How to Love a Duke in Ten Days

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days Pages: 448


Series: Devil You Know #1
Genres: Historical Romance
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Also in this series: All Scot and Bothered, The Devil in Her Bed

Goodreads

These men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees...

Famed and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for to herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past—one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.

LOVE TAKES NO PRISONERS

Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days is equal parts heartbreaking and swoon worthy. I cried tears of utter sadness and then delighted joy. Seriously, this book gave me so many feels I’m not even sure I can review it adequately.

Alexandra has two wonderful friends, and seeing positive female friendships in a story was so heartwarming. The 3 Red Rouges are more than mere friends and they share a terrible secret. Fast forward many years and an engagement brings them together. These 3 are quite different from each other which was interesting as well. Alexandra is tormented by an event in her past and it has shaped who she has become-she tries desperately to hide any indication of femininity. Her meeting with Piers, the Duke of Redmayne, aka the Terror of Torcliff, is just as unorthodox as Alexandra. Alexandra got her doctorate from the Sorbonne, which I actually visited when I was in Paris several years ago!

Both Piers and Alexandra have baggage and this leads to a lack of trust in their marriage of convenience. I cried HARD when Piers finally pieced the clues together and figured everything out. I adored Alexandra, but I also fell deeply in love with Piers. Throughout their love story, there is the constant threat of danger because someone is trying to kill them. Also, Alexandra’s blackmailer is demanding payment and now that she is a duchess, the price has increased.

There are times when the story is painful to read. I think Bryne does a brilliant job of making that pain real in a way that causes the reader to hurt for Alexandra. While it wasn’t easy to read, its very well done and an important topic. Check the trigger warnings if you have any. I am very excited to see what Bryne has in store for Cecilia and Francesca!

 

•   POV: 3rd
•   Tears: so many
•   Trope: marriage of convenience
•   Triggers: View Spoiler »Alexandra is raped by her school’s headmaster in the opening scene. The rape is explicit. « Hide Spoiler
•   Series/Standalone: stand alone
•   Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »no « Hide Spoiler
•   HEA: View Spoiler »yes with epilogue « Hide Spoiler

A Scot in the Dark by Sarah Maclean, Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas, The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Bryne…then you will probably like How to Love a Duke in Ten Days!

 

 

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