The Duke of Griffin is determined that his reputation not tarnish his younger twin sisters’ reputations during their debut. He decides to hire a governess to make sure nothing goes wrong. He doesn’t plan on his attraction to his chosen governess to get in the way.

This wasn’t a bad story. It was a pretty standard plot and relationship builder. Nothing really bad or notable stuck out to me. The book was pretty sweet and didn’t really include any hawt parts, but that’s pretty standard for this author, whose previous books I’ve read.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

To begin I’ll say this, I know there are people out there that will enjoy this book. I know there are people that will overlook lots of description, lengthy conversations, and characters that feel rather flat in lieu of a good story line. As for me, I don’t think I’ll read another book by this author.

My main problem with the story was that the pace was extremely slow. Four chapters in and the first scene was still going on. Four chapters of the same! The setting wasn’t too bad but I’m not a person that enjoys descriptive detail of every single nuance. Again, others may, I don’t. 

As far as the characters, perhaps because the pace was so slow I didn’t feel the chemistry between Rath (the Duke of Rathburne) and Marlena. I also found her annoying and not as smart as she was supposed to be. The main storyline revolved around some letters that the Rakes of St. James sent to a few unsuspecting debutantes, causing them to lose all marital prospects. One of the affected ladies was Marlena’s friend so she decided to get back at the rakes by going after them anonymously through her scandal sheet. My issue with that was that she pretty much set out to do the very thing she was upset about to begin with. I just couldn’t reconcile the idea of a smart and compassionate woman being gossipy and having no regards for all the people she was affecting with her actions. It just didn’t make sense and I didn’t think age was a free-pass to act that way (she was “young” when she started the scandal sheets). )As far as Rath, I though he took things in stride, especially when he found out Marlena’s secret, but other than that I found his rakish ways lackluster. 

I’m sitting here wondering if I would have enjoyed this book better if it hadn’t been redundant but as it is, all I can say the idea was there but it never really panned out, at least not for me. 

Review copy provided by Netgalley. This is my honest opinion and in no way influenced by anyone. 

Why are we at our best, when we are acting at our worst? Perhaps it's the thrill of the challenge. A knee jerk reaction to insecurity. Or maybe, we long to be accepted for who we really are and not who others want us to be. My favorite characters are ones that challenge my mind while conversing with my heart. Those are the one's that leave a lasting impressing on the soul. To the Duke With Love is what a love story should be. Not perfect, but true. Sloane and Loretta believe that they are unworthy of love, but long to help the people they care about find happiness. Ms. Grey has penned an insightful tale of sacrifice, love and happy endings. It takes a while to get there, but the trek is worth the wait.

To The Duke, With Love by Amelia Grey is an awesome historical romance.  Ms Grey has delivered a well-written book filled with amazing characters.  Loretta wants her brother to have a love match marriage, Hawk wants Loretta's brother for an arranged marriage with his sister.  Loretta and Hawk's story is a tangle of unfortunate events surrounded by drama, humor, and sizzle.  I loved reading this story and look forward to reading more from Amelia Grey soon.  To The Duke, With Love is book 2 of The Rakes Of St. James Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

 

I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

A sexy duke needs to hire a chaperone to escort his two younger sisters and keep them safe from the vipers out to ruin them as they make their debut amongst the ton. He fears someone will harm their reputations to pay him back for a prank he played out years earlier. While visiting the local governess/chaperone business, he witnesses a sassy young woman instruct one of her underlings on the proper way to keep a boy in line and decides then and there that Miss Esmeralda Swift is the only woman able to do the job. It doesn’t matter that she’s probably too young, doesn’t particularly want the job and has a few unconventional demands, such as bringing her little sister and their dog along for the duration. He meets all of her demands and offers her a deal so good she cannot refuse. All of this happens after only one conversation simply because she is the most beautiful woman he has ever set his eyes upon . . .

 

 

Esmeralda, her bratty little sister and her rascally dog move into the duke’s home and chaos and kisses ensue. But do you know what doesn’t ensue? The darn revenge plot line that was set up in the first very long scene! That whole “someone is out to get my innocent sisters, whoever must it be?” part of the story never happens. It was just thrown out there to have a reason for these two to meet and that bugged me and a second or two of conflict. Now I’m not a huge fan of mysteries but I’m thinking a little mystery would not have hurt this story because it was a little bit boring. There wasn’t much going on and there was very little actual conflict between the two characters.

 

Esmeralda was born to the snootier class but she’s been forced to become a manager of the governess/chaperone agency because her mother was disowned when she decided to marry a penniless poet. Esmeralda spends a lot of time longing for the life the she should’ve had by birthright and, I’m not going to lie, that got a little tiresome, boo-hooey, poor me after a bit but she also does right by her little sister and that balanced things out for me. Because she is an employee the duke doesn’t want to mess with her, so instead he flirts and teases and leads her on which I found a little mean. They long for each other but don’t take much action until he learns of her fancy family ties. Meh. As I said, there’s not much of a conflict here. There is a lot of time spent talking about wardrobes, chasing after dogs, going to balls and such but there isn’t any deep relationship development happening. Mostly they like each other’s faces and other body parts and it feels like surface attraction and little else and that isn’t why I read these kinds of books. I want angst, drama, true love. But mostly I want to feel something besides vague boredom. That didn’t happen here.

 

Narration Notes: Alison Larkin narrates this lackluster story beautifully. She has a very engaging voice and was the only reason I was able to keep going. If you plan to read this series and you enjoy audios, this one is the way to go!

 

2 ½ stars for the story but I am bumping up this unabridged audio version to a 3 because the narration is lovely and made me tune in to the very end.