Customer Reviews

A Duke to Die For: The Rogues' Dynasty

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am pretty surprised to see the other positive reviews here. While the overall plot of this book was perfectly acceptable, the execution was TERRIBLE! 19-year-old heroine becomes ward of rakish hero, instant attraction leads to love. Not the most scintillating outline, but had potential. Beyond boring dialog and shallow characterization, there were a number of head-scratching turn-offs for me. A few are listed below, though there are certainly others...

1. He asks a former mistress to chaperone his ward, our heroine. This is somewhat off-putting, but seems like this could be a potential twist down the road, right? Wrong. Heroine never puts 2+2 together and it just makes for somewhat awkward, clunky reading.

2. A personal peeve of mine, hero sleeps with someone else after meeting and acknowledging fledgling feelings for heroine. Not only does he have sex with someone else, it's a tavern whore and this incident barely gets a full paragraph description, let alone any indication of remorse from the hero.

3. This was probably the kicker for me. The biggest conflict/exciting moment of the story, the catalyst for declarations of undying love... involves an allergic reaction to a dog. Not anaphylactic shock, death looming large variety of allergy. Just the sneezing and wheezing variety. While overwrought plot twists can sometimes be annoying, come ON! Itchy eyes and an aborted carriage ride does not make for exciting reading.

This is the first Amelia Grey book I've read. Perhaps this offering is in keeping with her normal style and it's just not my cup of tea. This was obviously the first in a trilogy about 3 male cousins. I can't say I'll be awaiting those releases with bated breath but at least the series has nowhere to go but up.

The basic plot of 'A Duke To Die For' is akin to that of Georgette Heyer's 'Regency Buck', a young woman finds herself the ward of a titled gentleman and ends up married to him. Of course there are many differences between the two books, not least in the quality of writing and historical accuracy, but 'A Duke To Die For' has some moments of charm.

Henrietta Tweed believes she is under a curse. When her parents died a woman told her that she was cursed to have all her guardians die and that seems to have happened; her father had left a list of six men who could be her guardian until she came of age and when she arrives at the house of the Duke of Blakewell he's the last one on the list, the others having all died once they became her guardian. However, he's not the duke that her father knew but his son, a handsome young man whose rather disorganised life is fairly rakish but mostly harmless.

Blake doesn't want a ward, particularly one as attractive and appealing as Henrietta. He doesn't believe in her curse, of course, but as he tries to find her a husband and as she helps him with his correspondence, his health and his fear of heights, he begins to wonder if he can let her marry anyone else.

This is very much a simple plot, simply told. There are minimal twists and turns in the stories, few disagreements among the characters and the curse aspect of the plot is resolved in a way which seemed rather too easy to me at the end. Historical accuracy isn't that good in terms of dialogue although some of the background information about ballooning was interesting, although that aspect of the story wasn't resolved in this book (there are two more novels planned, about Blake's cousins, which may continue the theme). Although both Blake and Henrietta were very appealing characters, Blake's behaviour as a guardian was pretty dodgy towards his ward and her tumbling into love with him seemed to reach a great depth very quickly.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009

Lucien Trent Blakewell, the fifth Duke of Blakewell has been enjoying life to the fullest and along with his two handsome bachelor cousins. The mama's of the ton would consider it a triumph to catch any one of them for their marriageable daughters. However, when young Miss Henrietta Tweed arrives on Blake's doorstep announcing that she is his ward and he her new guardian, Blake can hardly believe it. Very determined and cool-headed, Henrietta has also come armed with papers for him to sign so that she can be in charge of her own life, fearing she carries a curse that has caused the untimely deaths of her four previous guardians. Henrietta doesn't want to be the cause of yet another death, especially when this new guardian is one of the most handsome men she's ever seen!

*** Ms. Grey has continued to build an extensive fan base providing her readers with smart, witty and totally entertaining Regency novels. As in her previous works, she keeps a lively pace going with charming heroines and delightfully well-intentioned heroes crafting them with chemistry that zings. Inserting just the right amount of humor within her scenes and dialogs, she keeps the story moving forward as she shows how Henrietta is convinced she is "cursed".

