Title: The Duke of Her Desire (Diamonds in the Rough #2)
Author: Sophie Barnes
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: December 26, 2017
Genre: Historical, Romance
Format: eBook, Print
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 2 Stars
synopsis
In the second scintillating novel in Sophie Barnes’ Diamonds in the Rough series, a duke falls madly in love with his best friend’s sister
He was only supposed to keep an eye on his friend’s sister…now he’s about to lose his heart…
When Thomas Heathmore, Duke of Coventry, agrees to steer his friend’s inexperienced younger sister through society, he doesn’t expect the lady in question to be so infernally stubborn. Amelia Matthews seems to have little interest in balls or suitors at all. Instead, she intends to open a school, and against his better instincts, Thomas offers to help. Yet somewhere along the line, Amelia ceases to be a simple responsibility…and becomes an undeniable temptation.
Since her brother inherited a dukedom, Amelia’s prospects have transformed. But though she’s long been secretly infatuated with Thomas, she refuses to heed the arrogant aristocrat’s advice. If only it were as easy to ignore his heated touch. And as Amelia soon learns, the ton is a minefield where one moment’s indiscretion can unleash a scandal—or entice her to surrender everything to the duke of her desire…
♦ Personal Thought ♦
You know that feeling as if you miss something important in a conversation and being left out of the joke? That’s what I feel the whole time I read this book. And it’s more than the fact that “The Duke of Her Desire” is second installment to the “Diamonds in the Rough” series, although it seals the deal that it is NOT recommended to read this book as a standalone.
I’ll be frank and say this is the first Sophie Barnes’s books I read. I’ve been a long historical romance readers though and as such have experienced the ups and downs of reading the genre. “The Duke of Her Desire” unfortunately falls into the down part of the experience.
The story is told alternately from Lady Amelia’s and Duke of Coventry’s POVs, though both are not very exciting voices to read. With her background of living in the slums of St. Giles, I was expecting a character with much more backbones than the lady shown here. Her idea to establish school for the unfortunates is commendable, and I applaud her for promptly turning down proposal when it’s not what she wanted. But I just find it tiring of her wishy washy way of loving that man, he’s horrid I don’t want to love him, why is he so wonderful I’m gonna fall for him, oh I love him so in the span of a week! Not to mention her penchant of running the other way when things not happening to her likings. No, I don’t see the trace of strength left from what’s told to be tough life from before her brother inherited.
I try not to compare the work of one author’s to another. However, having read previous series of books with characters growing up in St. Giles and loving the books, I just can’t help mourn over the lost potential here. I guess the writing style just doesn’t agree with me, that the boon of the story just fail to excite me.
What I wish had more chance to be explored – but only slightly touched – is Coventry’s son. Rather than the boring not-courting-but-let’s-argue-to-make-it-more-exciting between our hero and heroines, I was hoping interaction of the trio gradually improving. Idk, I thought it’d give plausible cause to more catch the Duke’s heart. And I thought the issue with caring for special-need child would be more interesting than the half-hearted villainy attempts in this book.
I can only guess the bad guy got connection with the (projected) hero on the following book (the way the few unresolved questions here are left hanging).
Advanced copy of this book is kindly provided by the author/publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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