The Duke

Devil's Duke #3

by Katharine Ashe

Katharine Ashe continues her lush and sensual Devil’s Duke series with a sweeping story of unbreakable love

Six years ago, when Lady Amarantha Vale was an innocent in a foreign land and Gabriel Hume was a young naval officer, they met . . . and played with fire.

Now Gabriel is the dark lord known to society as the Devil’s Duke, a notorious recluse hidden away in a castle in the Highlands. Only Amarantha knows the truth about him, and she won’t be intimidated. He is the one man who can give her the answers she needs.

But Gabriel cannot let her learn his darkest secret. So begins a game of wit and desire that proves seduction is more satisfying—and much more wicked—the second time around…

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adult, Regency

395 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 26, 2017

About the author

Katharine Ashe is the USA Today bestselling author of historical romances reviewers call “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent,” including two Amazon's Best Romances of the Year. A professor of history and popular culture, she writes fiction because she adores the grand adventures and breathtaking sensuality of historical romance. For more information, please visit her at http://www.katharineashe.com.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Duke by Katharine Ashe is a 2017 Avon publication.

Ah- Sweeping romance! We sure do need more of those!

In this third installment of the ‘Devil’s Duke’ series, we finally get Gabriel’s highly anticipated story.


Lady Amarantha Vale follows her betrothed, a missionary, to Jamaica, where she finds herself fighting off the ravages of a dangerous hurricane with a young naval officer, named Gabriel Hume. During that frightful night, with their very lives hanging in the balance, the two forge an unsinkable bond.

But, there are forces working against them, determined to keep them from the life they should have had together. However, there is a mightier force out there, one stronger than the hurricane which brought them together, and as we all know, that force- aka- true love, can not and will not be denied, no matter how many obstacles you toss onto its path.

After Amarantha’s husband dies, she goes in search of her missing sister-in-law, which brings her to Scotland, and to Gabriel Hume- also known as the Devil’s Duke, a man with a dark, murderous reputation he hasn’t even bothered to deny.

Eventually, after five long years, Gabe and Amarantha will stand face to face with one another. The cruel, twisted hands of fate that forced them apart will reveal themselves, but for Amarantha the chance to recapture her one true love and her much deserved happily ever after may have come too late, for Amarantha has decided her decisions about men and love never are the right ones, so she has hardened herself against the temptation of making yet another mistake.

Well, what can I say? Katharine Ashe has gone and done it again!!

Before I get to the romantic elements, which is what the story is all about, of course, I do want to mention the obvious research concerning slavery addressed in this novel, which gave the story a little extra padding in the depth department, and was quite informative.



I also enjoyed the correspondence between Amarantha and her sister, the contents of which, preceded many of the chapters.


The characters are well drawn, very human, fallible, and likeable. I struggled just a tiny bit with the expanded cast of characters, which slowed me down a little-

But, other than that, as far as I’m concerned, this novel is what romance is all about. I love, love, love sweeping sagas and stories of undying love and devotion. For some reason, I always enjoyed stories where a couple must overcome obstacles, enduring many years of separation, before they find their way back to one another.

The conflicts, secrets, and emotional intensity always capture my imagination and my heart, keeping me riveted to the pages, totally immersed, wondering if the truth will ever come out, if too much time has passed, if they are destined to be star crossed lovers, or if true love will give them the strength to flatten all the forces working against them and ultimately prevail in the end.

I love characters who overcome adversity, who fight for love and each other. Seeing them win the battle after all they have endured, overcoming personal fears, to finally have their ‘always and forever’ makes the reward that much sweeter and appreciated all the more.

This novel harkens back to the heyday of historical romances, and is EXACTLY what a historical romance should consist of, but always seems so elusive.

Well done- again- Katharine!!

4.5 stars

[Astrid - The Bookish Sweet Tooth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review @ Vanilla & Spice Books

✮✮✮ 3 STARS ✮✮✮





I used to read a lot of Historical Romance so I have read Katharine Ashe's books before and know they tend to be a bit more angsty than others. She has a beautiful way with words and knows how pull you into the era and place she writes about and makes it feel authentic.

