A heartbroken belle. A missing suitor. A heroic duke in disguise. Unmask Duke of Shadows and let the highwayman-duke steal your heart!England, 1817. Lady Portia Tennesley has always dreamed of marrying for love. When the suitor who seemed her perfect match disappears at the height of the Season, she’s heartbroken. Eventually she consents to an arranged marriage with an eccentric duke she barely … marriage with an eccentric duke she barely knows, a wealthy recluse who seems more interested in science than spending time with his new fiancée. But before Portia walks down the aisle to her grand, loveless match, she turns to the only man who can uncover her former beau’s fate—the mysterious outlaw known as Silversmoke.
Lucas Wakeford, the Duke of Fountainhurst, leads a double life that leaves him little time for romance. After his parents died at the hands of brigands as a lad, he found his true passion in standing up for the powerless as his masked alter ego, the heroic highwayman, Silversmoke. As the duke, however—his charade as a scholarly quiz aside—Luke knows he must eventually marry. Besides, having a wife around could help him blend in with his fellow noblemen. Elegant and highborn Lady Portia Tennesley seems perfect for the sort of duchess Luke needs. A fashionable belle preoccupied with high society, she’s sure to keep her nose out of his secret life fighting crime in London’s underworld.
But when the lady herself ventures into Silversmoke’s lair, begging for the famed highwayman’s help, Luke is astonished—and realizes he has seriously underestimated his future bride. Yet as Silversmoke, he can’t deny a damsel in distress, so he agrees to find her missing suitor. Tangled in a web of secrets and hidden identities, will Luke and Portia’s growing attraction be strong enough to survive the truth, or will their love steal away into the night?
Duke of Shadows is the fourth standalone novel in the Moonlight Square regency historical romance series. If you like alpha males in disguise, scintillating chemistry, and a double dose of mystery, you’ll love New York Times bestselling author Gaelen Foley’s tale of undercover romance.
Buy Duke of Shadows to unmask a sexy, swashbuckling historical romance today!
Praise for Gaelen Foley’s novels:
“Enchanting, Intriguing, fun.” ~Stephanie Laurens, #1 NYT Bestselling Author
“Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore and snatch up everything you can find that this amazing author has ever written!” ~The Romance Readers’ Connection
“Always fabulous.” ~Julia Quinn, #1 NYT Bestselling Author
“Sizzling and Sexy.” ~Mary Jo Putney
“Elegantly fluid prose.” ~Booklist
“Complex, engaging characters.” ~Publisher’s Weekly
Books in the Moonlight Square series
(Can be read in any order.)
Prequel Novella – ONE MOONLIT NIGHT
Book 1 – DUKE OF SCANDAL
Book 2 – DUKE OF SECRETS
Book 3 – DUKE OF STORM
Book 4 – DUKE OF SHADOWS
Welcome back to Moonlight Square ~ Regency London’s Most Romantic Address
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I love this series, and can’t wait for the next one. All the books are wonderful. I have noticed that each new book gets longer then the last, this was the longest ! Portia Tennesley, appears like the perfect demure, society lady. This is just what the Duke of Foutainhurst thinks after letting his sister pick out a Lady for him. As he lives a double life and doesn’t want a wife will ask too many questions, he feels she is the one and ask for her hand. Portia is worried about a gentleman she meet and liked a lot last season, who just disappeared and no one knows what happen to him. As she must marry and her family likes the Duke of Foutainhurst she agrees to the match. She thinks the Duke is a dull, scholarly type who likes bugs. He is awkward and uncomfortable moving around social events. Portia feels her marriage will be a loveless one. Portia has to know what happened to Joel before she can go forward with this marriage. She does not accept that he is dead, and fears for the worst. She goes to the infamous highwayman, silversmoke to see if he can find out what happened to Joel. Unknown to her she is talking to her affianced Duke!
Luke is shocked when he figures out who she is. Now he doesn’t know just what to make of his soon to be bride.
As these two work thru all the misconceptions each has of the other. I love how they try to learn about each other while both keeping secrets, as they fall in love, fight and make up thru the book.