Using Blake's eagerness to do right by Henrietta in finding her a husband adds to the humor as Blake realizes that he's "grown accustomed to her face" as well as her organizational skills, and can't stand the thought of any other man kissing or bedding her, for that matter, then himself! While not an original plot, as this has been used over and over, Ms. Grey puts her own spin and stamp on it making it a sweet and tantalizing story.

Bottom Line: Amelia Grey is a rare talent and A DUKE TO DIE FOR is proof of that!

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Blake becomes a Duke and inherits a large fortune after his father's accidental death just 2 years back. But still his rakish ways continue. He is more interested in card parties, frolicking with women and horse racing than he is in managing his estate and settling down.

Into this happy-go-lucky life of the Duke's, enters a 19 year old charming, beautiful and intelligent Henrietta. She claims his father was the last guardian on a list her father had prepared before his death. And as Duke's father is dead, he should take a position of her guardian. For a man who is not used to take care of his own responsibilities and who does not loose an opportunity to take every beautiful girl to his bed, Henrietta comes as a shock. Blake is immediately attracted to her and wants to shirk off her responsibility and the only way he thinks fit is to find her a suitable husband. Meanwhile Blake and Henrietta try to control their immense attraction and liking for each other.

I really liked the London season shown in this book. One could picture the colorful gowns, the candlelight's, the gentlemen in their evening coats and the overall glittering high society atmosphere very well. It was fun to read about the things a gentleman had to do to go on a date with a woman he wished to court.

Amelia and Blake were both likable characters, especially Amelia. She was young but had spunk and was not afraid of speaking her mind. Yet, there was certain vulnerability in her which was endearing. The scenes between Blake and Henrietta were nicely developed. But I wish there was more book space given to them. The other characters were okay but weren't as interesting to read about. Even the scenes where the balloon venture was discussed with Gibby were not really that interesting. I couldn't care less what happened to Gibby and his money even though I like him instantly.

The scenes between Blake and his cousins Race and Morgan were not that great. Firstly I thought they were the villains in the story. I kept thinking on the same line almost throughout the book. Here is a paragraph at the beginning of the book,

"Blake was friendly enough with his two cousins, but an unspoken rivalry had always simmered just below the surface of their relationships.

To the ton, the three grandsons of Lady Elder always appeared united; taking up for each other if need arose. But when they were alone, it wasn't unusual for one to try to best the others, be it at shooting, racing, or fencing, though they never admitted to the competition unless it was to gain the favor of a young miss."

I might have read a little too much into the above, but because of these very sentences I could not warm up to Morgan and Race.

All in all, I found `A Duke to die for' to be a descent book, but not be listed in the top romantic books I have read. A descent enough read. I would certainly try another Amelia Grey novel.

I'm always on the lookout for new Regency authors. I've enjoyed them since I was in my teens and that's over 50 years ago. Regencies with good writing, interesting and believable characters, and plots are getting harder and harder to find. So I was optimistic when I picked up Amelia Grey's book. The gimmick of using Lord Chesterfield's quotes seemed to have no relation to the very weak plot. It's a tight economy, instead of spending almost $8 on another Amelia Gray story, reread a Georgette Heyer.

I discovered author Amelia Grey several years ago and quickly found myself searching out her backlist to enjoy her light touch of humor and emotionally touching reads. "A Duke to Die For" is the start of her new 'Rogue's Dynasty' series from SourceBooks Casablanca. This publisher is one I'm coming to admire for their strong list of romance authors from several different genres so I guess I wasn't really surprised to see Amelia Grey is now one of their number. Grey's heroines aren't weak, but they're not ball-busters either. And her heroes are more Gammas at times in that they CAN take charge, but aren't overbearing about it for the most part. Anyhow, this wasn't as good as some of her other books, but still plenty good enough to keep me entertained this afternoon.

