What the Duke Desires [Mass Market Paperback]

Jenna Petersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

The duke always gets exactly what he wants . . .

As the new Duke of Billingham, Simon Crathorne has one main duty to fulfill: find a proper wife and continue his family's exalted name. But of all the eligible women who have come to his country party, he desires only one. And she may be the most unsuitable bride of all.

Lillian Mayhew is desperate to expose a devastating secret about Simon's distinguished late father so she can salvage her family's reputation. Yet from the moment she meets her rakishly handsome host, she begins to question if she can destroy his world so callously. She once wanted nothing more than to destroy his good name—and now she wants nothing more than his kiss.

Caught between vengeance and ecstasy, Simon and Lillian begin a passionate affair. But betrayal lurks behind every stolen touch—and the duke's shocking past may be his ultimate undoing . . .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Two of Jenna Petersen's childhood dreams were to be a ballerina and a baseball player. Those didn't work out, but she's pleased to be following another childhood dream, writing books for a living. And what better than romance, where dreams come true on every page? Jenna lives in central Illinois with her high school sweetheart husband and two taskmaster cats. She loves to hear from readers.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Original edition (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061470821
• ISBN-13: 978-0061470820
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jenna Petersen loves history and happily-ever-after, so writing sensual historical romances seems to be the perfect fit! She has also written erotic romance as Jess Michaels and runs a popular resource for romance writers called The Passionate Pen. She lives in the Midwest with her loving husband and two mischievous cats, Harley and Quinn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jenna Peterson ~ Always a sure thing! 1st in the Billingham Bastards series, November 2, 2009

By 

cb (Minot, ND) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What the Duke Desires (Mass Market Paperback)

Lillian Mayhew's mother committed suicide after Simon Crathorne's father (the Duke) raped her - now Lillian wants revenge. Simon's father is dead but she wants to drag his good name through the mud so like her families was. The problem with her revenge plan is that when she meets Simon she finds an honest, handsome, kind man who she finds herself falling in love with... While they are falling in love/lust Simon is discovery the layers of his father deceit. Some great plots twists that I wasn't expecting Enjoy ! Looking forward to the Billingham Bastards series; The Unclaimed Duchess(2) due out August 2010 and Caleb's Story (3).

If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; One Week As Lovers, Royal's Bride and looking forward to Nothing Denied: A Novel (this author's other pen name).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, January 1, 2010

By 

Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What the Duke Desires (Mass Market Paperback)

When Lillian Mayhew decides to avenge her mother by exposing a secret about the late Duke of Billingham, she doesn't initially realise the consequences. She decides to go to a house party that the new duke, Simon Crathorne, is hosting in order to gather evidence about his father's misdeeds.

Simon has organised the party in order to find a bride but none of the young ladies appeal apart from the rather unsuitable Lillian - unsuitable as her family aren't important enough. But whilst the house party is going on Simon is also putting his father's paperwork in order and is beginning to discover there are things about his much loved father that he didn't previously know. As he and Lillian get to know each other and strike up a bond of friendship, there are secrets that could cause a rift between them. And then there's the biggest secret of all that will turn Simon's life upside down.

This was a very enjoyable read. It perhaps started a little slowly and it wasn't easy to like Lillian because of her task to destroy a family because of what a dead man had done, but as she learns about Simon she is able to put her vengeance behind her (phew!) and instead explore the possibility of a new life. I particularly liked the surprising part of the plot where Simon discovers why his mother has behaved so oddly toward him - it was well handled in the book and was an interesting and entirely plausible series of events.

This was a good read, not particularly strong on historical detail or dialogue but with some good characters and a sturdy plot.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2010

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Plodding, stilted prose, November 14, 2009

By 

angusmacscottie "RJB" (Fishers, IN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What the Duke Desires (Billingham Bastards) (Kindle Edition)

I have been working my way through the Romance genre, and I have read many authors. This book is not high on my list. It is about a woman who seeks revenge against the family of a man who purportedly raped her mother, causing the mother to commit suicide. The suicide has occurred more than five years before Lillian (the daughter) goes to the ducal estate of Simon (the son of the rapist). Lillian goes to the estate to find proof of Simon's father's villainy. The father is now dead. Come on now people, proof after five years with no DNA in the Regency, Victorian, now what is the era this book is set in? We don't really know, and the book does not adequately clue us in with descriptions of the characters or their surroundings. In the course of Lillian's puny investigations, she meets Simon, and you can guess the rest of the plot, although the author has thrown in a plot twist to add drama. She shouldn't have bothered. In any case, I found nothing to endear me to either character. The plot was plodding and the prose was stilted. No one talks that way in any era, even our own. The book did not sparkle or slip into my heart. Don't bother with this title.