Duke of Manhattan (The Royals)

by Louise Bay

My family are fighting over who’s the next Duke of Fairfax. The rules say it’s me—if I’m married. It’s not a trade-off worth making. I could never limit myself to just one woman.

Or so I thought until my world is turned upside down. Now, the only way I can save the empire I built is to inherit the title I’ve never wanted—so I need a wife.

To take my mind off business I need a night that’s all pleasure. I need to bury myself in a stranger.

The skim of Scarlett King’s hair over my body as she bends over . . .

The scrape of her nails across my chest as she screams my name . . .

The bite of her teeth on my shoulder just as we both reach the edge . . .

It all helps me forget.

I just didn’t bargain on finding my one-night stand across the boardroom table the next day. Scarlett’s making a business proposal. I’ve got more interest in a (fake) marriage proposal.

A sexy, standalone romance.

• ISBN10: 1910747467
• ISBN13: 9781910747469
• Publish Date: 7 May 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Louise Bay
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 298
• Language: English

Reviews

[stacey_is_sassy]

I love it when the "Dedicated Bachelor" falls...

I knew that Scarlett's book was going to be good even before I met Ryder. Funny thing is that I kind of read Scarlett wrong when I met her previously. I thought she was a serial dater who liked variety in her men. I may have even been a bit mean and thought she got sick of her husband, so divorced him. Holy heck, I got her SOOOO wrong. She was almost the complete opposite of that. Imagine my surprise when she decides to have her first one night stand in front of me...WITH THE DUKE OF MANHATTAN!!

Ok, well it wasn't as dramatic as all that. She was just deciding it was time to spread her wings (with a firm nudge from her sister, Violet) and Ryder was the man who caught her eye. Without sharing a lot of details, they then go on to have the best sex of their lives. Both Scarlett and Ryder had a lot on their minds when they hook up, but decided a good distraction will help them sleep better. Of course, neither expect to see each other again and make the most of their night.

I love it when a hookup pops up when you least expect it.

The Duke of Manhattan is definitely my favourite of the series. A confirmed bachelor (manwhore) bamboozled by love is one of my favourite romantic storylines. Their first intimate scene had my heart pumping BIG TIME!! Boy, Ryder sure knows how to talk dirty. I loved that he read Scarlett so well. Ryder knew that in Scarlett's everyday life she liked to be in control and independent. He also knew that she liked to hand over control in the bedroom. It was really sexy.

The storyline was amazing, the characters fantastic and the sexy times were definitely the hottest I've read from Louise Bay so far. I loved that both Scarlett and Ryder learned to depend on each other and share their weaknesses. They weren't stupid about what they meant to each other, so didn't give up at the first hurdle. I loved their lunch dates.

If you love romance, I definitely recommend. If you don't mind stepping back in time (like a historical romance) and watching the British Aristocracy fight for titles, I definitely recommend. If you can't help but fall for a hero who grovels with the best of them, I definitely recommend Duke of Manhattan.

[Cocktails and Books]

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

The DUKE OF MANHATTAN is another Louise Bay release that I've absolutely fallen in love with. Forget the marriage of convenience plot, it's the hero and heroine that had me eagerly turning the pages hoping they both figured out what was clear from the very beginning.

Ryder Westbury stood to lose everything he'd worked for if he didn't find someone to be his fake wife. Scarlett King was on the verge of losing everything she's built up during the last two years if she didn't find someone to help bail her company out. As you can guess, an unlikely bargain is started.

What I liked most about this story was the fact that Ryder and Scarlett didn't shy away from their fake married life. They had previous carnal knowledge of each other before their wedding, so they didn't pretend like they didn't burn up the sheets together. Instead, sex lead to intimacy between the two of them. True friendship and love grew from that intimacy, without either of them realizing it, they had a real relationship.

I've adored the connected books to this one, but Ryder and Scarlett's story has been my favorite. Louise Bay is one of my go-to authors and the DUKE OF MANHATTAN is definitely one readers will want to pick up this summer.

[Eve1972]

This author always has fantastic covers for her books and this one is no different. Great representation of the hero. Great use of graphics. Good composition and simple yet effective typography.

What can I say about this one other than it was an incredibly good read. It was well written and nicely paced. It was sweet. It had angst. It had no OW/OM drama. It had great secondary characters (even a few glimpses of characters from past books). It had smokin' sex scenes. It had a sweet and totally charming heroine. It had an equally likable and hot hero. All wrapped up with a cherry on top epilogue.



It was ALMOST a 5-Star read for me. Alas, it did suffer (a lot) from one of my pet peeves. The constant comparisons to other women or exes. This book was RIFE with that. I don't think we could go more than a few pages without Ryder making a comparison to how it was with OW or Scarlett comparing it to her ex-husband. I thought to myself if this had been one of those drinking games where someone had to take a shot every time one of them compared something to one of his OW or her EX I would have been drunk under the table half way through this book!

Like I said though that is just a personal annoyance for me and it just made me roll my eyes more than anything. It was still an amazingly good book despite that. So two thumbs up from yours truly.




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