Can two wounded hearts find the courage to love again? Find out in this must-read winter romance from best-selling author Jillian Eaton! As snow falls outside the manor… intends to spend the winter locked away in her room with chocolate. Fortunately for her, the Duke of Colebrook has other ideas…
Things are heating up inside of it…
Renowned throughout London for his long string of lovers, Justin Dearborn, Duke of Colebrook, isn’t looking for a wife. Having been spurned once, he has no intention of putting his heart on the line a second time. Until one passionate kiss with Cadence leaves them both yearning for more…
Curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy The Winter Duke, the first novella in a brand new series reader are calling “FUNNY, STEAMY, and HEAD-OVER-HEELS ROMANTIC!”
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A Regency romance, this book is lighthearted and fairly amused but definitely does not follow the rules of society of the era. Cadence assumes that a proposal is in the offing and when she is rebuffed she flees the city to her brother-in-law’s remote country estate. There she meets the Duke of Colebrook, whose home is in disrepair and needs a place to stay until spring. Cadence is angry enough to despite all men, making her antagonistic towards Justin, which results in him teasing and tormenting her like a teenage boy. He dares her to kiss him and that changes everything. The novel can be read in an evening if one has nothing pressing to do, and it does come to a good conclusion.
I used to enjoy regencies as a fun, light-hearted read. Alas, too many are simply irritating. The thing about an historical book is it should be … historical. Too many authors ignore the societal standards that don’t fit with their story.
At least this book got travel times more accurately. All the books where people wander about the length and breadth of England faster than with modern cars … wow.
But here, we have a gently-bred young woman staying in her sister’s home, and the sister leaves for several weeks, leaving her completely unchaperoned. This is already Not Done. But then, we have her sharing the house with an equally unmarried, fully acknowledged rake. Nope. No way they’d ever be left alone together.
And no, in this culture, servants do not count as chaperones.
So yeah. If you don’t want to do the research and recreate the times, write a fantasy set in a regency-inspired world.
Otherwise, the writing was good. It was light and the characters reasonably entertaining. But I had to quit. I can’t enjoy the required suspended disbelief necessary to immerse myself in a story when the basics are so very inaccurate.
Justin Dearborn, Duke of Colebrook is well known around the Ton as being quite the rogue. He is happy in his lifestyle & enjoys his freedom as a bachelor. He is in the isolated countryside at his family estate which after being vacant for 20 years, he is now refurbishing it. Unfortunately, things have not gone well & he fires his architect & won’t be able to get another one until Spring; so he goes to the Duke of Wycliffe’s property next to his (even though they don’t get along) to stay with him & his new wife, Hannah.
Cadence Fairchild was almost betrothed to The Earl of Benfield but before it was announced he rebuffed her because his Mother did not approve of the match.
Now, it was the talk of the Ton & Cadence wanted to get away from the whispers & humiliation – so she went to spend the winter with her sister & her husband, Evan, Duke of Wycliffe.
This is where the fun begins when sparks, bantering & first impressions upon meeting one another take over & things just build to the end! I highly recommend all of Jillian Eaton’s books – they are always full of wonderful characters with fun antics mixed in & a enticing story to enjoy. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
Wow, this short story was a concentration of wits bottled between these few pages.
I do not remember why I preordered this book, but today I’m definitively happy I did it.
Cadence and Justin are so far from perfect, they are perfectly imperfect for one another.
She thought she had everything anticipated except for not-soon-to-be betrothed, and more than the loss of a man she did not loved, it was the idea of not reaching her goal that hurt the most.
Justin had been hurt too previously by a woman he loved so he packed his feelings in a box to become the rakish of the scoundrel he can be.
Then they meet, and because she did not coy in his presence, and worst, she banters with him, never shy to express what she thinks of him.
Their battle of wits are hilarious, and what ever they face, they keep their spirit high.
« “I thought that since you were awake before noon the sky was falling down on us.” Justin scowled. “I don’t sleep that much.” Twisting in his arms, she regarded him with an arched brow. “You’re like an overfed cat languishing on a windowsill. All you do is sleep.” »
A very enjoyable novella.
I have now to dig in the artist list to find Hannah’s story.