especbooks's review
4.0
Well-drawn characters and growing tension gripped me despite the mostly predictable progression of this story. Do not take this as a detriments, as the genre lends itself to predictability. The tale itself was well told.
joanav's review
4.0
I've received an ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I know it’s early to be reading Christmas-related books, but really – is it ever too early to read Christmas stories? ❤️
Lady Daphne Hallworth quickly became one of my all-time favourite characters. She tried her best to be “the perfect daughter/sister/etc” and she shoved all her feelings in a diary. It actually sounds like something I would do, with the exception that I’ve tried to write a diary several times, but I always end up forgetting to write in it. I personally like to lay at night thinking about what I would write, and sometimes even say it out loud, in a whispered voice, just to put those feelings out there. So I can imagine what Daphne felt when her diary was stolen – as a result of a good action, which is even worse!
But, rest assure dear reader, she is not alone. In comes Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, former friend of Daphne’s brother, and her former (and current!) crush. Paul acted badly in the past and that caused him to alienate his friends, but Daphne never truly believed he was a horrible person, instead she believed he was someone who had made mistakes, but who was truly a good person (which, of course, it’s true).
Daphne is left alone at Christmas and Paul is the one that is going to make her company and help her retrieve her diary. Paul and his Moonbeam.
I loved their relationship, Paul was so sweet with Daphne, and all he wanted was to help her. Even the impediments that might have gotten in the way, it was all resolved and I loved how strong and determined Daphne was, and how Paul tried to be his best version, for himself, for Daphne and for those that now depended on him. That’s one of my favourite things about the book, Paul’s awakening to become someone… not different per se, but someone with new objectives and a different view of life and of what really matters. And that’s also what brings Daphne’s family and friends back to being friends with Paul. They see how he’s improved, and that he is trying, he’s doing his best to become better, and he deserves the vote of confidence.
After reading this book, I decided never to have a diary with me in public and, if I ever do write in a journal, to have it locked at all times, because I don’t know if I could handle the stress of losing or having it robbed, with all my private thoughts. Daphne’s fight and endurance to act the right way not just for her, but for her family and those that might be affected by what she had written, was inspiring.
The Christmas ambience helped the story’s redemption arc, and it was lovely to have the beautiful descriptions of winter and Christmas decorations. I do love a good Christmas romance.
I know it’s early to be reading Christmas-related books, but really – is it ever too early to read Christmas stories? ❤️
Lady Daphne Hallworth quickly became one of my all-time favourite characters. She tried her best to be “the perfect daughter/sister/etc” and she shoved all her feelings in a diary. It actually sounds like something I would do, with the exception that I’ve tried to write a diary several times, but I always end up forgetting to write in it. I personally like to lay at night thinking about what I would write, and sometimes even say it out loud, in a whispered voice, just to put those feelings out there. So I can imagine what Daphne felt when her diary was stolen – as a result of a good action, which is even worse!
But, rest assure dear reader, she is not alone. In comes Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, former friend of Daphne’s brother, and her former (and current!) crush. Paul acted badly in the past and that caused him to alienate his friends, but Daphne never truly believed he was a horrible person, instead she believed he was someone who had made mistakes, but who was truly a good person (which, of course, it’s true).
Daphne is left alone at Christmas and Paul is the one that is going to make her company and help her retrieve her diary. Paul and his Moonbeam.
I loved their relationship, Paul was so sweet with Daphne, and all he wanted was to help her. Even the impediments that might have gotten in the way, it was all resolved and I loved how strong and determined Daphne was, and how Paul tried to be his best version, for himself, for Daphne and for those that now depended on him. That’s one of my favourite things about the book, Paul’s awakening to become someone… not different per se, but someone with new objectives and a different view of life and of what really matters. And that’s also what brings Daphne’s family and friends back to being friends with Paul. They see how he’s improved, and that he is trying, he’s doing his best to become better, and he deserves the vote of confidence.
After reading this book, I decided never to have a diary with me in public and, if I ever do write in a journal, to have it locked at all times, because I don’t know if I could handle the stress of losing or having it robbed, with all my private thoughts. Daphne’s fight and endurance to act the right way not just for her, but for her family and those that might be affected by what she had written, was inspiring.
The Christmas ambience helped the story’s redemption arc, and it was lovely to have the beautiful descriptions of winter and Christmas decorations. I do love a good Christmas romance.
brittanyt's review
4.0
https://everyoneneedsbibliotherapy.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/the-good-the-bad-and-the-duke-by-janna-macgregor/
iggyebab's review
3.0
* I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**.
Oh do I love a good redemption story. I love when I despise a character in a book and then I see they are the focus of a future book and I think “ugh I am never going to like him/her” and then I’m wrong.
