What happens at the infamous Vega Club . . .Sophie Campbell is determined to be mistress of her own fate. Surviving on her skill at cards, she never risks what she can’t afford to lose. Yet when the Duke of Ware proposes a scandalous wager that’s too extravagant to refuse, she can’t resist. If she wins, she’ll get five thousand pounds, enough to secure her independence forever.Stays at the Vega … independence forever.
Stays at the Vega Club . . .
Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware, tells himself he’s at the Vega Club merely to save his reckless brother from losing everything, but he knows it’s a lie. He can’t keep his eyes off Sophie, and to get her he breaks his ironclad rule against gambling. If he wins, he wants her—for a week.
Until now.
A week with Jack could ruin what’s left of Sophie’s reputation. It might even cost her her heart. But when it comes to love, all bets are off . . .
more
I just love everything from Caroline Linden and My Once and Future Duke is another delicious read from this marvelous historical romance author. Card shark heroine, a hot duke and a wager she can’t refuse? Deal me in!
This is everything I want in a historical romance for the summer! Sophie is such a fun, relatable character, and the chemistry between her and Jack is irresistible.
Will be reading more by Caroline Linden!
Sophie Graham had a wonderful life – two loving parents, travel, meeting varied and interesting people – until those parents died of consumption when she was twelve years old. Her grandfather was an awful person who had disowned his son (Sophie’s father) because he married the woman he loved rather than marry as his father wanted. That cold and unfeeling man became Sophie’s guardian. He certainly didn’t want her or anything to do with her so he took her to Miss Upton’s Academy For Young Ladies and left her. He made sure that she understood she was not welcome in his home and would not be coming there for holidays nor would he pay her tuition past the age of eighteen – after eighteen, she would be totally on her own. Sophie made two wonderful friends (Miss Eliza Cross and Lady Georgiana Lucas) at that school and they remained her staunch supporters. Lovely, accomplished and intelligent, Sophie understood quite quickly that the only person she could depend upon to take care of her was herself and she set out to make her fortune and hopefully find a nice decent man with whom to make a family.
You have to admire Sophie because she managed to take care of herself from the time she was twelve. She became strong and independent – and she had a plan. She was going to London as the widow Mrs. Sophie Campbell, and she was going to use her greatest skill to make her fortune. That skill was playing cards and she had learned it at her father’s knee, learning to figure the odds, game rules, etc. She rarely lost. Her goal was to gain a fortune of ten-thousand pounds because that should be enough to help her attract an upstanding gentleman as her suitor. Then, she’d marry and start a family. That plan was going well – she already had four-thousand pounds in her account – but then she lost the biggest bet of her young life!
Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware, is weighed down by his responsibilities – to the dukedom, his mother, his brother and even the daughter and widow of his father’s best friend. Once upon a time, he had been a fun-loving and happy young man who laughed and enjoyed his life. Then, his father died after a boating accident and duty called with its stifling weight. Now, all Jack does is work and try to control his brother, Phillip, to keep him from running up massive gambling debts. Jack has become cold and hard as granite – and he has no idea how lonely he is. ** Note here — Jack’s mother is a piece of work. If he controlled her, he wouldn’t have too much trouble in controlling Philip. — Just sayin’ **
Phillip’s favorite place to gamble is the Vega Club because of the ambiance and the presence of the lovely Mrs. Campbell. He loses regularly to Mrs. Campbell, but he also loses to many others at the club. One large loss of Phillip’s is the last straw for Jack. His temper is flaring when he arrives at the Vega Club to pay off Phillip’s debt and finds said brother at the tables when he had just promised to stay away from gambling for a month. Jack is incensed and decides he’ll teach Philip a lesson – then he really loses that temper and wagers himself. He certainly doesn’t expect to win the wager and is aghast when he wins – because he has won the company of the lovely Mrs. Campbell for a week. What in the world is he going to do? Why – he’s going to abscond with her to Alwyn, his favorite home – where they are stranded by a rainstorm. He can’t take her back to London because the roads are impassable and the coach has a broken axle.
