Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen

Duke of My Heart (Season for Scandal, #1)

by Kelly Bowen

Scandal can be handled...
Captain Maximus Harcourt, the unconventional tenth Duke of Alderidge, can deal with tropical storms, raging seas and the fiercest of pirates but he's returned home from his latest voyage to find a naked earl - quite inconveniently deceased - tied to his missing sister's bed. He has only one place to turn. Now he's at the mercy of the captivating Miss Ivory Moore of Chegarre & Associates, known throughout London for smoothing over the most dire of scandals.

Miss Moore treats the crisis as though it were no more serious than a cup of spilt tea on an expensive rug. As though this sort of thing happened on the job every day. Max has never in all his life met a woman with such nerve. Her dark eyes are too wide, her mouth is too full, her cheekbones too sharp. Yet together, she's somehow...flawless. It's just like his love for her, imperfect, unexpected-yet absolutely true.

Reviewed by Amanda on

4 of 5 stars

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Kelly Bowen has a wonderful ability to craft unique characters within historical times.

After cruising through the Lords of Worth series, I had to read Duke of My Heart, the first book in a new series, as soon as it came out. Bowen is fast becoming a favorite, and Duke of My Heart only cemented that. Already looking forward to the next book in the Season for Scandal series.

Ivory Moore is an Olivia Pope in the Regency era---she solves problems for the ton, keeping devastating secrets hidden. Like Max Harcourt's sister, who's disappeared, leaving a dead earl tied to her bed. When Max's aunt hires Ivory to help, Max is not expecting someone like Ivory.

And Max isn't your typical duke, either. As a third son, there was little chance he'd ever become duke, so he took to the seas. Except he does become duke (I'm not sure there was much in way of explanation for how his brothers die)... but he doesn't feel that he fits in, so he spends much of his time at sea.

While some of the reasons behind Bea's disappearance aren't exactly a surprise, there's still enough to discover as we go. Max and Ivory are similar to each other in many ways, which gives them an obvious connection to each other, and it was fun to watch them succumb to their attraction. They fight it, for the most part, until it becomes too strong to ignore.

The ending is inevitable, yet perfect for Max and Ivory and the story. I would have been happy with more---more Max's story, more Ivory's story, more of them together. But Chegarre & Associates also introduces a couple other interesting characters, who will hopefully have their own stories in this series. Bring on the next book!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 March, 2016: Finished reading
  • 5 March, 2016: Reviewed