While this is absolutely true for this book I have had a couple of issues with it. This story is about an idealistic, bright-eyed young woman and a charming, gorgeous rogue who meet under adverse circumstances, fall in love and have both of their hearts broken, a circumstance neither of them has a say in. Ms. Ashe sets us up for an epic love story and it would have been that if the story hadn't lacked proper guidance for the reader.

While reading we are introduced to multiple characters and names which we don't get a proper explanation for or introduction to. There are multiple subplots happening at the same time and they got me really confused, especially because I had to go back and look up who the people were who were written about at the time.
I admire Katharine Ashe for picking a topic that didn't shine a bright light on humanity - the slavery in the early 19th century and while it is obvious that the author has vast knowledge about it the confusion overshadowed the theme and I never got really into it. With all the facts, names and omissions I just got lost in the story and didn't know anymore what was relevant and what wasn't.

I have absolutely not complaints about the hero, Gabriel, who was just beautiful. He wore his heart on his sleeve and his humor cracked me up and his shameless flirting completely charmed me. I loved him fiercely.

“A commander who hordes what his men need to survive has no honor,” he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “But, lass, when he finally takes a cup into his hands and tastes that water . . .”
“I have no idea what you are trying to say to me.”
“Amarantha Vale—”
“Garland.”
“’Tis unconscionably good to see you again.”

The heroine, Amarantha, was endearing although I did get frustrated with her toward the end. She was a free spirit and at some point I shouted "ENOUGH" at my Kindle because she kept running - never in her life she wanted to be under a man's control again, yet, her free spirit is exactly what Gabriel loved about her so much and it was so obvious.

Five and a half years ago the girl straining to be free of her restraints had captivated him. This woman, entirely free of shackles, filled every part of him with truly insane euphoria.

Their banter was a thing of beauty. Especially when Amarantha addressed Gabriel with Shark Bait, referring to his profession as a naval officer, or his refusal to address her with her wedded name.

The captain bowed. “Ma’am.”
She nodded. “Shark Bait.”

The romance was wonderful and sweet and the author's writing is beautiful and suits the time this story is written. This book could have been easily a five star read - but with all the issues it just fell short. I KNOW that Katharine Ashe can do better.

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a heavy heart, I've given this a C+ at AAR, so that's 3.5 stars

I think it’s fair to say that those of us who review books do it because, well, we love books.  We love reading them, talking about them, hearing about them, writing about them and enthusing about them to others.  But when a novel you’ve really been looking forward to, written by an author you admire and whose work you enjoy turns out to be disappointing, it’s hard to sit down and face the prospect of laying out all the reasons the book doesn’t work.

But that goes with the territory, and I can’t tell you how much it pains me to say that The Duke, the latest instalment of Katharine Ashe’s  Devil’s Duke  series was quite the disappointment. I loved the first two books, The Rogue and The Earl (I awarded both DIK status at AAR) and had hoped for more of what I’d found there  – a tightly-written, well-conceived plot, intriguing and engaging principals and an intense, character-driven romance … perhaps my expectations were too high, but I didn’t find any of those things here.

The story begins some five years before the principal events of the previous books take place. Aramantha Vale, younger sister of Emily (heroine of The Earl), lovely, vivacious and keen to do something with her life, travels to Jamaica to marry her fiancé, a young clergyman.  Just a couple of days after she arrives, there’s a terrible hurricane, during which she makes the acquaintance of a handsome young naval officer, Gabriel Hume, when they are forced to take shelter together in a cellar.  While her fiancé works to repair his church, Aramantha volunteers her services at the hospital, where she is surprised and pleased to meet Captain Hume once more.  As the weeks pass and the two spend a fair amount of time together, attraction sparks between them, something Aramantha recognises guiltily, but cannot help.  By the time Gabriel’s orders come through, they have agreed she is to call off her betrothal, and he asks her to wait for him to return; but when, not long after Gabriel’s  departure, she receives news of his death, she is utterly heartbroken and goes through with the wedding.  Not long after this, she discovers that reports of Gabriel’s death were greatly exaggerated and hears he has shacked up with a woman in Montego Bay.

Almost six years later, the now-widowed Aramantha journeys from Jamaica to Scotland in search of a dear friend, Penny, who fled the island suddenly for no reason Aramantha can discern. Arriving in Leith, she begins hearing tales of the Devil’s Duke, a devil-worshipping abducter of innocent maidens who resides in a remote castle in the Highlands. When this satanic figure is identified to her as none other than Gabriel Hume, now the Duke of Loch Irvine, Aramantha is almost amused that people could be so gullible as to believe such rot – but when she does eventually find her friend, she is near death after giving birth to a son, and her last words are of the Devil’s Duke.

Aramantha remains in Scotland (as readers of The Earl will already know) because she wants to know the nature of the connection between Gabriel and Penny and to find the father of Penny’s child. She gets a job at the Inn near his estate at Kallin, but isn’t able to effect entry to the castle, even though Gabriel knows she’s there and he suspects she knows he knows. But when they meet at an assembly, and she insists he invite her to his Highland estate at Haiknayes, her intention is to discover the truth about her friend and the rumours surrounding Gabriel – although once there, when she can’t avoid him or run away from him, Aramantha spends most of her time with him having roundabout, slightly suggestive conversations that never go anywhere. All the rumours that have circulated about Gabriel in the previous books are explained away with a snap of the fingers, because of course he’s done nothing remotely evil. Then, at around the 80% mark, there’s a sudden elopement, a ridiculous blackmail plot is thrown in, Aramantha’s plan to thwart it and save Gabriel is even more ridiculous, he refuses to let her save him but it doesn’t matter anyway because the blackmailer is a coward, they all go home, The End.

I suspect that the problems I found with the storytelling and characterisation can be put down to one thing; Ms Ashe has tried to cram in too much in terms of plot and historical detail and lost sight of the fact that the book is supposed to be primarily a romance. In her author’s note, she explains that she had wanted to write the sort of romance nobody is writing these days; one of those that takes place in exotic locations, includes lots of characters and spans several years. But I can’t help thinking that perhaps she was so focused on her ‘big canvas’ concept that she got carried away by it and neglected other essential elements – plot, romance and characterisation. It’s also clear from her notes that Ms. Ashe has done extensive research into the slave trade and the experiences of slaves in the Caribbean in the 1820s, and that it is something about which she feels passionately. But she tries to shoehorn in too much, so that neither the romance nor the storylines featuring the women who have escaped from truly horrific conditions get the amount of attention they deserve. And I can’t ignore the fact that Ms. Ashe’s prose, something I have called poetic and lyrical in the past veers dangerously close to the purple on numerous occasions.

On top of the confusing story and overstuffed plot, we have a heroine I liked less and less as the book progressed and a hero I’d expected to be a strong, commanding presence, but who mostly just faded into the background. While I could understand – to an extent – Aramantha’s reluctance to get involved with Gabriel again, I couldn’t understand why she seemed to blame him for everything that went wrong between them, is willing to trust practically anyone except him and is prepared to make sacrifices for almost anything – except him. While he is quite swoon-worthy; constant, patient, kind and willing to do pretty much anything for her, she pushes him away time after time, and quite honestly, I think I would have been cheering if he’d told her to bugger off – and meant it.

Much as it saddens me to say it, I really can’t recommend The Duke to any but the author’s die-hard fans and those who want to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the Devil’s Duke. I will read the next book in the series (The Prince) and will continue to read Katharine Ashe’s novels, but this was a huge disappointment and I’m absolutely gutted.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars. Could be 1 star but for now I'm going with 2 stars. This book was so problematic which is hilarious because it is supposed to be super feminist and such. Traditionally, this author's books ARE feminist, and very well-written. They are definitely books to to keep an eye on, because they will always feature a strong heroine and a kind, sturdy man.

But what happens when the heroine is an absolute bitch, a snob, a horrible, disrespectful person to the hero?

Read this book to find out.

Just kidding. Don't read this book. Why would you do that. My blood pressure is probably so high right now. How dare this heroine be written to be a feminist and yet, she is a horrible, terrible person. As a self-proclaimed feminist, I can't say I feel very kindly toward this heroine. If anything, I really want to shake her (or worse). Because she is so terrible to the one person that is kind and sweet and good to her. Everything about her to him is toxic and unhealthy, and it made me sick and outraged. You call this feminist but it features a heroine hitting the hero? And for no reason at all? (Literally part of that scene was "I don't know why I did that!" Bitch what???) She has no manners toward him? He takes her in, takes her friends in, literally finds them and brings them into her home, and she utters not one word of thanks? She blames him for literally everything and yet nothing is his fault? I bet she blames him for her getting old too? For the existence of hurricanes? For her marrying another man? Does that give her the excuse to be a cruel, disgusting person to him? Do we give heroines free passes to be outright awful snobs because they think the world (or in this case, one man) has created all of their problems? (WHEN IN FACT, THIS MAN HAS CREATED MAYBE 0.01% OF HER PROBLEMS?!?!?!)

No thanks. I don't want your feminism.

And for those of you who are going to come up in my space and tell me "you're wrong!", "Amarantha has every right to be mad at Gabriel", "he's wrong, she's justified!", "he left her", "he's a man, of course he caused her problems", stop right there. Don't bother, I don't want to hear it. Amarantha is a horrible person and if I knew her in real life, well, I wouldn't. You know why? Because I would never want to associate myself with someone like her in real life.



Aaaaaand now for my actual review:


***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

The Duke by Katharine Ashe
Book Three of the Devil's Duke series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: September 26, 2017
Rating: 2 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

Six years ago, when Lady Amarantha Vale was an innocent in a foreign land and Gabriel Hume was a young naval officer, they met . . . and played with fire.

Now Gabriel is the dark lord known to society as the Devil’s Duke, a notorious recluse hidden away in a castle in the Highlands. Only Amarantha knows the truth about him, and she won’t be intimidated. He is the one man who can give her the answers she needs.

But Gabriel cannot let her learn his darkest secret. So begins a game of wit and desire that proves seduction is more satisfying—and much more wicked—the second time around…

What I Liked:

It pains me, to give this book a poor rating. But it also pains me that this book, with all of its feminist themes, contains such a horrible female protagonist who so poorly represents feminism. Amarantha loves to be her own woman - no one commands her anymore - and yet she treats Gabriel with such utter disrespect. It's sickening, especially since this book is written by an author who typically does such a good job in writing feminist historical romance novels.

This book is divided into two sections. The first third or so is set in 1817, when Amarantha and Gabriel first meet, in Jamaica. This part of the story shows them falling in love, through simple interactions. Amarantha has come to Jamaica with her fiance, a pastor, who is from England and is doing missionary work on the island. Gabriel is a naval officer whose ship is docked in Jamaica, and so he is volunteering his services to the people of the island in the meantime. Amarantha never meant to fall for this man, but she did. He asks her to wait for him, to marry him when he comes back. Except he doesn't come back, and Amarantha receives a letter from his cousin that Gabriel has died. She marries the pastor four days later. Months later, she finds out that Gabriel never died. Six years later, Amarantha is widowed and on her way to Scotland to look for a friend from Jamaica who fled to Scotland. There, Amarantha hears about the Devil's Duke, who turns out to be none other than Gabriel Hume, Duke of Loch Irvine. But he is no devil, and even though Amarantha has sworn never to trust a man again, she finds herself falling all over again for the same man who broke her heart.

The literal only good thing about this book, the only part that is redeeming the book for me, is the hero. Gabriel is a saint. When he and Amarantha first meet and fall in love, Gabriel's character shines. He never touches her, he never seduces her, he never says or does anything untoward. And yet he is direct and charming, and also sweet and compassionate. Six years later, Gabriel is even more selfless and kind, and fiercely protective. Gabriel is such a sweetheart, and he deserved a hundred times better than Amarantha.

Let me tell you all about Amarantha.

What I Did Not Like:

Y'all, there is a trend in historical romance that I have begun to hate with a passion. Let me preface by saying that as a twenty-two-year-old educated independent feminist woman, I am 1000000% all for strong independent women who take charge of their lives. Even in a historical context, in which that might seem anachronistic, I'm all for it.

What I am not all for, is the heroine being a complete b***h to the hero. I don't understand how this trend is so popular in historical romance right now. HOW is this a sign of strength and feminism? HOW is it okay to glorify this type of heroine? I understand the alpha heroine type. I do not understand why she has to be a rude, ungrateful swine.

