loe_ming's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
pros: enjoy the steamy part
cons: shallow story, no climax
pros: enjoy the steamy part
cons: shallow story, no climax
briamide's review against another edition
2.0
Fun, light read. Enjoyable for when you want to be entertained by a romance.
tyches_dice's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Big “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” vibes
chanclark85's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed it until the last few chapters... I feel like once they hooked up they became soppy and unbelievable. Still a good read.
ssejig's review
3.0
Henrietta has gone through five guardians and she's worried about the sixth, the Duke of Blackwell. Unfortunately, the Duke has no idea that she's arriving. Lucian is pretty happy with his life. He has responsibilities, sure, but he's been ignoring them pretty well as he continues his debauchery while trying to avoid the young ladies being forced into his path. His father has recently died and Lucian is astonished to realize that this means that... he is indeed this nubile young woman's guardian. He scoffs at her prediction of danger, most of her guardians were men his father's age, of course they died. The real danger is that he might accidentally (or not so accidentally) compromise her virtue and then be forced to marry... a fate worse than death. he calls in his ex-lover to come and help out (I will read Constance's story if it comes out but I sort of hope that she sticks to her guns and remains a happy, unencumbered widow).
Harriet is the least favorite of my heroines in this trilogy. She's young, naive and really kind of a PITA.
Would definitely have rated this two and a half stars if given the option but rounded up for this system. Not as bad as a two but definitely not on par with many other books I've rated three stars.
Harriet is the least favorite of my heroines in this trilogy. She's young, naive and really kind of a PITA.
Would definitely have rated this two and a half stars if given the option but rounded up for this system. Not as bad as a two but definitely not on par with many other books I've rated three stars.
corinnas's review
1.0
I haven't had the best start to my reading this year. Gave up on this book at about 50% because I just didn't like any of the characters. It made me not want to read.
suzannacurran's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
trupti's review
3.0
Blake becomes a Duke and inherits a large fortune after his father’s accidental death just 2 years back. But still his rakish ways continue. He is more interested in card parties, frolicking with women and horse racing than he is in managing his estate and settling down.
Into this happy-go-lucky life of the Duke’s, enters a 19 year old charming, beautiful and intelligent Henrietta. She claims his father was the last guardian on a list her father had prepared before his death. And as Duke’s father is dead, he should take a position of her guardian. For a man who is not used to take care of his own responsibilities and who does not loose an opportunity to take every beautiful girl to his bed, Henrietta comes as a shock. Blake is immediately attracted to her and wants to shirk off her responsibility and the only way he thinks fit is to find her a suitable husband. Meanwhile Blake and Henrietta try to control their immense attraction and liking for each other.
I really liked the London season shown in this book. One could picture the colorful gowns, the candlelight’s, the gentlemen in their evening coats and the overall glittering high society atmosphere very well. It was fun to read about the things a gentleman had to do to go on a date with a woman he wished to court.
Amelia and Blake were both likable characters, especially Amelia. She was young but had spunk and was not afraid of speaking her mind. Yet, there was certain vulnerability in her which was endearing. The scenes between Blake and Henrietta were nicely developed. But I wish there was more book space given to them. The other characters were okay but weren’t as interesting to read about. Even the scenes where the balloon venture was discussed with Gibby were not really that interesting. I couldn’t care less what happened to Gibby and his money even though I like him instantly.
The scenes between Blake and his cousins Race and Morgan were not that great. Firstly I thought they were the villains in the story. I kept thinking on the same line almost throughout the book. Here is a paragraph at the beginning of the book,
“Blake was friendly enough with his two cousins, but an unspoken rivalry had always simmered just below the surface of their relationships.
To the ton, the three grandsons of Lady Elder always appeared united; taking up for each other if need arose. But when they were alone, it wasn’t unusual for one to try to best the others, be it at shooting, racing, or fencing, though they never admitted to the competition unless it was to gain the favor of a young miss.”
I might have read a little too much into the above, but because of these very sentences I could not warm up to Morgan and Race.
All in all, I found ‘A Duke to die for’ to be a descent book, but not be listed in the top romantic books I have read. A descent enough read. I would certainly try another Amelia Grey novel.
Originally published at http://violetcrush.wordpress.com
Into this happy-go-lucky life of the Duke’s, enters a 19 year old charming, beautiful and intelligent Henrietta. She claims his father was the last guardian on a list her father had prepared before his death. And as Duke’s father is dead, he should take a position of her guardian. For a man who is not used to take care of his own responsibilities and who does not loose an opportunity to take every beautiful girl to his bed, Henrietta comes as a shock. Blake is immediately attracted to her and wants to shirk off her responsibility and the only way he thinks fit is to find her a suitable husband. Meanwhile Blake and Henrietta try to control their immense attraction and liking for each other.
I really liked the London season shown in this book. One could picture the colorful gowns, the candlelight’s, the gentlemen in their evening coats and the overall glittering high society atmosphere very well. It was fun to read about the things a gentleman had to do to go on a date with a woman he wished to court.
Amelia and Blake were both likable characters, especially Amelia. She was young but had spunk and was not afraid of speaking her mind. Yet, there was certain vulnerability in her which was endearing. The scenes between Blake and Henrietta were nicely developed. But I wish there was more book space given to them. The other characters were okay but weren’t as interesting to read about. Even the scenes where the balloon venture was discussed with Gibby were not really that interesting. I couldn’t care less what happened to Gibby and his money even though I like him instantly.
The scenes between Blake and his cousins Race and Morgan were not that great. Firstly I thought they were the villains in the story. I kept thinking on the same line almost throughout the book. Here is a paragraph at the beginning of the book,
“Blake was friendly enough with his two cousins, but an unspoken rivalry had always simmered just below the surface of their relationships.
To the ton, the three grandsons of Lady Elder always appeared united; taking up for each other if need arose. But when they were alone, it wasn’t unusual for one to try to best the others, be it at shooting, racing, or fencing, though they never admitted to the competition unless it was to gain the favor of a young miss.”
I might have read a little too much into the above, but because of these very sentences I could not warm up to Morgan and Race.
All in all, I found ‘A Duke to die for’ to be a descent book, but not be listed in the top romantic books I have read. A descent enough read. I would certainly try another Amelia Grey novel.
Originally published at http://violetcrush.wordpress.com
tracydurnell's review
2.0
I had to roll my eyes at a lot of this book - the way the H & h lusted after each other from page 1 and their internal monologues were a little over the top. I am always skeeved out by a more than ten year age difference - what 30-year-old thinks a teenager will make a good life partner? The sex scenes weren't anything special, felt a little rushed.
This could have stood for another round of editing - there were two 'red herrings' of antagonistic relationships that I was expecting to have some repercussions but didn't go anywhere. Tension for nothing. Maybe they arise in the next book? The ending could have been much more exciting - I had a few possibilities mapped out (including the red herrings) so the actual ending was kind of a let down and seemed to happen too quickly.
This could have stood for another round of editing - there were two 'red herrings' of antagonistic relationships that I was expecting to have some repercussions but didn't go anywhere. Tension for nothing. Maybe they arise in the next book? The ending could have been much more exciting - I had a few possibilities mapped out (including the red herrings) so the actual ending was kind of a let down and seemed to happen too quickly.
lootsfoz's review against another edition
2.0
The heroine was annoying. The side characters were more interesting than the leads. The plot felt like something I read before, only poorly written.