This was very different then the rest of the books, you can read each as a stand alone. But with such great character’s is best to read them in order…
Lucas “Luke” Wakeford lives a double life. To his peers, he is the awkward and scholarly Duke of Fountainhurst, yet by night, he is the valiant highwayman Silversmoke. Luke is shocked when his betrothed entreats with his alter ego to find her former beau. Lady Portia Tennesley’s resoluteness convinces him to get to know his reluctant bride better. The search for her missing suitor takes a dangerous turn by uncovering dark secrets. Can Luke forsake his need for vengeance? Or will darkness consume his heart forever?
Lady Portia Tennesley is the youngest daughter of the Marquess of Liddicoat. She consents to the match her parents have arranged for her. However, before she weds, Portia intends to learn what befell her former suitor. She turns to Silversmoke, the enigmatic highwayman who champions the helpless, for help. Portia soon finds herself torn between two men: the dangerous highwayman and her studious betrothed. Will Portia’s love sway Luke away from his revenge? Or will his hatred stand in the way of their future?
Luke is my favorite kind of hero. He is a tortured soul haunted by his parents’ violent murder. I admire the outlet Luke found for his darker, baser emotions. Instead of wallowing in grief and self-pity, he helps those who cannot fight to find peace and resolution. I identify with Luke’s feelings about crowds. I too feel self-conscious and uncomfortable around a large number of people. What I like most about Luke is his honor. He refuses to start his new life with Portia based on lies and deceptions.
Portia steadily grew on me. At first, she came across as too self-absorbed for my tastes, caring only about her peers’ opinions. However, my feelings changed as the story progressed. I like how Portia empathized with Luke once she learned about his traumatic past. She saw past his façade to the man within. What I admire the most about Portia is how she refused to abandon Luke to his darker emotions. Instead, she appealed to his humane side to fight the encroaching darkness from consuming him fully.
DUKE OF SHADOWS is book four in Gaelen Foley’s historical romance series, MOONLIGHT SQUARE. I like how the couples from the previous books make appearances throughout the story. It is nice to see how their life continues. What made the book fun is Lord Sidney. His antics made me laugh.
DUKE OF SHADOWS is an evocative tale of love overcoming retribution. I hope the author considers writing Lord Sidney and Major Carvel’s book. Those two men definitely deserves a happily-ever-after.
Review courtesy of Romance Junkies
Even though the book was decent and the characters were amazing, the book was predictable. By a quarter of the way through the book I knew who the villain was and how the book was going to end. For a book I had volunteered to review, I was disappointed.
Duke of Shadows is Book 4 of the Moonlight Square series by Gaelen Foley. Even though I’ve read most of what this author has written, this series escaped me until now. Despite jumping in on Book 4, I followed along easily and was engaged right from the start. In fact, now I can’t wait to get my hands on the earlier books in the series.
I loved the connection between Luke and Portia. I was on the edge of my seat on how it would all play out in the end. Sidney was a hoot!! I look forward to reading more about him. In fact, I look forward to reading more about many of the secondary characters.
Overall this was a great story and I will definitely be making some time to catch up on the earlier stories.
I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book and the views expressed are my honest opinions.
I was so glad to have a new Moonlight Square novel to read and it was so good! Lots of suspense, secrets, adventure & romance equals a great reading escape. I love the characters created by Gaelen Foley & her writing draws me in to the moment occurring in the story. Thanks for a great read!
Now I remember why I love Gaelen’s writing. This is a story that is second to none. I do not know how I missed the first three books in the Series but I am going to Amazon to purchase them. If this book is an example of this Series I will love them too! This is a story of what Love will cost you and how it can change you.
Portia is a young lady who has recently accepted a betrothal arranged by her parents to a Duke. There is only one thing she has to do before she gets married, know what happened to her former beau, Joel Clayton. He disappeared over a year ago and the search has been called off barely months after he went missing. Portia is resigned to marrying Lucas Wakeford, the Duke of Fountainhurst, even though he is odd and embarrassing and is always rumpled like he dresses without a mirror, and he collects and studies bugs!! UGH!!! She has only met him a few times, he seems nice enough but he apparently has more important things to do than get to know his fiance. That suits her just fine at the moment because she is on her way to meet a famous highwayman/vigilante Silversmoke who helps the poor and delivers justice to those who prey on the helpless. Little does she knows that Silversmoke is her odd eccentric Fiance.