Jack and Sophie are in for an emotional ride. Watching two determined, smart and independent people work their way through their budding feelings, trying to stay away from each other and coming to terms with their feelings is nerve-wracking. Can they overcome Jack’s mother and her plotting? Can they curb Phillip’s gambling and his animosity toward Jack? Can they really find their HEA? You’ll just have to read this lovely book to find all of the answers.
Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview
“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
Carolintallahassee.blog
My Once and Future Duke is Linden’s first novel in a new series. However, it feature a very old secondary character whom readers first met in Caroline’s early (perhaps first) novel, What a Woman Needs. The aloof but lonely Duke of Ware finally got his book and what a story it was. Still waters run deep my friends…my favorite trope ever.
Anyway, Linden is one of my favorite authors writing today so this review may be a bit fan-girly. I just love her style. I find her characters easy to understand, the dialogue pops, and the sexual tension and chemistry is hands-down my favorite in the genre. So good. This story is a bit unusual, particularly with the heroine. She is a woman of sharp intelligence and a ferocious desire to be financially independent in a time where paths to achieve that goal were limited. Her plan involves slowly building a nest egg by using her skill with odds and numbers to win money at a gambling establishment. Thus far, she has built up her savings to 4,000 pounds, but believes she needs 10,000 to truly be secure. The Duke of Ware never gambles, but when he happens to be in the establishment to pull his hapless brother out of yet another debt, Ware is arrested by the sight of a beautiful woman in crimson…and temporarily loses his mind.
When the Duke of Ware bets 5,000 pounds against a week in her company, Sophie loses her mind a bit too. Both typically careful characters throw all the rules out the window and end up on the path to love as a result of momentary madness. While some would find this plot to be unrealistic, from what I knew and understood about each character, it seemed to be the only way to begin shaking down the walls they’d each built around themselves for protection. Somehow, this dramatic event opened the gates for each of them to sneak behind the other’s defenses and I reveled in every page of it. The duke is attracted to Sophie right away…but he keeps it hidden. Yes, there is insta-lust, but Linden builds the tension slowly as the characters spend time together in more innocent encounters. Oh my goodness…it was so good. I loved how Sophie got to see the true man behind the duke and how he got to see how unique and refreshing Sophie was as she let down her guard.
The beginning of this book was the strongest part of the novel. When real life begins to intrude once more, the focus shifted to other matters and the romance lost a little bit of its sparkle. At this point, there were two quibbles that I had:
1. When Sophie and the duke embark on an affair (that NO ONE can know about), neither ever thinks about the possibility of pregnancy. For such careful characters, and their resolution that the affair wouldn’t last, this didn’t make sense and every time they slept together, it bothered me more that the worry never came up.
2. There is a misunderstanding towards the end of the novel. While I understand how the conflict came about and I’m glad it was dealt with, it truly bothered me how Sophie handled it. It didn’t fit with her character and for a chapter and a half, I was highly annoyed. Why didn’t she ask the duke about it? After all they’d been through together? Why?? ARGH!! Fortunately, the duke came in and resolved the issue and Sophie gave in in such a way that my short-lived disappointment could not overpower the enormous enjoyment I had in the rest of the novel to lower my rating. You have been warned for those who also hate misunderstandings. Don’t let it stop you from this book though…truly. It is still worth it.
I truly loved My Once and Future Duke. I got this as an ARC from Edelweiss, but I can tell you right now, I’ll be buying the paperback the day it comes out to put on my favorites shelf. This romance with the unusual, careful characters was just so gripping. I loved the intensity of their attraction, both physically and mentally, and at times, I felt a bit like a voyeur since the chemistry was so palpable. The storyline flowed beautifully and the private love between them was so fun to read, I just couldn’t put the book down.
