The Duke by Gaelen Foley

 

I've read other books in the Knights Miscellany series, but not the first book, so it was interesting to get in on the lore and find out the story of the Hawkscliffe legacy. The premise is simple-ish: the heroine, Belinda, is about a stone's throw from life on the streets because her father spent all their money on illuminated manuscripts (no, that's not a euphemism for drugs). She's being stalked by this guy who got her fired from her good job and helped send her dad to jail, because he wants to force her to marry him. His name is Dolph and he's basically like evil Gaston on steroids. The other guy she wants to marry is MIA. And then, in case that wasn't enough, she is brutally raped by the prison warden.

The hero, the Duke of Hawkscliffe, is one of two legitimate children borne from a woman known charmingly as the Hawkscliffe Harlot (aka his mom). Because of his mother's many bastards and reputation for scandal, he has lived a life free of any ill-repute, and is generally known as the "Paragon Duke." However, not even he is perfect. He's been secretly and tragically in love with a married woman, Lucy Coldfell, the wife of one of his colleagues. When she dies mysteriously, Coldfell blames-- guess who?-- Dolph, and asks Robert (Hawkscliffe) to get revenge. Heartbroken, Robert savagely agrees.

Long story short, Bel ends up becoming a courtesan and Robert sees having her as his mistress as the path to his revenge. At first, they agree that it's going to be appearances only, meaning no sex, but that doesn't last long. This is probably my favorite part of the book because I love fake dating and fake mistresses is basically like the sexy and taboo version of fake dating. I also liked how being a courtesan accorded Bel a sort of agency that she didn't have while trying to live her life according to society's rules. It also, in a roundabout way, gives her control over her sex life, which has been shaped entirely by trauma until this point. (Also, the portrayal of PTSD is really well done here, too.) 

There was a lot to like about this book and for the most part, I thought Ms. Foley did a really great job with both the hero and the heroine. In some ways, it was kind of like a regency Pretty Woman, replete with the stuffed shirt hero who can't see past the heroine's sex work until it's almost too late. Which is where this gets into what I didn't like about this book. Well into the 90% mark, they were still debating on being with other people. I DON'T LIKE THAT. As a romance reader, I want to know that they are fully in each other's corners. #CarriageRideOrDie, you know? There was a lot of angst and a couple really great standout scenes (like duels and carriage tups), but overall this didn't quite match the hype.

3 out of 5 stars