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Redeemed #2
The Dark Duke
Lady Amanda Radburn was the most outspoken, opinionated, impertinent, and irritating woman the Duke of Hadleigh had ever met. She delighted in insulting him, and arguing over the most insignificant matters. Yet when helping her was the only way he could restore a world that included a sister he loved but had driven away with his dominating ways, he realized he had stepped into a dark world of danger and intrigue. Now he is in peril of not only losing his own life, but the life of the woman he realizes he has come to love. Regretting his unguarded words that forced her to close her heart to him, he pursues her into a future that has turned dangerously dark.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2014
354 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Laura Landon
67 books367 followersLaura Landon taught high school for ten years before leaving the classroom to open her own ice-cream shop. As much as she loved serving up sundaes and malts from behind the counter, she closed up shop after penning her first novel. Now she spends nearly every waking minute writing, guiding her heroes and heroines to find their happily ever afters.
She is the author of more than a dozen historical novels, including SILENT REVENGE, INTIMATE DECEPTION, and her newest Montlake Romance release, INTIMATE SURRENDER.
Her books are enjoyed by readers around the world and you can find out more about her by visiting her website at www.lauralandon.com
She is the author of more than a dozen historical novels, including SILENT REVENGE, INTIMATE DECEPTION, and her newest Montlake Romance release, INTIMATE SURRENDER.
Her books are enjoyed by readers around the world and you can find out more about her by visiting her website at www.lauralandon.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
July 18, 2014
So the other day, I decided to try and find authors who are similar to some of my favorites. So I Googled "authors similar to Courtney Milan" and got a Goodreads list that included one Laura Landon.
After reading this book, I have to wonder how anyone with even a small modicum of literary discernment could even remotely compare Laura Landon's writing to Milan's. This book is terrible. Awful. I'm having a hard time finding words, so I'll stumble along as best I can. Starting with what Landon attempted to do might be the best way to go.
The synopsis describes the heroine, Amanda Radburn, as "outspoken, opinionated, dominating". All true. The synopsis also describes her as "irritating" and "repulsive". Also true. But these are the feelings of our intrepid hero, Sterling, The Duke of Hadleigh. The reader is supposed to believe that Hadleigh just doesn't understand Amanda, that she's really an unbelievably strong, independent woman, intelligent and fierce and capable of taking care of herself. I'm sure this was what Landon intended her heroine to be. However, she failed at creating such a character. From the beginning, Amanda is loud, rude, and infantile, her brash, fishwife sentences punctuated with plenty of exclamation marks and such an overabundance of "How dare you!"s that I wanted nothing more than for Hadleigh to cram a cravat down her throat and send her off in a runaway carriage. To say I loathed Amanda Radford is an insulting understatement. She is the type of heroine that makes intelligent women's skin crawl. She was obstinate, immature, unreasonable, irrational, and stupid. Her repeated assertions that she couldn't trust any man (the reader is beaten over the head with this up until the very end of the book) were completely belied by the fact that she trusted at least two of her male servants.
The crux of the story is that Amanda's brother, Harry, has gotten himself into some trouble and was nearly killed. So Amanda, amateur sleuth that she is, decides she'll investigate, entirely on her own, and figure out who wants her brother dead. Her best friend gets wind that something's not entirely kosher in Mayfair and implores her own brother, Hadleigh, to find out what's going on and keep Amanda from trouble. Hadleigh, wanting to redeem himself to his sister after some melodrama of his own making, takes on the job even though he can't stand Amanda. The reader already knows, obviously, that their fights are caused by two very domineering personalities and a whole lot of sexual tension, so our only real job as the audience is to sit and wait for them to disrobe both the mystery and each other. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult for me to be even a placid observer since Amanda pushed every single one of my rage buttons. When Hadleigh finds out Amanda's been sneaking to the docks in the middle of the night and breaking into shipping offices, he's understandably upset and orders her to knock it off. Her resultant eloquent sputterings of "how dare you!" ensued, and I knew I was in for a rough read. Sadly, as is the case with a lot of books that start out bad, it only got worse.
