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Affairs by Moonlight #3
A Duke Never Yields
Impatient with the strictures of polite British society, Miss Abigail Harewood has decided to live life on her own terms—and the first thing she requires is a lover. When the commanding Duke of Wallingford arrives on the doorstep of her leased holiday castle, she thinks she’s found the perfect handsome, dashing, and experienced in the art of love. But tempting Wallingford into her bed proves more difficult than she imagined. Restless and dissatisfied with his debauched life in London, the formerly rakish duke is determined to spend a year chaste. But as Abigail tries her best to seduce him, Wallingford finds his resolve crumbling in the face of her irresistible charm…and her alluring secrets.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 5, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
March 31, 2017
Fue el que más me gustó por la agilidad y frescura de su historia. Pero he llegado a la conclusión de que a esta autora todavía le falta mucho camino por recorrer, para ser de las mejores en histórico.
***3.5***
***3.5***
February 13, 2013
I didn’t like this book. One bit. Why did I keep reading? I thought it might get better, but it just got worse. By the end I was angry, rolling my eyes and just happy to be done.
Abigail is determined never to marry, but that doesn’t mean she never wants a man. Just the opposite. She has given herself a year to find a man and have sex, and she sets her sites upon the duke of Wallingford who she meets at an inn. Her and her party are on their way to Italy, for a year of reflection and guess what? The duke is going to Italy too. He is a rake and a scoundrel and his grandfather is demanding he marry, so instead Wallingford decides to take a break from London. And then guess what happens? Abilgail and Wallingford both lease the same castle accidentally. Shocking!
So Abigail goes full force into her seduction of Wallingford. And by seduction I mean she isn’t sly or tricky about anything – she outright tells him what she wants. Wallingford is trying to be a good little duke and not kiss and go further with innocent virgins…but he just can’t help himself.
Meanwhile, in this castle there is a female house servant and a male outside servant – who have been alive for 300 years due to a curse. Oh yes, there is a paranormal aspect in this book. So glad the blurb told us that! (it didn’t). And the men can’t see the female servant and the women can’t see the male servant and the curse can only be broken if true love is found or something like that. Of course it surrounds Abigail and Wallingford’s fate. I really don’t like ghost/pnr stuff in my otherwise “normal” world. Especially when we are not warned in the blurb. I found this curse business to be so silly and filler to the story.
Back to our romance, Abigail makes Wallingford look like such a bumbling idiot in this book. She is constantly saying things to him that are not appropriate. It is done under the guise of being cute and independent. But I have to question if a duke would honestly allow anyone, I don’t care how cute she is, to speak to him the way Abigail does. She makes fun of him and humiliates him to some degree. And he just sits there and takes it. It made him look like a big doofus. Not sexy.
But then all of a sudden, Wallingford falls in love. Of course of course. And then he decides he must have sex with her, and when he is finished Abigail tells him it was horrible and that he is a horrible lover (I wish I had liked this book because I’m actually a fan of bad sex sometimes).
“Let me in. Open for me.”
Her legs opened, and then stiffened. He moved his hips, as gently as he could manage, but he could not get inside her, could not quite find his way.
“Oh!” she said again. Her fingers dug into his arm. He checked his aim and lunged again, harder this time, his blood pounding in his ears.
It goes on and on, he eventually finds his way in as he “gathered himself and shoved with mighty effort” until she gave way. But then the curse comes back into play so we couldn’t explore just how bad Wallingford is in bed. Also – if Wallingford is really a rake as he says, would he be this bad in bed?
No worries though because he makes up for it. By this point I was so unconvinced of their love for each other I could really care less if he was great in bed or not.
The worst part is the end. It’s a spoiler so I’m hiding it.
Yeah. This one failed.
Rating: D-
Abigail is determined never to marry, but that doesn’t mean she never wants a man. Just the opposite. She has given herself a year to find a man and have sex, and she sets her sites upon the duke of Wallingford who she meets at an inn. Her and her party are on their way to Italy, for a year of reflection and guess what? The duke is going to Italy too. He is a rake and a scoundrel and his grandfather is demanding he marry, so instead Wallingford decides to take a break from London. And then guess what happens? Abilgail and Wallingford both lease the same castle accidentally. Shocking!
So Abigail goes full force into her seduction of Wallingford. And by seduction I mean she isn’t sly or tricky about anything – she outright tells him what she wants. Wallingford is trying to be a good little duke and not kiss and go further with innocent virgins…but he just can’t help himself.
Meanwhile, in this castle there is a female house servant and a male outside servant – who have been alive for 300 years due to a curse. Oh yes, there is a paranormal aspect in this book. So glad the blurb told us that! (it didn’t). And the men can’t see the female servant and the women can’t see the male servant and the curse can only be broken if true love is found or something like that. Of course it surrounds Abigail and Wallingford’s fate. I really don’t like ghost/pnr stuff in my otherwise “normal” world. Especially when we are not warned in the blurb. I found this curse business to be so silly and filler to the story.
Back to our romance, Abigail makes Wallingford look like such a bumbling idiot in this book. She is constantly saying things to him that are not appropriate. It is done under the guise of being cute and independent. But I have to question if a duke would honestly allow anyone, I don’t care how cute she is, to speak to him the way Abigail does. She makes fun of him and humiliates him to some degree. And he just sits there and takes it. It made him look like a big doofus. Not sexy.
But then all of a sudden, Wallingford falls in love. Of course of course. And then he decides he must have sex with her, and when he is finished Abigail tells him it was horrible and that he is a horrible lover (I wish I had liked this book because I’m actually a fan of bad sex sometimes).
“Let me in. Open for me.”
Her legs opened, and then stiffened. He moved his hips, as gently as he could manage, but he could not get inside her, could not quite find his way.
“Oh!” she said again. Her fingers dug into his arm. He checked his aim and lunged again, harder this time, his blood pounding in his ears.
It goes on and on, he eventually finds his way in as he “gathered himself and shoved with mighty effort” until she gave way. But then the curse comes back into play so we couldn’t explore just how bad Wallingford is in bed. Also – if Wallingford is really a rake as he says, would he be this bad in bed?
No worries though because he makes up for it. By this point I was so unconvinced of their love for each other I could really care less if he was great in bed or not.
The worst part is the end. It’s a spoiler so I’m hiding it.
Yeah. This one failed.
Rating: D-
August 15, 2017
A pesar de los toques de humor que este libro ha tenido en comparación con los otros dos, la verdad es que de la saga el que más me ha gustado ha sido el primero.
En esta ocasión la historia nos habla de la parejita formada por el duque de Wallinford, Arthur, y Abigail, la hermana de la protagonista del primer libro. Desde su primer encuentro ya surgían chispas entre ellos y estaba claro que este libro en el que ambos por fin nos muestran como fue que llegaron a estar juntos, iba a estar llenos de tiras y aflojas....pero para mí han habido demasiados, sobre todo por parte de Abigail, quien sobre todo a la mitad del libro ya me cansaba un poco con su actitud de "Te quiero pero sé que pronto me vas a engañar así que te voy a enumerar las razones por las cuales NO PODEMOS estar juntos, otra vez".
Eso sí, golpes divertidos a habido muchos y por fin la autora nos ha resuelto el misterio de la señorita Morini, de Giacomo y de las cosas sobrenaturales que abundaban en ese castillo.
No es un libro inolvidable para mi gusto pero es ameno, divertido, tiene misterio y una trama muy atractiva. Así que para pasar el tiempo yo diría que es ideal.
Seguiré de cerca más historias de esta autora.
En esta ocasión la historia nos habla de la parejita formada por el duque de Wallinford, Arthur, y Abigail, la hermana de la protagonista del primer libro. Desde su primer encuentro ya surgían chispas entre ellos y estaba claro que este libro en el que ambos por fin nos muestran como fue que llegaron a estar juntos, iba a estar llenos de tiras y aflojas....pero para mí han habido demasiados, sobre todo por parte de Abigail, quien sobre todo a la mitad del libro ya me cansaba un poco con su actitud de "Te quiero pero sé que pronto me vas a engañar así que te voy a enumerar las razones por las cuales NO PODEMOS estar juntos, otra vez".
Eso sí, golpes divertidos a habido muchos y por fin la autora nos ha resuelto el misterio de la señorita Morini, de Giacomo y de las cosas sobrenaturales que abundaban en ese castillo.
No es un libro inolvidable para mi gusto pero es ameno, divertido, tiene misterio y una trama muy atractiva. Así que para pasar el tiempo yo diría que es ideal.
Seguiré de cerca más historias de esta autora.
August 18, 2024
Review from 2014
C+ / B for content.
A Duke Never Yields is the third in the Affairs by Moonlight trilogy which centres around the love lives of three different couples who end up spending best part of a year living in partial seclusion in an old Italian castle.
Unusually for a series of books, each story happens concurrently rather than consecutively, which means the listener gets to hear some scenes from different points of view in each book. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen so often as to become repetitive, and I confess this is the sort of narrative device I rather enjoy. That said, the book can definitely be listened to or read as a stand-alone, as the overlapping threads are not allowed to overshadow the events in the story.
The eponymous duke is Arthur Penhallow, Duke of Wallingford who, at twenty-nine, is one of the most renowned lotharios in the country. His maternal grandfather is the machiavellian Duke of Olympia (who is also a strong background presence in Ms Gray’s current Princess in Hiding books) and when Olympia appears one morning and accuses his grandson of being a waste of space, good for nothing but shagging, drinking and general debauchery, and informs him that he has to clean up his act he is, to say the least, annoyed. And then becomes very alarmed when Olympia tells him he must either propose marriage within the next few months to a lady of Olympia’s choice or join a planned retreat to Italy with his brother, Roland, and their “friend” (in reality, Olympia’s natural son), Phineas Burke, in order to, as we might say today, get his shit together and work out what he’s going to do with his life.
En route to the Castel Sant’ Agata, the men encounter a party of ladies consisting of Lady Alexandra Morley, her sister Abigail and their cousin Lilibet, each of whom has her own reasons for wanting to get away for a while, too.
Rather like the characters in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, the men have decided to undertake a year of quiet and study away from female company. But the best laid plans of mice and men cannot be allowed to proceed unchecked, and upon arrival, they discover that the castle has also been leased to the very same group of ladies they had encountered on the road. After some initial grumblings, the sextet reasons that the castle is more than big enough to enable them all to co-exist without actually seeing each other very much, so they agree to share.
