Customer Reviews

One Night in London: The Truth About the Duke

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One Night in London is a superb romance with a lovely lead couple who are just meant to be together. They form a tight bond of friendship and support.

On his death bed the Duke of Durham whispers a terrible secret to his children, a secret so devastating it could disrupt the three sibling's world. Each sibling has a unique personality and middle son Edward is the silent, thoughtful, analytical one. He has been running the estate while his older brother finds his pleasures in London and his younger brother is off on the continent fighting the French. Edward needs to hire a solicitor to assist him in discovering his father's secrets and he enlists the aid of the best barrister in London.

Unfortunately, widow Francesca Gordon also is in need of the best barrister in London and when she discovers that her barrister drops her case to assist Edward, she confronts Edward in a rage. Easily the reader could have disliked Francesca here, she was irrational and unfair but Edwards's quiet demeanor takes the wind out of her sails. When she describes her need of an attorney (she wants to find her niece and gain custody from her niece's step-mother), Edward is sympathetic but logical. He ends up assisting Francesca in locating her niece and as they spend time together the passion between them is impossible to contain.

Edward is taken by the bold Francesca who is daring but not stubborn. Francesca embraces life to the fullest. She has been a widow for two years and she had a good marriage. She likes her freedom and she enjoys her friendships. She delights in discovering Edwards' romantic side.

Edward is a rock for his family and he becomes an anchor for Francesca too. These two trust each other. They have deep conversations and form a friendship based on mutual respect. The reader can see that these people honor each other.

Their romance is extraordinary because Edward is almost another person when he is alone with Francesca. He is amorous, thoughtful, sensuous and confident when their friendship grows into so much more. Who knew this outwardly staid man could become a Casanova? It just took the right woman. This looks to be the first book in this sibling series and I hope the others are just as romantic and memorable.

Ding, dong the duke is dead. That's Francis de Lacey, Duke of Durham, who we met previously in the novella I LOVE THE EARL, when he was about 40 years old, had just inherited the dukedom, and was showing a great deal of reluctance to marry and produce heirs. Fast forward 40 years to this book and he dies on p. 6, leaving 3 grown sons, heir Charlie, middle son Edward and youngest son Gerard, and a deathbed revelation that he may have been a bigamist and his sons illegitimate. Wow! Say what? That's quite a gap in information from I LOVE THE EARL to this book. We need to learn "The Truth About the Duke".

Anyway, Edward and Gerard are in turmoil over this and feel the need to resolve the issue. Charlie, the new duke, for the moment at least, is an irresponsible dissolute and doesn't feel inclined to get involved. Edward will take care of things. He always does. So our hero Edward, who has always been the responsible son involved in the running of the ducal estates, hires a solicitor to try to salvage the dukedom for their family.

Meanwhile, heroine Lady Francesca Gordon wants the same solicitor to help her win the custody of her young orphaned niece Georgina, who is in the hands of an evil stepmother. Well, working for a duke's family trumps working for the widow of a baron, so Francesca finds herself without a lawyer.

Francesca is a bit hot-tempered and impulsive. This is due, as the book implies, to her being half Italian. (Don't blame me. I'm not the one stereotyping here.) So she's very upset at the de Lacey family taking her solicitor and barges into their house and gives Edward a piece of her mind. (So she's a hot-blooded "shrew" and he's a cold, unfeeling, controlling man. Will opposites attract?) Eventually they start working together on her custody problem because Francesca helps Edward with a public-image problem, one which never would have arisen if Edward earlier on hadn't had a TSTL moment with his fiancee.

In the book we have the de Lacey sons' legitimacy issue and Francesca's custody issue to resolve while at the same time having a romance develop between H and h. That's too much for one 373-page book to handle so everything takes a back burner to the romance. The romance is very lovely and very well-developed and the reader will grow to like both H and h, although I did find it annoying that they spent so much time somewhat aimlessly going to art shows and the theater and having sex. It felt as though Francesca lost the urgency for finding Georgina and replaced it with the urgency to bed Edward. However, the custody issue with Georgina finally does have a resolution that is somewhat unexpected but satisfactory.

But we have to stay tuned to find out the "Truth About the Duke" because that's pretty much left open-ended. Edward already has his happy ending no matter the results of the legitimacy question, but what about Charlie and Gerard? To be continued...

