Reviewed by stacey_is_sassy on
I enjoyed Duke of My Heart from the very beginning to the very end. The opening scene sucked me in with the surprising storyline of a dead Earl tied with silk scarves to the bed of a debutante. Ooh, kinky. I don’t normally expect kinky on the first page of a story, let alone a historical romance. I think the opening scene was even more interesting because we look at it through the eyes of Miss Ivory Moore. I liked Ivory from the first page through the last. She’s a strong-minded, determined and intelligent woman who has seen a lot in her life. Taking her knowledge and experience she makes a career out of fixing the problems and sweeping secrets under the rug for aristocrats that can afford her. Her talents in covering up, disguising, hiding out, stashing away and managing to withhold those secrets, has made her services invaluable. This situation with the Earl and debutante will take all her skills, but unfortunately, there is one man who won’t get out of her way.
Maximus Harcourt, Duke of Alderidge, has just returned from a voyage to India. He’s a Duke, but he’s also the captain of The Odyssey. He is used to being in control, giving orders and having them obeyed. When he walks into his 18-year-old sister’s bedroom, finding the dead earl tied to her bed, he can’t believe Beatrice, his sister, had a hand in the situation. Things become even more strange when a beautiful woman starts ordering him about. Their first introduction does not go over well, but he does realise soon enough that the woman knows what she’s doing.
Max feels lost and out of control. He felt he’d done the right thing leaving his sixteen-year-old sister with their aunt. Coming home to all of this, makes him realise that he hadn’t been doing his job as brother well.
Both Max and Ivory butt heads on numerous occasions but there is an underlying attraction that neither can deny. Ivory has had to learn to manage her life to suit her needs as she knows she’s the only person she can count on. Her younger years were spent doing things she’d rather not, just to survive. She does not want to go back to that life. Max devoted his life to the sea after being told at a young age it was the army or clergy for his future. Being the third son, he wasn't needed to learn what a Duke's responsibilities were. Unfortunately, the family duties were foisted on him after his father and twin older brothers died. Instead of returning to London and his duties, he leaves it for his aunt to manage and organise. He never felt comfortable in his role as Duke of Alderidge.
Both Max and Ivory work together to solve the mystery of the dead Earl, where Beatrice escaped to and how she came to be in the situation. Some of the situations they get into made me laugh as Ivory handled them comfortably while Max was completely out of his depth.
Once the connection between Ivory and Max is taken to the next level, neither can deny the feelings that follow soon after. There are some sensual scenes but they are not over the top. The additional characters we are introduced to are very interesting and I would love to see more of their back story and what is in their futures.
Duke of My Heart has action, adventure and intrigue which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were times when I thought the characters actions and language were a little too modern for the times, but the storyline and intrigues distracted me enough to overlook it. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.
I received an ARC of Duke of My Heart via Netgalley for an honest review.
To buy Duke of My Heart from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1SAPJHl
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 21 January, 2016: Finished reading
- 21 January, 2016: Reviewed