THERE’S A FINE LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE.Despite being thrown from her home and stripped of her place in society at a young age, Madame Marce Davenport is proud of what she’s accomplished with her family and the notoriously scandalous Craven House. Except it’s all built on a lie. When an arrogant duke strode into her home years ago, offering her a way to keep the brothel open, she agreed to his … she agreed to his game of deception. But now that her siblings have found their happiness, Marce can finally live the life she’s always wanted: one that embraces the truth. And that means severing ties with the man who has claimed too many of her days–both in reality, and fantasy.
Rowan Delconti, the Duke of Harwich, has been angry for so long: at his father, at the woman who broke apart his parents’ marriage, and at the children who won is father’s love. He’s determined his mother won’t be unhappy again–even if it means pretending to be married to Marce, so that his mother will think he’s found love in his life. But the beautiful madame fuels his fire like no other, and the charade starts to feel all too real.
When Marce and Rowan’s secrets finally come to light, their passion may not be enough to staunch the hurt of the past. Can two people who were so wrong for each other, realize they’ve been right all along?
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Marce Davenport will do anything to protect her siblings and that includes making a deal with the devil, Rowan Delconti, the Duke of Harwich. Rowan wants to even the score for a wrong done to his family years ago and Marce is forced to shoulder his revenge against her now dead mother. For eight long years these two enact a farce, but has it become more real than face?
As it says in the blurb, “There’s a fine line between love and hate,” and this book walks that line well. Rowan is pretty unlikeable for most of the book until Ms. McKnight begins to tease out his back story and Marce had her own reasons for accepting Rowan’s terms. There was a couple of nice twists and turns in the book that kept me reading until the end.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Imagine if a very powerful man came to you and you were forced to pretend that you were his wife for eight years in name only. Eight years! Why? Revenge and retribution is what the Duke of Harwich thinks he deserves. The Duke finds Marce in the brothel that her mother ran and therefore it makes sense to him that she is perpetrating what her mother started. Marce is in a bad place financially and has siblings to support and feels that she has no recourse but to accept, and so it is that the sham of a marriage goes on for eight years until Marce decides that she has had enough. Well, that and also the realization that the Duke was wrong after being enlightened by a good friend.
This story is so well-written with a beautifully complex plot. You will love the characters who are totally engaging, realistic and personable. It is a story with lots of emotion and drama. It is a beautiful addition to McKnight’s series, and I look forward to reading more from her in this series.
This book is Marce’s story and it is a good one. All through this series Marce has been taking care of everyone else and meeting with a mystery man once a year. This book will enlighten you as to what has been going on and why. Very well written by a favorite author of mine. Christina does a wonderful job of tying all the series together and introducing new characters. I know you will like this book as much as I did.
Things are not always as they seem and extreme measures are often taken to cover untruths. Such is the case with Marce Davenport and Rowan Delconti, the Duke of Harwich. Marce Davenport has had a hard life from childhood. When her father died, Marce, her mother and siblings got tossed out of their home with little money to survive. Her mother opened a bordello, Craven House and became a paid mistress to the Duke of Harwich, Rowan’s father. When Rowan’s father passes away and he becomes the Duke, he goes to confront the woman who ruined his parents marriage. But he finds that the woman has passed away and finds Marce, her daughter in her place. Determined to throw her out of Crave House, which he now owns, he ends up striking a bargain with her to act as his wife in front of his mother.
This story picks up many years later with Marce determined to end the bargain with Rowan and visit his mother, the Duchess one last time. But as things often happen he realizes he has developed feelings for her and does not want the farce to end. Marce is such a strong woman who has overcome so much in her life. Rowan on the other hand had a lot of bitterness from his childhood and resentment about his father’s treatment of his mother.
Can the two get past all the lifetime of hard feelings and find any happiness? The author brought the characters to life in the story and I felt the emotions coming off the page. This is a great tale of redemption and finding the good in life in the end. Although this is part of a series it can be read as a standalone but you will want to go back and read more of the Craven House books.
This is the third book in a series about a group of siblings in London all children of a notorious madame. Each book is a stand alone, and this is the first one I have read. It is really terrific! Marce is the eldest of the siblings and now head of Craven House, the home where they’ve all been raised. She has taken on the burden of ensuring the health and safety of her siblings and others since her mother’s passing years before, despite her young age. While in her office one evening a man comes to call- this man, Rowan Delconti, is the Duke of Harwich. He is young, dark, and angry. He has a desire for vengeance and Marce is the only way he feels he can achieve it.
Rowan blackmails Marce for several years, and it is during this time that their unusual arrangement forces the two of them to spend time together. But does this time bring them closer or breed contempt?
I thoroughly enjoyed this story as the plot was not a usual one I have read in past romance novels. It was a unique solution to Rowan’s desire for revenge. The additional characters were colorful and well written, and the heat between the two characters crept up throughout the story in a slow style that has the reader anticipating their HEA. The heat level is just a touch about sweet, but it is that build of anticipation and longing that kept this reader turning the pages!
I liked this book so much I am very much looking forward to the next in the series and I intend to go read the first two! I highly recommend this book to romance readers who are looking for something with a little twist that makes this story stand out.
I read this as an arc on Netgalley which affected my review in no way at all.
Loved this story! Well written with engaging characters and a plot that flows seamlessly and effortlessly. The characters are simply great with their own quirks, that leaves readers amazed and thrilled. Another must read by Christina McKnight!
Marce made a deal with the devil and lost her heart along the way. The only thing she can hope for is to win it back some day. Rowan has closed his heart to the treachery of love. The scandal that tore apart his family is all he can ever think of. When an act of love for his mother leads him into a scandalous deception, his long dormant heart may just get the wake up call it needs. What is the price of love? Is it sacrificing one’s own happiness? Rowan and Marce both know the pain of a broken heart, but can they teach each other what it means to love? Why do fools fall in love? To get to the happily ever after. The Madame Catches Her Duke is a sensual dance of heartache, pleasure and faith. The characters are not always likable, but the emotion is stunning.