The Duke's Despair

by Colleen Ladd

***NEW COVER*** The Duke's Despair -- Regency Hearts Book 2 The Duke of Ransley despairs of getting his ward safely launched. She'll be lucky to make it through her first Season without permanently blotting her copybook. He’s somehow managed to raise a perfect hoyden, and fixing that will take some doing. But he doesn’t need the help of some marriage-mad woman using his ward to get close to him. Althea Ravenshaw has neither the need nor the desire to marry. Her heart goes out to Ransley’s ward, saddled with a fire-breathing dragon of a guardian, and she can’t help trying to keep the girl out of trouble. Someone has to, for Ransley clearly isn’t equal to the task. Neither of them realize that someone is deliberately trying to ruin the girl, someone who will stop at nothing to send Ransley and his ward packing. And he has no objection to including Althea in his plot if she continues to interfere. If Ransley and Althea do not use all their wits, and find the will to actually work together, they will have something far more important than a reputation to despair of.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2015

Reviews

[Patricia A Spring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recency romance

Lively and interesting a different format from the usual recency romance. This story and the previous one are stand alone stories but still better read together in the correct order.

[KP Pryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the mature woman helping a nobleman's wayward daughter trope. The hero is a duke, and he's very well drawn as a duke - not at all like so many of the dukes we encounter in historical romances who read more like your modern American guy dressed up in fancy clothes and role playing parts they were obviously never bred to fill. This duke reads like the real deal. He's superior, distant, judgemental and definitely a man of his time and rank. The heroine is deserving of the label 'heroine', but she is at times also deserving of one of the labels the duke hangs on her - she does tend to put her own reputation on the line from time to time, but for a good cause - the errant and irritating Clary, the duke's niece who is also his ward.

What made this story though was the duke, his odious and truly evil heir, and the well-meaning but air-headed and tiresomely persistent chap who dogged our heroine for most of the story and was ill-used by the aforementioned odious and truly evil heir of the hero. Each of these characters were well fleshed out and alive on the page, making this a really enjoyable read.

A thoroughly entertaining read.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot for the Duke to Despair of.

The Lady's Ghost is actually the first in this trilogy, followed by the Duke's Despair although it was not a necessary read for the enjoyment of this book. The Duke's problem is the coming out of his 18 year old niece. Very naive, she alternated between stubborn, hysterical, and totally clueless. Into this potential season's disaster, Miss Thea is pulled as she attempts to intervene between the angry Duke and his angrier ward. Unknown a true villain lurks pulling the strings. Nice.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lively and engaging historical romance (regency) with lots of fun dialog. A great double-story as the young Clary makes a mess of her coming out season, and the lively Thea takes her by the hand. I'm really enjoying this series

[Patricia Wissore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept me entertained with the problems Clary kept getting herself into which brought Victor and Thea closer together as they tried to stay apart! Read it in one sitting and loved it!

[Donnamiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

This book is a fast moving read that you will not want to put down. I can not hardly Waite for the next book to come out great job to the author.