The Day of the Duchess: Scandal & Scoundrel, Book III (Scandal & Scoundrel, #3)

by Sarah MacLean

Eyre, Justine (Narrator) and Eyre (Narrator)

'Fabulous' Eloisa James
'Smart, sexy, and always romantic' Julia Quinn
'For a smart, witty and passionate historical romance, I recommend anything by Sarah MacLean' Lisa Kleypas

The third in Sarah MacLean's sensational new Scandal & Scoundrels series . . . all the fun and guilty pleasure of celebrity gossip, with a Regency twist!

The one woman he will never forget . . .

Marcus Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven, has lived the last three years in self-imposed solitude, paying the price for a mistake he can never reverse and a love he lost forever. The dukedom does not wait, however, and Haven requires an heir, which means he must find himself a wife by summer's end. There is only one problem - he already has one.

The one man she will never forgive . . .

After years in exile, Seraphina, Duchess of Haven, returns to London with a single goal - to reclaim the life she left and find happiness, unencumbered by the man who broke her heart. Haven offers her a deal; Sera can have her freedom, just as soon as she finds her replacement... which requires her to spend the summer in close quarters with the husband she does not want, but somehow cannot resist.

A love that neither can deny

The duke has a single summer to woo his wife and convince her that, despite their broken past, he can give her forever, making every day . . . the day of the Duchess!

This is the third novel in the Regency romance Scandal & Scoundrels series by New York Time bestselling author Sarah MacLean - perfect for fans of Lisa Kleypas and Eloisa James

Scandal & Scoundrel series:
The Rogue Not Taken
A Scot in the Dark
The Day of the Duchess

Praise for Sarah MacLean:

'Sarah MacLean has reignited the romance genre with a bolder edge' The New Yorker

'Funny, smart, feminist and roastingly hot' BookRiot.com

'Do yourself a favor and discover the compelling magic of Sarah MacLean' Amanda Quick

'MacLean writes with an entirely unique blend of elegance and ferocity that bursts from every page' Entertainment Weekly

'Great chemistry, intelligence and sparkling humor' RT Book Reviews

Praise for The Day of the Duchess:

'Absolutely one of my favorite second chance romances ever!' The Genre Minx

'The Day of the Duchess is a well-written, passionate and insightful story, full of heartbreak, hope, redemption and love lost and won . . . an excellent second-chance romance' All About Romance

'As soon as I finished The Day of the Duchess, I knew it would be one of the best books I'd read all year. I wholeheartedly loved every bit of this wonderful book, and I encourage all historical romance lovers and second chance romance lovers to read this book!' Booklovers For Life

• ISBN10: 1538416441
• ISBN13: 9781538416440
• Publish Date: 27 June 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperAudio
• Edition: Library Edition
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 10 hours and 38 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Seraphina, Duchess of Haven has been in exile for several years and now she returns demanding a divorce. Situations, misunderstanding and family have forced them apart but now she wants a life of her own and she's willing to beg in parliament for it.
He hasn't forgotten her, he needs to marry, but he still loves her.
I enjoyed the read but felt a little let down by the ending it felt a little pat.

[thebookdisciple]

The Day of the Duchess is more angst filled than the previous books but still has some of the fun and hijinks that you can count on from the Soiled Sisters! The story is filled with present day and flashbacks of Sera and Malcom so you see how it started and how it got to where they are today.

Sera and Malcom got married and then things got bad. After years apart, Sera wants her freedom. Malcom isn't so sure he wants to let her go. He agrees to a divorce IF she helps him find her replacement. What follows is a bit like the regency version of the Bachelor! Lots of wanna be duchesses, their moms, and of course, Sera and her sisters! Now, let me start by saying I went into this prepared (and sure) to hate Malcom after we are introduced to him in The Rogue Not Taken. MacLean does manage to redeem him though! Reading about how their relationship went so wrong was heartbreaking. I struggled with this aspect of the book the most because I was just not prepared for this level of emotion. I mean, you learn in book one that there is cheating being alluded to, so I had planned to never read this. Safety Gang Spoiler: He does cheat. He has excuses (Sera trapped him into marriage, he didn't know she was pregnant, they didn't love each other). I never really got over this cheating and even though Malcom does amazing things win Sera, this event was never far from my mind.

Sera's sisters provide a great deal of levity and fun, as expected! The Day of the Duchess is part second chance romance, part dating game, and deeply emotional. While I struggled with aspects of the past, the end of the story is satisfying and heartwarming.

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: yes


• Trope: second chance


• Triggers: Malcom did cheat on Sera. Some people will find this difficult.


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes with epilogue

Books by Charis Michaels, Lisa Kleypas, Elizabeth Hoyt...then you will probably like The Day of the Duchess!

 

The Day of the Duchess

See full review on The Book Disciple

[Rowena]

I was not prepared to love this book as much as I did because I was not a fan of Malcolm’s in any of the other books in this series. After the first book, I pretty much wrote him off as being a total scumbag but holy cow you guys, Sarah MacLean’s redeem game is strong because not only did I love the book but I hella loved Malcolm, too. Warts and all. By the end, I was a blubbering mess and my daughter laughed and laughed and laughed at how much crying I was doing over a fictional couple. More than my love of Malcolm though was my love and admiration for Sera.

Holy cow, Sera was one boss ass bitch.



She wasn’t going to let no punk ass run her life anymore. She walked up into that room with all of those Dukes and Marquesses and Earls and was like, “Y’all gon’ give me this divorce cause I ain’t playing the fool no more!” She was over being chattel to her husband and she was going after a future that was hers and hers alone, with the help of her best friend Caleb.

Malcolm, the Duke of Haven, on the other hand, has been searching high and low for his wife but she was nowhere to be found. Her sisters sent him on a merry chase all over the place but he wasn’t going to give up and when she showed up at the House of Lords, he was equal parts relieved and furious. Relieved that she was okay and furious because she was demanding a divorce. He knew that things had gotten out of hand and more than anything, he wanted to fix things. He had a long road ahead of him but he wasn’t going to let his wife go without a fight.

So he proposes that she give him the summer to help him choose his replacement and once that’s done, she’ll be free to go and he’ll grant her the divorce.

This book had me deep in my feels for a lot of the story. The scene that began The Rogue Not Taken is a scene that I have never forgotten. It’s still vivid in my head. I had Malcolm painted with the bad guy brush and I wasn’t sure I even wanted his side of the story but I’m so glad that we got it.

Getting to know both Sera and Malcolm before the scandal and then after the scandal was everything that I hoped to get once I found out they were getting a book. I wanted to know what happened that was so bad that it broke their marriage. I wanted to know why Malcolm behaved the way that he did and what Sera held herself at fault for. I got all of that and more.

Sera was such a strong heroine and one that I loved the hell out of. She wasn’t the same hurt woman from before. She was back and she was strong and she knew her own mind and had plans for her future. A future that did not include a husband. Sure, she still loved her husband but she also hated him and she just wanted to be free. She never wanted to be that scared and rejected woman again and the only way that she could secure a future for herself that was hers and hers alone was to get a divorce. She’s desperate to be free so she agrees to Malcolm’s request to give him the summer.

There was a lot of growth in both Sera and Malcolm’s characters but in this book, we see Malcolm’s growth. When we see Sera again, she’s already stronger but we actually see Malcolm realize where his marriage went wrong and how to fix it. When we first see him again, he just wants his wife back. He wants to forget the past and start anew but nothing is ever that simple and when he finally realizes that and the steps he takes to fix what he broke…holy cow, it broke my heart.

I cried so much reading this book but I also laughed and smiled and fell in love. Sarah MacLean really knocked it out of the park, IMO. This book had everything romance lovers want in a romance and so much more. A second chance story that will break your heart and then piece it back together with each passing chapter. Did I love it? Yes. Should you read it? Hell yes. This book was just flat out good. My favorite of the bunch!

Grade: 5 out of 5

[kimbacaffeinate]

I was anxious to get Malcolm and Seraphina's (Sera) story, although admittedly I wasn't at all fond of Malcolm. Leave it to MacLean to turn my opinion and have me flipping the pages in need of a happily ever after for the Duke of Haven.

Their story is told both in the past and present allowing the reader to see their courtship unfold and what caused Sera to flee. MacLean takes the reader through a gauntlet of emotions from heartbreak to anger and finally understanding.

Sera has spent the past three years abroad and has returned to London determined to gain her freedom. She does so loudly and right away I admired her tenacity and spunk. Indeed at first I whole heartily agreed with her but witnessing her and Malcolm interact assured me these two were far from over. When Malcolm declares he will grant her wish if she agrees to help him find her replacement I knew we were in for quite a treat.

Not wanting to be alone, Sera gathers her sisters and they take up residency at her husband's estate for the summer. The Soiled S's were an absolute hoot. So we have Malcolm, Sera, her siblings, a wild cat and a gaggle of prospective Duchesses and their mothers all gathered for a house party. Can you just picture the mother's vying to have the Duke spend time with them? Of course, Malcolm is determined to change Sera's mind if only he can get a moment alone with her, damn her sisters!

MacLean delighted me with wicked banter, outrageous conversations and immeasurable frustration at this pair. While they certainly had a lot to overcome, Sera was stubborn and I adored how the author shed light and worked her magic.

Sera brings a new character with her, one who has caught the attention of Sesily. She was quite bold and I look forward to their story.

I must warn you the tale is filled with angst and is sure to completely distract readers from the outside world. The beginning began a little slow for me with the back and forth timeline but I was soon hooked and unable to set it aside. Looking back, the past timeline was essential to understanding both characters. It set the foundation for all of the emotions MacLean pulls from the reader. THE DAY OF THE DUCHESS ranks among my favorite MacLean books.

Copy provided by the publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer