Helpful Score: 2
The pace of this book was excruciatingly S-L-O-W. Over halfway into the book and the heroine Henrietta is still getting prepped for her Season debut by the hero's former mistress. The hero Blake insists Henrietta is off-limits since she is his ward but I found it kind of creepy that while vowing to protect her so he can see her well-married (to someone else) he still allows himself to sample the goods so to speak. His two rakish cousins, Morgan and Race, are to follow in the next two books of the trilogy. I hope their stories are better than this one.
Disappointing read. OK story but lukewarm/boring throughout. I kept expecting at least *something* to explain the 'curse' and didn't even get that. =(
Mary R. (greatdanelover) reviewed A Duke to Die For (The Rogues' Dynasty, Bk 1) on + 131 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A quick easy read, but not intriguing or interesting. The prose had a staccato-like tempo and didn't flow very easily. At least there was no lovers' angst or betrayals.
Julie A. (jjmachshev) reviewed A Duke to Die For (The Rogues' Dynasty, Bk 1) on + 21 more book reviews
I discovered author Amelia Grey several years ago and quickly found myself searching out her backlist to enjoy her light touch of humor and emotionally touching reads. "A Duke to Die For" is the start of her new 'Rogue's Dynasty' series from SourceBooks Casablanca. This publisher is one I'm coming to admire for their strong list of romance authors from several different genres so I guess I wasn't really surprised to see Amelia Grey is now one of their number. Grey's heroines aren't weak, but they're not ball-busters either. And her heroes are more Gammas at times in that they CAN take charge, but aren't overbearing about it for the most part. Anyhow, this wasn't as good as some of her other books, but still plenty good enough to keep me entertained this afternoon.
Lucian is a rogue, a rake, and a scoundrel. He's also an extremely wealthy, young, and sexy Duke so society mostly forgives him as they throw their daughters in his path. He knows he'll have to settle down one day since he must carry on the family name now that his father is dead, but he's just having a bit too much now to worry about that. When a young miss arrives at his house, he's not sure what to think. When he sees how beautiful she is, he thinks he wants her. When he finds out she's his ward...oh crap! If that's not bad enough, this 19-year-old diamond is filthy rich, level-headed, but still thinks she's cursed.
Henrietta doesn't just think she's cursed, she's sure of it. She's been through five, count 'em five, guardians already. It just figures that this last one turns out to be a man she comes to care for...and the one man she can't have. Not just because he's her guardian, but because if she doesn't get away, the curse will kill him too.
Henrietta was an interesting character for me. In many ways, older than her years and so level-headed...yet fully convinced in the curse and naive in so many 'city ways'. Yet I can almost see how living in the country and having so many guardians die not long after taking her into their charge could mold a younger woman's mind. Especially after the tragic circumstances of her family's death. Anyhow, she's one of the weakest heroines Grey has written and maybe that's why she seemed so different. Lucian is just scrumptious and watching him force himself to grow up was entertaining all on its own.
Grey's books are always well-paced, beautifully written and quite sensual..."A Duke to Die For" is no exception. I enjoyed the break from murderous plots, sinister suitors, etc and just basked in a true romance. Lucian's buddies are slated for their own stories and I'll be picking those up as they're published.
Lucian is a rogue, a rake, and a scoundrel. He's also an extremely wealthy, young, and sexy Duke so society mostly forgives him as they throw their daughters in his path. He knows he'll have to settle down one day since he must carry on the family name now that his father is dead, but he's just having a bit too much now to worry about that. When a young miss arrives at his house, he's not sure what to think. When he sees how beautiful she is, he thinks he wants her. When he finds out she's his ward...oh crap! If that's not bad enough, this 19-year-old diamond is filthy rich, level-headed, but still thinks she's cursed.
Henrietta doesn't just think she's cursed, she's sure of it. She's been through five, count 'em five, guardians already. It just figures that this last one turns out to be a man she comes to care for...and the one man she can't have. Not just because he's her guardian, but because if she doesn't get away, the curse will kill him too.
Henrietta was an interesting character for me. In many ways, older than her years and so level-headed...yet fully convinced in the curse and naive in so many 'city ways'. Yet I can almost see how living in the country and having so many guardians die not long after taking her into their charge could mold a younger woman's mind. Especially after the tragic circumstances of her family's death. Anyhow, she's one of the weakest heroines Grey has written and maybe that's why she seemed so different. Lucian is just scrumptious and watching him force himself to grow up was entertaining all on its own.
Grey's books are always well-paced, beautifully written and quite sensual..."A Duke to Die For" is no exception. I enjoyed the break from murderous plots, sinister suitors, etc and just basked in a true romance. Lucian's buddies are slated for their own stories and I'll be picking those up as they're published.
Dawn D. (dawnierie) reviewed A Duke to Die For (The Rogues' Dynasty, Bk 1) on + 87 more book reviews
Great read