I don't know who Laura Landon is. I don't know what she's like as a person. But I do know that her idea of a strong heroine is repulsive and insulting. Amanda continually puts herself in danger. She is shot at one night while attempting to break into another shipping office, and she gets Hadleigh shot in the process, and she persists with the "how dare you!"s like the situation is nothing worse than him preventing her from eating another slice of cake. She's an idiot. She is yet another character among many who presents the outward appearance of a capable woman unfairly oppressed by men, when the reality is she's one of those mewling imbeciles who really does need a keeper. Honestly, I found it amazing she'd reached the ripe old age of 23 without someone monitoring her every move to be sure she didn't throw herself off a tower just to prove to people she could. Amanda is like one of those children who recklessly and foolishly accept dares that could get them killed...only she's supposed to be an adult. Sorry, not buying it.
Well, seeing as how I was already angry about just how stupid the girl was in regards to her own safety, imagine my shock when I found I could actually be made even more irate. Because it's not just Amanda. Turns out everyone in this damn book is a slobbering moron. Their attempts at "investigating" the mystery made Scooby and the rest of Mystery Inc. look like seasoned, grisly professionals. "Well, we don't know which of these four earls has taken up sex trafficking, so I guess we should just sit them down and ask them."
It's sort of painfully obvious that Landon should not take up writing crime dramas anytime in the near future.
So how does the other aspect of the story stack up, you ask? How about the awe-inspiring romance? Well, it's awe-inspiring, all right. It inspired a sense of awe in me...because I didn't think the main character could be any less intelligent than I already believed her to be. But somehow. Somehow.
Hadleigh has asked her to marry him. They've done the doink dance. She believes they "don't suit" even though they've been getting along great and he's been unbelievably sweet to her and protective, and oh yeah, they doinked!
BUT. She overhears Hadleigh telling a friend that he would have done anything to get back into his sister's good graces, even spend time with someone he can't stand. This convinces her that Hadleigh doesn't really want to marry her, he just asked in order to do the honorable thing. Even though it was glaringly obvious to everyone that he was coming to care for her. He even made it obvious to her, before they slept together that he was perfectly comfortable with everyone believing they were going to be married. None of that matters, though, because the snippet of conversation she eavesdropped on made it abundantly clear that Hadleigh didn't really want her. So what does she do?
She runs away to the docks again. Yes. After getting Hadleigh shot, and after getting shot herself and nearly dying, she runs back to the docks to start "sleuthing" again, and guess what? She nearly gets killed again!
So at that point in the book, I'm like
But....
You guessed it. It got worse. AGAIN.
After she's been beaten to within an inch of her life, Hadleigh scoops her up and rushes her home like the great, hulking romantic hero we all know him to be, but Amanda shuts him out. She refuses to speak to him for weeks afterward. And when they do finally speak, he asks her again to marry him, only to have her refuse. He even tells her he loves her, but she refuses to believe that, even going so far as condescending to tell him he thinks he loves her, but he doesn't really. She tells him he's perfect, he'll always strive for perfection, and she'll never be able to live up to his standards. So what does Hadleigh do? He walks away. Naturally.
Then Amanda goes to stay with Hadleigh's sister for a while and spends a month catching up with her and avoiding Hadleigh. The sister won't even take up in Hadleigh's defense because Amanda has forbidden anyone to mention him in her presence. Then Haywood, the sister's husband, comes to give them the grave news that Hadleigh is "in a decline". He's been constantly drunk since Amanda left him. So Amanda rushes to his side, and do you know what his reasoning is for drinking himself nearly to death?
To prove to her that he's not perfect.
The characters are awful. The actual writing? Not great. There are grammatical errors and it's redundant, cheesy, and cliched. The premise has been executed countless times in the past, by authors far more talented than this one. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Not a single damn person. Unless you want to be angry and fed up.
The second time Hadleigh tells Amanda he loves her, this is her reaction:
"Tears streamed down her cheeks when he admitted that he loved her. She never thought to hear those words from him and her heart overflowed with joy."
He'd already said it once! I don't know if Landon forgot there was already a declaration of love or what, but....GAH!
And then..
"Now she only had to make sure he consciously realized how much he loved her."
I will never read anything by Laura Landon again.
After reading this book, I have to wonder how anyone with even a small modicum of literary discernment could even remotely compare Laura Landon's writing to Milan's. This book is terrible. Awful. I'm having a hard time finding words, so I'll stumble along as best I can. Starting with what Landon attempted to do might be the best way to go.
The synopsis describes the heroine, Amanda Radburn, as "outspoken, opinionated, dominating". All true. The synopsis also describes her as "irritating" and "repulsive". Also true. But these are the feelings of our intrepid hero, Sterling, The Duke of Hadleigh. The reader is supposed to believe that Hadleigh just doesn't understand Amanda, that she's really an unbelievably strong, independent woman, intelligent and fierce and capable of taking care of herself. I'm sure this was what Landon intended her heroine to be. However, she failed at creating such a character. From the beginning, Amanda is loud, rude, and infantile, her brash, fishwife sentences punctuated with plenty of exclamation marks and such an overabundance of "How dare you!"s that I wanted nothing more than for Hadleigh to cram a cravat down her throat and send her off in a runaway carriage. To say I loathed Amanda Radford is an insulting understatement. She is the type of heroine that makes intelligent women's skin crawl. She was obstinate, immature, unreasonable, irrational, and stupid. Her repeated assertions that she couldn't trust any man (the reader is beaten over the head with this up until the very end of the book) were completely belied by the fact that she trusted at least two of her male servants.
The crux of the story is that Amanda's brother, Harry, has gotten himself into some trouble and was nearly killed. So Amanda, amateur sleuth that she is, decides she'll investigate, entirely on her own, and figure out who wants her brother dead. Her best friend gets wind that something's not entirely kosher in Mayfair and implores her own brother, Hadleigh, to find out what's going on and keep Amanda from trouble. Hadleigh, wanting to redeem himself to his sister after some melodrama of his own making, takes on the job even though he can't stand Amanda. The reader already knows, obviously, that their fights are caused by two very domineering personalities and a whole lot of sexual tension, so our only real job as the audience is to sit and wait for them to disrobe both the mystery and each other. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult for me to be even a placid observer since Amanda pushed every single one of my rage buttons. When Hadleigh finds out Amanda's been sneaking to the docks in the middle of the night and breaking into shipping offices, he's understandably upset and orders her to knock it off. Her resultant eloquent sputterings of "how dare you!" ensued, and I knew I was in for a rough read. Sadly, as is the case with a lot of books that start out bad, it only got worse.
I don't know who Laura Landon is. I don't know what she's like as a person. But I do know that her idea of a strong heroine is repulsive and insulting. Amanda continually puts herself in danger. She is shot at one night while attempting to break into another shipping office, and she gets Hadleigh shot in the process, and she persists with the "how dare you!"s like the situation is nothing worse than him preventing her from eating another slice of cake. She's an idiot. She is yet another character among many who presents the outward appearance of a capable woman unfairly oppressed by men, when the reality is she's one of those mewling imbeciles who really does need a keeper. Honestly, I found it amazing she'd reached the ripe old age of 23 without someone monitoring her every move to be sure she didn't throw herself off a tower just to prove to people she could. Amanda is like one of those children who recklessly and foolishly accept dares that could get them killed...only she's supposed to be an adult. Sorry, not buying it.
Well, seeing as how I was already angry about just how stupid the girl was in regards to her own safety, imagine my shock when I found I could actually be made even more irate. Because it's not just Amanda. Turns out everyone in this damn book is a slobbering moron. Their attempts at "investigating" the mystery made Scooby and the rest of Mystery Inc. look like seasoned, grisly professionals. "Well, we don't know which of these four earls has taken up sex trafficking, so I guess we should just sit them down and ask them."
It's sort of painfully obvious that Landon should not take up writing crime dramas anytime in the near future.
So how does the other aspect of the story stack up, you ask? How about the awe-inspiring romance? Well, it's awe-inspiring, all right. It inspired a sense of awe in me...because I didn't think the main character could be any less intelligent than I already believed her to be. But somehow. Somehow.
Hadleigh has asked her to marry him. They've done the doink dance. She believes they "don't suit" even though they've been getting along great and he's been unbelievably sweet to her and protective, and oh yeah, they doinked!
BUT. She overhears Hadleigh telling a friend that he would have done anything to get back into his sister's good graces, even spend time with someone he can't stand. This convinces her that Hadleigh doesn't really want to marry her, he just asked in order to do the honorable thing. Even though it was glaringly obvious to everyone that he was coming to care for her. He even made it obvious to her, before they slept together that he was perfectly comfortable with everyone believing they were going to be married. None of that matters, though, because the snippet of conversation she eavesdropped on made it abundantly clear that Hadleigh didn't really want her. So what does she do?
She runs away to the docks again. Yes. After getting Hadleigh shot, and after getting shot herself and nearly dying, she runs back to the docks to start "sleuthing" again, and guess what? She nearly gets killed again!
So at that point in the book, I'm like
But....
You guessed it. It got worse. AGAIN.
After she's been beaten to within an inch of her life, Hadleigh scoops her up and rushes her home like the great, hulking romantic hero we all know him to be, but Amanda shuts him out. She refuses to speak to him for weeks afterward. And when they do finally speak, he asks her again to marry him, only to have her refuse. He even tells her he loves her, but she refuses to believe that, even going so far as condescending to tell him he thinks he loves her, but he doesn't really. She tells him he's perfect, he'll always strive for perfection, and she'll never be able to live up to his standards. So what does Hadleigh do? He walks away. Naturally.
Then Amanda goes to stay with Hadleigh's sister for a while and spends a month catching up with her and avoiding Hadleigh. The sister won't even take up in Hadleigh's defense because Amanda has forbidden anyone to mention him in her presence. Then Haywood, the sister's husband, comes to give them the grave news that Hadleigh is "in a decline". He's been constantly drunk since Amanda left him. So Amanda rushes to his side, and do you know what his reasoning is for drinking himself nearly to death?
To prove to her that he's not perfect.
The characters are awful. The actual writing? Not great. There are grammatical errors and it's redundant, cheesy, and cliched. The premise has been executed countless times in the past, by authors far more talented than this one. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Not a single damn person. Unless you want to be angry and fed up.
The second time Hadleigh tells Amanda he loves her, this is her reaction:
"Tears streamed down her cheeks when he admitted that he loved her. She never thought to hear those words from him and her heart overflowed with joy."
He'd already said it once! I don't know if Landon forgot there was already a declaration of love or what, but....GAH!
And then..
"Now she only had to make sure he consciously realized how much he loved her."
I will never read anything by Laura Landon again.
August 25, 2015
Laura Landon writes lyrical proses and her writing is a joy to follow. All the books I have read from her confirms that. The Dark Duke is no exception. I love Sterling Randolph and Amanda Radburn, the lead characters in this book as much as I did all of Landon's main characters.
As is my usual practice, when I am between stars, I go lower. If Goodreads allowed half stars, my real rating would be 3.5 sweet stars. But because it is Laura Landon, whose stories always bring a sense of peace to me, I am going up, which rarely happens. The Dark Duke is a soothing book with unrealistic plots, but it is a perfect feel-good book.
The Dark Duke is the sequel to The Most to Lose, and I think it is a better story. Sterling Randolph, in an attempt to reconcile with his estranged sister, the heroine from The Most to Lose, agreed to find out what was going on with Amanda Radburn, his archenemy but his sister's best friend. The story features a mystery to solve. Sterling and Amanda reluctantly worked together and realized that they have outgrown the hostility that had defined their relationship for so long.
The book features Laura Landon's signature style: calming and soft-hearted. Her characters are always lovable and relatable. I very much appreciate the level-headedness of her characters, who even in rage, act with dignity. Landon even managed to redeem Sterling, which is no small effort. I love her heroines, even though I know it is my personal preference, I still love them, unabashedly.
This would be my 5th (or more? I cannot be sure) book from Laura Landon and the same issue remains: she really needs to work on her intimate scenes. She likes to skip the sex scenes, which actually worked in her Betrayed by Your Kiss, featuring a very strong pair of lead characters, Damien and Olivia. With her less prominent characters, I think a little heat would help. Ms. Landon if you are reading the reviews, please consider that. Your characters are so wonderful. They deserve some great sex. :D
I also think the plots are a bit thin. So for readers who like plot-driven stories, they may be disappointed.
In conclusion: I love Laura Landon's characters and the tenderness she always writes her stories with. I would really love to see more depth in the relationship and if possible, more substance in the plotline. I usually think the romance writers overdo sex in their novels but seriously Ms Landon, unless you create another pair of Damien and Olivia, show us a little skin.
As is my usual practice, when I am between stars, I go lower. If Goodreads allowed half stars, my real rating would be 3.5 sweet stars. But because it is Laura Landon, whose stories always bring a sense of peace to me, I am going up, which rarely happens. The Dark Duke is a soothing book with unrealistic plots, but it is a perfect feel-good book.
The Dark Duke is the sequel to The Most to Lose, and I think it is a better story. Sterling Randolph, in an attempt to reconcile with his estranged sister, the heroine from The Most to Lose, agreed to find out what was going on with Amanda Radburn, his archenemy but his sister's best friend. The story features a mystery to solve. Sterling and Amanda reluctantly worked together and realized that they have outgrown the hostility that had defined their relationship for so long.
The book features Laura Landon's signature style: calming and soft-hearted. Her characters are always lovable and relatable. I very much appreciate the level-headedness of her characters, who even in rage, act with dignity. Landon even managed to redeem Sterling, which is no small effort. I love her heroines, even though I know it is my personal preference, I still love them, unabashedly.
This would be my 5th (or more? I cannot be sure) book from Laura Landon and the same issue remains: she really needs to work on her intimate scenes. She likes to skip the sex scenes, which actually worked in her Betrayed by Your Kiss, featuring a very strong pair of lead characters, Damien and Olivia. With her less prominent characters, I think a little heat would help. Ms. Landon if you are reading the reviews, please consider that. Your characters are so wonderful. They deserve some great sex. :D
I also think the plots are a bit thin. So for readers who like plot-driven stories, they may be disappointed.
In conclusion: I love Laura Landon's characters and the tenderness she always writes her stories with. I would really love to see more depth in the relationship and if possible, more substance in the plotline. I usually think the romance writers overdo sex in their novels but seriously Ms Landon, unless you create another pair of Damien and Olivia, show us a little skin.
September 2, 2014
Umm, wth is going on with the character names?! In the first book, I could have sworn Amanda's brother's name was Stephen, but in this book it's Harry, BUT at one point she refers go him as Freddie... What?! Then Jonah Armstrong is suddenly Jonah Blackmoor. I might have concluded they were different people, but they're both referred to as the Earl of Haywood. Seriously, how hard is it to keep your character names straight?!
March 9, 2018
This is a follow-up to the book, The Most to Lose, with the focus of the story on Hadleigh and Amanda. The Duke of Hadleigh desperately wants to mend things with his sister Cecelia after he ruined things between them with his antics and obsession with revenge. Hadleigh was a real jerk in the first book, so it took some time for me to warm up to him. However, once I did, I really liked him a lot. The fact that he has fallen for Amanda is more than just a surprise to him, but he soon finds he cannot live without her. I LOVE how he takes care of her when she gets hurt (I won't spoil it for you), and I wish she could see for herself how tender and loving he was in his care for her. She is so obsessed with proving she doesn't need a man in her life, that she misses what is right in front of her. This had a good bit of mystery tied in with the story, which was a great plot element. I enjoyed the story, and watching these two finally get together for their HEA.
CONTENT:
Romance - Sketchy Clean
Violence - Moderate
Language - Moderate
CONTENT:
Romance - Sketchy Clean
Violence - Moderate
Language - Moderate
April 22, 2021
This is the second book of a series. I enjoyed the banter between the 2 main characters in the previous book and really looked forward to it continuing in this book. Well that didn't happen. Amanda repeatedly said how she couldn't trust a man and must do everything herself in this mystery. I didn't like the plot or the characters. I skimmed much of the second half of the book. There was nothing in this plot that hasn't been done a 100 times before. I was bored!
November 12, 2019
Cute 😉 Although, in my opinion, it wasn't quite as good as the first two I'd read by Laura Landon, I liked this one too.
March 5, 2014
The style and language of the book are well crafted and still this book pressed pretty much all my dislike buttons. Aside from some historical inaccuracies and inconsistencies there were issues with characterisation. I hate it when a backstory tells me a woman is intelligent and independent but the character itself during the books turns out to be anything but. This book does NOT do this - instead she simply lacks intelligence. The characters remain, from beginning to end, selfish. All of these reasons made it impossible for me to empathise with the character. But worst was that I just felt like I had read this book a thousand times before. The story line is so typical and predictable it bored me to tears. The only saving grace is that the male character at least shows some form of rational intelligence - though from his backstory that again seems inconsistent.
April 22, 2014
2.5/5.0
"The Dark Duke" embraces classic historical romance formula, but is rife with credibility issues.
Read full review in the 2014 April issue of InD’tale Magazine.
"The Dark Duke" embraces classic historical romance formula, but is rife with credibility issues.
Read full review in the 2014 April issue of InD’tale Magazine.
June 11, 2023
I teetered SO much toward 2 stars on this one, but I'm in a KU reading slump and trying not to think about how dire some of the books I've read recently are. The extra star is only because-when the dialog isn't too modern/American-there are bursts of wit. The MC's at times have good chemistry-when their kissing scenes aren't utterly repetitive (I swear, if I had to read "his mouth was atop hers" one more time...). There are a couple sections of the book that work; the 10% or so when Hadleigh helps Amanda recover, at least, isn't awash in redundancy. I didn't like Hadleigh at first but he's semi-likable (although TSTL) by the end.
Amanda, though. Why did the author have to make her so completely annoying?
I read the first book in this series a while back, wasn't impressed, but I did remember that I'd enjoyed the banter between Hadleigh and Amanda. The opening chapters start off OK, but things go downhill fast. The plot drags from the weight of its own silliness and refusal to give us deeper
looks at the MC's as people. Troubling aspects of Amanda's past are brought up a few times but never gone into in detail, and the MC's don't discuss them.
Amanda just keeps doing stupid things, Hadleigh chews her out, and it happens again and again. I can't remember a book where whole chunks of dialog, mannerisms, interior monologues, and character behavior are repeated over and over as much as in this one. I was reading with a constant sense of deja vu, like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. It felt like the author was desperately padding to get her page count.
At one point I thought that I might like this book better if it had real steam. There are two closed door sex scenes, and the lead-up to them feels kind of perfunctory. But then, those scenes would have probably annoyed me as well, because the dialog and descriptions probably would have been recycled from earlier scenes.
Honestly, this book needs a hard edit for content. There are also a few repeated spelling errors and grammatical issues.
Sigh. Anyway, I'm going to leave this one with 3 stars, because it had the makings for a juicy enemies-to-lovers. And because I'm being nice.
Amanda, though. Why did the author have to make her so completely annoying?
I read the first book in this series a while back, wasn't impressed, but I did remember that I'd enjoyed the banter between Hadleigh and Amanda. The opening chapters start off OK, but things go downhill fast. The plot drags from the weight of its own silliness and refusal to give us deeper
looks at the MC's as people. Troubling aspects of Amanda's past are brought up a few times but never gone into in detail, and the MC's don't discuss them.
Amanda just keeps doing stupid things, Hadleigh chews her out, and it happens again and again. I can't remember a book where whole chunks of dialog, mannerisms, interior monologues, and character behavior are repeated over and over as much as in this one. I was reading with a constant sense of deja vu, like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. It felt like the author was desperately padding to get her page count.
At one point I thought that I might like this book better if it had real steam. There are two closed door sex scenes, and the lead-up to them feels kind of perfunctory. But then, those scenes would have probably annoyed me as well, because the dialog and descriptions probably would have been recycled from earlier scenes.
Honestly, this book needs a hard edit for content. There are also a few repeated spelling errors and grammatical issues.
Sigh. Anyway, I'm going to leave this one with 3 stars, because it had the makings for a juicy enemies-to-lovers. And because I'm being nice.
December 9, 2019
There is a thin line between love/hate
Sterling is a Duke steeped in perfection! Given the charge to get back in his sister's good graces of looking after Amanda! He and Amanda spar constantly and even draw blood! When Amanda's brother gets hooked up with some evil men she tries to help! Sterling runs interference and tries to stop the dangerous sneaking around that Amanda is involved in to find the ship and the "Earl"! Well midnight dock trips turn to kisses and shootings! Will love win or is the Duke too perfect?
Sterling is a Duke steeped in perfection! Given the charge to get back in his sister's good graces of looking after Amanda! He and Amanda spar constantly and even draw blood! When Amanda's brother gets hooked up with some evil men she tries to help! Sterling runs interference and tries to stop the dangerous sneaking around that Amanda is involved in to find the ship and the "Earl"! Well midnight dock trips turn to kisses and shootings! Will love win or is the Duke too perfect?
February 26, 2018
Good
It was a good story I wished the characters valued saving sex for marriage especially during the times they lived in. But the plot was good and it was good to see the characters evolve.
It was a good story I wished the characters valued saving sex for marriage especially during the times they lived in. But the plot was good and it was good to see the characters evolve.
November 28, 2018
Book 2 much better
The second book in this 2 book series is much better than the first. With characters, while still predictable, we're enjoyable to know and a story line that was fun to read.
The second book in this 2 book series is much better than the first. With characters, while still predictable, we're enjoyable to know and a story line that was fun to read.
February 1, 2020
Enjoyable regency romance with a strong, but often foolish, heroine and a very straight hero. They know each other since childhood and had wits battles since he became a duke. Their romance is believable and you experience them changing towards each other.
August 13, 2018
The dark duke
I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of a lady and her duke. It had suspense, adventure and a clean romance with just enough lust. I highly recommend Laura London's story
I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of a lady and her duke. It had suspense, adventure and a clean romance with just enough lust. I highly recommend Laura London's story
September 2, 2018
Romance
Thank you for sharing these wonderful romance novels series books. Please keep writing more of these wonderful books. Thank you
Thank you for sharing these wonderful romance novels series books. Please keep writing more of these wonderful books. Thank you
December 11, 2018
Not as good as the first in the series. Even though I figured that the next book would involve Amanda and The Duke of Hadleigh, I just didn’t get the connection.
September 5, 2019
Too much violence.
July 19, 2020
The Dark Duke
I think I enjoyed this book more than the first. Definitely more action, suspense, intrigue and romance. Very good read.
I think I enjoyed this book more than the first. Definitely more action, suspense, intrigue and romance. Very good read.
September 3, 2020
Content: swearing, violence, no graphic sexual situations.
March 28, 2021
Good and easy read
It was an easy read, story was surprising and enjoyed all the characters. Really enjoyed it and smiled a lot....
It was an easy read, story was surprising and enjoyed all the characters. Really enjoyed it and smiled a lot....
July 28, 2021
Hard to put down
Normally I have no problem putting books down for a week or so, but this one was hard to put down. Can’t wait for the next one!
Normally I have no problem putting books down for a week or so, but this one was hard to put down. Can’t wait for the next one!
June 14, 2022
Excellent
This storyline was absolutely brilliant. Best one I've read so far. Well done LL. It was exciting the whole way through.
This storyline was absolutely brilliant. Best one I've read so far. Well done LL. It was exciting the whole way through.
February 16, 2023
2* just because, although the 2 main characters are so totally unconvincing I didn't get very far.
February 22, 2017
Gr
Great!
I enjoyed this story very much! Want to read more of your stories! Will be down loading more. Thanks!
Great!
I enjoyed this story very much! Want to read more of your stories! Will be down loading more. Thanks!
January 29, 2023
2 - 2 1/2 Stars
I decided to DNF this at 63% (chap. 13). Well, I actually skipped a little ahead but decided to just give up already. I don't quite know why but I keep trying to give this author a chance. I think maybe because her writing has some potential, but it just never rises to the level. I read the previous book in the series too. Although I finished that one, there were issues. Her writing is just not for me. The character development just isn't there. And plot weak.
In the previous book, we meet the H/h: Sterling Randoph, the Duke of Hadleigh and Lady Amanda Radburn. The H, the Duke, was a pretty big jerk in that book and I was interested to see how the author would redeem his character. The h is an outspoken spitfire, and constantly at odds with the H. There is no love lost between these two.
Due to his actions in book one, the Duke has a lot make up for. His vendetta against his previous long time best friend then sworn enemy knew know bounds. As a result, he used his own sister atrociously. In the beginning of this book, there has not been a reconciliation yet, though the sister is willing to consider it. However, he needs to prove himself but helping her best friend, Lady Amanda. He is very reluctant but is willing to do anything to have his sister forgive him.
More review to follow.
I decided to DNF this at 63% (chap. 13). Well, I actually skipped a little ahead but decided to just give up already. I don't quite know why but I keep trying to give this author a chance. I think maybe because her writing has some potential, but it just never rises to the level. I read the previous book in the series too. Although I finished that one, there were issues. Her writing is just not for me. The character development just isn't there. And plot weak.
In the previous book, we meet the H/h: Sterling Randoph, the Duke of Hadleigh and Lady Amanda Radburn. The H, the Duke, was a pretty big jerk in that book and I was interested to see how the author would redeem his character. The h is an outspoken spitfire, and constantly at odds with the H. There is no love lost between these two.
Due to his actions in book one, the Duke has a lot make up for. His vendetta against his previous long time best friend then sworn enemy knew know bounds. As a result, he used his own sister atrociously. In the beginning of this book, there has not been a reconciliation yet, though the sister is willing to consider it. However, he needs to prove himself but helping her best friend, Lady Amanda. He is very reluctant but is willing to do anything to have his sister forgive him.
More review to follow.
March 7, 2014
Laura Landon Does it Again
The Duke of Hadleigh had alienated his sister a year ago, and he desperately wanted her back in his life. He had mistakenly believed her husband had been responsible for his fiance's death. To avenge that death the Duke tried to ruin the Earl of Haywood. Hadleigh's sister, Celie, had been mad at him ever since and refused to speak to him. But now she had written him with a request to look into what her best friend, Amanda, was up to. He could not abide Amanda. They had never gotten along. However, he would do anything to get in his sister's good graces, again. When he found Amanda, he found out that she definitely needed a keeper.
This book is the continuation of Landon's, "The Most to Lose." Hadleigh was the villain of that piece. I could not believe Hadleigh could be redeemed, but this writer did the impossible. The deep character development of Hadleigh is mesmerizing. The transformation of Amanda from adversary to love interest is riveting. This plot driven romantic mystery thriller is perfection. Get this book now!
The Duke of Hadleigh had alienated his sister a year ago, and he desperately wanted her back in his life. He had mistakenly believed her husband had been responsible for his fiance's death. To avenge that death the Duke tried to ruin the Earl of Haywood. Hadleigh's sister, Celie, had been mad at him ever since and refused to speak to him. But now she had written him with a request to look into what her best friend, Amanda, was up to. He could not abide Amanda. They had never gotten along. However, he would do anything to get in his sister's good graces, again. When he found Amanda, he found out that she definitely needed a keeper.
This book is the continuation of Landon's, "The Most to Lose." Hadleigh was the villain of that piece. I could not believe Hadleigh could be redeemed, but this writer did the impossible. The deep character development of Hadleigh is mesmerizing. The transformation of Amanda from adversary to love interest is riveting. This plot driven romantic mystery thriller is perfection. Get this book now!
August 7, 2019
Goodreads belirtmemiş ama bu kitap karakterler farklı olsa da The Most to Lose'un devamı olarak geçiyor. Bu kitapta konuşkan Amelia ile Sterling'in hikayesi anlatılıyor. Geçen kitaptaki deli saçma atışmalar burada da hızını kesmiyor. Deli saçma dediğime bakmayın, böyle olması kitabı çok eğlenceli yapıyor :D
Diğer kitaba göre daha hareketli bir senaryosu mevcuttu. Sterling'in gıcık olduğu kadına zamanla abayı yakması biraz aceleye gelmiş olsa da genel olarak iyi işlenmişti. Aslında Amelia'nın kardeşi için de bir kitap yazabilirmiş yazar ama şimdilik böyle bir durum mevcut değil.
Historicalde daha nahif aşklar okumak istiyorsanız bu yazar size göre.
Diğer kitaba göre daha hareketli bir senaryosu mevcuttu. Sterling'in gıcık olduğu kadına zamanla abayı yakması biraz aceleye gelmiş olsa da genel olarak iyi işlenmişti. Aslında Amelia'nın kardeşi için de bir kitap yazabilirmiş yazar ama şimdilik böyle bir durum mevcut değil.
Historicalde daha nahif aşklar okumak istiyorsanız bu yazar size göre.
May 17, 2014
I really likes the first part of the book. The sexual tension between the hero and heroine was pretty good. Once they entered into a sexual relationship, I think the plot slowed down. I would have liked to see the sexual scenes drawn out more. But hey, that's me. The ending (about solving the mystery) seemed too rushed.
June 4, 2014
The Dark Duke
The Dark Duke
This book takes you from a bad beginning of a relationship to happy ever after. It was hard to put it down as you wanted to know what happened right away.
The Dark Duke
This book takes you from a bad beginning of a relationship to happy ever after. It was hard to put it down as you wanted to know what happened right away.
June 7, 2014
A delightful story with a young stubborn girl and a Duke who is the brother of her best friend. They get involved in a mystery when her brother almost gets killed and it makes for an exciting story, suspenseful and romantic.
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