In the first novel in Christy Carlyle’s sizzling Duke’s Den series, three men, intent on making a fortune, discover irresistible opportunities . . .
Nicholas Lyon gambled his way into a fortune and ownership of the most opulent, notorious gentlemen’s club in England. But when Nick’s cruel brother dies, he inherits a title he never wanted. The sooner Nick is rid of the estate that has always … rid of the estate that has always haunted him, the sooner he can return to the life he’s built in London. But there’s one obstacle—the exquisite Thomasina Thorne.
When the new heir to the Tremayne dukedom suddenly appears in Mina Thorne’s life, she’s flustered. Not only is he breathtakingly handsome, but he’s also determined to take away her home and position as steward of the Enderley estate. If Mina learns what makes the enigmatic duke tick, perhaps she can change his mind—as long as she doesn’t get too close to him.
With each day Nick spends with Mina, his resolve weakens as their colliding wills lead to explosive desire. Could she be the one woman who can help him finally bury the ghosts of his past?
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A DUKE CHANGES EVERYTHING hooked me from page one and had everything I want in a romance: a scarred and brooding hero, a feisty and determined heroine, sexual tension, and strong conflict delivered with lyrical prose that kept me reading late into the night.
A duke with a horrific past who doesn’t want to be a duke. A female steward who had no choice but to take the position, but who wants more from life. What could be a better recipe for a fun read? Loved it!
I really enjoyed this one! Nick is a lovely scarred (physically and mentally), brooding hero with a hard heart. He has no interest in the title he never expected to inherit and as far as he’s concerned the sooner he can strip and sell the ducal estate of his childhood, the better. His whole world is set on its axis when he arrives to find his steward is in fact a woman and the daughter of the old steward. Mina is determined to do her duty to the estate and its people, as her late father wanted. We get to see Nick and Mina open up to each other and to the idea of trusting another with one’s heart. This is especially true for Nick who has never truly known love and was abused by a cruel father who hated him. Mina herself only had a father who always put the estate first. There were also several supporting characters who I quite liked and I look forward to reading their stories as they are published. This was my first from Christy Carlyle, but I will definitely be reading more of hers now and I highly recommend this one.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I immediately got A Rogue by Any Other Name vibes when I started A Duke Changes Everything and I was not mad about it (in fact, it reminded me that I need to go back and finish that series). Sometimes, I get impatient with books (even those that I enjoy) and want the plot to move along, but this was a delicious slowburn of a romance that I wanted to savor – the tension between Nick and Mina is EVERYTHING, but more than that, their individual journeys as characters/people was just entrancing. Between Mina’s struggle to balance her duty, upbringing, and loyalties and her personal desire and goals and Nick’s fight to get beyond his past and embrace the possibility of a happy future – the whole book is absolutely entrancing, engrossing, and enchanting. I will definitely be continuing on with the series and gobbling up everything that Christy Carlyle writes! 4 out of 5 wine glasses.
4.5 Stars
Nicholas Lyon has been called a monster many times but his mismatched eyes and wicked scar on his cheek are not the reason, he is ruthless and some say heartless man who has made a fortune along with his two partners at their gaming hell.
Nick didn’t start out live on the streets of London but that is where he ended up after his father – The Duke of Treymayne – made his life miserable and finally did the unthinkable, forcing his mother to take him and flee. The old Duke was sure that Nick was not his son and did everything short of murdering him as punishment. He and his mother fled to France and lived a much different life from the one he had at Enderly Castle. He never expected to return to Enderly and is given quite a shock when he learns that his brother has passed and he is now the Duke. He plans to liquidate the estate and lease out whatever properties can’t be sold – starting with Enderly Castle.
Thomasina “Mina” Thorne is the steward of Enderly, she took over from her father when he passed away two years ago – she has lived on the estate her entire life and wants nothing more than to see it prosper once more. She hopes the new Duke will consider investing in the estate and is devastated when she meets Nick and learns his plan. Mina can’t believe he doesn’t want the castle and sets out to change his mind.
Nick is intrigued by Mina, but nothing could ever make him want to stay at Enderly, not even a stubborn, impulsive, attractive steward. But as he and Mina start to work together and get to know each other – the castle doesn’t seem as daunting as it once did. He starts to feel something for Mina – something he refuses to name – but he doesn’t want to lose her. He really can’t abide living at the castle, so maybe he can get her to come to London.
I thought this was a great book, it did start out a little slow and never really picked up speed until the very end, but it stayed on point and gave the reader a lot of time to get to know both Mina and Nick and to learn their motivations. The chemistry between them is white hot and when they finally come together, it is well worth the wait. I loved watching them both change and grow as the story progressed and enjoyed there interactions which were both amusing and poignant. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, especially his partners Iverson and Huntley – Huntley’s reaction to marriage was hilarious. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and would happily recommend this book!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher. *
Series: Duke’s Den #1
Publication Date: 11/27/18
A lovely romantic first book in a new series. The Duke’s Den is an exclusive gaming hell owned by three men – Aidan Iverson (large, red-haired, grew up in London’s worst slum), Rhys Forester, Marquess of Huntley, and Nicholas Lyon (large, scarred, abused son of a mad duke). If this book is an example of those to come in the series, I can’t wait to read the others! It is well written, well plotted and I really enjoyed all of the characters.
Nicholas (Nick) Lyon had an absolutely terrifying childhood. His father, Talbot Lyon, Duke of Tremayne, was a demented, jealous, abusive man who hated Nick because, in his madness, he believed that Nick was not his son. The despicable things he did to his young son will make your hair stand on end, but you can easily see why Nick has become the man he is. Nick carries deep scars both on his body and deep inside. People refer to him as ‘monster’ because of his mismatched eyes and the jagged scar bisecting the left half of his face.
Miss Thomasina (Mena) Thorne is the daughter of Thomas Thorne, steward of Enderley Castle, the seat of the Duke of Tremayne. Mena grew up on the estate and loved it, the tenants, and the people in the surrounding village. Since her mother passed away when Mena was young, she spent all of her time with her father and knows every inch of the estate and how to manage it. When her father passed away, it was just an easy step to assume her father’s role. The old Duke had also passed away and his heir, Eustace, was a drunken wastrel and didn’t care who managed the estate, so he allowed Mena to assume those duties. However, when Eustace also passed away, Mena didn’t exactly mention to the new heir that she was a female.
Mena was an outstanding steward and was loved and respected by the estate staff. However, she was a woman and the male leaders in the area took exception to her acting in the role a man would normally hold. “Over the years she’d mastered half smiles, grown proficient at blank expressions, and she would’ve earned high marks in tongue-biting if anybody was offering a grade.”
When Sir Malcolm Granville showed up at The Duke’s Den and insisted on speaking with Nick, Nick refused to see him because he recognized Granville as a crony of his deceased father and the mentor of Nick’s older brother Eustace. Instead, Nick sent Huntley to deal with the man – assuming that Granville had come on Eustace’s behalf seeking money because, in the three years since Eustace had inherited, he had almost emptied the ducal coffers. Nick wanted nothing to do with his wastrel brother nor the ducal estate that had served as Nick’s torture chamber. Then, Nick heard the words that brought horror and loathing to him – “Your brother, Eustace, is dead. As of a week ago, you’re the Duke of Tremayne.”
Nick pursued every avenue he could find to refuse the title and inheritance, but there was no way around it. If he couldn’t refuse it, then he’d gut it. He’d empty Enderley Castle of all of its possessions by auctioning off everything that wasn’t entailed, then he will lease out the castle and grounds. He wanted no part of that dark, cruel place.
After several rounds of correspondence with the estate manager, T. Thorne, Nick heads out for a personal look at the estate to see what needs to be repaired and handled prior to leasing the estate – and to start the process of cataloging the items for auction. When he arrives early, the scene where he meets his steward is very entertaining and funny.
