A review by elspethm
Ten Things I Hate about the Duke by Loretta Chase

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is the second book in the series and though it was still way too long and the storyline didn't really make that necessary, I did like this one a bit better than the last one. In this book, Cassandra fell in love with Lucius "Duke of Ashmont" when she was a kid and he never noticed her. When their paths cross during one of his infamous pranks and injured her "bodyguard" she uses him for some of the duties he had performed. Along the way Ashmont falls in love with Cassandra, but she is wary of him being serious, as he's always been immature and reckless, and also of maintaining the somewhat fulfilling life she's set up for herself if she marries. Meanwhile Cassandra is trying to keep her actions from affecting her younger sister Hyacinth and her family. Also, an old feud between Cassandra's mother and another lady starts to affect everyone in the family. I did like to see the changes in Ashmont over the years, learning more about being a Duke and taking care of others, and their relationship was a nice one, but there were times I thought Cassandra treated Ashmont a bit worse than he deserved. Also, there was an ongoing mystery that really could have been left out and made the book shorter but not less interesting, but overall I enjoyed this book and am about to read the new one in the series coming out early 2025