Paul was a jackass. He’s made a lot of mistakes. Mistakes that many are reluctant to forgive. His past was awful and he brought it forward with him.
Daphne is an amazing character. I loved how she cake to see Paul in a different light and worked to show her family who she saw.
I enjoyed this book and need to go back and read the earlier books in this series.
Oh do I love a good redemption story. I love when I despise a character in a book and then I see they are the focus of a future book and I think “ugh I am never going to like him/her” and then I’m wrong.
Paul was a jackass. He’s made a lot of mistakes. Mistakes that many are reluctant to forgive. His past was awful and he brought it forward with him.
Daphne is an amazing character. I loved how she cake to see Paul in a different light and worked to show her family who she saw.
I enjoyed this book and need to go back and read the earlier books in this series.
scottishpixie26's review
4.0
Great story. Absolutely loved it, just had few issues with a couple side characters, not disliking just things. Overall a great story.
cgroup6's review
4.0
I received this book as an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
Childhood friendship that develops into something more! I love that Lord Paul (now Duke Southart) has a story. He seemed quite lost in the previous stories and it is great to get both his background and seem his growth. It seems appropriate to me that much of this (trying to reform) rake’s story still takes place in a gaming hell. He can’t get away from his past that easily!
Please make sure that you read the other books in the series!
Childhood friendship that develops into something more! I love that Lord Paul (now Duke Southart) has a story. He seemed quite lost in the previous stories and it is great to get both his background and seem his growth. It seems appropriate to me that much of this (trying to reform) rake’s story still takes place in a gaming hell. He can’t get away from his past that easily!
Please make sure that you read the other books in the series!
loverofromance's review
4.0
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
I haven’t had the chance to read this author before, but when her latest book “The Good, The Bad and the Duke” was released a few months ago, I knew I wanted to pick up this book and it has such a charm to its Christmas toned cover and I will admit the cover is what really drew me to the story and I love unique titles that have me intrigued and so when I saw this book at my local library, I grabbed it right up. And sometimes with new author it can take me a while to get in the mood for them but I was really in the mood to read this one last night and from the first few pages I was beyond charmed by this witty writing.
Our story begins with seeing our couple when they are close to being teenagers, and that they are friends. Daphne and Paul are our protaganists of the story. Daphne is the sister of Paul’s best friend. We see a moment between them when Paul helps save a baby bird for Daphne and from that moment they both had a great affection for each other. But then they both grew up, and the friendship between Daphne’s brother and Paul fractured and broke apart and now its forbidden for them to spend any time together. Paul made lots of mistakes when he was younger and it cost him two of his closest friends and now with his brother and father’s death, he only has one friend, a vicar who is a bit unconventional. Paul wants to bring about change in himself and in others. He wants to be a better man and to try to fix the friendships that became broke because of his actions.
The time to Christmas is drawing near, and on Christmas Eve, both her mother and her brother leave her behind on accident and she is left with one servant who stays with her to make sure nothing happens to her. While out for a short walk at the park, her handbag is stolen with her journal by a child and as she chases him through the streets of London and she ends up at a gaming club and runs into Paul. He helps her out from being caught and creating a scandal, and she invites him and his vicar friend to Christmas. Even though there is a bond between them, Daphne is loyal to her brother and her heart is torn between the desire she feels for Paul and the love and respect she has for her brother.
The Good, The Bad and the Duke was such a sweet romance that gave me laughs and filled me with happy feels. This is a story that is light and charming but also still has a solid plot line. I loved the style of sensuality that flows in and out of the story, Which is not something you always see in a regency romance and I adored the chemistry between these two. It could have been a bit more focused at times, but I found that their relationship really grew on me. We see a mix of forbidden love and friends to lovers. I enjoy the plotline of Daphne losing her journal which unless found could cause a disaster for her family. And I will admit the tension between her brother and Paul is hilarious, I got so many laughs from their interactions but we see how Daphne holds true to her heart and what she has with Paul.
Both the hero and the heroine that we see grow in this story I fell in love with. I pretty much loved both of them. Daphne has her own passions and desires and stays true to herself. She is a bit more unconventional in that she shares her sexual desires in her journal and she embraces that side of herself and isn’t ashamed of it, but with how restrictive society is she also keeps it secret from anyone but herself. We see this side of herself really come through when she reconnects with him. I loved the intimacy that develops between these two. They have a friendship and a trust, but then we see the level of desire they have for each other and it wraps you up like a blanket on a cold winter’s night.
The hero is a character that you can admire so much. He has made mistakes with gambling, women and acting rashly. But he sobers up very quickly when his brother who has never lost faith in him, has always had his back but dies of a sickness and I love that he knows he wants a change and goes about making a better world for others. To make decisions out of honor and in the need of service to others and less thinking selfishly about his desires alone.
