Just one more kiss… (Milady, it’s cold outside)
Lady chemist Penelope Mitchell took England by storm with Duke, a perfume for men that has women swooning at their feet. To prove the same aphrodisiacal potency of her upcoming version for ladies, the new perfume must cause a rake to fall in love with her in ten days. And she has just the man in mind… Pringle—known as “Saint Nick” for his wicked ways—wants to end the absurd cologne that has every young buck believing himself a ladies’ man. How hard can it be to charm a spinster into changing her mind? But when Penelope does the charming, this rakish scoundrel must decide between losing the war… or losing his heart.
The 12 Dukes of Christmas is a laugh-out-loud historical romance series of heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!
The 12 Dukes of Christmas:
Once Upon a Duke
Kiss of a Duke
Wish Upon a Duke
Never Say Duke
Dukes, Actually
The Duke’s Bride
The Duke’s Embrace
The Duke’s Desire
Dawn with a Duke
One Night with a Duke
Ten Days with a Duke
Forever Your Duke
Get your Duke today!
more
Greatly enjoyed the story of Penelope and Nicholas. Nicholas, a known rake and Penelope, a chemist meet when he arrives on her doorstep to purchase a fragrance she invented named Duke. Nicholas is intrigued with Penelope but she appears to be the first woman who is not impressed with him. The meetings between the two of them are well written and entertaining in that they interact as two intelligent adults and enjoy time together. There is a HEA but not before a misunderstanding almost tears they apart. I would highly recommend thus book.
II totally enjoyed this book from start to finish. It so refreshing and different from other historical romances i’ve read. It is charming and enchanting, partly due to the time of year it is set in and also the main characters. Ms. Ridley has recreated a wonderful Christmas village where this series takes place. Book 1 in the series is great, but this one is even better. The background characters make me greatly anticipate the next and the next etc books in the series. This is a truly fun read.
Oh, this book was so much better than the previous one!
I love how the pages turn basically themselves, I was so engrossed in the story, I couldn’t stop reading!
Nick came into the village to stop the spreading and produce of the cologne named Duke. He’s immediately smitten by the lovely chemist and can’t stop visiting her. Penelope wants to test the new cologne before it hits the market and what better than to test it on Nicholas?
Such a charming story that for a moment, I forgot this all happens in the village called Christmas! (where they celebrate Christmas all year long according to the first book)
I was very much relieved this book wasn’t so story focused on Christmas as book one. If you need a great, fast read that will make you swoon, I recommend this one!
4.5 stars.
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Erica Ridley continues with her 12 Dukes of Christmas series with another fun filled romance that will have you laughing as you turn the pages. Nick and Penelope are wonderful characters that have the best witty conversations back and forth. Penelope, a chemist, creates a scent for men called “Duke” and touts to turn the most unassuming man into a rake. Nick tries to convince her to stop selling the new creation, being the rake that he is and encourages her to make a perfume for women, which would have the same effect on men. She decides to try it on Nick and the adventure begins.
A delightful read that has me only anxious for the next book in this series!!
I do think this book is better than the first one Once Upon A Duke.
How much I laughed between their inner dialogues to their witty banters.
For once, it was not fresh out of the nursery h&H, she will thirty four and he is six and thirty. She is too serious, always her nose in her experiments and he is far from serious sneaking from a bedroom to another.
Each one having decided love is a lure, until they cross road. Nicholas hoping to stop her spreading her perfumes everywhere while she thinks he is the perfect subject for her trial.
And the more they spend time together, the more they get to know another, the more they appreciate each other.
« Every molecule of her body wanted this man more than she’d dreamed possible. It was as if she was hydrogen and he was carbon and together their irresistible chemical bond had joined to form ethylene, a substance so flammable that any spark could cause it to combust. »
Penelope is more than a bluestocking, she is a confirmed scientific, but as a woman not accepted by her peers, and as a rational woman, she expresses her thoughts without filters, which can be embarrassing but also refreshing. I loved her view of life, even if she is mistaken sometime. Her friends and their discussions were hilarious as her interactions with Saint Nick.
« “It’s a good skill for you to develop,” she said. “If you offer nice enough biscuits, perhaps people will still visit you after your good looks are gone.” He choked on his biscuit. “After my what?” »
Nicholas when introduced, appeared at first like the perfect rake he was portrayed to be, all dazzling smiles and winks. Then slowly the author peels his different layers, letting us see through and discover who is really Nicholas Pringle and why.
« What would it be like to have someone want to spend time with him, not just his body? To be able to be the person he truly was, not the person everyone expected to see? A nightmare, he reminded himself firmly. He had built his walls for a reason. They kept him safe. Miss Mitchell was dangerous. »
It was entertaining to see them struggling about their feelings, lying to themselves, wondering about another then finally deciding to take a chance with life and love. They did it not the right way but how two people who refused to acknowledge love would have known how to deal properly with such a strong and strange sentiment.
Kiss of a Duke by Erica Ridley is book Two in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series. This is the story of Nicholas Pringle ‘Saint Nick’ and Penelope Mitchell. I have read the previous book but, feel this can be a standalone book.
Nicholas is the ‘old fashion rouge’ who seduces on his own merits. But Penelope has created a perfume that attracts women to men and makes the men hard to resit. Nicholas wants to stop Penelope from making this perfume. Penelope now is working on a perfume for women to attract men. Penelope thinks that Nicholas might be the one to test her perfume on. Things get out of hand and feelings start to kick in.
This was a cute read that I really enjoyed
In a packed ballroom, a drunken voice raised a toast to the Duke, and the crowd responded with a toast to Lady chemist Penelope Mitchell, creator of a men’s perfume named “Duke” which caused women to swoon at their feet. The village was proud of their chemist and her accomplishment. The gossip columns were spreading the word how the most unrakish of men splashed on the scent and were almost trampled by eager ladies. Every time Penelope tried to explain how it worked, her friend Gloria made her stop talking – she didn’t want her to ruin the magic for everyone.
