Lady Juliet is happy. Very happy. After all, she’s engaged, even if she rarely sees her betrothed. So what if her betrothed keeps postponing their wedding? Or that there are wicked rumors about him? Still, when the Duke of Sherwood doesn’t appear at a ball as intended, there’s only one thing she can do: discover the truth herself.Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, is exceedingly dull.At least, that’s … exceedingly dull.
At least, that’s what he desires everyone to believe. He makes certain to enter into conversations with the ton about obscure plants and to quote Latin tomes while fiddling with his spectacles. By night, Lucas is involved in a different task: bringing down criminals.
No criminal is as elusive as the person spreading counterfeit coin through the Lake District, and Lucas is determined to discover the source. When he sees someone sneak onto the man’s estate in the Lake District, he expects to discover one of the man’s accomplices. Instead, he is shocked to discover Lady Juliet. Lucas vows to help her, no matter how distracting her alluring presence is.
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Absolutely well written story with a nice storyline and plot. I like the mix of mystery, laughter, attraction, chemistry and twists the story has.
A couple who are very likeable and who fits remarkably well together.
The author has once again written a story that is worth time and reading. The fact that research has been made before writing the story gives it a lot more.
Recommendably and entertaining through all the pages.
A romantic comedy of errors that includes a young lady engaged to an elusive Duke, a Duke pretending to be a botanist and a counterfeit coin ring. Then you have highwaymen who aren’t highwaymen, a young lady determined to see her betrothed and the Duke who continues to rescue her from her antics. A fun read with a few ups and downs. I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book.
Lady Juliet is happy. After all, she’s engaged to a duke, even if she rarely sees her betrothed. So what if her betrothed keeps postponing their wedding Still, when the Duke of Sherwood doesn’t appear at a ball as intended, there’s only one thing she can do: discover the truth herself.
Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, is exceedingly dull, at least, that’s what he desires everyone to believe. He makes certain to enter into conversations with the ton about obscure plants and to quote Latin tomes while fiddling with his spectacles. By night, Lucas is involved in a different task: bringing down criminals. No criminal is as elusive as the person spreading counterfeit coin through the Lake District, and Lucas is determined to discover the source. When he & his friend Sebastian pretend to be highwaymen neither expected to find two young ladies & then the fun begins
This is the second in the series & is easily read on its own. A fun entertaining read that also had some sadder elements. I really liked both Lucas & Juliet, the chemistry between the pair was there from the start & only grew. I also loved Sebastian and Genevieve & look forward to their story. I disliked Sherwood & also Juliet’s parents especially her stepmother. The pace was good & I read it in two sittings
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
2.5 stars, i was intrigued by lady juliet’s character in the first book of this series because she was already engaged yet her fiancee was constantly absent. meeting lucas in this book was a great surprise and his character is very sweet and likeable, a refreshing change from the typical alpha-males in this genre. instead, he’s a bit of a recluse that dresses oddly and prefers botany to balls. juliet and lucas clearly establish a good bond over the course of the book and have some nice moments but i was missing the spark in their relationship. overall, it was a fun, light, quick, read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cute read with love and romance.
Very enjoyable
Juliet is engaged to Horatius, Duke of Sherwood, and is counting down to their wedding. He doesn’t attend a ball and Mr Bradley attempts to woo her to dance. When that fails he insinuates that Horatius is unfaithful to Juliet. The thought gnaws at her. With her cousin Genevieve, they go in a carriage in search of him. They are soon face to face with a masked man, Juliet holding a pistol to his face. Lucas thought these women didn’t look like criminals, they looked barely 20, their clothes looked refined, but the woman holding pistol at him looked familiar. Lucas is investigating counterfeit money in the area, tasked by cabinet. The women didn’t resemble vile criminals! Lucas recognises her; and when his fellow mask highwayman, Sebastian, appears they don’t rob them – eleven though they should! When a shot rings out Sebastian is shot by Genevieve. Rather than driving off Juliet offers help. The driver of the carriage races off and Juliet and Genevieve are alone with the highwayman. When they try to leave there are no options Juliet grabs a pistol and organises to take a horse. When rescue arrives! Lucas decides to investigate Juliet further convincing her father to let him stay – studying bluebells!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this engaging entertaining and compellingly story. I lived how brave, clever, Juliet is! Lucas is charming, secretive and an investigator. The story is well written, with interesting characters and relationships; story is fast paced; with lots of action, highwaymen, mistaken identity, investigations, trickery and blackmail. Story is told from dual POVs and reveals the thoughts feelings and emotions as they explore their relationship and navigate through the many obstacles that arise! There’s an epilogue and a HEA.
I look forward to reading a Bianca Blythe book because I know she will make me smile or even make me laugh out loud. Her sense of humor is evident in each of her books. My Favorite Duke has its share of amusing dialog and circumstances, but it also has crimal activity, potential scandal, and romance. Lady Juliet is head over heels excited and happy to be marrying the man of her dreams, the Duke of Sherwood. After all doesn’t every young lady wish to marry a handsome duke. Enter the not so perfectly put together, Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth. Back from fighting in France, he has been enlisted by the government to find who is running a counterfeit ring in the Lake district. Aided by his friend, Sebastian, the Duke of Sandridge, they are hot on the trail of a lead that could result in finding the perpetrator. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately they find Juliet and her friend, Genevieve. Things take off from there. I don’t dare say more since I do not want to give away the story.. Take my word, this tale is good reading. My only disappointment was not finding out what happened to the counterfeiters. Maybe, in the next book featuring Sebastian and Genevieve. That should be a hoot! I received this eBook from NetGalley for an honest review.
This is a brilliantly written second book in series
This is a brilliantly written second book in a series that just keeps getting better. The plot is full of twists and turns, as well as plenty of surprises. The characters are portrayed beautifully and have lots of strength. This is a book that will suit all those who love steamy historical romances
This was a charming and entertaining book, and I really loved both Juliet and Lucas. The highwayman scene was simply hilarious as were most of the situations that brought them together early on. However, it felt like the book jumped around a bit too much without resolutions, especially towards the end. For instance, when they rushed down to the lake to find Sebastian, they ended up stealing Sherwood’s boat and immediately proceeded to forget about Sebastian altogether. And why did Sherwood want to marry her so desperately if he didn’t need any money nor seem to like her? Also it was a little confusing if the cottage was only just rented by the government for Lucas, then how had he met Sherwood’s sister before the war? He had already said the cottage was his home, so it felt a little conflicting.There were a lot of other unanswered questions too, but despite this (and a fair number of typos) I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading about Sebastian’s turn next.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
This book had a lot of potential, but it fell flat in the details.
The book opens up with Lady Juliet at a ball worried since her fiancé hasn’t put in an appearance. She decides to go to his home and check on him, worried that something ill has befallen him. On the way, she meets Lucas who’s pretending to be a highway robber in order to snuff out an illegal counterfeiting scheme. And thus our stage is set…
I like a lot of the ideas that the author had – I just wish that she’d chosen to follow through with them more. Instead, we got a very cursory touch on some of the deeper issues. For example, Lady Juliet’s relationship with her stepmother and father. Things are mentioned briefly about their tenuous relationship…I would have preferred to have some scenes so I could feel the tension in order to better understand their feelings. It also would have made the ending all the more satisfying. This accurately portrays my feelings throughout most of the book. The author has this brilliant idea to create interesting characters but doesn’t give us more. That leaves us sometimes confused, sometimes bored. If the story had been filled out more, this book could have been a four- or five-star book.
The author makes use of the unreliable narrator as she switches perspectives. (Ex. Juliet’s family calls her hair red while Lucas says it’s auburn.) This is fine and can create interest; however, since there are continuity problems within one narrator, this only adds confusion. There are multiple times throughout the book where things changed within one narrator’s perspective. When you mix this with the unreliable narrator, things got a bit confusing.
Overall, this book had a lot of potential. There were characters with interesting pasts…and that were connected in surprising ways. However, a lack of delving into these somewhat mentioned qualities, left the story somewhat flat and the resolution not as fulfilling.
I received a copy of this book through NetGallery in exchange for my honest review.
Juliet is engaged to a wonderful guy she thinks but he keeps putting the wedding off. Someone tells her he may be cheating on here she sneaks away and tries to find out if it’s true but she ends up meeting Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth. Daytime Lucas acts boring by night he is criminal hunting. he meets Juliet think she’s a criminal. After he finds out she’s not a criminal he keeps running into her they end up falling in love.
Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, wants everyone to believe he’s a bumbling botanist when in fact he’s actually do work for the Home Office. While on a mission that goes wrong he meets Lady Juliet and is intrigued by her, but she’s engaged to the Duke of Sherwood. Lucas continues to investigate a counterfeiting ring and he doesn’t like where it leads. Can Lucas convince Juliet that he is the better man?
Ms. Blythe introduced Juliet in the first book with a few small scenes and I was wondering why to include a non-essential character. Now we have Juliet’s story. I didn’t like this book as much as the first one especially with some of Juliet’s antics of going off on wild goose chases regarding her absentee duke. It was out of character for a regency young lady. I liked Lucas much more and especially his back story and connection to Sherwood. I’m looking forward to reading the next story in the series.
I’ve voluntarily read the advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.
My Favorite Duke
The Duke Hunters Club Series #2
Bianca Blythe
https://www.facebook.com/biancablythebooks/
Release date 05/27/2020
Blurb :
Lady Juliet is happy. Very happy. After all, she’s engaged, even if she rarely sees her betrothed. So what if her betrothed keeps postponing their wedding? Or that there are wicked rumors about him? Still, when the Duke of Sherwood doesn’t appear at a ball as intended, there’s only one thing she can do: discover the truth herself.
Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, is exceedingly dull.
At least, that’s what he desires everyone to believe. He makes certain to enter into conversations with the ton about obscure plants and to quote Latin tomes while fiddling with his spectacles. By night, Lucas is involved in a different task: bringing down criminals.
No criminal is as elusive as the person spreading counterfeit coin through the Lake District, and Lucas is determined to discover the source. When he sees someone sneak onto the man’s estate in the Lake District, he expects to discover one of the man’s accomplices. Instead, he is shocked to discover Lady Juliet. Lucas vows to help her, no matter how distracting her alluring presence is.
My review :
Will she open her heart in time and realize she might have decided to fast on the wrong man …
Now that I am to write my feelings about this read, I do remember that the first time I have read Mrs Bianca Blythe’s work, I thought she had a very specific voice. And the previous book, the first in this series, was everything I loved, witty, funny, romantic. But with this second, I felt a bit lost, it has the funny moments with the internal musing of both main characters and their no-nonsense thoughts, but I did not really connected with them but it is probably me the problem as both are kind characters, they switched their feelings toward one another for fast for me.
For a kind of spy, Lucas is not really the best at his job, he adopts a facade but it is only a facade, one scratch and everything might crumble. Yet he is willing to find the culprit.
Juliet is completely delusional about her betrothed duke, always making excuses for his absence and soooooo innnn looove after only two encounters. Even risking her safety to rescue him from whatever fate might have befallen on him and prevented him to attend once more an event, thus for a full year she has not seen him.
The highwaymen scene was just hilarious, their inner dialogues full of fun and derision.
In all it is a very enjoyable read with two sweet characters who made some mistakes, up to them to correct them the right way.
On a special note, I must disliked the heroine’s father. He was an awful husband to her mother, and disparaging her mother in front of everyone is very ugly.
4 stars, I was granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.
https://www.facebook.com/429830134272830/posts/636901890232319/?d=n
This book was entertaining. The story was good and it was a fast read. I didn’t care for the writing style but that is just personal preference. Otherwise, this was a quick fun read perfect for an escape from reality for awhile.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions here are my own.
This book was so good! It kept me engaged throughout and was just a blast to read. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book in exchange for a free copy.
What an amusing and entertaining story. The book held my attention from page one to the very end. I loved the spontaneous banter between the H/h. At first, she did not like him. Then they got to know each other better and they fell in love with each other. However, she was betrothed to another who the H suspected of criminal activity. This man also held a grudge against the H for there was a painful past between them. The h’s father and stepmother at first were appalling when speaking of her mother. Towards the end the h finally put her foot down and told them what she really felt and thought. Good for her! A quick read. Very enjoyable.
Unique Style Becomes Wearing
At first, I was utterly delighted at the way that the author wrote this story. It almost seems as if it is written to be a spoof of Regency or historical romance, though I know it isn’t. It feels very tongue-in-cheek. The heroine is very naïve and an unreliable narrator (though charmingly so), which becomes clear very soon. I like stories with an unreliable narrator if it’s well done, as it is here. The sections told from the hero’s point of view are not as naïve, but they are a bit blithe. Funny incidents happen and are described in a similar tongue-in-cheek blithe or naïve fashion depending on who the narrator is at the time. A little while into the hero’s section, though, I found the style a bit wearing, almost like I had to read very closely to catch all the in-jokes. So while I found this book to be enjoyable, it was best in small doses. I am a person who prefers to just sit and binge-read a book or two when I have the time, so I found that mildly annoying. Still, though, this unique style was an interesting one to read.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My Favorite Duke is the second book in The Duke Hunters Club series and is an entertaining read.
I enjoyed reading this Regency romance and found the characters to be likable and well developed. The storyline is well written and enjoyable, with an absent fiance, secrets, deception, danger, and a chance for love.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lady Juliet Shelley is happy to be engaged to an attractive man, the Duke of Sherwood. The only problem is that he postpones their wedding constantly and she hardly ever sees him. So when he doesn’t show up as expected yet again, she decides to track him down and find out what is going on with him.
Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, is also a handsome man who presents himself as a very dull character while, in reality, he tracks down dangerous criminals for the Crown. So when his target, the Duke of Sherwood, suspected of being behind a counterfeit money scheme, seems to be making his move, Lucas and his partner, Sebastian, clothe themselves as highwaymen and pull over the suspected coach. But to their surprise, they find Lady Juliet and her cousin, Genevieve, who are trying to find their target as well! Despite himself, he is attracted to the lady. Will there be a future somewhere along the way for the two of them as they keep running into each other? Will Juliet realize that what she wants now is real and not the lie she had wasted her time on?
This was a very good story and I chuckled through and thoroughly enjoyed. Grab your copy and see how everything comes together in the end.