These two make a great team together and I had a blast seeing them discover what they have together and the obstacles that have to overcome to find their happy ever after and from beginning to end I had a fun time with this book and definitely one that is full of wit, adventure and sensuality!!!
I haven’t had the chance to read this author before, but when her latest book “The Good, The Bad and the Duke” was released a few months ago, I knew I wanted to pick up this book and it has such a charm to its Christmas toned cover and I will admit the cover is what really drew me to the story and I love unique titles that have me intrigued and so when I saw this book at my local library, I grabbed it right up. And sometimes with new author it can take me a while to get in the mood for them but I was really in the mood to read this one last night and from the first few pages I was beyond charmed by this witty writing.
Our story begins with seeing our couple when they are close to being teenagers, and that they are friends. Daphne and Paul are our protaganists of the story. Daphne is the sister of Paul’s best friend. We see a moment between them when Paul helps save a baby bird for Daphne and from that moment they both had a great affection for each other. But then they both grew up, and the friendship between Daphne’s brother and Paul fractured and broke apart and now its forbidden for them to spend any time together. Paul made lots of mistakes when he was younger and it cost him two of his closest friends and now with his brother and father’s death, he only has one friend, a vicar who is a bit unconventional. Paul wants to bring about change in himself and in others. He wants to be a better man and to try to fix the friendships that became broke because of his actions.
The time to Christmas is drawing near, and on Christmas Eve, both her mother and her brother leave her behind on accident and she is left with one servant who stays with her to make sure nothing happens to her. While out for a short walk at the park, her handbag is stolen with her journal by a child and as she chases him through the streets of London and she ends up at a gaming club and runs into Paul. He helps her out from being caught and creating a scandal, and she invites him and his vicar friend to Christmas. Even though there is a bond between them, Daphne is loyal to her brother and her heart is torn between the desire she feels for Paul and the love and respect she has for her brother.
The Good, The Bad and the Duke was such a sweet romance that gave me laughs and filled me with happy feels. This is a story that is light and charming but also still has a solid plot line. I loved the style of sensuality that flows in and out of the story, Which is not something you always see in a regency romance and I adored the chemistry between these two. It could have been a bit more focused at times, but I found that their relationship really grew on me. We see a mix of forbidden love and friends to lovers. I enjoy the plotline of Daphne losing her journal which unless found could cause a disaster for her family. And I will admit the tension between her brother and Paul is hilarious, I got so many laughs from their interactions but we see how Daphne holds true to her heart and what she has with Paul.
Both the hero and the heroine that we see grow in this story I fell in love with. I pretty much loved both of them. Daphne has her own passions and desires and stays true to herself. She is a bit more unconventional in that she shares her sexual desires in her journal and she embraces that side of herself and isn’t ashamed of it, but with how restrictive society is she also keeps it secret from anyone but herself. We see this side of herself really come through when she reconnects with him. I loved the intimacy that develops between these two. They have a friendship and a trust, but then we see the level of desire they have for each other and it wraps you up like a blanket on a cold winter’s night.
The hero is a character that you can admire so much. He has made mistakes with gambling, women and acting rashly. But he sobers up very quickly when his brother who has never lost faith in him, has always had his back but dies of a sickness and I love that he knows he wants a change and goes about making a better world for others. To make decisions out of honor and in the need of service to others and less thinking selfishly about his desires alone.
These two make a great team together and I had a blast seeing them discover what they have together and the obstacles that have to overcome to find their happy ever after and from beginning to end I had a fun time with this book and definitely one that is full of wit, adventure and sensuality!!!
whiskeyinthejar's review
2.0
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
He’d been desired before, but never with that look. She thought him noble.
He stumbled back a step.
Fourth in the Cavensham Heiresses series, we finally get Paul Barstowe, the Duke of Southart's story. He is the friend of the previous heroes of the series who has become the outcast due to circumstances out of his control and of his own making. Our heroine Daphne is the younger sister to one of the previous heroes and she has always held a tendre for Paul. When Daphne ends up accidentally being home alone during Christmas time and desperately searching for her stolen diary, Paul ends up partnering her on the adventures.
Even if you haven't read the previous books in the series, there wouldn't much of a problem starting here. The author does a good job of relaying the how and why of past relationships, there would be a missed deeper connection but Daphne and Paul's relationship is the main focus of the story and that starts in this book. Paul's history is a little bit of wrong place, wrong time with some ill gotten luck, his father was cold to him and while he had a loving relationship with his brother, that brother is now deceased. His two closest friends are still wary and cold to him but since obtaining the title of Duke, he has been working hard to make something of himself.
Daphne is surrounded by happy marriages and is starting to get tired of hiding in the shadows as a way to not cause problems as she didn't want to upset anyone after her sister died. When she gets left alone, she finds it a perfect opportunity to get her life in order. I liked the premise of these two coming together, enjoyed a few flashbacks to how she and Paul interacted in their younger years but the physical attraction started immediately and was the focus throughout the vast majority of the story.
