Tracy’s review of A Duke’s Desire by Liz Cole
Anna Carrington is no longer a child, but a marriageable young woman who has loved the Duke of Fairmount for years. She has kept her love for him well hidden, sure that even if, by some miracle, he did return her feelings, his dedication to propriety would never allow him to marry his ward.
Jared St. James is known for his strict adherence to the rules of society and respectability, even though he finds himself lusting after Anna. Having struggled against his desire to his young ward, he decides the only way to right the situation is to marry her off, but will she accept the man he has chosen for her or stake claim to her innocence
When I started this book I wasn’t sure what to expect as I love historical romances but this one was so short – how could they possibly tell the story in so short a time? As you can see from the blurb the h/h have known each other for years as the woman is the Duke’s ward. He has been lusting after her since she came of age and has fallen in love with her to boot and she has been in love with him for years.
The Duke finally decides that Anna needs to be his wife and since the subject is burning in his mind he can’t help but seek her out the minute he returns to his estate – in the middle of the night. They talk and eventually one thing leads to another and she talks him into foregoing his honor and bedding her before they are married.
Anna is a complete innocent, has no idea what really happens between a man and a woman in bed and questions Jared about different body parts. She latches on to the baser names for genitals which inflames Jared’s passions. I had no problem with Anna speaking as if she’s bedded many men and she was quite free with her explorations but Jared was a crazy man in bed! lol He was wild, out of control and practically frenzied with Anna. While she loved his rambunctiousness it just didn’t sit right with me. I’m not sure if it was the overuse of exclamation points or what but while the sex was hot it just didn’t seem plausible. I know, it’s fiction, but would Anna really be that robust and open on her very first time? IDK – maybe, maybe not. Between Anna’s taking to sex like a duck to water and Jared’s talking to her unlike he’d ever talked to a whore (according to him) it didn’t work that well for me. It seemed more like a contemporary than a historial read. In fact change the fact that Jared’s a duke and the style of their clothes and it could be.
I guess it all comes down to personal opinion and preferences and for me this one just was ok.
Rating: 2 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from Breathless Press. You can buy it here in e-format.
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