Amarantha is exactly that. When she arrives at Gabriel's home, he welcomes her in (despite the fact that she broke his heart when she didn't wait for him and married the pastor she didn't want to marry). He invites her friends into his home. He goes out and brings her friends to his home. He goes out of his way for her and her annoying friends. And not once does she thank him. Not once does she show any shred of gratitude. Instead, all she does is accuse him, demand answers of him, order him around, like that's her house, and he is her slave. She should know better, given the context of slavery in this book. I am so disgusted. How dare she act sanctimonious and holier-than-thou to a man who doesn't owe her sh*t and still offers her everything he has. How dare she not thank him for the mouthful of tea she drinks, let alone lodging for herself and her friends, safety and comfort? Y'all. Let me walk into my parents' friends houses and not say "thank you for letting me stay here!" no fewer than nine thousand times and just you wait and see how many times my parents will scold me.

What's more, Amarantha blames Gabriel for all of her problems. She blames him for her getting married to the pastor. She blames him for her distrust in men. She blames him for breaking her heart. And yet, SHE IS AT FAULT FOR ALL OF THIS. She says he seduced her. He never touched her, never beguiled her, blah blah blah. She says "he should have known better, she was so young." Girlfriend was, what, eighteen when she left home and ran away with the pastor TO JAMAICA? And met Gabriel, a man who talked to her and occasionally flirted with her but never touched her or did anything untoward or tried anything? And yet, she blames him because she was "so young"? YOU RAN AWAY WITH A STRANGE MAN ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE OCEAN. You're old enough to do that, but let's blame a man for "seducing you" at a tender young age, the same age you ran away, crossed oceans, and engaged yourself to a deceitful snake of a pastor.

Sure, Jan.

Amarantha just likes feel righteous and holier-than-thou, and blaming Gabriel is the solution to all of her problems. She broke his heart. And NOT ONCE did she apologize for that. You know what? She has just as much reason to apologize as he does - if not more. She waited FOUR DAYS before jumping into marriage with the pastor. She was so childish and naive and yet she thought Gabriel was the one fooling her, when it was the pastor. You know how mad this makes me? You know how much I want to throttle Amarantha and wrap warm blankets around Gabriel? God, if Amarantha were someone I knew in real life. There would be a throw-down.

Where was I... so Amarantha is an ungrateful, cold-hearted, snobby b***h. If I'm being honest (when am I not), she demonstrated time and time again that she must have lost half of her brain cells while crossing the oceans back and forth, because the amount of stupidity she displayed throughout the book was astounding. Not just with Gabriel, but in general. Take the climax, for example, in which she jumps right into this hare-brained scheme to "save everyone", when in fact she is being selfish and a stupid "martyr". And then of course Gabriel swoops in and sacrifices himself for everything, because he is so much better of a person than Amarantha. I'm so irritated, y'all. I might have thrown Amarantha off a ship if we were travelling together during this time. She had no respect for Gabriel.

Forget man and woman, power imbalances, feminism, etc. Basic courtesy still exists, right? Basic respect for a fellow human being? Amarantha displays none of that. Where the f*** are your manners, sweetie?

Maybe I'm just tired. I really thought this would be a sweet love story, a story of two lowers reunited after many years. Instead, what I get is a dumba** treating a poor sweet man like sh*t, the poor man is still totally in love with her after six years so of course he just rolls over and takes it, she continues to treat him poorly, strings him along, loses herself to lust for a second, retreats, does the lust thing again, retreats, rinse repeat, etc. I felt for Gabriel because after six years he is still pining (is this realistic though? It's almost a little creepy...), but I think he should have moved on. Amarantha is no prize. I wouldn't want to be her friend or family member. I'd probably punch her.