I feel like I'm beginning to notice a trend in historical romance where there is an insistence to feature blowjobs. The first one featured here isn't between the hero and heroine but the heroine's desire to watch and want and the heroine's second sexual encounter with the hero where she does the act, felt out of place in this. I, personally, read historicals for a different feel on the romance between the heroine and hero, I like the focus to be more on the words or feelings and not physical acts in the bedroom. I'm not saying this can never work for me but, here, it didn't.
I also like to read historicals for the time period feel and as Daphne and Paul never venture from about three locations, her house, a gaming hall, and his house, I couldn't even tell you within ten years when this story was supposed to take place. I like character driven stories, with the thread of wanting to find Daphne's diary, this story was mainly focused on Daphne and Paul but they never ventured from Paul finding Daphne gorgeous but constantly and morosely thinking he wasn't good enough for her and Daphne wanting Paul, with her wanting to stem only from him being nice to her when she was younger and his good looks. There was also a lot of repetitiveness, with Daphne being close to TSTL with insisting on putting herself in obviously dangerous (reputation wise) situations, Paul objecting but then eventually going along with her, so much rinse and repeat.
There just wasn't enough meat to this story to keep me actively involved, I felt like I was passively reading because all our main characters did was lust (kind of lukewarm meandering lust, at that) and our hero was a little bit of an Eeyore about how he wasn't good enough. I've read the first in the series (debut) by this author and thought she had good promise and then really enjoyed the second, but this one felt like a lackluster phone in. I do, however, find the cover to still be as gorgeous as ever.
He’d been desired before, but never with that look. She thought him noble.
He stumbled back a step.
Fourth in the Cavensham Heiresses series, we finally get Paul Barstowe, the Duke of Southart's story. He is the friend of the previous heroes of the series who has become the outcast due to circumstances out of his control and of his own making. Our heroine Daphne is the younger sister to one of the previous heroes and she has always held a tendre for Paul. When Daphne ends up accidentally being home alone during Christmas time and desperately searching for her stolen diary, Paul ends up partnering her on the adventures.
Even if you haven't read the previous books in the series, there wouldn't much of a problem starting here. The author does a good job of relaying the how and why of past relationships, there would be a missed deeper connection but Daphne and Paul's relationship is the main focus of the story and that starts in this book. Paul's history is a little bit of wrong place, wrong time with some ill gotten luck, his father was cold to him and while he had a loving relationship with his brother, that brother is now deceased. His two closest friends are still wary and cold to him but since obtaining the title of Duke, he has been working hard to make something of himself.
Daphne is surrounded by happy marriages and is starting to get tired of hiding in the shadows as a way to not cause problems as she didn't want to upset anyone after her sister died. When she gets left alone, she finds it a perfect opportunity to get her life in order. I liked the premise of these two coming together, enjoyed a few flashbacks to how she and Paul interacted in their younger years but the physical attraction started immediately and was the focus throughout the vast majority of the story.
I feel like I'm beginning to notice a trend in historical romance where there is an insistence to feature blowjobs. The first one featured here isn't between the hero and heroine but the heroine's desire to watch and want and the heroine's second sexual encounter with the hero where she does the act, felt out of place in this. I, personally, read historicals for a different feel on the romance between the heroine and hero, I like the focus to be more on the words or feelings and not physical acts in the bedroom. I'm not saying this can never work for me but, here, it didn't.
I also like to read historicals for the time period feel and as Daphne and Paul never venture from about three locations, her house, a gaming hall, and his house, I couldn't even tell you within ten years when this story was supposed to take place. I like character driven stories, with the thread of wanting to find Daphne's diary, this story was mainly focused on Daphne and Paul but they never ventured from Paul finding Daphne gorgeous but constantly and morosely thinking he wasn't good enough for her and Daphne wanting Paul, with her wanting to stem only from him being nice to her when she was younger and his good looks. There was also a lot of repetitiveness, with Daphne being close to TSTL with insisting on putting herself in obviously dangerous (reputation wise) situations, Paul objecting but then eventually going along with her, so much rinse and repeat.
There just wasn't enough meat to this story to keep me actively involved, I felt like I was passively reading because all our main characters did was lust (kind of lukewarm meandering lust, at that) and our hero was a little bit of an Eeyore about how he wasn't good enough. I've read the first in the series (debut) by this author and thought she had good promise and then really enjoyed the second, but this one felt like a lackluster phone in. I do, however, find the cover to still be as gorgeous as ever.
ironskin's review
3.0
This was fine? I forgot that I finished it, and now don’t recall much about it, so maybe not the greatest endorsement