Review - - The Infamous Duchess

The Infamous Duchess
by Sophie Barnes
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: March 26, 2019
Reviewed by Santa

The Infamous Duchess is a five star book in Sophie Barnes’ Diamonds in the Rough series. Viola Cartwright is the Dowager Duchess of Tremaine who upon her husband’s death and generosity is able to establish St. Agatha’s Hospital. To the ton and his son she is branded as a golddigger when her only wish was to provide care to the citizens of London and to be left alone. She is able to ignore the jabs since she never wanted to be a part of that society. And so, with the help of Dr. Florian Lowell - late the Duke of Redding - she has been able to do just that until two events serve to knock into her.

Just as her step-son Robert,the present Duke of Tremaine, decides to slash his cobra’s tongue from the West Indies in an effort to kill her dreams and take everything from her, Florian rushes in with his older brother Harry Lowell who seems to have a penchant for having violence visited upon him. He has just been shot in a duel. Viola sets about assisting Florian in performing surgery on Harry to remove a bullet from his shoulder. Thanks to her father’s instruction Viola is, to put a modern term to it, an exceptional physician’s assistant. Harry’s recovery depends on the skill of these two people; a brother he dearly loves and a woman who is about to change everything in his life.

Harry is a very determined and a complicated man. From the moment he discovers Viola taking care of him he is enthralled. He persuades her to care for him exclusively. Viola takes his flirtations as just that because he is known as a rake. But Harry is more than meets the eye and he is determined to convince her otherwise.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to see some of the characters from the other books in the series appear here. As soon as I finish a Sophie Barnes book, I find myself smiling and looking forward to her next book. That, my friends, is a clear sign of an auto-buy author for me.

Review - - The Duke of Her Desire

The Duke of Her Desire
by Sophie Barnes
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: December 26, 2017
Reviewed by Santa

This is the second in her Diamonds in the Rough series but can easily be read as a stand alone. Amanda Matthews is the sister of the newly minted duke, Raphe Matthews. They, along with their sister, grew up in the slums of St. Giles following an unfortunate series of events when they were very young. Amanda is finding it a challenge to fit into the society she finds herself in now. While in St. Giles, she ran the household and moved around independently in those streets. Such freedoms are frowned upon for young ladies of the Ton. She misses a sense of purpose and feels that she is now in a position to do more with her time and for the children of those slums.

Thomas Heathmore, Duke of Coventry, has promised to work with his mother and Amanda's cousin Lady Everly to help Amanda in her entrance into society. He also promised his friends to look after her and her sister while her brother went on his honeymoon. 

Amanda's first sally did not go particularly well. She heard some young ladies whispering about her beginnings and how she would never fit in. Add to that Amanda's own feelings for Heathmore and Amanda is sure all these efforts will lead to disaster as Thomas always seems to walk in on her just as she makes a cake of herself.

Heathmore finds her compelling and refreshing and while she gets herself into a few unseemly situations, he vows to keep his promise to his friend and fights any inappropriate feelings he is developing where she is concerned.

I really enjoyed reading Amanda and Thomas' story as they both come to know the other more. They are both independent and strong minded which causes tension and presents some challenges which enrich their journey.

A solid four stars for me.

Review - - A Most Unlikely Duke

A Most Unlikely Duke
By Sophie Barnes
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Review by Santa
         

A Most Unlikely Duke is the first of a new series by Sophie Barnes. Raphe Matthews, the unlikely duke in question, is a bare knuckle boxer from St. Giles. He boxes to pay a debt his father incurred and struggles to keep his sisters safe and sound. But he’s been doing it since he was eight when his parents died and they were forced from their home.

He has only one fight left that would free them from all their debt when a letter arrives making him a duke. The former duke failed to provide an heir or a spare and as a distant relation the dukedom falls to Matthews.

He and his sisters move to their London townhouse and work to fit in with the Ton. Not an easy thing to do with a Cockney accent. His secretary becomes an ally as does another duke, the Duke of Coventry. Raphe still needs lessons in deportment and dance.

Enter Lady Gabriella, the Earl of Warwick’s daughter. No stranger to scandal or at least her sister’s scandal. It’s now her duty to lift the family’s name by marrying well along with a sizeable dowry. And she nearly does by becoming engaged while agreeing to help Raphe. Their attraction is mutual but not without a number of wrenches thrown into the mix.

I enjoyed being introduced to the Matthews family and seeing how Raphe finds that as a dedicated and loyal man, he really always had the makings of a Duke in him all along. Dance lessons help but it’s what’s inside that makes the man.

I give this book four out of five stars. I look forward to other books in the series and I see myself picking up some of her earlier books, too.