Lucian is a rogue, a rake, and a scoundrel. He's also an extremely wealthy, young, and sexy Duke so society mostly forgives him as they throw their daughters in his path. He knows he'll have to settle down one day since he must carry on the family name now that his father is dead, but he's just having a bit too much now to worry about that. When a young miss arrives at his house, he's not sure what to think. When he sees how beautiful she is, he thinks he wants her. When he finds out she's his ward...oh crap! If that's not bad enough, this 19-year-old diamond is filthy rich, level-headed, but still thinks she's cursed.

Henrietta doesn't just think she's cursed, she's sure of it. She's been through five, count 'em five, guardians already. It just figures that this last one turns out to be a man she comes to care for...and the one man she can't have. Not just because he's her guardian, but because if she doesn't get away, the curse will kill him too.

Henrietta was an interesting character for me. In many ways, older than her years and so level-headed...yet fully convinced in the curse and naive in so many 'city ways'. Yet I can almost see how living in the country and having so many guardians die not long after taking her into their charge could mold a younger woman's mind. Especially after the tragic circumstances of her family's death. Anyhow, she's one of the weakest heroines Grey has written and maybe that's why she seemed so different. Lucian is just scrumptious and watching him force himself to grow up was entertaining all on its own.

Grey's books are always well-paced, beautifully written and quite sensual..."A Duke to Die For" is no exception. I enjoyed the break from murderous plots, sinister suitors, etc and just basked in a true romance. Lucian's buddies are slated for their own stories and I'll be picking those up as they're published.

Henrietta Tweed is a 19 year old women who lost her parents when she as 7 years old. Though out the years all her guardians have died - she thinks because of curse. She is now at the door of her last guardian in her father's will, The Duke of Blackwell. The old Duke has died and his young handsome son will be new guardian. Henrietta Tweed and the Duke have a captivating romance as they deal with the `curse'. This was a sweet romance, loved the cousins!

[...]

A Duke and his ward and lots of accidents pretty much describes this book. It was such a fun story. I definitely got caught up in this story because it was very realistic and the storyline kept moving at a pretty good pace. There were no sighing women and overbearing men, just well written realistic characters. There are the usual Regency restrictions but the characters weren't bland and boring. It has plenty of romance and sexual tension, as well as a fun plot. This book is definitely one to add to your list whether you just like romance or historical romance.

I prefer books with likable characters. I want to know the main characters as I would know a friend, and I like Blake, Henrietta and Gibby (Sir Randolph) very much. I see a young Nigel Bruce as Gibby, Colin Firth as Blake and a Natalie Portman as Henrietta, those type actors, those looks.

The historical details of Ballooning were a delightful surprise. Mrs. Simple was painted as a business savvy, forward thinking female with a fledgling business and air flight for speedy travel and Sunday jaunts was very interesting. The authors research expanded the readers relationship with the minor characters. I didn't know whether Sir Randolph was to be taken advantage of or not?

I don't agree with some of the other reviews, passion sparks unplanned events - especially with the nobility. Blake is titled and accustomed to having nearly anything. Some readers may have forgotten how quickly you can see love in a pair of handsome brown eyes, a "Duke" will remind you. Blake asking a former mistress to chaperone would be exactly who a Duke may trust, and isn't Constance a fabulous name! Men having sex with tavern whores occurred whether married, engaged, or single - it was part of societal norm. Now is when it's considered bad behavior. And a serious allergic reaction in the early 1800s would have ended the story with a death.

Chapter 18 was written very skillfully and sensually, allow yourself plenty of time to end and have a hankie to fan yourself with. While that chapter is pivotal, the remaining pages are not disappointing. The dialog continues to excite and the pace stays quick.

I slow reading when the end of a book nears, but I understand that a few of the characters will be in the next two books of the trilogy, I would wish for the cousins (delightful) and Gibby.

"A Duke to Die For" is a fun, well-written historical Romance. If I want to read complicated plot twists, I'll read a book on politics. Fabulous read and I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series.