Chasing the Duke

The best quick read of the series so far. I really liked the characters and the plot of this book. Will have to add more of this author’s books to my reading list.

A chance at love between two people that don’t think they deserve it.

Lady Camille Bellington is a strong minded, smart women. However in this time and age it is not what most men want or accept. Tristan Tierney, the Duke of Mercer has returned from war and doesn’t think there is a chance for him to have a relationship. When they are thrown together at a Christmas dinner old feelings return.

As they come to terms with their feelings for each other will they act on them? This was a romantic, fast paced read that brought plenty of emotions out. Great characters.

A Wounded Warrior and an Independent Gentlewoman

This is a novella, but the author has managed through the clever use of sharp and pointed word choice to make the book come alive in the first chapter, making me want to turn the pages just to see how she might wield that weapon as the hero and heroine first metaphorically poke each other in the eye and then when their interactions turn passionate. These two had chemistry in spades, although they are both a little prickly toward each other at the start. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for the wounded warrior trope, and the hero is just such a man. While he looks strong on the outside, he battles demons on the inside, including horrific nightmares that make the battlefield so real again. We, of course, recognize this as PTSD, but back in the Regency era, little understanding of such phenomena existed. The heroine is fiercely independent, and I admire her spirit. Uncommon for a young gentlewoman in those times, she not only had an interest in botany, but she also made a little money on the side helping people with their garden issues and supplying flowers. Good thing, too, as her household needed the blunt. A well-written story, and an engaging one.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

Second chances for childhood friends Camille Bellington and Tristan Tierney. Camille is an interesting character. She knew she loved Tristan since she was a girl but it was unrequited. She grew up loving and learning about plants and became a botanist publishing her findings under a male sounding name. She became an expert at it. She is intelligent, loyal, caring and selfless. Tristan, the Duke of Mercer, had known Camille had a crush on him but she was his best friend’s little sister and growing up paid her no mind. Now returned from the war he realized what a beauty she had become. She had everything he was missing from his life. Tristan had resigned himself not to marry because he had a serious case of PTSD. Nightmares and while awake some harsh sounds triggered his PTSD. He did not want to subject anyone to living with that. It was not until he let Camille into his life that he understood that he could heal from it and not have to live with it forever. The story revolves over Camille’s resistance to entertain Tristan as a suitor and Tristan’s conflicted feelings of his feeling for Camille over his PTSD. A hot and steamy story. A quick read and entertaining.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Nice brothers best friend, tormented hero Regency story. I loved the heroines spunk.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another brilliant story in the series

This is another brilliantly written story in what is a great seasonal series. The plot is full of emotional twists and turns, and the characters are beautifully portrayed. This is a great book that would suit anybody who loves steamy historical romances.

I enjoyed this book very much; it was an easy pleasant read. This book is about Tristan who is a Duke and is Camille’s brother’s friend. He spent much of his youth at Camille’s aunt’s house because that is where her and her brother grew up. Camille just got engaged to a Viscount, because she needs to try to save her family house. Camille and Tristan have not seen each other the last few years, and Tristan has changed since he came back from war. Camille always loved Tristan, but she was younger, and he never really noticed her. Their attraction is strong, but Tristan is an honorable man and does not think he is good for anyone after he has come back from war. I love how Tristan always calls her princess. He is a type of man your heart goes out to and she is exactly what he needs I do have to say I enjoyed Camille’s aunt, Lady Fontaine.
I received an ARC copy of this book for my honest opinion.

Camille Bellington has loved Tristian Tierney since they were children. He is returned from the war and is now the Duke of Mercer. He is a guest her aunt’s holiday dinner. So is Camille’s intended. She is still in love with Tristan; Tristan is totally smitten with her; and Ridley, her intended, hasn’t a clue. From the moment at dinner when Tristan told the story of Camille and the swan, I was hooked. Why is Camille marrying Ridley? Just how is Tristan to win the independent woman?

