Helpful Score: 7
The first few chapters made me think I was wasting my time reading this book but being a person who feels that I have to finish something I started I kept going. Was I ever glad. This is a book with twists and turns and an ending to the conflicts you saw coming but not really.
Helpful Score: 4
Great book!
Helpful Score: 3
First book that I have read by the author. Very Good! I am now looking for her others. This book well worth the time to read.
Helpful Score: 3
A disgraced Lady Vivian is hiding in the country, raising flowers to support herself. One of her clients, the rogue Duke of Trent, becomes enamored of her. Evil man tries to blackmail her. A few twists & turns make this one interesting.
Helpful Score: 3
Loved it!
Helpful Score: 2
First book in Duke series. I have read most of Ashworth's work's & actually went back to read these. Ashworth again brings up interesting situations for primary characters such as legal separations of the era versus divorces, etc. Nice surprise twist at the ending. I also enjoyed the character being in her 30's versus a third season debutante, etc. Lady Vivian was a strong character without being over the top.
Helpful Score: 2
I rated this book B+ Hot = A 34-year-old widow, Mrs. Vivian Rael-Lamont lives a calm and satisfying life in a quiet Cornwall village lovingly tending to the flowers with which she makes her living. She is blackmailed into agreeing to "acquire" an original manuscript of a Shakespearean sonnet from its owner.
The owner of the sonnet is, of course, none other than William Raleigh, Duke of Trent, Earl of Shreveport and Kayes, Baron Chesterfield. The reclusive, mysterious Duke - known far and wide as the Duke of Sin - is widely thought to have murdered his wife several years earlier, a belief seemingly unaffected by the fact that he was found innocent of the crime at trial.
The story is a page turner and the sex is hot.
The owner of the sonnet is, of course, none other than William Raleigh, Duke of Trent, Earl of Shreveport and Kayes, Baron Chesterfield. The reclusive, mysterious Duke - known far and wide as the Duke of Sin - is widely thought to have murdered his wife several years earlier, a belief seemingly unaffected by the fact that he was found innocent of the crime at trial.
The story is a page turner and the sex is hot.
Helpful Score: 2
Fun and sensual book to read.
Helpful Score: 1
A really lovely book with a sweetness and passion to the romance that is rare in most books of this genre. Ashworth depicts a more mature heroine, who rather than being in her early 20's like most historical fiction, is in her 30's. She still has a naivete of a younger woman, but has a maturity and frankness about her that is unique. I liked him, too, and his situation in society is terribly sad. This story makes you really appreciate the openness of the world in which we live, where the importance of gossip and strict rules of "good society" no longer really exist.
The title of the book kind of suggests a light story about a rake. It couldn't be further from the truth. It is about a man shunned because he was accused of a terrible crime, and a woman forced to live away from her heritage because of fear of being shunned or having her family being hurt by her status.
Ashworth gives lots of interesting details about the countryside and the homes. She touches on the worries about conversing "privately" with servants all around. She offers plenty of sweet steamy love scenes. After one book, I would compare her to Lisa Kleypas.
Four stars
The title of the book kind of suggests a light story about a rake. It couldn't be further from the truth. It is about a man shunned because he was accused of a terrible crime, and a woman forced to live away from her heritage because of fear of being shunned or having her family being hurt by her status.
Ashworth gives lots of interesting details about the countryside and the homes. She touches on the worries about conversing "privately" with servants all around. She offers plenty of sweet steamy love scenes. After one book, I would compare her to Lisa Kleypas.
Four stars
Helpful Score: 1
What a wonderful story teller is Adele Ashworth. This is the story of William Raleigh, a.k.a. Duke of Sin, having been acquitted of murdering his lovely wife, lives a solitary life on his country estate. Respected widow Vivian Rael-Lamont, local florist and grower of orchids, is brought into the lonely duke's sphere because of the machinations of a blackmailer. Both their lives are changed forever. This is such a moving story of their deep, mutual love that can never be .......
No wonder so many members have Ashworth's books "My Darling Caroline" and "Winter Garden" on their wish lists. Ashworth is superb.
Now.....on to the sequel to this one: "Duke of Scandal."
No wonder so many members have Ashworth's books "My Darling Caroline" and "Winter Garden" on their wish lists. Ashworth is superb.
Now.....on to the sequel to this one: "Duke of Scandal."