Mena and Nick are at a standoff. Nick plans to gut and empty the estate, so he can’t really hire a new steward at the moment – and Mena is the one with all the answers to Nick’s questions. The only option is to work with Mena. Mena is agape when she learns of Nick’s intentions but realizes there is nothing she can do except try to make him see what is good about the estate and especially its people.
Their path to their HEA was not an easy one, but their attraction grew and grew until both of them finally realized how much they cared and what each would give up for the other. It was a lovely romance between truly lovable characters.
I hope you will enjoy the read as much as I did.
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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
A Duke Changes Everything by Christy Carlyle is the First book in the Duke’s Den series. This is the story of Nicholas ‘Nick’ Lyon and Thomasina ‘Mina’ Thorne.
Nick never planed on taking the family Title and never wanted it but after his brother’s death he is left with that and the estate. Nick had just taken over a notorious gentlemen’s club with plans to work/run that. Thinking to quickly get rid of the estate that has only bad memories is thrown into a tail spin by Mina. Their attraction to each other is quick and hot but both want different things until they can’t stop but want each other. Another great read by Ms. Carlyle and a great start to a new series.
A Duke Changes Everything by Christy Carlyle
Dukes Den #1
Nicholas Lyon is a made-man in spite of being born to a wealthy home. His father was a sadistic manipulative evil man that Nick and his mother finally managed to get away from but their lives were not easy and it became necessary for Nick to live by his wits to survive – and – that he did and then some. As the co-owner of a gambling den in London he works hard and earns much money. He has the say over who he will extend loans to and has tried to put his childhood behind him. When he learns that he has inherited the title of Duke after both his father and older brother die he is not interested at all in taking up the reins of the dukedom.
Mina Thorne took over as manager of the Tremayne estate she does her best to keep things going in spite of the previous two dukes not doing well by the house or its tenants. She is hopeful that the new duke will be a breath of fresh air. In some ways he is and yet in other ways he is not. As the two get to know one another things do change and what a delight the relationship was to watch as the two changed and grew and become a couple/partnership.
I won’t say much more but will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second book when it comes out!
Thank you to Edelweiss Above the Treeline and Harper Collins for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
Life and love requires some tough decisions to be made. How do you choose between the things you want and the people you need? Nick and Mina find themselves caught in the the middle of their heart’s desires and their life’s ambition in A Duke Changes Everything. In a world full of people blessed with pretty things, sometimes it takes surviving the ugliest of circumstances to help make the right choice. Carlyle takes readers through the good, the bad and the painful to get to the meant to be.
Nicholas “Nick” Lyon is wealthy, he’s part-owner of posh London gambling club, but he had to crawl his way from the gutter to get there. He never wanted to hear about his heartless father again, but his brother’s death changes Nick’s circumstances now that he has become the Duke of Tremayne. He doesn’t care for the title or the Enderly estate, and it’s in this frame of mind that he leaves for Sussex. Thomasina “Mina” Thorne has taken over the stewardship of the Enderly estate after her father died, but the Duke doesn’t know that the steward is a woman. Life had gone on as usual but when the new Duke arrives, he tells her he wants to make changes; considerable changes. Will Mina still be able to live in the only place she’s ever called home?
With A DUKE CHANGES EVERYTHING, Christy Carlyle launches her brand new Duke’s Den series set in Victorian England. Ms. Carlyle always remains faithful to the era with her characters: Mina does a man’s job but not out of defiance; it somehow landed in her lap. She’s good at being a steward, she likes it, and she’s been accepted by the staff, and half-heartedly by some of the villagers. Nick is one angry dude when his life is upended; he is not unpleasant, but he certainly is not happy about being a duke and revisiting the estate where there are old ghosts he never wanted to revisit. The attraction between Mina and Nick is there from the beginning, but can anything come out of it when they do not see eye to eye? Oh how I loved how the romance progressed! Nothing was rushed, and it was believable every step of the way; the attraction was real, but circumstances made acting on it difficult. The descriptions are crisp and colourful: I could picture everything clearly, and that parapet walk made me dizzy – but it was the setting for a most lovely scene.