I almost did not finish this book. I picked it up, started it, and nearly put it back down. I wasn't impressed. I didn't really care for the heroine. Nothing about Francesca jumped out at me as making her a heroine worth reading. I didn't really like the hero, either. Edward was cold, boring, and not at all the alpha male that I prefer reading about. I almost stopped reading.

Thank God I didn't put the book down. I told myself to keep going. I kept reading and I'm so glad I did.

The book may start slowly, but after a few more chapters, I was completely hooked. The writing drew me in and kept me flipping the pages until the end. I really warmed to the characters. Francesca was daring and sassy - the girl that every one of us wishes we could unleash upon the world. She also brought out Edward's warm, sensual side that had been hiding since the very beginning. It was a great pairing of characters that I very much enjoyed as the story went on. The plot was interesting and kept me enthralled the entire time.

I definitely look forward to adding this author to my to-read list.

The Duke of Durham is dead but his secret didn't have the good grace to die with him. Both the nature of the secret and the unknown identity of the person blackmailing him because of it made it necessary he burden his three sons with a horrible truth, but with only two of the three to bear witness as his time grew ever-shorter, he had only the time to apologize to his middle and youngest sons before he slipped into senseless ramblings, then a quiet death.

It was his solicitor who was left with the untenable duty of informing the stalwart middle son Edward and his younger brother Gerard just what their father was begging forgiveness for. And the secret is horrible. Their mother had not, as they had always thought, been their father's first and only wife. In truth and long ago he had married a young woman on a whim, a youthful folly really. That folly was quickly realized and they parted...but did nothing to dissolve their union. The horrible, terrible, scandalous truth is that the Duke of Durham may, in fact, have been a bigamist, his sons illegitimate and ineligible for their father's fortune and title.

Edward knew the responsibility to investigate and clear up this matter would fall mostly on his shoulders. His elder brother never addressed a problem that couldn't be solved by either bedding women or drinking to excess, and his younger solved all his problems with a mind on fighting and warfare. It was up to Edward to find a solicitor who would champion their cause and do it discreetly.

No sooner had Lady Francesca Gordon finally found a solicitor willing to take on the custody case for her niece than that solicitor was called away and his assistant was suddenly feeding her a line that he was no longer available. Incensed and more than a little frantic, she followed the solicitor to his newest and obviously more important client to give him or her a piece of her mind. Only slightly disturbed by the realization that it was the Duke's residence her wayward solicitor had raced to, she let her fury and her fear bolster her into a confrontation with a mirthless lump of a man over the theft of her last hope.

Though the confrontation went no better than she expected, Lady Francesca read the scandal rags the next day and realized why her solicitor was pulled away with such alacrity. When she realized that she might be just the woman the stiff and solemn Edward de Lacey needed to smooth the jagged edges of a vicious scandal, she felt hope that just maybe a trade would set things to right.

Francesca couldn't possibly have dreamed that the longer she spent with Edward the more irresistible he would become. Or that no one but her niece could ever come close to being more dear. Regardless of the consequences of class, standing, or scandal.

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I love when a historical romance both feels authentic and features a unique and strong female lead. Linden did a great job of it here. Part of Francesca's ability to maintain her independence comes from her being a widow and of lower social class than Edward, but regardless of the reason, I was happy with the result. In fact, there were several things that made me very happy about this charming book.

It's one of the rare instances that I felt fonder of the female lead than the male. There's nothing at all wrong with Edward by any means, I liked him just fine, but Francesca was a feisty, passionate woman who knew how to take care of herself and see to her own needs. Smart, quirky, manipulative when necessary, kind, and hot-tempered if provoked, she also lived a life that pleased her just fine, doing what she wanted when she wanted. She was a conflagration that Edward...steady, staid, dependable Edward...desperately needed.

Together they made a charming, likable couple and their relationship made it worth the slow start of the plot and my inconsistent interest in the custody issues and the Duke's scandal. For that wavering interest, I still thoroughly appreciated this book for some unexpected and surprising twists and turns. I love that there were several things that just didn't work out for the characters, or didn't go as well as they hoped. That's a touch of realism I can relate to. There were also a couple of particularly nice role reversals in the romantic thread that I enjoyed very much. All told, those unexpected moments and disappointments, the role reversals and the compromises characters were forced to make kept the plot fresh and pleasantly surprising.

