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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 Kisses, TwoLips Reviews, September 3, 2008
This review is from: The Dangerous Duke (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)
Maxwell Brooke, the new Duke of Lyle, is investigating in his ancestral home a fire that killed lots of people and left him the next in line for the title. Lady Kate Fairchild's brother allegedly knows who was involved but refuses to tell, so he has been imprisoned to extract the information from him. Lady Kate is threatening to make public some very sensitive information about various government officials if he's not released. Of course, this puts her life in danger because there are some very powerful people who don't want her to reveal their secrets.
Max wants her help in persuading her brother to talk, so he looks for her diary where the blackmail data is written, but Kate was bluffing. It doesn't exist except in her head. What Max accidentally gets is Kate's diary of her secret fantasies. Talk about fueling an already smoldering attraction!
So Max develops a plan to kidnap Kate and use her as leverage to get her brother to talk. He tells her it's for her own protection, and it turns out he's quite right. But her body isn't the only thing that needs protection. What about her heart?
In The Dangerous Duke Christine Wells expertly weaves a tale of danger, passion and intrigue combined with fascinating secondary characters for a juicy story you can really sink your teeth into. The interaction between Max's sister and his rival Jardine is at least as moving as that of the primary players.
I really enjoy a book where the characters communicate with each other intelligently without a surplus of unnecessary misunderstandings, and this book comes through beautifully. Add some very tricky and interesting twists, and you've got a really great read.
4 Kisses, 1 Pepper
~Lindy
Reviewer, TwoLips Reviews, LLC
www.TwoLipsReviews.com
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dangerous Duke, January 26, 2009
This review is from: The Dangerous Duke (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)
Newly minted Duke of Lyle, Max Brooke, is a former spy whose new mission in life is to discover who set the fire that destroyed his home and killed off most of his family. He is known for taking the dirty jobs no one else can handle, but despite his rough past, seems to have a kind enough heart. When a job included the death of a man who peddled women and children for sex, Max became a mentor to the man's young son.
Max's only lead on who set the deadly fire is the brother of Lady Kate Fairchild. Kate is an interesting blend of strength and innocence. Widowed, yet seemingly innocent, she is full of secrets. Kate is desperate to get her brother out of jail, and when all avenues seem closed to her, she threatens to release a tell-all diary about the scandalous exploits of the politicians whose company she keeps - a diary that does not exist.
Once Max hears about this alleged diary, he knows he has a problem. His attraction to Kate only serves to muddle his renowned instincts, as he steals the fictional diary Kate kept as an outlet for her sexual frustration, kidnaps her, and uses her as ransom against her brother. As Max and Kate spend more time together, they discover a real chemistry, which only complicates things further.
I really enjoyed The Dangerous Duke and the characters. It was a quick read, enjoyable and sweet, without being cloying. The characters were layered and real, making the plot seem plausible and fun.
Niki Lee
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Emotionally Satisfying - A Stellar Read! - 4-1/2*, January 16, 2009
This review is from: The Dangerous Duke (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)
After accolades from her debut novel SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER, author Christine Wells shows immense promise with another steamy and yummy historical with THE DANGEROUS DUKE.
Set in the ever popular Regency period, Maxwell Brooke a celebrated and exacting operative for the Home Office has unexpectedly become a duke. In line for the title it was a horrific twist of fate that arsonists set fire to Lyle Castle which ended up killing the four heirs who would have inherited the title. Bent on bringing the perpetrators to justice Maxwell, now the Duke of Lyle, jailed the stubborn Reverend Stephen Holt who refused to divulge the whereabouts of said arsonists.
Lady Kate Fairchild, mystified over her inability to have her brother released from prison, hastily and without thought of the repercussions, threatened to publish her memoirs which could embarrass high placed members of the crown unless her brother is freed; said memoirs being only a figment of her imagination. After attempts are made on her life, Lyle made plans to kidnap her and have her hidden diary, thinking they contained her memoirs, translated. After the translation Lyle learned not state secrets, but Kate's most intimate sexual fantasies; and Lyle is more than ready to grant her every single one!
*** Whew... one word - steamy! Lyle is one fabulous creation, tall, dark, and dangerously sexy. Having spent so many years as a top operative in the field, Lyle had learned to bank his desires and feelings. Letting down ones guard and letting emotions and feelings get in the way was a good way to get killed, but from the very moment he met Lady Kate he found her wit and intelligence as rapier sharp as his own. Lyle could not get her out of his mind. Along the same lines, Lady Kate who endured a loveless marriage was now widowed. Kate had found solace in her fantasy lover but was now set ablaze by the very dangerous sharp eyed duke. Both leads were cast perfectly in the war of the love. I loved the author's interpretation of the transition that overcame Lyle's mindset after realizing how much Kate meant to him and the risk he was taking if and when she discovered the truth of her kidnapping.
As expected no book has action and depth without having very well defined supporting characters that entertain as well having a compelling plot. In this Wells fashioned extremely well done characters, from Jardine, another of the Home Office's operatives; Lyle's sister Louisa; and Lyle's ubiquitous hero worshipping assistant Perry, not to mention the very pregnant Fanny and her amorous husband Romney.
While I pretty much figured out early in the book who the villain was, the question of "why" became the greater mystery, but all was tied up very nicely at the end. Unfortunately, for me I was left with an unanswered question of what would happen between Jardine and Louisa whose last parting words were so emotionally laden I wanted their story to go on. I sincerely hope that Ms. Wells comes back with a sequel to answer that puzzle.
Bottom line: Good suspense, superb sensuality, and emotionally satisfying give this novel high marks and a very high recommendation.
Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com
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