I love Christy Carlyle’s light touch, and A DUKE CHANGES EVERYTHING does not merely consist of a series of vignettes showcasing a romance, but a whole, complex world in which we are invited. The story has a rather gothic feel, especially where Enderly Castle and Nick’s past are concerned, and mostly with the tower, where unspeakable things once happened. I felt though that there was a dearth of details in some places, and the timeline left me a tad confused at times. I was pleased to see the inclusion of historical characters, even if very briefly; it provided a real authentic touch. There are some wonderful secondary characters: Emma, a maid; Wilder, Enderly’s butler; Nick’s business partners: Aidan Iverson, and especially Rhys Forester, Marquess of Huntley, whose story I cannot wait to read; he is quite intriguing and entertaining.
Evocative Romance!
This is a tender, slow-burn romantic tale. Nick and Mina are well-wrought characters, and the spark between them is potent. The ending was not very dramatic, but it set a good stage for the next book(s) in the series.
En joyed the characters..entertaining read.
I enjoyed reading the story of Nick and Mina. It was interesting and kept me attention. I will read more of her books.
Nicholas “Nick” Lyon has earned the right to be a scoundrel, a rogue and cad. He may be second in line to a Dukedom, but he doesn’t want or need it, leaving that dreadful place as a young man, Nick finds his feet with two best friends, and they co own a gentleman’s club (name?) he is cold and unfeeling and lays that at his fathers feet. So when his older brother dies and leaves the “Tremayne” estate to Nick, he wants nothing to do with it, he intends to ride there, leave a caretaker (or steward) in his place, and return to London as quick as he can….. only he meets up with the resident steward, And it’s not a man, but a young woman, and add in the fact she’s half way up a tree and wearing breeches!!! With his interest momentarily intrigued he agrees to go back and listen to her case …..
Thomasina “Mina” Thorne hadn’t meant for her first meeting with the new duke to take place in a tree !!! She had planned to show him around and plead her case, she loved her job, her father had been steward before her, she knew the job and she knew she did it well.
The chemistry between Nick and Mina, is a slow but steady burn, he wants to get back to London, but is intrigued with the young “steward” at Tremayne, but the his past is full of pain, so there is no way he wants to stay, but Mina has such a way with her, that he begins to see his home in a different light. But is it enough to give up the gentleman’s club ? And will Mina actually give up get role at Tremayne ?
It’s a nice little story to read in this wet and cold weather
The Duke’s Den #1, Great story, great characters, great setup for the series. Nick Lyons was born the second son of a Duke but his father hated him never believed that he was legitimate; it wasn’t true but his father made his life hell. It got so bad His mother had to run away with him to keep him safe. Now Nick is a self made man co-owner of a gaming hall and much to his dismay he’s the new Duke of Tremayne. Thomasina “Mina” Thorne was raised like a lady she on the other hand had other plans. Raised by her father the Steward to Enderley Castle and was taught everything she needed to know to run the land; her father also instilled in her an unwavering sense of loyalty to the land and its people so much so that when he died she seamlessly stepped into his role. Nick hates Enderley Castle it’s filled with nothing but bad memories he plans to liquidate its assets and lease the house to the highest bidder but then he meets Mina Thorne.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I loved all the internal conflict that both Nick and Mina deal with. Nick with his memories of the house and Mina with her sense of duty to the house despite her own dreams and then them dealing with their feelings for each other and their very different stations.
Mina is independent and strong she’s the steward of Nicholas’ estate and was raised to take over her father’s duties. Nicholas is determined to tear the estate apart and rent it out. He doesn’t want the title of Duke and he won’t live in the place he was tortured as a boy. Mina and Nick’s attraction is instant and the two are explosive on the pages. Nick thinks there is no redemption for him. Yet he has a bigger heart than any of his predecessors.
Mina and Nicholas will steal your heart in this amazing historical romance. If you’re looking for a romance for the books full of redemption I highly recommend reading A Duke Changes Everything.