The ending is a hook for the next book in the series and I can tell you right now, I’ll be reading it as soon as I can get my hands on it. Yay for another new series I can rave about. Get excited everyone <3
I received a free copy from Edelweiss. This review is my own honest opinion of the story.
4.5 stars
The book opens with a 12 year old Sophie Graham, orphan and granddaughter of Viscount Makepeace being dropped at school. Her grandfather had disowned his son for marrying an opera singer and makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with Sophie, he will pay her tuition until she is of age and then he wants nothing to do with her. Sophie is glad to see him go and intends to excel just to spite him and formulates her “Grand Plan”. She meets her new roommates, Lady Georgiana and Miss Eliza Cross and for the first time in her short life, she has friends.
Twelve years later, Sophie Graham is now Mrs. Campbell, a young widow who gambles at the Vega club. Sophie has a plan – a Grand Plan, after she left school at 18, she became a companion to an elderly Lady Fox, Lady Fox left her a small sum when she passed and Sophie moved from Bath to London, on the way, she invented a past for herself, including a dead husband and she will use her skill at cards to win enough money to either marry or be financially independent. All is going according to plan until Lord Philip Lindeville starts to become a nuisance. He is a charming man but a reckless gambler – he definitely does not fit into Sophie’s plan, but she can’t seem to shake him. She offers to play hazard with him, hoping to have him lose and leave her alone.
Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware is at the Vega Club to settle his brother’s debts, he is livid and tired of Philip’s careless and recklessness, but Philip has promised to change and stay away from the Vega Club for the next month to prove his intent to change. As Jack is walking out of the club, he spots Philip and sees red, he is gambling with a woman and when Jack sees her, he is immediately struck with the most intense desire he has ever felt. He goes to confront Philip and when the woman intervenes, Jack challenges her to an outrageous wager – 5000 pounds if she wins and her promise to spend a week with Jack if she loses, Sophie is stunned and knows she should walk away, but as she has been winning and Jack has been losing, she takes the bet – and loses. Philip tries to save her, but Jack simply whisks her away.
Jack tells himself he only made the bet to keep Sophie away from Philip, but he doesn’t deny his attraction to her. He takes a protesting Sophie to his country house, Alwyn House, Sophie tries to reason with Jack, she knows her reputation will be irrevocably damaged if she is gone for a week, she swears that she has no designs on Philip and promises to stay away from him if Jack will just take her home. Jack refuses. They go to Alwyn and ended up being trapped there for days because of the weather. At first Sophie is angry and lets Jack know it. For his part, Jack is trying to figure Sophie out, he wonders what her motivation is and if she is looking for a protector.
Once Sophie accepts that she is stuck in the country, she tries to make the best of it, Jack is nothing like what she expected based on Philip’s stories and she finds that she actually likes him and to her horror, desires him. They spend the next few days together getting to know each other and forming a friendship, but the desire is there, simmering like a covered pot. The night before they are to return to London, the pot overflows and they make love. Jack doesn’t want to let her go, but she refuses to be his mistress and he can’t ask her to marry him after only knowing her a few days. She makes him promise to stay away from her and forget they ever had an affair, he agrees. They part and both immediately miss each other. But Sophie cannot afford to engage in an affair, she has a PLAN and being a mistress, no matter how tempting, is not a part of the plan.
They have been apart for five days when Sophie goes to see Jack. Philip is being a problem and she asks Jack to talk to him. Jack is overjoyed to see her and promises to take care of Philip. She thanks him and they kiss, things become heated and would have gone farther if they had not been interrupted by a knock on the door. Sophie leaves and admits to herself that she doesn’t want to be apart from him. Jack feels the same, but will honor his promise to her.
