Review and Excerpt: It's All About the Duke by Amelia Grey

June 22, 2018

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DUKE

New York Times Bestselling Author
Amelia Grey

Series: The Rakes of St. James Book 3
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 29, 2018

He could be a rake if he means only to steal a kiss but steals your heart as well.

Nearing thirty, the Duke of Rathburne is finally ready to make amends for the wager that caused him and his best friends such scandal, but taking on a ward who needs a husband is a feat he’s not sure he can manage. The last he saw of Miss Marlena Fast, she was a spirited little ruffian, not the sort of bride most bachelors on the marriage mart sought. But one glance at the lovely lady she has become is enough to convince him otherwise…

Orphaned young and shuffled from family to family, Marlena counts on her fierce independence and quick wits to keep herself content. Being the responsibility of a notoriously wicked duke who upended so many lives is an unexpected challenge when she realizes he arouses her decidedly feminine desire. Marlena must be careful. She has her own scandalous secret to protect. If he finds out, will it shatter her chances of a happily-ever-after with the notorious rake?

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Review

I love historical romances, and usually, they hold me enthralled. While It's All About the Duke has a nice story and plot, and has great characters in Rath and Marlena, I find that it drags due to too much character thought/monologue. I find myself skipping paragraphs and just reading the ones I don't know about. This seriously affected my enjoyment of the story because I find myself losing interest a lot of times, and I really hate skipping scenes.

But I've read another book by Amelia Grey, and I love that one, so I'm not sure what happened during the writing of this book. Not enough word count? Mars in retrograde? In any case, I've not read the other two books in this series yet, so I'm definitely going to hunt those two down in case they turn out to be better than this book.

Rating: 3 stars

Excerpt

The duke kissed her softly and whispered, “I must stop, Marlena. I can’t go with you where we are headed.”

She moistened her lips. “Why?”

One hand moved soothingly up and down her back. “Don’t pretend you don’t know the answer to that.”

Dipping his head, he covered her mouth with his in a long, sweet kiss as he pushed her dress over her shoulder once again. He then stared down into her eyes. “I’ve told you, I don’t take innocents to my bed. And as much, as desperate as I want to make you mine right now, I can’t.”

Marlena turned her head and looked at the staircase right behind them. It suddenly looked wide, beautiful, and glorious. Her bedchamber was only a few steps past the top of it.

Turning back to Rath, she said, “I agree. You can’t.”

He nodded. She lower her lashes over her eyes, but he immediately lifted her chin with his fingers, bent his head, and slanted his lips over hers in a slow tender kiss. The longing and the passion inside her was intense. She leaned into him, wanting him to know the depth of her feelings for him. He deepened the kiss again for only a few seconds before backing off.

“It is enough that you know that I want to,” he insisted.

“I do,” she said. “And you won’t be taking me to your bed.” Her breath trembled in her throat and anticipation filled her.

Did she have the nerve to finish and say it? If she was ever going to, this was the time. She smiled. “That’s why I’m going to take you to my bed.”

“Ah, Marlena.” He shook his head and cupped each cheek with his hands and kissed her softly, sweetly several times. “I am trying so hard to be the gentleman. You aren’t making it easy on me.”

“I don’t intend to.” She rose on her toes and clasped her hands together at the back of his neck.

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About Amelia Grey

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Amelia Grey read her first romance book when she was thirteen. She's been a devoted reader of love stories ever since.

Amelia has been happily married to her high school sweetheart for over thirty-five years and she lives on the beautiful gulf coast of Northwest Florida.

With more than thirty books published, she is a two-time winner of the prestigious Booksellers Best Award. She's also won the Aspen Gold, and the Golden Quill Awards. Writing as Gloria Dale Skinner, she won the coveted Romantic Times Award for Love and Laughter and the Maggie Award. Amelia's books have been published in Europe, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia, and Japan.

Several of her books have been featured in Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs.

Amelia's Email: ameliagreyauthor@gmail.com

Official website: http://www.AmeliaGrey.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmeliaGreyBooks