Guest Review: A Duke’s Temptation by Jillian Hunter

Samuel Charles Aubrey St. Aldwyn, Duke of Gravenhurst, is a radical rogue and champion of unpopular causes. No one would dream that he is also the author of a bestselling series of dark historical novels, a writer accused of corrupting the morals of the public, and a master seducer who counts among his passionate fans wellborn Miss Lily Boscastle. But Lily is no stranger to disrepute.

When her engagement to another man ends in a tarnished image and public disgrace, Lily is forced to seek employment outside London – as housekeeper for Gravenhurst himself. Her sharp wit and sensuality appeal to his wicked instincts – and she’s a perfect match for every beguiling move he makes. Yet there’s more to him than Lily imagined – a secret known to few living souls, ghosts from the past that haunt both of their futures in ways too dangerous for even the duke to have invented.

This is the first book in a new series, although it still featured a Boscastle. Lily Boscastle is about to announce her engagement to her childhood friend, Jonathan Grace. She wonders if they haven’t become too comfortable with each other. One evening before they are to announce their engagement, she goes to a masquerade, where she is on the lookout for the infamous Lord Anonymous, author of a bestselling gothic series that she absolutely loves.

While Lily doesn’t meet Lord Anonymous, she does meet the mysterious Duke of Gravenhurst and enjoys a night of flirting outrageously with him. She is attracted, but knows that she will marry Jonathan, and so moves forward. Shortly before the wedding, she witnesses Jonathan murder someone in the streets of London and immediately moves to report it. Given that the body is missing, nobody is inclined to believe her, and she is ruined, so she leaves London to pursue a career as a housekeeper. Turns out that she is to be the new housekeeper for Samuel, the Duke, who fell in love with her at the masquerade. But Samuel has another secret – he is Lord Anonymous.

I found that it took me a little longer to get into this novel that the previous Boscastle books, but once I did, it was a fun book. This look into the life of an author was really interesting – full of characters talking to him day and night, cutting himself off from his family while on deadline, invoking the servants to assist acting out scenes. I got the impression that this was far more Samuel’s book than Lily’s. As the book progressed, it became very clear that it takes a special kind of person to be the spouse of an author. Samuel was constantly distracted, often behind closed doors, and irritable. But he was a terrific man. He treated his servants wonderfully; in fact, they were among the very few who knew his identity. More like family, really. We are given some insight into Samuel when it’s revealed that all his servants were ruined by some scandal or another, and he took them in.

I had a big laugh when Lily discovers that there are mice in the house, because she follows a trail of mouse droppings and starts screaming. Everyone comes running, only for her to discover that they were apple seeds, lined up as soldiers to help Samuel work out a scene. I laughed when Samuel, who was irritated that his soldiers were disrupted said, “The soldiers were apple seeds, not turds.” You’d have to live in my house to know why this was so funny, but trust me, in context, I laughed at the entire scene.

This was a different romance than I’m used to, but it worked for me. Different in that Samuel is so caught up in his writing, even as he’s totally distracted by Lily. They managed to have a lot of both spirited and romantic interaction despite his deadline, and were delightful together. She totally got him, which I loved. And at the same time, he understood her as well, and wanted to both protect and love her. As I closed the book, I had to wonder if any of the situations were somewhat autobiographical in terms of explaining the life of an author. Things were certainly never dull!

3.75 out of 5.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

You can read more from Lori by visiting I Just Finished Reading and Living in the House of Testosterone.