I finished reading these books but haven’t had a chance to
commit a review to the page; however, I want to get my opinions out there
because…gosh, everyone wants my opinion, right? Never mind. ;-)
Redemption of the Duke
By Gayle Callen
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 29, 2014
First up, Gayle Callen’s REDEMPTION OF THE DUKE, the third
in the trilogy about redemption. I read SURRENDER TO THE EARL (the second in
the series) and enjoyed it immensely; however, this story in and of itself was
a bit “meh”. Two of the three reasons aren’t remotely the author’s fault—but
more of the timing of when I read the book. 1.) So many dukes—it gets a little
exhausting reading about them, but yes, I understand, they are popular; and 2.)
the boss and servant/secretary trope is not my favorite, period, or possibly at
all, mostly because of the power inequitably, especially considering a
historical time period, so I have difficulties embracing a Happily Ever After
for those kinds of couples. See? Neither of those things are remotely
author-problematic. She cannot help that I read too much and have bad taste in
tropes.
But the third reason I didn’t feel much above a “meh” for
this story is that the hero was a sheep in wolf’s clothing, who basically
donned the wolf clothing for a short time, and everyone keeps calling a wolf and
treating like a leper with bad breath. Adam is quite, quite likable. He’s
lovely. He’s heroic. He doesn’t even tell any of these people to knock it the
hell off when they keep acting like he’s going to be a slut-puppy and ruin them
all, as his brothers always said he would and as he seemed set out to do in the
beginning, before he ever even entertained the thought of being a duke. And he
totally could have told them to shut up—he was the duke, after all. Adam was
never truly rakish to me; it was always something to put on to irritate his
family but not because he actually enjoyed the role. Me, I like rakes who enjoy
the role more and have to reform—their struggle is ever so much more
interesting for me. A real redemption. That
part is a bit more personal preference again—but for me, it was a bit of
character development and plot reveal that could have been amped up a little
more. The good people were a bit too good; the bad people were a bit too bad
(two-dimensional).
Three stars from me. It’s readable, it’s lovely, and the
hero is very Chris Evans Captain America clean-cut sweet and tolerant, but the
story took me longer to read because it was much easier for me to put down. If
you read the others in the series, it does finish up the trilogy nicely; and if
you like dukes or boss-employee tropes, this may be much more your thing.
How To Lose a Duke In Ten Days
By Laura Lee Guhrke
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Second up, Laura Lee Guhrke’s HOW TO LOSE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS
was just spectacular. I’d be willing to go back in time to read it again the
first time it was so delicious. It was so lovely, I even hunted out the first
book with Belinda (the matchmaker) just to get her story—and I loved that just
as much! Just lovely and well done.
You’ll notice this one does include a duke, but I pushed
that aside and was rewarded for my open-mindedness when the first chapter ended
with the hero realizing someone was digging his grave. Seriously, how could you
not continue reading after that? Then the duke comes home—the grave does turn
out to be unnecessary—and there’s this lovely, sweet, delicately handled story
between a man and wife, marriage of convenience, where the wife had been in a
place of abuse (prior to marrying the husband). Edie’s challenge of overcoming
her past and learning to trust Margrave is just heartbreaking and heart-healing.
Oh, and the kid sister Joanna, is a complete story stealer. She steals every
single scene she is in; and I would love to read a story with her as the
heroine. Yes, dear Reader, I cried while reading this story, but it was worth
every tear. Well done, Ms. Guhrke! Five stars!
~Hellie
Hellie Sinclair (a.k.a. Fran) was one of the founding members of the Romance Writer's Revenge, where she frequently got to satisfy her love of good books and her need to expound by writing reviews. Hellie loves to craft on projects she rarely finishes, watch British dramas as a sort of Olympic marathon event, and do most anything that fits the description "indolent and pleasurable." Fortunately reading falls into that category. You can find her at her blog, where she writes the occasional review...and shares updates on her never-ending projects. Connect with Hellie on Facebook.
~Hellie
Hellie Sinclair (a.k.a. Fran) was one of the founding members of the Romance Writer's Revenge, where she frequently got to satisfy her love of good books and her need to expound by writing reviews. Hellie loves to craft on projects she rarely finishes, watch British dramas as a sort of Olympic marathon event, and do most anything that fits the description "indolent and pleasurable." Fortunately reading falls into that category. You can find her at her blog, where she writes the occasional review...and shares updates on her never-ending projects. Connect with Hellie on Facebook.
Thanks, Hellie! I have both books and am looking to relaxing with them while sunning poolside with a cool drink. I do love summer reading. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't read the Belinda book as well, you should totally put that in the pile!!!
DeleteThanks for the reviews. Laura Lee is a huge favorite of mine, and I can't wait to read this.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it as much as I did! LOVE!
DeleteI do enjoy Dukes so I think I'd like these - thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe dukes ARE both delightful in these books! Enjoy!!
DeleteThanks for your reviews. Reviews are subjective. I'll try to read both books because I do enjoy both authors.
ReplyDeleteAgree completely: completely subjective! I'm sure you'll enjoy them both for different reasons. :)
DeleteI loved this Guhrke book, 5 stars for me, too. Moved to the top of my TBR piile after seeing a great review and so glad I did, now searching out Belinda's story, too.
ReplyDelete