The heroine of this story is Abigail Harewood, a vivacious and rather quirky young lady with an impish sense of humour. Unwilling to surrender the independence which has allowed her to indulge her penchant for unconventional behaviour – such as betting on horse races and going for a pint down the pub – she has decided that marriage is not for her but isn’t prepared to miss out on the good bits. She wants to take a lover – and who better for her first one than a man of vast experience who will surely know how to pleasure a woman and who won’t want or expect romantic entanglements or commitment? And what better setting than Italy, the lushly seductive land of love? The fact that Wallingford is gorgeous certainly doesn’t hurt either, and Abigail sets her sights firmly upon him. After all, how hard can it be to persuade a womaniser of such magnitude to seduce her?
Unfortunately for Abigail, when the rake in question has been brought to an understanding of his inadequacies and deficiencies, it’s much more difficult than one might expect.
Wallingford is a complicated, and sometimes unlikeable hero. Born to privilege, he’s a pampered aristocrat who has never had to do a day’s work and whose life has been dedicated to his own wants and desires. But right from the outset, it’s clear that there’s more to him than brainless, selfish arrogance (of which he has plenty, it’s true!) when we learn of the way his relationship with Burke began, and when, later in the book, he and Abigail embark upon a genuine friendship. He’s also really taken the things Olympia said to heart and is gradually admitting the truth of them to himself;
My dear boy … has the entire conduct of your adult life ever suggested your usefulness for anything else?” [other than bed-hopping!]
– so even though he’s desperately attracted to Abigail, he resists her charms, determined to prove to himself – and everyone else – that he is capable of restraint. Determined he may be, but he’s still plagued by doubts as to whether he will ever be able to be faithful to one woman, doubts he pours out in a very poignant scene towards the end.
In addition to the central romance and the glimpses we get of the other two couples, there is an intriguing touch of the supernatural to this story, which seemed a little odd at first, but which I ended up finding rather charming. Taken as a whole, the story is well-written with plenty of warmth, humour and a touch of whimsy; the characters are well-rounded and there is great chemistry between the leads. There was, however, one thing I really didn’t like, which was the ending. It struck a false note and seemed overly melodramatic. But that said, A Duke Never Yields is still well worth your time if you’re looking for an entertaining romance set away from the ballrooms and soirées of London.
I confess I had a hard time listening to this audiobook for the first few chapters, because I really disliked Ms Dehmlow’s characterisation of Wallingford. I’ve listened to her a few times, and while I’ve had reservations about her performances, they have been competent and, for the most part, enjoyable. But I struggled with this one. Ms Dehmlow is softly spoken and does not have a particularly wide range of timbre and pitch, which means that her hero voices can be disappointing. In this audiobook, she seems to be trying to do something about that, but in what I’m assuming is an attempt to add a bit of masculine gruffness to Wallingford’s voice, he instead sounds as though he has a throat full of phlegm and needs a good cough! The gravelly nature of her portrayal worked quite well for the earlier part of the book when Wallingford is almost always in a bad mood, yet while it may have been an appropriate acting choice, it is nonetheless not particularly pleasant to listen to. Fortunately, however, as the story progresses and Wallingford begins to unbend, the relaxation extends to his voice; and Ms Dehmlow removes the more unpleasant “phlegmy” quality while retaining a little of the earlier gruffness, which aids in differentiating Wallingford from the other male characters.
The female characters are performed well, although it is sometimes necessary to rely on dialogue tags to work out who is who, and the Italian characters are all given accents which are appropriate, but not so thick as to be unintelligible. I enjoy Ms Dehmlow’s narrative voice; she reads with a great deal of expression and humour, and once Wallingford stops behaving – and sounding – like he has a stick up his arse, the whole thing turns into a much more enjoyable listening experience.
C+ / B for content.
A Duke Never Yields is the third in the Affairs by Moonlight trilogy which centres around the love lives of three different couples who end up spending best part of a year living in partial seclusion in an old Italian castle.
Unusually for a series of books, each story happens concurrently rather than consecutively, which means the listener gets to hear some scenes from different points of view in each book. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen so often as to become repetitive, and I confess this is the sort of narrative device I rather enjoy. That said, the book can definitely be listened to or read as a stand-alone, as the overlapping threads are not allowed to overshadow the events in the story.
The eponymous duke is Arthur Penhallow, Duke of Wallingford who, at twenty-nine, is one of the most renowned lotharios in the country. His maternal grandfather is the machiavellian Duke of Olympia (who is also a strong background presence in Ms Gray’s current Princess in Hiding books) and when Olympia appears one morning and accuses his grandson of being a waste of space, good for nothing but shagging, drinking and general debauchery, and informs him that he has to clean up his act he is, to say the least, annoyed. And then becomes very alarmed when Olympia tells him he must either propose marriage within the next few months to a lady of Olympia’s choice or join a planned retreat to Italy with his brother, Roland, and their “friend” (in reality, Olympia’s natural son), Phineas Burke, in order to, as we might say today, get his shit together and work out what he’s going to do with his life.
En route to the Castel Sant’ Agata, the men encounter a party of ladies consisting of Lady Alexandra Morley, her sister Abigail and their cousin Lilibet, each of whom has her own reasons for wanting to get away for a while, too.
Rather like the characters in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, the men have decided to undertake a year of quiet and study away from female company. But the best laid plans of mice and men cannot be allowed to proceed unchecked, and upon arrival, they discover that the castle has also been leased to the very same group of ladies they had encountered on the road. After some initial grumblings, the sextet reasons that the castle is more than big enough to enable them all to co-exist without actually seeing each other very much, so they agree to share.