Helpful Score: 1
Funny and charming. I loved it! B+
Helpful Score: 1
A sweet love story between a man with a shady past and a woman with a secret. William Raleigh, Duke of Trent is believed to have killed his wife. He is now a recluse with only a few close friends. Vivian Rael-Lamont portrays herself as a florist of simple means. When a cad from the Dukes past is blackmailing Vivian a deal is stuck The Duke will give Vivian what she needs and she will provide the Duke companionship. A man of means, the Duke investigates Vivian past and finds out she is not what he thought her to be.(I can't put in more detail...it is a surprise!) However, the more time spent together, the more they fall in love. There are great obstacles in the way of their happiness
This is the first book Ive read that really dealt with divorce in the upper crust during the 19th century. Very interesting :)
This is the first book Ive read that really dealt with divorce in the upper crust during the 19th century. Very interesting :)
Helpful Score: 1
First in a new series. She is one of my favorite authors so I really enjoyed this book. Couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
Yummy alphas! Double exposure- he can't get away from horrible rumors that he killed his wife. She is masquerading as a middle class widow, both with interesting hidden sorrows.
A delightful little romance with lots of twists and near misses. Fun read.
Lady Vivian is living in a rural area claimging to be a widow. To keep her secret she agrees to become lovers with the Duke of Sin in exchange for the manuscript demanded by her blackmailers. I had trouble putting this books down.
This book is the sequel to Someone Irrestible. Vivian wanted fled london to avoid someone finding out about her scandalous past. It is up to the Duke of Sin to protect her.
This is a sexy British Victorian (1850s) historical romance. For a lovely and useful review, visit: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=113
Excellent book, and my first read by this author. First in the Duke of.... trilogy.
A scandalous liaison with a mysterious, disreputable rogue may be the only way the desperate lady can guard her shocking secret...
Vivian prayed that the scandal that drove her from London would never be revealed--but now she will be exposed to the world...unless William can protect her. She has heard the rumors about the infamous Duke of Sin, yet she is unprepared for the man's raw, sensuous power..or for the traitorous response of her own body. Surrender, however, could prove most dangerous indeed--for both of them. For while the Duke is intrigued by the guarded, intoxicating lady who has invaded his solitude--and fully intends to discern her every secret through sweet, unhurried seduction--it is his own heart that will be imperiled when passion takes them further than he ever intended.
Vivian prayed that the scandal that drove her from London would never be revealed--but now she will be exposed to the world...unless William can protect her. She has heard the rumors about the infamous Duke of Sin, yet she is unprepared for the man's raw, sensuous power..or for the traitorous response of her own body. Surrender, however, could prove most dangerous indeed--for both of them. For while the Duke is intrigued by the guarded, intoxicating lady who has invaded his solitude--and fully intends to discern her every secret through sweet, unhurried seduction--it is his own heart that will be imperiled when passion takes them further than he ever intended.
He is called the "Duke of Sin"
... a notorious rogue and recluse whose reputation is as black as the Cornish night. They speak of his conquests, his past, and his mysteries in breathless whispers. And now lovely and desperate Vivian Rael-Lamont has no choice but to enter William Raleigh's lair.
Vivian prayed that the scandal that drove herfrom London would never be revealed -- but now she will be exposed to the world ... unless William can protect her. She has heard the rumors about the infamous Duke of Sin, yet she is unprepared for the man's raw, sensuous power ... or for the traitorous response of her own body. Surrender, however, could prove most dangerous indeed -- for both of them. For while the duke is intrigued by the guarded, intoxicating lady who has invaded his solitude -- and fully intends to discern her every secret through sweet, unhurried seduction -- it is his own heart that will be imperiled when passion takes them farther than he ever intended.
... a notorious rogue and recluse whose reputation is as black as the Cornish night. They speak of his conquests, his past, and his mysteries in breathless whispers. And now lovely and desperate Vivian Rael-Lamont has no choice but to enter William Raleigh's lair.
Vivian prayed that the scandal that drove herfrom London would never be revealed -- but now she will be exposed to the world ... unless William can protect her. She has heard the rumors about the infamous Duke of Sin, yet she is unprepared for the man's raw, sensuous power ... or for the traitorous response of her own body. Surrender, however, could prove most dangerous indeed -- for both of them. For while the duke is intrigued by the guarded, intoxicating lady who has invaded his solitude -- and fully intends to discern her every secret through sweet, unhurried seduction -- it is his own heart that will be imperiled when passion takes them farther than he ever intended.