Lucas Wakeford is a true master of disguise a bumbling awkward Duke and Silversmoke the famous highwayman. Only those closest to him know the real Luke. He spends most of his time at his country estate and rarely comes to London. His parents were brutally killed when he was young by brutal bandits in the Highlands. He made it his mission to find every one of the bandits and massacre them like his parents. His obsession and vengeance have dramatically altered the life he would have had if his parents had never been murdered. As a child in a loving family, he never could imagine the events that brought him to who is today. He loves his sister and her children. He does not want to love a wife and he thinks Portia is the perfect Society lady who will tolerate a loveless marriage. He has no idea what he is in for.
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This is a story of a determined young lady and a man who has lost his way. Deep down Luke knows his parents would be heart-broken to see the man he has become. They would want him to find his soul mate like they did and live a life of love and purpose. He has been consumed by vengeance most of his adult life. He believes he is destined to live in this darkness the rest of his life and accepts that he will never be at peace again. Only he has never met anyone like Portia, her soul is spotless, her love shines through like sunshine. Can Luke let go of his vengeance and embrace the love that Portia has to give? Can he bask in the light of her love?
This story was so heart-wrenching, sad, lovely and so beautiful I admit I cried more than once. Portia knows that she has to save Luke for the sake of his soul and knows that they can have a wonderful life together. Gaelen’s characters are captivating in a beautifully poignant journey that will leave you spellbound until the end. I am so glad I found Gaelen’s books again! Read this one, I recommend it highly.
ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book and the views expressed are my honest opinions.
I love, love, love this book. Luke and Portia are amazing characters. This story is amazingly entertaining, with suspense, romance and is even funny. I loved reading about the past couples and how they are doing now. This is my favorite book of the series so far and I love all of the books in this series but this story kept me on my toes. I received an arc copy in exchange of my honest review.
The Duke of Shadows is absolutely the best Moonlight Square offering to date. I was enthralled with the characters from the first chapters. The multi-layered plot kept me wondering who would actually get the happy ending. I became trapped in the attraction of Portia and Silversmoke, then of Portia to Lucas. I wondered that she could be be missing Joel Clayton at all. After I met him, I wondered why she was searching for him.
The secondary characters were a grand addition. It was good to renew acquaintances with the other residents of Moonlight Square. And we now have new characters to add to the mix. One character I could do without from the beginning was Axwood; such an unconscionable specimen begged disposal.
I was so invested in the book that I emailed Ms. Foley to tell her I had hit a wall. I got to Chapter 33 and didn’t want to go on, because the story would end too soon. Well, I persevered, and it was well worth the pain of reaching the end of a fabulous journey. But now I have to wait 🙁 for the next installment. (Books 1-4 would make a fantastic miniseries if their stories were synced.)
You will not regret this purchase whatsoever. I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book and the views expressed are my honest opinions.
Who was the real Duke of Fountainhurs? Lucas, Luke or Silversmoke, or was he a little of all three? Portia who was engaged to the Duke of Fountainhurs was worried about her old boyfriend, Joel, and where he disappeared to. She asked the Highwayman Silversmoke to help her find him. She did not know Silversmoke was her fiancé. Luke is a wonderful hero, he was going to help find and save Joel, even though he could lose Portia to him if Joel returns. Portia was so cute how she called Luke her Lucas and she thought he was an awkward bug loving bookworm.
This was a long story, but it kept me enthralled the all the way until the end. There was not a boring part in the story. There was enough mystery to keep me entertained, but not too much that it took away from the love story.
I liked the secondary characters, Sidney, Major Carvel (Peter), Joel and all of Portia friends and their husbands.
I loved when Luke said to his friends “Portia is mine – I want her, like I never wanted anything before”. Another quote I loved was when Luke said to Portia “You know my heart. For God’s sake, you own the damned thing.”
I did not read the other books in the Moonlight Square books, but if they are as good as this one, I think I will. I believe they are about Portia’s married friends who are mentioned in this book and they look like fun characters. This is a wonderful story which will keep you very entertained.