The heroine of this story is Abigail Harewood, a vivacious and rather quirky young lady with an impish sense of humour. Unwilling to surrender the independence which has allowed her to indulge her penchant for unconventional behaviour – such as betting on horse races and going for a pint down the pub – she has decided that marriage is not for her but isn’t prepared to miss out on the good bits. She wants to take a lover – and who better for her first one than a man of vast experience who will surely know how to pleasure a woman and who won’t want or expect romantic entanglements or commitment? And what better setting than Italy, the lushly seductive land of love? The fact that Wallingford is gorgeous certainly doesn’t hurt either, and Abigail sets her sights firmly upon him. After all, how hard can it be to persuade a womaniser of such magnitude to seduce her?
Unfortunately for Abigail, when the rake in question has been brought to an understanding of his inadequacies and deficiencies, it’s much more difficult than one might expect.
Wallingford is a complicated, and sometimes unlikeable hero. Born to privilege, he’s a pampered aristocrat who has never had to do a day’s work and whose life has been dedicated to his own wants and desires. But right from the outset, it’s clear that there’s more to him than brainless, selfish arrogance (of which he has plenty, it’s true!) when we learn of the way his relationship with Burke began, and when, later in the book, he and Abigail embark upon a genuine friendship. He’s also really taken the things Olympia said to heart and is gradually admitting the truth of them to himself;
My dear boy … has the entire conduct of your adult life ever suggested your usefulness for anything else?” [other than bed-hopping!]
– so even though he’s desperately attracted to Abigail, he resists her charms, determined to prove to himself – and everyone else – that he is capable of restraint. Determined he may be, but he’s still plagued by doubts as to whether he will ever be able to be faithful to one woman, doubts he pours out in a very poignant scene towards the end.
In addition to the central romance and the glimpses we get of the other two couples, there is an intriguing touch of the supernatural to this story, which seemed a little odd at first, but which I ended up finding rather charming. Taken as a whole, the story is well-written with plenty of warmth, humour and a touch of whimsy; the characters are well-rounded and there is great chemistry between the leads. There was, however, one thing I really didn’t like, which was the ending. It struck a false note and seemed overly melodramatic. But that said, A Duke Never Yields is still well worth your time if you’re looking for an entertaining romance set away from the ballrooms and soirées of London.
I confess I had a hard time listening to this audiobook for the first few chapters, because I really disliked Ms Dehmlow’s characterisation of Wallingford. I’ve listened to her a few times, and while I’ve had reservations about her performances, they have been competent and, for the most part, enjoyable. But I struggled with this one. Ms Dehmlow is softly spoken and does not have a particularly wide range of timbre and pitch, which means that her hero voices can be disappointing. In this audiobook, she seems to be trying to do something about that, but in what I’m assuming is an attempt to add a bit of masculine gruffness to Wallingford’s voice, he instead sounds as though he has a throat full of phlegm and needs a good cough! The gravelly nature of her portrayal worked quite well for the earlier part of the book when Wallingford is almost always in a bad mood, yet while it may have been an appropriate acting choice, it is nonetheless not particularly pleasant to listen to. Fortunately, however, as the story progresses and Wallingford begins to unbend, the relaxation extends to his voice; and Ms Dehmlow removes the more unpleasant “phlegmy” quality while retaining a little of the earlier gruffness, which aids in differentiating Wallingford from the other male characters.
The female characters are performed well, although it is sometimes necessary to rely on dialogue tags to work out who is who, and the Italian characters are all given accents which are appropriate, but not so thick as to be unintelligible. I enjoy Ms Dehmlow’s narrative voice; she reads with a great deal of expression and humour, and once Wallingford stops behaving – and sounding – like he has a stick up his arse, the whole thing turns into a much more enjoyable listening experience.
May 7, 2013
This is the last book of Juliana Gray's Affairs by Moonlight trilogy, and in it we see the pairing of Miss Abigail Harewood with Arthur Penhallow, the Duke of Wallingford. Although it can be read as a stand alone book, it's best to read the other two books in the series as the common events in each of the books are told from a different perspective, allowing a better understanding of what really transpired.
Abigail Harewood is a nonpareil, a young woman who strives to be unconventional. She does not do this by directly flaunting society, but chooses to engage in her own pursuits and interests. She bets on horse racing, become friends with men at pubs, and is a lover of classics. Unlike other young women, she does not want to get married for fear of losing her independence, but wishes to take a lover and experience passion. For this purpose, she picked the Duke of Wallingford to be her target once it becomes known they will be renting the same castle for a year. Wallingford, however, took a vow of chastity and tries his best to resist Abigail, only to surrender his heart and body to her.
The most wonderful aspect of this novel are the characters. There is so much depth in Wallingford that a mere description would not do him justice. He is the typical jaded libertine who has bedded hundreds of women without surrendering a bit of his heart. At his core, he is a sensitive and caring individual who is truly afraid of living up to his reputation for the rest of his life, not being able to be live without women and never finding more than a physical satisfaction with any of them. He sees Abigail with her innocence and angelic features as a temptation at first, but it is he who later grovels continuous at Abigail's feet, trying to get her to believe in his steadfastness. He is at once a man and a boy, sure of his standing and authority but sensitive to his own faults and afraid of failing the expectations of those he loves.