So to prepare for a version for the ladies, named “Duchess”, this new perfume must cause a rake to fall in love within 10 days. Nicholas “Saint Nick” Pringle – super-confident in his own charisma and charm, as well as not being a believer in love – naturally becomes the perfect test subject for Penelope’s new creation. Is he really interested in her, or is it the perfume working on him? Will he fall for her and prove her perfume is a success? Will he give up all interest in the lady rather than admit she was right? Or did love result from honest interactions with each other and learning to care?
This is a really good book to draw us into the Christmas spirit! The characters are wonderful and the story line is fun! Get your copy and join in with the merriment!
Erica Ridley’s books just keep getting better and better! Kiss of a Duke is the story of an innocent chemist (Penelope) who invents a men’s perfume called “Duke” that makes her famous. While Penelope doesn’t believe in love, supposedly “Duke” attracts women like honey attracts bees, so Penelope creates a ladies’ perfume called “Duchess” and tests it out on Nicholas, an infamous rake. Nicholas doesn’t believe in love either. Somebody is in for a BIG surprise!
Lady chemist Penelope Mitchell took England by storm with Duke, a perfume for men that has women swooning at their feet. To prove the same aphrodisiacal potency of her upcoming version for women, the new perfume must cause a rake to fall in love with her in 10 days. She has just the man in mind, sexy pleasure-seeker Nicholas Pringle. He is known as Saint Nick for his wicked ways. He wants to end the cologne that has every young buck believing himself a ladies’ man. He plans to charm spinster Penelope into changing her mind. He will have to decide between losing the war or his heart. – This is a laugh-out-loud historical romance. I loved Penelope and Nick. They were different in many ways but also alike in others. They were fun and accepted each other as is. Their interactions are entertaining, and I loved the romance. Nick is sweet, thoughtful and romantic. Penelope is sweet, smart, and sincere. I thought this was a holiday romance, but Christmas is a small town in England.
Really entertaining
This was a really good book. The characters were great, the conversations were witty and the story was wonderful. I hated the for the story to end.
4.5 stars
Penelope Mitchell is Christmas’ resident chemist and newly minted celebrity – she created a cologne for men called “Duke” and it is wildly successful – based on science, Penelope formulated the scent to attract women and by all accounts it works. So well, that she has decided to create a scent for women and will call it “Duchess” – she has a base formula, she just needs to test it.
Mr. Nicholas Pringle, known by all as Saint Nick, is an unrepentant rake. He never spends more than one night with a woman and has no desire to settle down, he doesn’t believe in love and has only agreed to come to Christmas to keep his brother Christopher company. While attending a party at the castle, Chris mentions that the creator of “Duke” is there and immediately Nick wants to confront her. He wants her to stop production of “Duke”, it is unfair to real rakes.
He meets Penelope and offers to buy the formula, she has no intention of selling it to him, but tells him she will think on it and tells him to return the next day. Penelope decides that Nick is the perfect test subject for “Duchess”, she will wear it and see if it works on men as well as “Duke” works on women. A kiss from him should be all the proof she needs, but to make things fair, she will make herself as dowdy as possible.
When he returns, she learns that Nick loves cookies, she feeds him and she is sure the perfume is working, just a kiss is all she needs. When she finally gets that proof, she decides that it is not enough and will need further research to be sure. They spend time together and Nick begins to question himself, he likes Penelope and his relationship with her has taken him to uncharted waters, he wonders if she might be the woman who finally breaks through the wall and meets the real Nick – not sure he is ready for that step, he tries to keep her at arm’s length and fails.
Is it love or is it “Duchess”, Penelope knows she has fallen for him, and he seems to care for her, but is it real or will it end when he learns the truth?
This was a very cute story with two very likable people, lots of cookies, secrets, chemical reactions and some corny Christmas references. The book is well written, flows nicely and is extremely entertaining. It is the second book in the series, but can easily be read as a stand alone and while there are references to Christmas, this is definitely a year-round read.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*
What can I say but that this book was wonderful. Take two people who do not want romance and throw in some chemistry and then the intrigue starts. They not only find out amazing things about each other but come to know themselves better.
I liked how the author takes liberties with the word “Duke”. There cannot be as many men bearing that title in all of England as all of the regency novels in existence suggest, so this was a great way to introduce a “duke” without cluttering up the landscape with another titled noble. I particularly enjoyed how this rake got his comeuppance and the very myopic focus of the scientist who handed it to him. This was a very different ‘taming the rake’ story.
It reminded me of a 1960s rom com
4.5 STARS
I purchased this as part of a bundle that was offered called 12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS (Books 1-2). I enjoyed this one more than the first book.
This is a unique story with a women chemist making perfume. They are alone A LOT, and no-one questions it. Not sure of exact time period, but actions and language more modern. I still enjoyed the journey and loved the H/h were not interested in love. How they both came around was entertaining. They both had skills that weren’t normal and I found it interesting too.
We have lovemaking, outside of marriage, heat level 3.5 out of 5 and only described two times I think.
Interesting secondary character’s too. I hope the story on the H’s brother goes on sale because he was a likable character.
No cheating, no cliffhanger, HEA, romance and spice. I can’t improve on the blurb, just recommending this story. (ljb)
Cleverly wrought Regency story of independent female alchemist who uses perfume she created to even the romantic playing field to offer even homely women opportunities for romance.
I love this author!
I really like this author, but these characters did not resonate with me the story was interesting but did not ring true. I would pass on this one.
I love the characters
So interesting. I was disappointed the book ended.