Customer Reviews

The Duke (Gypsy Legacy, Book 2)

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

 

 

Lady Felicia Collings is a young woman with an unusual family history and a strong sense of personal responsibility. Several years ago her gypsy great-grandmother gave her a ring, promising the man who could identify the jewelry would be her destiny. After having been out for two years and not finding the man, Felicia is beginning to doubt he will ever show up. That seems fortunate in her eyes, as she doesn't want to marry anyway. Instead, she wishes to keep her dowry in order to give a piece of property included in it to a young boy only she knows is her nephew. To that end, she plans to take the boy to the estate, with or without her brother's help.

Brand's life is unsettled and complicated, but he's finally about to get a few things in order. He has discovered the truth behind his parentage and plans to see his father soon after twenty years apart. He also plans to solve the mystery of his kidnapping. Despite the urgency of his own plans, he feels compelled to escort Felicia out of London rather than allowing her to go alone. He finds Felicia very attractive, so when their trip is noticed, he isn't terribly upset. Now he just has to convince a very reluctant Felicia...

The Duke is an action-packed, sometimes dark historical tale of betrayal, kidnapping, family, and destiny. At first, I had a very hard time keeping all the characters straight in my head. Everyone seemed to be somehow related to everyone else, whether through marriage or blood. It didn't help that there were a lot of characters to keep track of. By the end of the book, I was mostly successful keeping the characters straight, but I still feel I would have been better off to have read the first Gypsy Legacy story before jumping into this one. There's a lot of complicated back story going on, and I felt I was missing a lot of subtle nuances.

That said The Duke was an interesting read--especially toward the end when the action really ratcheted up. Brand was a very cool character. He was damaged by the horrific events of his childhood, yet he was still a strong and passionate man. Felicia I was a bit more ambivalent about. I liked her toughness, independence, and loyalty. I could sympathize with the childhood experience that warped her view of sex. Sometimes, however, her stubbornness and wishy-washiness grated on my nerves. The story begins as a seemingly typical tale of a man and a woman being forced to wed to avoid scandal, but The Duke soon becomes something much more. There's a suspense angle involving Brand's past that, while at times melodramatic, was engaging. Felicia's past and her current fears are explored, as well as a bit of a paranormal angle with the gypsy great-grandmother's predictions. There is also a lot of interaction involving the secondary characters, who all seem to have interesting stories of their own. While I recommend reading the first book in the series first, for patient readers, The Duke will provide a suspenseful and nonstop final act.

Cassie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This was a good book, but it was not as good as the first book, The Marquis. Overall, the plot was pretty interesting and fun to read. It was a bit longer than it needed to be, though.

I really liked Brand. He was kind and patient, and he was true to himself. There was none of the usual denial of his feelings, which is pervasive in the genre and which gets old.

I was disappointed by Felicia. She was awesome in the first book. She had so much spirit and wit, and she was funny. In this book, she was more boring than I expected. I thought she would have more fire now that she is older, but instead it,s as if they sent her to finishing school and they sucked the life out of her.

Don't get me wrong. I like the book and it is worth reading. I just like the first book better.

Okay, it's time for book 3!

i thought it was better than the first but disliked how neatly wrapped up it was at the end. will definitely read the third in this series though.

Denise Patrick's latest novel The Duke has an uneven pacing and too many secondary characters. The protagonists are interesting people but it was not until the end of the novel that I really connected with them.

When Brand Waring was only a child he and his younger brother were kidnapped. They were taken to the West Indies, Brand's brother died and now Brand has returned to London to discover who was behind his abduction. The reader will figure out the guilty culprit pretty quickly and so will Brand.

Felicia Colling's great grandmother was a gypsy and before she died she gave Felicia a special ring and a prophecy. The ring would lead her to her future husband. So far, Felicia is not interested in marriage but her lack of enthusiasm has very little to do with her ring and everything to do with her fear of the marriage bed. Felicia was traumatized in her childhood and her fear of sex is very real although no one knows about it.

Felicia can best be described as loyal and stubborn. She wants to protect her illegitimate nephew, Davey, and provide financially for him. She seems to be the only one in her family who cares about his welfare.

To help her nephew, Felicia rashly decides to travel across England unaccompanied. She will retrieve him from one of her brother's estates and set him up in her dowered property. Brand is quick to assist her by offering to be her escort, however they have no chaperone. (I was surprised Felicia did not use the train for part of her journey, the story is set in 1861) Brand is aware that he would have to marry Felicia if anyone found out about their trip but he is willing to do so.

Sure enough these two do have to marry which throws Felicia for a real loop. Felicia is, as stated earlier stubborn, and this got to be tiresome. She is staunchly opposed to the marriage and even when she discovers that her ring is connected to Brand's family she digs in her heels.

This novel picks up momentum after the leads wed. Felicia must overcome her aversion to physical intimacy and Brand searches diligently for the person behind his kidnapping. It is in the latter half of this novel that I began to empathize with the leads. Felicia reveals her emotional trauma not only to her husband but also to her family. She shows personal courage and reevaluates her past. Brand is patient and understanding with Felicia. His search however, puts both him and Felicia into danger.

This novel rates three and a half stars. The first half was difficult to follow because the author introduces and references so many friends and relatives of the protagonists. Some of these people were dead and I had to flip back to reread passages a couple of times to keep the characters straight. The end of the novel was more fluid than the first half and the passion between the leads in this portion of the story was romantic.