Abigail is such a singular character that it is quite impossible to strictly categorize her. She is intelligent, innocent in a refreshing way, but remarkably perspective of herself, others, and society. She knows what is expected of her but decides to forgo that for her own pursuits. She is seemingly naive yet so astute in her assessment of situations and people. She sees Wallingford for the man he is underneath, and comes to love him for him, but could not bring herself to trust that he will not stray in his love. In this story, she undergoes a transformation from a young miss looking for passion to a loving wife characteristic of Odysseus' Penelope, well deserving of Wallingford's love.
The ghost aspect in this story was also very interesting. At the end of the first book it becomes clear that there are ghosts in the castle, while at the end of the second book it seems that Wallingford's grandfather, the Duke of Olympia, was somehow involved in leasing the castle to the three men and three women. This story provides the history of the castle along with the curse explained, which plays a big role in Abigail's behavior as well as the other couples'love stories. The conclusion of this story resolves the curse and leads to a happily-ever-after in Shakespearean style, all the characters making merry and leaving a little ambiguity over the ghosts' future.
All in all, this is a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy, and a wonderful book in itself. There are some aspects I feel are unnecessary and a bit overdone, but it is a great read nonetheless, centered on two complex and unique characters who finally found all they had wanted in each other. Despite the negative reviews I've seen, I strongly urge those who want an intriguing and original historical romance to pick up this book right away.
Abigail Harewood is a nonpareil, a young woman who strives to be unconventional. She does not do this by directly flaunting society, but chooses to engage in her own pursuits and interests. She bets on horse racing, become friends with men at pubs, and is a lover of classics. Unlike other young women, she does not want to get married for fear of losing her independence, but wishes to take a lover and experience passion. For this purpose, she picked the Duke of Wallingford to be her target once it becomes known they will be renting the same castle for a year. Wallingford, however, took a vow of chastity and tries his best to resist Abigail, only to surrender his heart and body to her.
The most wonderful aspect of this novel are the characters. There is so much depth in Wallingford that a mere description would not do him justice. He is the typical jaded libertine who has bedded hundreds of women without surrendering a bit of his heart. At his core, he is a sensitive and caring individual who is truly afraid of living up to his reputation for the rest of his life, not being able to be live without women and never finding more than a physical satisfaction with any of them. He sees Abigail with her innocence and angelic features as a temptation at first, but it is he who later grovels continuous at Abigail's feet, trying to get her to believe in his steadfastness. He is at once a man and a boy, sure of his standing and authority but sensitive to his own faults and afraid of failing the expectations of those he loves.
Abigail is such a singular character that it is quite impossible to strictly categorize her. She is intelligent, innocent in a refreshing way, but remarkably perspective of herself, others, and society. She knows what is expected of her but decides to forgo that for her own pursuits. She is seemingly naive yet so astute in her assessment of situations and people. She sees Wallingford for the man he is underneath, and comes to love him for him, but could not bring herself to trust that he will not stray in his love. In this story, she undergoes a transformation from a young miss looking for passion to a loving wife characteristic of Odysseus' Penelope, well deserving of Wallingford's love.
The ghost aspect in this story was also very interesting. At the end of the first book it becomes clear that there are ghosts in the castle, while at the end of the second book it seems that Wallingford's grandfather, the Duke of Olympia, was somehow involved in leasing the castle to the three men and three women. This story provides the history of the castle along with the curse explained, which plays a big role in Abigail's behavior as well as the other couples'love stories. The conclusion of this story resolves the curse and leads to a happily-ever-after in Shakespearean style, all the characters making merry and leaving a little ambiguity over the ghosts' future.
All in all, this is a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy, and a wonderful book in itself. There are some aspects I feel are unnecessary and a bit overdone, but it is a great read nonetheless, centered on two complex and unique characters who finally found all they had wanted in each other. Despite the negative reviews I've seen, I strongly urge those who want an intriguing and original historical romance to pick up this book right away.
August 10, 2016
En realidad 3.5
Empieza muy bien y aunque ya es la tercera vez que leemos algunas de las escenas la autora ha sabido mantenerme enganchada a la historia.
por fin sabremos el misterio y la maldición que rodea el castillo.
Lo mejor: la protagonista, realmente está como una chota y me he reido con algunas de sus ideas.
Al final, en mi opinión todo se lía demasiado y hay una parte que no me parece nada necesaria.
Por eso no le he puesto las 4 estrellas
Empieza muy bien y aunque ya es la tercera vez que leemos algunas de las escenas la autora ha sabido mantenerme enganchada a la historia.
por fin sabremos el misterio y la maldición que rodea el castillo.
Lo mejor: la protagonista, realmente está como una chota y me he reido con algunas de sus ideas.
Al final, en mi opinión todo se lía demasiado y hay una parte que no me parece nada necesaria.
Por eso no le he puesto las 4 estrellas
February 18, 2013
A Duke Never Yields is the third book in the Affairs By Moonlight series. Abigail has decided that what she needs is a lover. Not interested in marriage, she sets out to find herself a man. So when the Duke of Wallingford arrives, Abigail concludes that he is the man for her: handsome, and sure to be full of passion. Wallingford is wealthy, born into a life of privilege and power. after living a careless and carefree life, he is determined to take a vow of chastity for year, and tries his best to resist her charms, though for how long?…
I loved it! I was drawn in very quickly to the story and it captured my attention from beginning to the very last pages, it was a book that I could not put down.
Abigail was a fantastically written character. She is an unconventional lady, fiercely independent and knows exactly what she wants. I warmed to her straight away and for me, she was refreshing as a character and I loved her personality and her confidence. She made me laugh as well, there were scenes where Abigail would say exactly what was on her mind and I would be laughing in agreement with her. I also really liked Wallingford as a character – there was a lot of depth to his personality and his background, and I particularly enjoyed reading to find out more about him.
The relationship between Abigail and Wallingford was fantastic – it has a brilliant mix of elements to it. It is very sensual, with romance, passion and sex for readers to devour. Also, there is humour between them, which makes their relationship very realistic, and it is fun! There is also some drama in store too!
I liked the supernatural element to the book – there is the presence of ghosts within the story and personally, this made it a more compelling read as I enjoyed the extra layer to the plot line. This is a perfect book for many people, whether you’re a fan of novels with a historical element, or looking for a bit of romance, then try this! Overall, A Duke Never Yields is a wonderfully written story that will have you hooked to the pages.
I loved it! I was drawn in very quickly to the story and it captured my attention from beginning to the very last pages, it was a book that I could not put down.
Abigail was a fantastically written character. She is an unconventional lady, fiercely independent and knows exactly what she wants. I warmed to her straight away and for me, she was refreshing as a character and I loved her personality and her confidence. She made me laugh as well, there were scenes where Abigail would say exactly what was on her mind and I would be laughing in agreement with her. I also really liked Wallingford as a character – there was a lot of depth to his personality and his background, and I particularly enjoyed reading to find out more about him.
The relationship between Abigail and Wallingford was fantastic – it has a brilliant mix of elements to it. It is very sensual, with romance, passion and sex for readers to devour. Also, there is humour between them, which makes their relationship very realistic, and it is fun! There is also some drama in store too!
I liked the supernatural element to the book – there is the presence of ghosts within the story and personally, this made it a more compelling read as I enjoyed the extra layer to the plot line. This is a perfect book for many people, whether you’re a fan of novels with a historical element, or looking for a bit of romance, then try this! Overall, A Duke Never Yields is a wonderfully written story that will have you hooked to the pages.
August 30, 2015
Me he saltado la 2ª novela de esta serie porque Abigail y Wallingford, los protagonistas, me atraparon en la 1ª y no he podido resistirme. No me han defraudado, pero me ha chocado leer escenas reproducidas con una exactitud casi total a las que leí en “Una dama nunca miente”. Comprendo que ambas historias suceden al mismo tiempo (como la 2ª, que aún no he leído) y que hay escenas que coinciden, pero creo que la autora podría haber jugado un poco más con esas escenas y no copiarlas literalmente ya que tiene capacidad para ello. Aparte de esto, la novela me ha gustado, sobre todo por esa voz característica de la autora: de gran calidad, que arranca más de una sonrisa y que te mantiene en vilo desde el principio hasta el final. Y es precisamente el final lo que no me ha convencido y la razón por la que no le doy 5 estrellas. Para no hacer spoilers, solo diré que, en mi opinión, el cierre de la trama que unía la trilogía es algo abrupto y la última fase de la historia de amor me parece poco coherente con las personalidades de los protagonistas. A pesar de ello, recomiendo leer a esta autora, sobre todo si te gusta la romántica histórica.
February 15, 2013
3.5 I imagine the storyline would be fairly difficult to follow, or at least feel very choppy, for those who haven't read the previous two books in the series. But for those who have, Gray gifts us with another lusciously-written confection of a comic romance. The whole curse plot I could live without, but the interplay and affection between Abigail and Wallingford is sweetly portrayed.
March 3, 2014
What an interesting mix of historical romance and supernatural! Unexpected and amusing
May 2, 2017
Me gusto la historia de amor, creo que de las tres es la mejor, pero no me lleno del todo por eso no le puse 5 estrellas, al final uno siente que falto algo
May 21, 2020
4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌌
Me ha gustado la historia de esta pareja, tan distintos entre sí, que se complementan de maravilla.
Tuvo momentos muy tiernos y divertidos, en ese sentido me recordó al primer libro de la trilogía. La media estrellita que le faltó para ser excelente, se debe a que en el primero aparece esa carrera de autos en Roma, la cual es de mis favoritas en toda la trilogía.
Me ha gustado la forma en que la autora cerró las tramas de cada personaje y se solucionó el misterio alrededor del castillo; el último capítulo fue maravilloso y me dejó con una sonrisa.
Me ha gustado la historia de esta pareja, tan distintos entre sí, que se complementan de maravilla.
Tuvo momentos muy tiernos y divertidos, en ese sentido me recordó al primer libro de la trilogía. La media estrellita que le faltó para ser excelente, se debe a que en el primero aparece esa carrera de autos en Roma, la cual es de mis favoritas en toda la trilogía.
Me ha gustado la forma en que la autora cerró las tramas de cada personaje y se solucionó el misterio alrededor del castillo; el último capítulo fue maravilloso y me dejó con una sonrisa.
March 14, 2017
Me encanto adore a todos los personajes en especial el duque y abigail, la historia sobre la maldición.
February 28, 2013
A Duke Never Yields revolves around Abigail Harewood who does not want to get married but has decided to take a lover. She decides on the Duke of Wallingford to be the one. Wallingford and Abigail happen to be staying at the same leased castle leaving ample opportunity for Abigail to further her ambition. There is a slight supernatural aspect to their stay and two other love stories (all related to Wallingford or Abigail) are touched on in the book.
I was extremely disappointed with this book. The beginning held such promise but the latter part of the book did not hold up to the standards set up by the first part. At the beginning, both parties were extremely likable although Wallingford not even remembering the names of his conquests was off-putting. This changed when they attempt to have relations. Abigail hates the experience and runs away afterward while Wallingford is taken aback that he is not a good lover. Although I appreciate the attempt to change up the "classic romance story" (my only possible guess for why the author decided this was a good idea), it ruins the idea of having a romance novel. The supernatural aspect was also muddled and confusing with a curse and two ghosts who no one else realises are ghosts. Then to make matters worse, at the end when Abigail and Wallingford get married, she sends him off and tells him to come back in a year! They just got married and he is a duke, but when his brand new wife says to leave for a year he just leaves without any argument or work beforehand. Not believable!!! Lastly, when he comes back 11 months later, he apoligizes to Abigail because she had their baby while he was gone. If I had not felt that I had to do my due dilligence and finish the book, I would have thrown it out at the first "love scene." I do not recommend this book.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I was extremely disappointed with this book. The beginning held such promise but the latter part of the book did not hold up to the standards set up by the first part. At the beginning, both parties were extremely likable although Wallingford not even remembering the names of his conquests was off-putting. This changed when they attempt to have relations. Abigail hates the experience and runs away afterward while Wallingford is taken aback that he is not a good lover. Although I appreciate the attempt to change up the "classic romance story" (my only possible guess for why the author decided this was a good idea), it ruins the idea of having a romance novel. The supernatural aspect was also muddled and confusing with a curse and two ghosts who no one else realises are ghosts. Then to make matters worse, at the end when Abigail and Wallingford get married, she sends him off and tells him to come back in a year! They just got married and he is a duke, but when his brand new wife says to leave for a year he just leaves without any argument or work beforehand. Not believable!!! Lastly, when he comes back 11 months later, he apoligizes to Abigail because she had their baby while he was gone. If I had not felt that I had to do my due dilligence and finish the book, I would have thrown it out at the first "love scene." I do not recommend this book.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
April 25, 2013
This book was a disappointment. I think I may give up on trilogies, because I am almost always disappointed in the final book.
I won't go into the plot, as it has been done, but I will say I absolutely HATED the ending of this book.
**spoiler**
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Really? Neither of you think he will be faithful? He has to leave for a year and miss the birth of his first child? What does a year of celibacy prove? How exactly does that prove his faithful love? I must be missing something - because just because he didn't cheat in that first year doesn't prove to me that he never will - really who can assure anyone that they will always be faithful ? Isn't the faith in your love enough? I think I would have been happier if when he met his former lover at the end he had an "Ah-ha" moment and realized that Abigail was his one and only. I did however like the love scene on the wedding night where she admits that the former women bother her and seeing them at parties would be hard and how much it would hurt knowing that he had slept with them. I have often wondered about that when reading about rakes in other books - wondering if I could deal with that knowledge as a wife and how awful it must be to have so many other women in your husbands past, thrown in your face. No other book I have read has ever touched on this, so for that I added a star to an otherwise 2 star read.
I won't go into the plot, as it has been done, but I will say I absolutely HATED the ending of this book.
**spoiler**
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Really? Neither of you think he will be faithful? He has to leave for a year and miss the birth of his first child? What does a year of celibacy prove? How exactly does that prove his faithful love? I must be missing something - because just because he didn't cheat in that first year doesn't prove to me that he never will - really who can assure anyone that they will always be faithful ? Isn't the faith in your love enough? I think I would have been happier if when he met his former lover at the end he had an "Ah-ha" moment and realized that Abigail was his one and only. I did however like the love scene on the wedding night where she admits that the former women bother her and seeing them at parties would be hard and how much it would hurt knowing that he had slept with them. I have often wondered about that when reading about rakes in other books - wondering if I could deal with that knowledge as a wife and how awful it must be to have so many other women in your husbands past, thrown in your face. No other book I have read has ever touched on this, so for that I added a star to an otherwise 2 star read.
August 17, 2016
I have to say I just didn't like this book at all. The heroine was lively and quirky, but a little childlike. I thought the hero was going to be a man who was tired of this loveless life as a man-whore, but it turns out he was just a selfish man-boy who had no emotional maturity. When he starts falling for the heroine, he feels she is the only one with the strenth and desire to
fix him.
He knew he needed to change, but he couldn't even own up to the fact that he would need to change himself until the very, very end and we don't spend enough time with him to see how much he might have grown up.
The storyline involving haunted castles and breaking curses didn't even drawn me in past the unappealing characters.
I haven't read any other Juliana Gray so I don't know if this is her typical storyline or not.
I was so looking forward to this story, but I was disappointed in the characters. This book took me too long to read becuase I had to keep forcing myself back to it. It was just not for me.
See more at http://ebookobsessed.com
The storyline involving haunted castles and breaking curses didn't even drawn me in past the unappealing characters.
I haven't read any other Juliana Gray so I don't know if this is her typical storyline or not.
I was so looking forward to this story, but I was disappointed in the characters. This book took me too long to read becuase I had to keep forcing myself back to it. It was just not for me.
See more at http://ebookobsessed.com
January 24, 2021
This book had too many love interest for me. I just couldn’t get into it. I like to focus on just one couple.
August 11, 2019
Impatient with the strictures of polite British society, Miss Abigail Harewood has decided to live life on her own terms—and the first thing she requires is a lover. When the commanding Duke of Wallingford arrives on the doorstep of her leased holiday castle, she thinks she’s found the perfect candidate: handsome, dashing, and experienced in the art of love.
But tempting Wallingford into her bed proves more difficult than she imagined. Restless and dissatisfied with his debauched life in London, the formerly rakish duke is determined to spend a year chaste. But as Abigail tries her best to seduce him, Wallingford finds his resolve crumbling in the face of her irresistible charm…and her alluring secrets.
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Starred Review If the Duke of Olympia thinks that his grandson, the Duke of Wallingford, would be willing to spend a year in the Italian countryside without the benefit of female companionship, he must be crazy. But when he hears about his grandson’s latest scandalous exploit with one of the many ladies of London willing to give him their favor, he immediately begins plotting a campaign to see his grandson married before the year is through. Suddenly, a year in Italy doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Of course, Wallingford’s little philosophical sojourn at Castel sant’Agata doesn’t take into account the fact that he will be sharing his new abode with three Englishwomen, including Miss Abigail Harewood, who decides it is high time for her to take a lover and believes Wallingford is just the man for the job. With this deliciously romantic, wickedly witty confection linked to the splendidly entertaining A Lady Never Lies and A Gentleman Never Tells (both 2012), Gray makes one of the best trilogy debuts in years, proving she is a literary force to be reckoned with. Readers will shout, Bravissima! --John Charles
Review
Praise for Juliana Gray:
“Juliana Gray has a stupendously lyrical voice.”—Meredith Duran, New York Times bestselling author
“Juliana Gray is on my auto buy list.”—Elizabeth Hoyt, New York Times bestselling author
October 25, 2017
Really more like 3.75 Stars, just because I gotta deduct a bit for the reason that I did not really like the whole ‘sending Wallingford off to travel the world alone for a year to prove he can be faithful’ bit. Like, didn’t make sense to me. Send him off, alone, to exotic locales, and that’s supposed to prove he can be faithful!? Like, makes no sense. He’s off traveling the world! You’re sitting in a castle in Italy! How you gonna know what he is or is not doing?! Of course, he was faithful, because, romance and HEA, and because Wallingford is just an all-around great dude, but I just didn’t like the idea of it. Maybe it’s just me, cuz b*tch, if I just married an amazingly smouldering hot Duke, who’s already proven that he’s willing to try his hardest to please me, no matter what, you bet your ass I’m not sitting at home going tra la la while he goes off adventuring. I’m going on some damn adventuring with him! Straight up.
Other than that point, I really liked this book a lot! Abigail and Wallingford’s relationship was great to follow. There were plenty of moments that had me chuckling, but there were also a few moments that had my eyes getting a lil watery, the feels! Especially when Wallingford’s realising the depth of his emotions, and worrying so much about whether he can be the man he wants to be for Abigail, I was like, aww.
I liked finally learning the whole mystery curse on the castle stuff, and seeing all that wrapped up neatly in the end. It was interesting, and I rather enjoyed the tiny hint of the paranormal it lent to the trilogy. I’m definitely going to have this author on my to-get list, the next trilogy already has me intrigued.
Other than that point, I really liked this book a lot! Abigail and Wallingford’s relationship was great to follow. There were plenty of moments that had me chuckling, but there were also a few moments that had my eyes getting a lil watery, the feels! Especially when Wallingford’s realising the depth of his emotions, and worrying so much about whether he can be the man he wants to be for Abigail, I was like, aww.
I liked finally learning the whole mystery curse on the castle stuff, and seeing all that wrapped up neatly in the end. It was interesting, and I rather enjoyed the tiny hint of the paranormal it lent to the trilogy. I’m definitely going to have this author on my to-get list, the next trilogy already has me intrigued.
July 19, 2023
So sad that this was the last book in this series.
I fell in love with the location. I wanted to move in to the castle and never leave.
Such an idyllic setting with peach & apple orchards, a vineyard, fields being planted & harvested, not to mention an ornery goat to keep things lively.
The characters were so real that it felt like you knew them.
Sometimes stories stay with you forever.
I fell in love with the location. I wanted to move in to the castle and never leave.
Such an idyllic setting with peach & apple orchards, a vineyard, fields being planted & harvested, not to mention an ornery goat to keep things lively.
The characters were so real that it felt like you knew them.
Sometimes stories stay with you forever.
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August 29, 2019The movie it mentions april in something had an earlier version which i cannot remember from post war England. I found it not enticing enough to bother
cannot rate it thus as DNF, more did not read
cannot rate it thus as DNF, more did not read
September 18, 2024
A good and unusual romance. A young woman decides she wants a lover not a husband and sets her mind in a Duke. He is resistant to say the least. As they interact their friendship and love grows. I liked the characters, but I did’t care for the supernatural elements
September 30, 2025
This final installment of the "Affairs by Moonlight" series was probably one of my favorites. So many more roadblocks with this couple. Finally discovered what Duke of Wallingford was up to when he seen running stark naked through the woods. Very satisfying.
August 2, 2017
3.5 stars! LOVED the hero and heroine, they dynamic was so great!
February 7, 2018
3.5 stars.
October 23, 2018
Slightly different writing style and setting. Includes ghosts but wouldn’t add a genre for it
June 18, 2019
A charming end to an enjoyable trilogy. I enjoyed that all three stories took place concurrently.
April 11, 2021
Melhor da série
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December 14, 202312:38
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