukes Do It Better (Misfits of Mayfair, #3)Dukes Do It Better by Bethany Bennett

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Misfits of Mayfair, #3

Release Date: May 24, 2022

Captain Malachi “Mal” Harlow, and now the Duke of Trenton is livid, if it wasn’t bad enough that his late father interfered with his Naval career, now his mother has apparently blackmailed the Admiralty to force him back to London. When his attempts to regain his command once again fall on deaf ears, he decides to take a stroll in the park and it appears as if fate has decided to smile on him by reuniting him with the lovely widow he shared a night of passion with months ago and whom he hasn’t been able to forget.

Lady Emma Hardwick, the widow of “Adam” Hardwick and sister to the Marquess of Eastly and most importantly mother to Alton, has come to London to visit her brother and his family. She isn’t interested in remarrying and has no desire to spend more time than necessary in town, but when she reconnects with Mal and learns he will be in town for the next few weeks, she decides to give in to her family and stay for the season, and as a bonus, she and Mal agree to embark on an affair while they are both in town.

For a time, things are going exactly as planned and they discover their mutual connections, which only enhance their relationship, causing them to not only enjoy their time together and maybe even has them falling in love. But each of them is dealing with things that they are not willing to share with the other and while their attraction and admiration for each other comes easily, trust does not. Will they be able to work together to uncover the forces working against them or will a perceived betrayal keep them apart?

This was a well-written, fast-paced story, but it is also a very busy book, with A LOT of things going on and multiple storylines seemingly intersecting willy-nilly, but, if you have been following the series from the beginning, you will eventually come to appreciate all the random goings, as everything (and I do mean everything) comes around full circle. And if you believe in “fated love”, then Mal and Emma are perfect examples of that phenomenon! The book is filled with secrets, lies, steamy love scenes, baby goats, a tattooed piratical hero, a biscuit baking heroine, great secondary characters, treasure, misunderstandings, more steamy love scenes, a desperate former lover, a sweet secondary romance, and a HEA complete with an epilogue. I did enjoy the book, but if like me you cringe when formal address is butchered, prepare to cringe a lot – other than that, the book is a fun, fast read that really ties all the books together nicely. This is the third book in the series and I would strongly recommend reading the books in order to completely understand and enjoy this book.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

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Desperately Seeking a Duchess by Christi Caldwell

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Desperately Seeking a Duchess (All the Duke's Sins, #2)Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: All The Duke’s Sins #2
Publication Date: 5/31/22
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 336

Once upon a time, there was a very rogueish duke whose mistress bore him four children – three sons and a daughter. She never told him of the children’s existence, so he went through his life never knowing about them – until the youngest son showed up and asked him to provide funds for him to buy a military commission. That son told him it was the least he could do – and he agreed that it was. Thus began his quest to get to know his children, bring them to London, and fold them into the ton. Except those children had absolutely no intention of having anything to do with the man they felt abandoned them. He’d wear them down by sending person after person after person out to their mining community – sooner or later, one of them would succeed and get at least one or two of them to town. The first book of the series – Along Came A Lady – is the story of the one person who finally managed to coax some of them to London.

This book is about the duke’s daughter, Cailin, who begged her oldest brother, Rafe, to accompany her to London. Along with Cailin we also have Courtland Balfour, Duke of St. James, who was one of those who unsuccessfully tried to bring Cailin and her family to London. Well, it wasn’t supposed to be him – it was supposed to be his twin brother – but Courtland thought it would be a lark to take his brother’s place since his brother wasn’t at all good with people. After being shot at by Cailin and receiving a punch so strong it could have killed him, he decided maybe it wasn’t such a lark.

Courtland can never let Cailin find out that he was impersonating his twin brother because it could cost his brother his job – and they desperately needed the funds – not to mention that his brother loved his job. So, of course, it doesn’t take long for Courtland’s brother and Cailin to cross paths – and for it all to break loose and for Kier to lose his job.

I thought the chemistry between Cailin and Courtland was excellent – and I loved that she could tell the twins apart right away. Each of them had closed off their hearts and emotions, but for very different reasons and it was lovely to see them open up and learn to love. Each of them gave it their best fight – Cailin because she didn’t want to risk heartbreak a second time – and Courtland because he didn’t want to become his father and marry just for the money the dukedom so desperately needed.

I loved how protective Cailin’s brothers were of her – and what was even more delightful was how protective Courtland’s sisters were of him. The youngest sister, Ellie, was priceless and you should read the book just for the things she gets up to. However, I will note that the same youngest sister (14 years) has a not-quite-believable personality. She plays with toy swords like an 8-year-old – but she is also worldly-wise and gives advice to much older people. I liked parts of her character, but she just didn’t seem believable.

The reason I didn’t give the book more stars is two-fold. First, while I liked the story well enough, it didn’t just suck me in where I couldn’t turn loose. Second, and more importantly (to me at least), is the constant (ad nauseam) references to Courtland being a step away from debtors’ prison, being locked up, doing labor, etc. Since that would have been all but impossible, I just had a hard time buying into the story. There is a well-written article by Courtney Milan (who is an expert on these things) that explains about Peers and debtors prison, etc. If you are interested, you can read it in Courtney Milan’s Article – If you aren’t interested and it doesn’t bother you, then I’m sure you’ll love it.

I liked the story and thought it was well written. I liked the main characters and was rooting for their HEA throughout the story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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