Judith‘s Review of A Duke’s Temptation (The Bridal Pleasure Series, Book 1) 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 is a perfect match for every beguiling move he makes. Yet there is 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 a full-length novel that is complicated, multi-layered, stories within a story, and characters that are unusual, fascinating, droll, secretive, prejudiced, and close-minded. The main characters are from two entirely different worlds–yes Miss Lily Boscastle is from a family that is deemed acceptable to high society but is nevertheless on the fringes. Her fiance is a war hero and well-thought-of, but has his own weaknesses and secrets that ultimately end up hurting Lily personally and trashing any chance for their marriage and putting serious dirt on her reputation–she claims to have seen a murder–she is deemed to be a liar/weak-minded/hysterical/unfit for marriage to a fine military officer.

Lord St. Aldwyn is one of high societies oddities–a man who has more money than God, who can pretty much do anything he wants, has shunned marriage successfully for years, and is really the nameless author of dark, sensual, suspense-filled novels that are the rage of London but which starchy ton matrons declare to be “dirty books.” He comes to be known as “Lord Anonymous” to his fans and the general public. He gives his charitable donations to causes that are strange and virtually unknown to many. Yet because of his wealth and lofty social status, he can pretty much put his money wherever he wishes without anyone thinking him daft.

The early chapters are the beginnings of the stories of each of these characters, how their worlds intersect, and how they are ultimately brought together. The duke meets and is captivated by Lily. However, he is aware that she is to be married in two weeks. He has tried his best to find a way to keep her from marching down that wedding aisle. Due to Lily’s own difficulties, the marriage is called off–literally the morning of the wedding and her family virtually disowns her. The duke receives this news and through a series of behind-the-scenes arrangements through his “solicitor” he manages to snare Lily for his housekeeper. It is from this point in the book that their story comes together.

Ms Hunter has written a fascinating and mind-engaging novel that will be well-received by readers who don’t want pages and pages of fluff. This is solid writing, solid story-telling and draws the reader into an intellectual and emotional experience. This is historical fiction that has more to it than many lighter weight novellas and novels. The characters have an edge to them–real, needy in some ways, searching for their niche in life–even though they think they have already found it–living vicariously through their own fictional creations while trying to hide from past secrets that threaten their peace of mind and possibly their future happiness. This novel is clear evidence that Jillian Hunter knows how to put a very good historical novel together and make it interesting from page one.

I am also captivated by the social issues that are either addressed directly or hinted at in the narrative. Certainly Lily’s insistence that she saw a crime committed brings to the surface the real attitude toward women that was alive and well in that culture–women can’t be trusted to testify of what they see; they are weak, mentally incompetent, hysterical, and easily influenced by silly penny novels. Lily was victimized by all this. There are also the cultural realities that make finding employment for women in Lily’s sort-of-okay social class very difficult. It is housekeeper, governess, dancing teacher, and not much more that is respectable. That Lily was not trained or prepared to earn her own living never even influenced her family’s response to the embarrassment calling off her wedding caused. They were prepared to put her out on the street. This situation was not as rare as we would hope. I appreciate fiction writers who do their historical research and bring these kinds of inequities to light. Need I remind us all that such sensitivity to the social well-being of persons without funds or influence is writing that is in the mode given us by writers like Charles Dickens.

So I recommend this novel to serious lovers of historical fiction. It will be a joy for the mind and a literary experience that will be very satisfying to the whole person. I give this novel a rating of 4.25 out of 5.

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

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.