Tristan has come back from the war emotionally damaged. His nightmares are horrific. He has been reclusive, worked on restoring the estate he inherited. Camille has a calming effect on him. Camille is happy and independent. She loves her plants and conservatory, and would love to be a member of the Botanical Society. The chemistry between these two is sizzling. Camille’s Aunt Bel and her friend Adelia, Countess Milburn, are scheming, gossipy, outspoken, funny, and absolutely loveable. They want Camille to find love and be happy. This a wonderful story, emotional, funny, and heartwarming, and it ends with a lovely epilogue where the reader smiles.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Camille Bellington is engaged to be married to Viscount Ridley. She agrees to the loveless marriage to save her family estate. Her Aunt, Lady Isabel Fontaine is throwing a Christmas party and has invited the recently returned from war, Tristan Tierney, the fifth Duke of Mercer. Camille has been in love with Tristan since forever. She cannot remember when she was not in love with the Duke. Tristan also discovers he has feelings for his bestfriend’s sister. He has an undeniable attraction he cannot fight to a woman who had wanted him many years ago but he did not know he should want her too. He wants to explore his feelings and desires for her. The only problem is that Camille has promised herself she will not chase the Duke like she did as a child. She has a hard time keeping this promise because she cannot stay away from Tristan. This was a sweet second chance romance. They have great chemistry. and steamy scenes together. Watching them fall in love was enjoyable. Their back and forth banter was adorable. The author had you rooting for the couple and hoping Camille will choose Tristan. This was a cute short read that keeps you entertained and wishing for the happily ever after for Tristan and Camille. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This one starts off slowly, and I wasn’t quite sure where it was going, but I was quickly reeled in. As always, the characters that Tracy Sumner creates are unique, memorable, likable, and inspiring. This one is full of strong, independent women with a sense of humor and penchant for innuendo. I loved Camille’s aunt Bel, and even Countess Adelia Milburn was funny, both women scheming to bring Camille and Tristan together. At one point, after Camille has repeatedly denied that she wants him, Adelia scoffs, “Must we do all the work here?”

Camille and Tristan were childhood friends, after a fashion—she was the little sister of Tristan’s best friend. Because they spent so much time together, they have a comfortable rapport, which makes it totally believable when he confronts her hesitancy by saying, “Are we going to stand her mentally stripping each other of clothing, or are you going to tell me what you want?” When she balks, denying she was doing that, he responds, “Just me then. Apologies.”

Tracy Sumner has a poetic way of stating what others might say in ordinary ways, like when Tristan imagined Camille’s breath “light and effervescent, sliding down his throat to dent his heart.” Later, he looked at her in the ballroom and saw, “Her hair breathing in candlelight from the many chandeliers and releasing it in a ginger burst.” Most telling of all though, after asking what he could do to delight her: “He didn’t know why he asked this when he was running full-speed away from her. Or trying to. And failing.”

Some things are stated with such simplicity that they become profound, like Camille’s fear of “losing her soul when he’d always owned her heart.” And, “She would have been embarrassed if she’d been able to be anything but his.” And this book has heat too, with a statement from Tristan so searing and evocative, I had to fan myself: “You think my hand is wondrous? My lips are destructive.”

If you’ve ever been faced with a task you wish to avoid, you’ll appreciate this one: “Scrambling from the bed, he approached the mess as if it were a blazing coal someone had asked him to shove down his trousers.”

One of the reasons Tristan and Camille are perfect for one another is because both are intelligent and a bit mischievous. This was demonstrated in one scene with Tristan following a negotiation with a gentleman of his acquaintance: “Tristan sat up and held out his hand to seal the deal, an American tradition he planned to start regularly employing because his countrymen disliked it so much.”

And I cannot resist sharing this quote from a part of the story where Camille is angry with Tristan and on her way to confront him: “The scent of cinnamon and gingerbread wafting from the shops drifted through a crack in the carriage’s window, overriding the stink of burning coal and river blight, a careless delight Camille would have otherwise taken great pleasure in. As it was, keeping the furious crimson haze from spilling out of her soul and staining the city’s cobblestones was taking every fiber of her being.”

No surprise, Camille and Tristan work things out and have their HEA. In fact, he transforms into a romantic, sweet soul that I don’t think he ever imagined he could be, though of course, Camille knew it all along. I loved this story and highly recommend it.