You May Kiss the Duke

3.5 stars rounded up.

After going along with her friends idea of placing an advert in the Times looking for grooms, Sabine Noble never expected or wanted to find love, she just wanted escape. So when Sabine married Jon Stoker, it was strictly a marriage of convenience, she believed he needed her dowry for a shipping venture and she needed to rescued from her abusive uncle, it seemed like the perfect arrangement. They strike a bargain and agree to marry and part ways. It seemed that these two would never find the kind of happiness her friends have with their convenient grooms, but that is fine, she is happy in London and if she happens to think of her handsome husband and wonder what he is doing from time to time, that is to be expected – right?

Sabine moved to London four years ago after marrying and parting ways with Jon. She has a very satisfying life writing travel guides. Her life is calm and predictable until she discovers that her vile uncle might be up to no good and sets out to investigate. It is on one of her investigative outings that she finds her husband left for dead on board a hospital ship. Unable to leave him, she brings him back to her rooms and sees to his care. She doesn’t want him in her home, but there is no one else to care for him or so she tells herself.

When Jon wakes, he is confused, what happened to him? He is surprised to see Sabine, the girl he rescued by marrying her and then sailed away from. Jon has a history of rescuing women, born to a prostitute and raised in a brothel, Jon has experienced the absolute worst of mankind and has some very odd ideas of what is and is not acceptable – very odd – he is (and always has been) attracted to Sabine and insists on leaving her apartments, but when the doctor says he has to stay, he reluctantly agrees and slowly Sabine begins to peel away the layers that make up this complex man. The longer they are together, the more they dread their inevitable parting, but maybe it doesn’t have to end… But before they can consider their options, they must find out who tried to kill Jon and Sabine must figure out what her uncle is up to and find a way to regain everything he stole from her.

This was a very interesting story with incredibly complexed characters, warmish love scenes, surprising revelations, witty and entertaining banter, a heroine who knows what she wants and a hero that thinks he knows more than he actually does. I enjoyed reading the book, but felt like a lot was left out and the ending left me with a lot of unanswered questions and feeling a bit unsatisfied. This is the third book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand alone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*

I enjoyed this book and it had a good plot.

“You May Kiss the Duke” was quite an enjoyable read. This book stood very well on its own and I didn’t feel lost at all even though I haven’t read the earlier books in the series yet. All of the characters were well-developed and likeable, and I particularly enjoyed the banter between Stoker and Sabine. I also loved that Sabine was such a strong heroine. She knew her own mind and wasn’t afraid to tell Stoker what she wanted. As for Stoker, I admired how hard he worked to overcome the difficulties of his childhood, as well as his determination to protect Sabine while still respecting her boundaries.

This was the first book I’ve read by Charis Michaels, but it definitely won’t be the last. I plan to go back and read the others in this series and also look forward to seeing what Ms. Michaels plans to write next.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

This book could have been a 5-star read. If you want to know why it isn’t, it’s all in the last paragraph. I wrote most of my review when it seemed obvious to me that it would merit stars; I left it untouched, so you might understand why I ended up bitterly disappointed.

Sabine and her friends Willow and Tessa wanted to be independent. They were wealthy, and the only way to truly achieve independence was a marriage of convenience with a husband who would stay away and let them be. Willow and Tessa had found love, but Sabine had remained at home, cataloging her late father’s maps. She really didn’t want to get married, but her uncle was making her life unbearable. On that fateful day of 1830, Jon Stoker, who was the last of his trio of friends to remain unmarried, had decided to go tell Sabine he didn’t want to marry either. Like her, his friends had put him up to it. What happened next was to determine the course of their future, and so they agreed to a marriage of convenience. They had met a few times in four years after their wedding, corresponded a little. Jon was away while Sabine’s publication, A Noble Guide to London, thrived. Sabine was on a quest of her own, regarding her uncle’s strange goings-on, and that’s when she stumbled upon her estranged husband, who had been stab and half dead. He had rescued her once, now it was her turn.

I had so enjoyed the previous book, my expectations for this installment were sky high. And Charis Michaels does not disappoint! YOU MAY KISS THE DUKE is fantastic! The very intricate plot moves at a brisk pace, the writing flows effortlessly, and Sabine and Jon are magnificent. Both are blunt, straightforward, very proud, and don’t want to show any weaknesses or depend on anyone. Sabine is efficiency personified and quite managing. Jon has a genuine aura of danger about him, and she is more than woman enough to handle it. There was no instalust, no instalove, but I felt what had made them agree to that marriage of convenience, when it was not their intention to begin with. There was trust. Jon feels he is not worthy of her, and viewed from his perspective, it’s true. He has a fascinating backstory, and he is the most honourable of men, even if he can’t see it.

The conversations Jon and Sabine have while he’s recuperating are outrageously entertaining, and I laughed out loud several times. The dialogues throughout the book are so extraordinary that I can’t find the proper word to do them justice. From hilarious banter – let’s not forget the maid Perry here – to heart to heart talks, the verbal exchanges are superb. There is that particular conversation, a moment, when you sense their relationship shifting. It’s subtle, and unmistakable. Sabine and Jon are extremely strong and vibrant people; they both have personal demons to conquer, and watching them grow as their romance blossomed was mesmerising. YOU MAY KISS THE DUKE is so well written that you feel what is merely implied, you hear the whispers that flutter in our couple’s hearts, the desire that consumes them. It’s all there for us to grasp, to sense, to experience. YOU MAY KISS THE DUKE exudes charm, sensuality, intelligence, and wit. And woven into this exquisite and passionate romance are a couple of exciting mysteries, essential to the plot. YOU MAY KISS THE DUKE stands entirely on its own, the missing details on the events of the first two books are included in the epilogue.

YOU MAY KISS THE DUKE was a perfectly marvellous story until the first – and only real – sex scene which, for me, was catastrophic. It contradicted what Jon had said and done earlier, it was completely out of character. Jon would never have done that, never. I took out a whole star for that unfortunate faux pas from the author. It was not what happened or how, it was where and when it happened. For once, I was eagerly anticipating a sex scene and it was ruined by the author ignoring her character’s principles. It was in very poor taste, incredibly rude, and the worst part is, Jon is not to blame: the author forced him to do something he would never, ever have done. He would never have disrespected his friends that way, never; he demonstrated, before and after, that he possessed tremendous self-control. The whole scene is perfect, but the time and place was all wrong. Thereafter, it became difficult for me to concentrate on the story because I felt that my intelligence had been insulted; I was seething. I’m glad I had written my review (almost all of it except this paragraph) before that scene because I wonder if I would have remembered all that was amazing. It is not the first time that I’ve seen books spoiled by a problematic sex scene and/or a botched ending, but I think it’s the first time I’ve seen a book ruined by the author basically neglecting to respect a character that she had so carefully crafted. In case you’re wondering, it’s not a consent issue. It took me out of the story, and I had a tough time caring about how it would all end, because I felt I could not trust the author anymore. A very, very unfortunate move which, in my opinion, could have been so easily done otherwise without any consequences. And another star was lost because of that, because I felt betrayed, and I couldn’t overlook it. There was also one detail at the very end; I don’t know, maybe it should have been left out, it felt a bit cheap.

While I’m feeling frustrated, might as well include the typos (and that’s not the author’s fault).

“bails of wool” (bales); whiskey (it’s whisky in England); “lite fare” (light); “shaking the tangle of her falling coiffeur away from her face.” (the poor man! It’s coiffure);
“She kissed the whirl of his ear, ” (whorl); ““How much are you willing to pay to for this something?”” (to pay for); “When I found him five years later, he’d been left for dead,” (it’s four)