Later that night, they meet again at Vega’s, he is shadowing Philip to keep him away from Sophie, but he all but ignores her. She is grateful, she told everyone that she had been ill and that is why she hadn’t been at the club for a few days, she said that Jack didn’t hold her to the wager and took her home. She knows now that marriage to another man is not an option, but she still has a reputation to uphold. When she is leaving, Jack is leaving too and lets her take the hackney, he says he will walk. She leaves and sees him walking, she has the driver stop and invites Jack to share the carriage. She then invites him in to her house. They embark on an affair. They both know they are falling in love, but neither is sure of the other’s feelings and events in their pasts make them wary. When Sophie tells Eliza what happened with Jack, Eliza urges her to tell him the truth about her past.
Jack has been toying with the idea of marriage to Sophie, he is ready to declare himself, when his mother drops a bombshell on him. He knows he loves Sophie, but he needs to sort out this problem before he asks for her hand. Sophie is resolved to tell Jack everything about her past, but is worried that she will lose him. That night when Jack arrives at her house, she tells him everything, including that she loves him. He tells her he doesn’t care about her past, he loves her and wants to marry her.
It seems like smooth sailing to their happily ever after, but jealous brothers, interfering mothers, well-meaning friends, personal insecurities and doubts may end their HEA before it even begins.
I thought this was a wonderful story, full of emotion, secrets, incredibly likeable characters, steamy love scenes, quickly resolved problems and a truly beautiful HEA. I did knock off ½ a star because there is an event in Sophie’s past that I didn’t feel the author fully explained and I wasn’t super jazzed that they made no attempt prevent pregnancy during their affair, which considering how much Sophie valued her reputation, seemed out of character.
I would highly recommend this story and can’t wait to read Eliza and Georgiana’s books!!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher*
Just finished this ARC and while I give it a pass overall, I have a few mixed feelings about it. There were parts that were a bit unbelievable (a cold, rigid duke becoming instantly obsessed with a female gambler he thinks has led his younger brother to gamble beyond his means). And that same strong-willed duke being managed by his mother and others for much of the book. While it ended sweetly, I felt it was a bit uneven getting there. 3.75/5 (I rounded up to a 4).
Loved it.
This is one of those book that I didn’t want to end. It is a fast paced, page turner with a budding and tormenting love between two people who don’t want to fall in love.
There is a brother who is quite bothersome and very immature, a mother whom most of us could do without, a very novel gaming house and then there are the two main characters who delighted me with their antics and their strength of character.
The story is well written, interesting and very entertaining and I am quite happy to recommend it. I will certainly be reading more from this author!
Sophie Campbell is a smart, beautiful woman who supports herself by gambling. Her ability to calculate the odds combined with her ability to know when walk away from a game or a challenge has served her well. Jack Lindeville, the Duke of Ware, arrives at the Vega Club to pay his brother Philip’s substantial marker. He is captivated when he sees a woman in a crimson dress playing cards with his brother’s friends. Jack doesn’t see her face but, he acknowledges that something about her intrigues him.
Philip returns to the Vega club and insists that Sophie gamble with him. Sophie chooses the complicated game of hazard. She was trouncing Philip until the Duke of Ware entered the room and stopped the game. Jack and Philip almost come to blows over Philip’s refusal to stop gambling. Sophie throws caution to the wind and accepts the Duke’s challenge to play hazard with him. Sophie’s reckless choice pushes the story line in a new direction. Even though she knows she should walk away, Sophie accepts a final round of hazard with a 5,000 pound payout. Jack tells Sophie he desires a week of her time if he wins—which he does. Jack orders his coachman to take them to Alwyn, his country home.
At first, Caroline Linden’s decision to have Jack challenge Sophie to gamble with him seems out of character for him. Was he trying to teach Philip a lesson?Has his desire for Sophie overruled his common sense? The challenge and its outcome drew me into the story and I read it in one sitting.
Caroline Linden’s descriptive writing style and the dialogue between the characters shines during Sophie and Jack’s stay at Alwyn. The author does a fabulous job creating sexual tension between the characters as they explore the country house. I loved the scene when Jack asks Sophie to play the piano for him. As Jack listens and watches Sophie play, he observes that the music piece means something to her. When Sophie leaves the room in tears, Jack realizes he has upset her. The banter between Sophie and Jack as they explore the attics is well done; they get into a detailed discussion of love and marriage. Jack’s desire for Sophie is apparent as the couple rummage through the attic—will he act upon it?
