Review: A Duke in the Night by Kelly Bowen
SYNOPSIS:
Duke. Scoundrel. Titan of business. August Faulkner is a man of many talents, not the least of which is enticing women into his bedchamber. He’s known-and reviled-for buying and selling companies, accumulating scads of money, and breaking hearts. It’s a reputation he wears like a badge of honor, and one he intends to keep.
Clara Hayward, the headmistress of the Haverhall School for Young Ladies, on the other hand, is above reproach. Yet when she’s reunited with August all she can think of is the way she felt in his arms as they danced a scandalous waltz ten long years ago. Even though her head knows that he is only back in her life to take over her family’s business, her heart can’t help but open to the very duke who could destroy it for good.
REVIEW:
This is my first feminist historical romance, as well as my first Kelly Bowen book and I have to say, I have mixed feelings as I finished it. I occasionally love to dive into the 1800s and another time but I think my problem with this story was I found the secondary characters far more interesting than August or Clara…
The feminism is strong in this book but it also boarders on repetitious and too much. As progressive as Clara is, she is also unconventional and an outlier to say the least. And this theme is repeated over and over throughout the book, we get it, she is unique for the time period. August, while I don’t have anything bad to say about him, I don’t recall anything remarkable either. The romance is the centerfold of this story, with a delightful slow burn and chemistry in heaps.
But the plot line and people that hooked my interests were the Hayward’s financial situation and Clara’s family. Clara’s siblings enthralled me, they were fun, mysterious, and different. I wanted to know what her brother was up to that he was so elusive and evasive. I wanted to know how her sister began painting erotic portraits and how she maintains that career. I had so many questions and none were about the lead couple.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad read. A nice palate cleanser type of book with a predictable romance. The ending felt a little abrupt but I think that is because there are going to be additional books in the series. Now the question is, will I pick them up?
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
