The Duke (Five Star Romance) [Hardcover]

Catherine Coulter (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Standard P edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786209143
• ISBN-13: 978-0786209149
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,063,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Catherine Coulter is the author of the New York Times-bestselling FBI thrillers The Cove, The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh House, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take and TailSpin. She lives in northern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my top ten., June 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Duke (Coulter Historical Romance) (Paperback)

This is one of my favorite books, romance or not. Catherine Coulter is also one of my favorite authors. :) She pulls you into a different world with her writing, a world of manners and lechery, heroism and duels, treachery and hatred. This particular book deals with Scotland. I enjoyed reading this particular book because Coulter included many details about Scotland that I enjoyed learning. I also love Brandy, and think that Ian sounds really, really hot. :)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One to read time and time again!, February 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Duke (Coulter Historical Romance) (Paperback)

I didn't read the orginal the Generous Earl, but the Duke is one of my favorite all-time books. I just recently re-read it again (about 5th time). It was the first Coulter book I read, now I have almost all. I would love to see a sequel.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent Romance between a Duke and a Scottish country girl, June 12, 2010

By 

Regan (San Diego) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Duke (Coulter Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

I wasn't sure how to rate this book, frankly. Basically it's the love story of an English Duke, who lost his first wife to the guillotine, and his distant Scottish cousin who has never been to England. While I can concede it had some interesting parts, which I quite liked. and if it had been consistently good, I would have given it 4 stars. But there were negatives that made me want to give it 2 stars. Since it was my first Coulter, and I had heard so many raves about her work, it was doubly disappointing. What follows below are my specific disappointments in the story line.

While Coulter is good at "witty dialog," there was simply too much of it. I found myself skipping over some passages (it was particularly laborious at the beginning and I almost put it down then). There were too many adjectives and I kept wanting to edit them out. The characters were overdone and at times acted inconsistently (the fiance Felicity was too simpering and snippy to be real; Brandy was too sweet, too kind, and too unselfish, particularly at 18; Giles would not have been so wise and sincere and still dress like a gay dandy (yes, I know he was a master of deception, but still); and the Duke...the Duke was too stiff to be real for a young man of strong passions, even one who'd assumed great responsibility).

I got tired of the waring between the family members (enough already with the cousins and bastards). It seemed odd that a high bred Duke would pick up the Scottish slang. And when the Duke came back for the wedding, I couldn't see Brandy running into his arms without at least finding out why he returned. That wasn't believable given where she left it with him. On page 308, Ian speaks of Percy's attempted rape as if he'd always been aware of it and yet there is no indication he had ever been made aware of it (maybe I missed a passage?). And if he had been told of it, he would not be so blasé about it. Then there was the ending. The ending dragged. It read more like an epilogue.

Hence the 3 star rating. I didn't have trouble putting it down to run errands.