The Duke Who Knew Too Much

If you like a headstrong heroine and a dominant hero this is the book to read.
It’s a steamy love story with a mystery to solve as well as attempted murder, but such a lovely ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and could not put it down till the end.
I recommend this book and a thanks to the author for keeping my spirits up during a lockdown period.

The Duke Who Knew too Much by Grace Callaway, has made the list of being one of my favourite books! The only fault I found with this story, is that it ended. The writing is exemplary, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. The plot was big, and a lot happened. There is quite a few characters but it all works. Everything went so smoothly and moved at a great pace. The characters were AMAZING! Alaric and Emma are the strong type of characters that completely capture your attention from beginning to end. You can’t help but love them. The sexual tension between them was, wow! Emma as a heroine, I absolutely adored her. She is the perfect match for Alaric. Alaric is the perfect amount of possessive, alpha male that I like. Seriously nothing in this story is over done or under done. I loved it all. Most importantly, this is a story that I could read time and time again. I highly recommend this book, and can’t praise it enough!

I cannot believe I waited this long to read Grace Callaway! I loved this book so much. I cannot wait to start reading more from her.

Tropes:
– rake/wallflower
– murder subplot
– hero persuading the heroine to marry him
– dom hero, sub heroine
– headstrong, detective heroine

This book gave me a wonderfully developed plot and romance at the same time. The balance between the gritty plot and slow-burning romance was great. The whole investigation did end up being quite confusing, but I was still having fun.

I loved how the story focused on not only the main relationship but also the relationships the MCs had with others. Alaric had to focus on his relationship with his brother and his family issues; I love watching family bonds in romances. Life and romance books are so much more than developing and fostering all kinds of relationships and this was a great example of that.

Everyone was telling me that this book had great steam and boy were they right. The steam was so good and I did not expect that kind of steam from a historical. The scene were he took her to the “special” house (iykyk) was amazing.

I was not a big fan of Emma for a good amount of the book because of her naivety but was headstrong and very dedicated to being a detective, so I loved it. I loved how she did not give up her dream of being a detective after she married Alaric.

My favorite part of the book was how it kept going after the climax. So many times in books like this, we will see the murder get solved, the heroine escape from danger, or the climax happen and then both characters are professing their undying love for each other. The next thing you know, they are married and we are at the epilogue. That is just not how life works. Both Emma and Alaric still had to work on their relationship and work past their issues. The book gave them time to develop and work through their problems realistically and honestly after the climax.

If you haven’t read Grace Callaway yet and are looking for new, fresh, and unique historicals, this book is for you.

.5/ 5 stars | .75/5 steam

I liked this book however I didn’t like the raunchy language the author used in the sex scenes. Just not something I care for personally. I’m sitting on the fence if I’ll read another of her books due to the language used in parts. Good story overall.

Scottish domineering Alaric McLeod’s life is turned upside down when he meets naïve Miss Emma Kent, who desires to be a detective over finding a future husband. Mistaking Alaric’s role-playing tryst with his lover as an assault, she believes Alaric, the “Devil Duke”, to be guilty of her death. Soured on loving relationships, he decides to teach the resourceful and practical Emma some lessons as he tries to prove his innocence. Twists ensue as she later tries to prove his innocence too. The relationship between the two was provocative. The story was entertaining and I liked the secondary sibling characters too.

Couldn’t put it down. Had to read it straight through. It was a great read. Kept you very interested til the end. You wanted the bad guy to be a good guy

A delightful book. I do like emotionally scarred heroes who slowly open up enough to trust the one woman who will never let them down.

A mystery with a twist.

This was wicked! Steamy

Reread- I recommended this book for my book club. They enjoyed it immensely. I read it in 2017 and this book resonated as a wonderful read.
I still remember so many details of this story:
This book starts out interesting and you just can’t put it down. I LOVE! LOVE this hero. I especially loved when Alaric starts speaking with his Scottish brogue when he’s emotional or turned on. This book was like a house on fire it was so hot. The heroine a headstrong, stubborn spinster. Propriety went out the window in this book. Maybe because there was no older women in the story. Ambrose was clueless. Emma had been doing what she wanted for years. Once the “cat” was out the bag. She just wanted more of that Duke! I don’t blame her.
My most favorite secondary character was William ( Peregrine) McLeod! I love Scotsmen. The accent, and the bumping of heads with Alaric. I enjoyed his unfailing loyalty to Alaric despite his flaws. The childhood boy and the adult just warmed my heart. I’m going to have to read his book. The cases were all interesting. There was lots of action and intrigue. I really loved the Kent family and I can’t wait to read more of this series. I’ve been a long time fan of this author. I highly recommend this book.

A Duke with a painful past.
Alaric McLeod doesn’t trust women. When he’s poisoned and the lady who is his lover dies, he’s determined to find the culprit. Emma Kent is honest. After witnessing an encounter between Alaric and the victim, she accuses him of murder. Emma raised her siblings and likes to take charge. So she’s not afraid to help find the murderer, until the wicked Duke with a painful past decides that taking control of Emma is what he needs. Emma surprises him at every turn and teaches him a lesson in love. A complicated who done it with a twist at the end.