It’s a clash of the classes in this beauty and the geek Regency romance that’s “fun, flirty and just a little nerdy,” and an instant USA Today bestseller. (BookPage)
Wrexham, Duke of Elsmore, is overrun by family obligations. With three sisters to escort about Town, a legion of cousins to look after, and aunties who insist he dance with every eligible young woman, he barely has time to manage … aunties who insist he dance with every eligible young woman, he barely has time to manage his dukedom. When he finally carves out a moment to evaluate his family’s finances, he learns that he — and his sisters — are on the verge of social catastrophe.
Eleanora Hatfield has an uncanny knack for numbers, but she knows from experience that dealing with the peerage can only lead to problems. Though she wants nothing to do with any titled gentleman, she reluctantly agrees to help when Rex seeks aid from her employer. What starts out as an unwanted assignment soon leads to forbidden kisses and impossible longings. But with scandal haunting Ellie’s past and looming in Rex’s future, how can true love lead to anything but heartbreak?
Wrexham (Rex) Dorset, Duke of Elsmore is a loving but clueless son, nephew, brother, cousin to his very large family. He loves them all – especially his mother, sisters, and the aunties. He delights in seeing to their welfare and they delight in managing him. He’s noticed some discrepancies in some of his books and has become concerned. His holdings are vast and far-flung and since it is time for him and his sisters to wed, he needs to assure that all is in order. He’s heard that his friend and fellow bank owner, the Duke of Walden has an auditor that can spot an error in a column of figures at fifty paces away – during a rainstorm. So, it is natural for him to ask – nay – beg – for the loan of that auditor to go over the estate’s books.
Eleanora Hatfield has a past – and she does her very best to keep it deeply buried. Life has not always treated her well and she wants – needs – craves – respectability above all else. She’s worked hard to become the well-respected woman she is today. She has a knack for figures and spotting patterns – and she knows every possible con and scheme that can be used to defraud someone. To say that she is invaluable to the bank that employs her would be a gross understatement. So, just imagine her unhappiness and distress when her employer asks her to take on the task of auditing all of the Duke of Elsmore’s accounts. She is not a happy camper and wastes no time telling both Elsmore and Walden. However, she is beholden to Walden for giving her employment when no one else would hire a woman to do what she does – and Walden is beholden to Elsmore – so – there is no way out of the task.
Rex can’t help but admire the feisty, outspoken, confident, straight-forward, no-nonsense, diminutive woman who is asking more and more probing questions about his holdings and his books. Her insight and intuition about what is happening are awe-inspiring and he is more and more curious about her. As he asks questions of his own, he manages to get her to let things about her past slip out – and she intrigues him even more.
Poor Rex was desperately smitten early on and Eleanora was smitten as well, but she was determined to hold Rex at arm’s length. She knew there was no future for them – he was so very far above her station. Rex definitely had his work cut out for him when it came to convincing her they could have a future together.
I always love a good mystery to be included with my romances and this one had a nice mystery. It won’t be much of a challenge for you to figure out who the culprit(s) are, but it is great fun to see Rex come to terms with who it is and what he is willing to do about it.
This was a fun read and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Wrexham, Duke of Elsmore, suspects that someone is embezzling from his accounts, but with so many holdings, he is unsure how to go about ciphering out the culprit. Knowing he is over his head, he seeks the help of friends at a neighboring banking institution and is amazed when their solution is offering the talents of their own auditor…one that just happens to be one of the most beautiful and smart women he has ever had the pleasure to meet. But will he be able to convince her to assist him before everyone in London discovers his failures.
Eleanora Hatfield has fought to have a steady job and income with one of the most sought-after banking institutions. Her quickness in sums and figures has gained her a solid reputation in auditing, so when she is asked to assist a Duke with determining who is stealing from his accounts, she agrees, but only on her terms…and never did she dream this endeavor would lead to the possibility of friendship…love…and so much more.
Rex and Ellie start their journey to happily ever after in one of the most unlikely of situations, and with each day and each turn of the ledger page, their comradery and friendship grows into something beyond what they could have ever planned.
Forever and a Duke is a well written regency romance, but…I just couldn’t seem to form a connection between Ellie and Rex. Perhaps it is that I have zero interest in math and/or auditing procedures, and that aspect of the story just didn’t interest me. The mystery as to who was stealing from Rex dragged on to the point, I started skimming pages just to get to the end, and by that time, I really didn’t care. Again, this plot was just not to my liking, and I’m sure there are readers out there that will adore these characters! If you are a reader of this genre, I would recommend you give it a try.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
Wrexham (Rex), the Duke of Elsmore gets soooo much more than he bargained for when he asked for a favor from a competitor. Eleanora (Ellie) is a force to be reckoned with regardless of her station in life compared to those that cross her path.
I like how Ellie lays the cards on the table and doesn’t back down when someone challenges her, including Lords and Dukes. The storyline was good and the characters were relatable in different ways. I look forward to the next book in this series!