Well-paced, solid of plot, with a few harsh realities that were real gems and populated with enjoyable characters, this first book in The Truth About the Duke series bodes well for subsequent books. I also have to say, meeting both the eldest and youngest of the de Lacey brothers through the course of the book hooked me on finding out more about the rake and the warrior, even if it's just to see them fall for their perfectly suited females when they meet them. I'm very much looking forward to continuing with this series.

Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Avon Books publisher HarperCollins via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.

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Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

This eBook is courtesy of NetGalley and Harper Collins/Avon.

This is the first in "The Truth About A Duke" trilogy.This is the trilogy of three brothers,"Edward the logical, responsible brother; Gerard the independent man of action; and Charlie the enigma", who find out on their father's death bed,he had a major secret that could destroy their inheritance and their lives.

A bargain that was all business . . . and pure passion.

Neither wealth nor beauty will help Lady Francesca Gordon win custody of her young niece Georgina, saving the girl from a cruel stepmother; she needs London's top solicitor for that. But when Edward de Lacey, son of the powerful Duke of Durham, hires away the one man who can do the job, Francesca decides Edward himself must champion her case . . . if only she can melt the dashing lord's stony heart.

Edward has reason to be guarded, though. London's tabloids have just exposed a secret that could ruin his entire family. When Francesca offers a unique chance to undo the damage, Edward is forced to agree to a partnership . . . and now, each moment together feeds the flames of his scandalous longing for the passionate widow. But when Georgina disappears, fate will test them both . . . and leave their love hanging in the balance.

This is the first book by Caroline Linden I have read, but it won't be my last! I loved it! The writing drew me in and kept me turning pages until the very end. I really warmed to the characters. Francesca was daring and sassy, but she also brought out Edward's sensual and warm side that had been hiding since the very beginning. They were a great pair that I very much enjoyed getting to know as the story went on. Edward was a different person when he was around Francesca, their personalities complemented each other very well. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series because this one definitely leaves you wondering!!

This couple was wonderful together. The chemistry was sizzling. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars was that it ended with no resolution to the 3 brothers inheritance problems. Of course there was the HEA, so I guess we will have to read the next two books for the resolution.

This was a quick, fun read. I really enjoyed the story but the ending fell a touch abrupt. Lady Gordon is a very knowledgeable and determined woman which is always a plus. Edward is an interesting character who grows on you over the course of the book. There is a great deal of politics and intrigue. Overall this was a good read. This is an adult novel with sexual situations.

This was my first book by this author and it was a nice surprise to find another author who can write interesting characters we can fall in love with. I really enjoyed that Francesca spoke her mind and enjoyed how the characters perceptions of each other evolved throughout the book.

So I won't go over the plotline again, as so many have already covered the basics. Overall, I though this was a really well done story with a new twist. I have read hundreds of romance novels and have never encountered a bigamist duke before! Anyway, I like that the hero and the heroine were able to grow emotionally throughout the story (ie the subplot with the heroine's niece) and admit things were complicated and not always what they seemed.

I did have a couple of issues though. First, this was apparently a sequel to "I love the Earl" and I would have liked to have had an update on the those charachters lives rather than the three lines about them at the end. Plus, it would have helped to know how the former Duke ended up a bigamist. If you read I love the Earl, you know he came into his title unexpectedly and so was never groomed for the dukedom and a proper marriage. If you haven't read the earlier story you were probably left wondering how a duke could have a secret marriage. Back story would have helped. The author could have worked in a scene where he talks to his aunt (heroine from I love the Earl) about it. This would have cleared up confusion and given the reader an update on them. The second issue I had was the slow beginning. If I hadn't read all of the reviews I would have given up on it. The story did take awhile to get going but was worth the effort to muddle through the slow beginning.

I am looking forward to reading the next in the series and have gone back and read other Caroline Linden novels based on my enjoyment of this one.

More 4.5 than pure 5 but decided to award it top. The main characters are sensible and believable. The romance builds nicely and the love scenes are well written. The plot centres around Francesca's attempts to gain custody of her niece. She ropes in the Duke of Durham's second son to help her who has problems of his own.His father has just died and there is the possibility that he and his two brothers are illegitimate. Its a nice plot and a good read. It ticks all the boxes for me in this genre. It's light, escapist fiction but at the same time you can enjoy without having to suspend belief. The heroine is no simpering virgin but a gutsy widow who actually takes the iniative. Definitely worth a whirl if you enjoy regency romance.