I have been waiting for the Duke of Ware’s story as he has appeared in several of the author’s novels. I had pictured him as a serious man. I was surprised when Jack made the bet with Sophie, it seemed so out of character. I enjoyed getting to know Jack and seeing him fall head over heels for Sophie. Love brought out the best in Jack. Setting the story at a gambling club provides a unique storyline opportunity; it allows the couple to meet and enables Jack to make a decision based on desire, not facts and figures. I adore Caroline Linden’s writing style. Jack and Sophie’s sensuous love scenes are perfectly written—filled with desire, passion and emotion. My Once and Future Duke has all the feels—it’s an exquisitely told deeply passionate story with fabulous characters and their journey proves that love is worth the gamble!
Entertaining from beginning to end, I loved this story. A tale of two people with very different upbringings that manage to find each other in an unusual way. Or is it fate? I think it may have been with the engaging heroine Sophie who has learned to survive since her parents died when she was very young. Left in the care of a grandfather who wanted nothing to do with her, he packaged her off to school as soon as he could. Then she made her way to London and that is where she meets our hero, Jack, the Duke of Ware. An unconventional meeting and a gamble of importance throws them together and as I said, I think fate had a hand. Jack, having taken his duties as Duke very seriously had pretty much kept all his emotions under control. Upon meeting Sophia an adventure began that kept me turning the pages with the wonderful descriptions and dialogue. The strong emotions and feelings came alive as Caroline Linden took me through this wonderful story that anything is possible. I truly cannot wait to read more in this series and know I will remember this one for awhile to come!!
Flimsy Premise – 2.5 Stars
At first glance, I thought the premise was unconvincing. Then, the way the wagering scene played out made it even more unbelievable. Sophie’s reputation was already shaky, so why would she risk irrevocably ruining it for the possibility of speeding up her independence? There was no way something so scandalous could remain a secret, Vega Club or not. Whether she won or lost, Sophie was ruined the instant she accepted the wager. She showed herself to be the type of woman who could be bought for a price as surely no one thought she was agreeing to spend seven days with Jack playing chess.
If you can put this story’s implausible premise in the back of your mind and focus on the moment by moment unfolding of the story, you might enjoy it. I wanted a good outcome for Sophie, and by extension Jack, so I don’t regret reading to see how their story ended.
My Once And Future Duke is an outstanding historical romance by Caroline Linden. Ms. Linden has provided readers with a well-written book furnished with a spectacular cast of characters. Sophie has plans, support herself by gambling at the Vega Club and save enough to find a suitable husband so she can have a family again. Jack, Duke of Ware, finds himself bailing his brother out of trouble at the Vega Club, where he has to pay his brother’s gambling losses. Jack and Sophie’s story is loaded with drama, humor, sexy bits and a little suspense. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and look forward to my next book by Caroline Linden. My Once And Future Duke is book 1 of The Wagers of Sin Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger. It does hook you at the very end leaving you eager to read the next book in the series.
I read a print copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was my first read by Caroline Linden, and it was so fun. It definitely has a spot in my Top 10 reads for 2018. I loved the heroine, Sophie. She’s a feisty, smart, independent woman. She is the granddaughter of a viscount, so she has aristocratic ties, but her father was a disowned second son, and once she’s orphaned, her granddad dumps her at boarding school. (At school, she makes friends with two ladies, Eliza & Georgiana, who are mostly minor secondary characters in this book, but will get their own stories.) She used to watch her father gamble, and she’s good at math/counting cards, so when she has to make it on her own she becomes a professional gambler.
The hero, Jack, is a great match for her. He starts off as the stereotypical stuffy duke who’s trying to wrangle his worthless brother, but she softens him and really brings out his sensitivities and emotions. Also, it’s clear that he likes that she’s strong and smart, and he doesn’t stifle her or try to change her.
This was a great start to the Wagers of Sin Series as well as my love for Caroline Linden’s books!
Book provided by publisher for an honest review.
My One and Future Duke is the first book in author Caroline Linden’s newest series, The Wagers of Sin. This series focuses on three young girls from different backgrounds, who become friends while being students at Mrs. Upton’s Academy for Young Ladies. Each story focuses on one of the three girls and the journey to find their HEA. Our first story features Sophie Campbell.
Sophie Campbell was orphaned at the age of twelve when both her parents died. Left in the care of her Grandfather who wants nothing to do with her, she’s sent away to Mrs. Upton’s Academy until she turns eighteen. On the morning of her 18th birthday, her grandfather stops paying her expenses, and Sophie finds herself entirely on her own.
Jack Lindeville, became the Duke of Ware at the age of twenty-four when his father drowned. The responsibility of the Dukedom and his family has been drummed into him since his inheritance, while his younger brother has been pampered and coddled by his mother. Jack is tired of bailing his younger brother Philip out of his gaming debts. When Jack goes to the Vega Club to settle yet another debt of Philip’s, he spots Philip losing to Sophie.
What an absolutely fantastic start to this series! I have to admit I adored this couple. Sophie was a fantastic heroine. She’s smart, independent, and working on securing her future. She grew up in a happy environment with two loving parents, only to be left alone under the care of her hateful grandfather after her parent’s death. As for Jack, when he walked in Vega Club and sees Sophie for the first time, he immediately knows he wants her. He’s actually shocked at how powerfully she affects him. When a wager between Jack and Sophie gets out of control, it leaves these two alone for a week together.
I really enjoyed Jack and Sophie’s time together at his country estate. The chemistry and dialogue between these two were fabulous. I liked how comfortable Jack was around Sophie and how she was able to see him and treat him like a man instead of a Duke. She’s able to bring out a side of him that has been missing since he became Duke at such an early age. I loved watching these two become friends and eventually fall in love. Their romance was believable and I was rooting for them to find a way to overcome the obstacles that kept them apart. A fabulous couple along with wonderful secondary characters had me struggling to put this book down. An absolutely fantastic start to this series that I highly recommend!
This is the first of Caroline Linden’s stories I’ve read, and I enjoyed it very much. Sophie Campbell has a backstory that assures she must fend for herself once she reaches eighteen. She’s smart and independent and rises to the occasion. Posing as a widow, she implements her long-term plan to secure her future using card skills she learned early in life. The Vega Club is the only place a woman can gamble and still maintain a decent reputation. Jack, the very appropriate Duke of Ware, comes to the Vega Club to thwart his younger brother’s gambling tendency, and ends up wagering with Sophie himself.
My suspension of disbelief was tested a time or two. Sophie’s reputation would have been lost early in the story, and both hero and heroine acted out-of-character at times when they’re together. But I happily tagged along on their journey, rooting for them all the way.
I really enjoy Caroline Linden’s writing. Her books and characters are engaging
Good entertaining book
Loved the characters
Pretty cute! I don’t think I’ll ever re-read it, but it was very entertaining and I couldn’t put it down until I was done!
What a great book. In this story the main character Sofie is a strong independent woman who is determined to earn her own way and find happiness with a decent, loving man. She has the skill of being a expert card player. She uses that skill to earn money and save that money as a dowry for the right man. Or just to live on her own if necessary. She is accepted into a gambling hall because she has told everyone she is a widow. She is beautiful and well respected. While gambling she meets Phillip who is the younger brother of the Duke of Ware, Jack. Jack, in order to stop his brother from gambling, tempts Sofie to take a very unusual gamble. The story progresses from there as she pays her debt to Jack. A fabulous, funny, witty love story. Don’t miss it.