Rex, Duke of Elsmore, has problems with the family finances, and goes to a trusted banking competitor for help. Eleanora Hatfield is good with numbers. In addition, because of her upbringing in a family forced into questionable ways of surviving, she knows how different scams work, making her an invaluable asset as a bank auditor. Rex procures her services to audit his books. What follows is a lovely story of two people dealing with family issues, and learning to love with trust.
Thoroughly enjoyed Elsmore and Eleanora’s story. It’s so easy to be drawn in and surrounded by this author’s characters and storylines. I always plan on just settling in when I pick up one of her novels, as it’s so hard to put down. Warm, beautiful and so sweetly romantic.
Forever and a Duke By Grace Burrowes is book Three in the Rogues to Riches Series. This is the story of Eleanora Hatfield and Wrexham, Duke of Elsmore ‘Rex’. I have read the previous book but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so. Rex is working to get his footing on his Title but has many obligations that are pulling him in different directions. When he goes to look into the estate title he see that they are on the brink of losing everything. Eleanora is a bookish lady who has a knack for the numbers. When she goes to help Rex they start to build a friendship but more importantly they can’t resist the attraction they are feeling.
Enjoyed their story.
Eleanora (Ellie) Hatfield is a no nonsense bank auditor and very good at math. She works at a bank of which Wrexham (Rex), the Duke of Elsmore is on the board.
When Rex realizes that somewhere in his many properties and the family members he supports, there is someone who is cheating him. So, he hires Ellie to review all of his estate books to ensure they are in good order. When she realizes how vast his estates are and the many relatives depending upon him, she is determined to find the culprit or culprits who are stealing from him.
As they spend time together, they learn a lot about one another, yet Ellie is determined to hide her own background from him as her family has been rather unsavory. But, when they fall in love, will Ellie be able to push Rex aside knowing her background could result in a disastrous marriage for them?
I really wanted to like this book by a very good author, but I kept wondering if perhaps I should have read other books in the series because I felt lost. Ellie is hiding her family members of which there are many, and the way the book is written, it’s as if the reader should know all about them. Bits and pieces are leaked out here and there but there’s no huge revelation that I could find. There is the usual “oh I’m not good enough for you and I can’t marry you” which gets quite close to the boring point. Unfortunately, this is a simple love story but nothing truly special.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
“Forever and a Duke” was a charming and delightful story, just as Grace Burrowes’s books always are. I adored the main characters, Ellie and Rex. Their banter was a lot of fun, and the way they looked after each other was incredibly sweet. For example, Ellie made Rex a soothing drink when she noticed that he had a headache, while he was always making sure that she ate and was warm enough. To me, small gestures like those are the signs of true love. Grand gestures can be lovely and certainly have their place (especially in romance novels!), but IMO, what matters most is how one shows love every day.
Ellie and Rex complemented each other very well in their various skills and personality traits, but I found it interesting that those interests and talents led to kind of a role reversal for the times in which they lived. Rex had the social acumen and knew how to navigate the ton, while Ellie had a head for business and was the perfect candidate to help him manage his estates and the bank. The two of them were a great team both personally and professionally.
I can’t wait to read the next book in this series! I understand that Quinn’s sister Althea will be featured in book #4 and I’m looking forward to getting to know more about her. I hope that his brother Stephen will get a book of his own at some point, too. Stephen has been through so much in his life, and I would love to see him finally find the perfect partner.
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
Rogues to Riches#3, Even though I really didn’t care for the second book in the series I did enjoy a book from another series written by Grace Burrowes so I thought I’d give this one a try, unfortunately it wasn’t as good as I hoped. I did like it a bit more than the previous book the synopsis sounded good but once again just fell short for me. I liked the idea that a woman could be the best auditor in all of London and that a competing bank would seek her help. Beauty and intelligence are not mutually inclusive so I had no problem that she happened to be both, Elenora puts no stock into her appearance with her family’s background she’s just trying to remain respectable enough to work for a living. The Duke of Elsmore, Wrexham has been so busy keeping up appearances and taking care of his mother and sisters and the Dukedom the bank that his family owns has fallen on to some issues and it turns out his family finances are also a bit mucked up. Elenora agrees reluctantly, with her family history she doesn’t really like titled lords. The more time they spend together the more they realize there is more to each other than meets the eye. It not hard to see why Rex fell for Elenora but she needs a bit more, she likes him and sees that he’s loyal to his family but she still doesn’t know if she can trust him. Little by little she opens up and hopes he doesn’t break her heart and ruin her reputation.
Overall, it was a nice read. The romance between Elenora and Rex just fell a little flat for me.
Grace Burrowes does it again – the Rogues to Riches series is a sweet spin-off from the Windhams books and her other series, although characters from those series make cameos. Grace Burrowes is my romance go-to, and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon.
Eleanora overcomes her mistrust of the peerage to help Rex find out who is stealing money from him. I liked the strong accounting genius heroine! Rex ignores convention to go for what he wants. I received an Arc from NetGalley for my honest review.