OH! On that note. You know what made me REALLY mad? Amarantha has the nerve to hit Gabriel. I'm talking a full-on open-palmed slap across his face. He didn't say anything to her. He didn't do anything wrong, nothing she didn't agree to. And then out of the blue, she slaps him with no explanation. EVEN IF THERE WAS AN EXPLANATION, THIS IS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO WRONG. HOW can you call yourself a feminist and write a heroine that hits her man? How can you be a feminist protagonist and dare hurt a man (especially an innocent one that didn't do anything to you)? This infuriates me to no end. I'd give this book a sh*t rating for this one thing alone. And then it seemed like it had no place or purpose, because nothing came out of it. Why bother even including it?! It's a bad move!

Okay, I'm done.

Would I Recommend It:

Ha. No. I've had a love-hate relationship with this series. Currently I'm struggling with this author's books - they are incredibly hit-or-miss. I really want to love her books (and I've enjoyed many in the past) because I love what the author stands for (feminism, strong women, kind men, sweeping love story, etc.). I hate this kind of horrible heroine though. If I hate the heroine, I pretty much always hate the book. And this type of heroine, the one that is a feminist-heroine-so-therefore-I must-love-and-worship-her-otherwise-I-am-not-a-feminist-myself but is a terrible person and completely awful to the book's hero... I can't stand this kind of heroine. And I've been seeing this type show up in HR and I hate it. I am not saying that heroines have to be sweet and biddable and blah blah blah. But so many of them are snobby, prickly, rude, selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed, a**holes, especially toward the hero and the hero alone. I do not want to associate myself with those type of toxic women in real life. WHY would I want to read about them? I don't.

Don't bring that kind of feminism near me.

Rating:

1.5 stars -> rounded up to 2 stars. Let me be clear and repeat myself: it pains me to give this book a poor rating. Because I know the kind of message the author wants to leave in her books, and I know how great her stories can be. But this book... this book sends a bad message. This book is not the kind of feminist historical romance novel I would ever recommend or give to my (not-yet-existent) daughters. You want good feminist historical romances that aren't so toxic? Try Maya Rodale's, Tessa Dare's, Elizabeth Hoyt's, Caroline Linden's. I thought I was getting a sweet romance with this one. I was wrong. Now I need to bleach my brain and read some fluffy YA romances, or maybe an intense sci-fi novel with a sexy romance. Something straightforward without a toxic heroine.

Despite all of this, I will be reading The Prince. I'm hoping I'll be two for four with this series.

[Celia {Hiatus until August} · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katharine Ashe tem o poder de transformar as personagens.
Adoro a escrita dela.
Gabriel já tinha aparecido em três dos seus livros anteriores, sempre distante, uma personagem misteriosa.
Neste livro transforma-se em "alguém real", é impossível não se gostar dele.
De toda a sua história, percurso. A parte humana e todo o mistério que anda à volta do Duque do Diabo.

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars. Blown away by this epic, sweeping, adventurous, breathtakingly romantic historical. Wow, this was so good.

[Sammy Loves Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroine kinda made this difficult to get through. She was willful, distrustful, and annoying!!!
Absolutely loved the honorable Duke with his big heart!

I skimmed a few parts too. This should have been significantly shorter and would have flowed better with much editing!

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katharine Ashe's The Duke is third in her Devil's Duke series, and for me, was the easiest to follow thus far. I have been a fan of Katharine's writing since I discovered her Prince Catcher's series year ago and I have since read everything on her backlist and her new releases. While I love Ashe's rich writing, this series has not been a favorite of mine due to harder-to-follow plots and difficult-to-like heroines. This novel has beautifully immersive writing and a story on a grand scale. I thought it was heading toward a 5 star read, but the final characterization of the heroine and some last minute drama kept it from fully making it there.

For those of you who long for the "old school" romance novels that took place in exotic locations and over the course of years, I'm happy to say, this book fits that bill. I really enjoyed reading how these two characters met, how time changed them, and how they finally reconnected. This story starts in Jamaica and ultimately finishes up in various locales in Scotland. Ashe is very good at setting a scene and I enjoyed experiencing the island heat and the hurricane along with the icy Scottish wind (all in one book!).

While there were a few letters in the beginning that were a bit confusing if you haven't read the earlier books in the series (the heroine in The Duke, Amarantha Vale, is the sister of the heroine in The Earl, Emily Vale), I quickly got swept up in the story and read how impulsive Amarantha came to be in Jamaica and had some growing up to do. I also enjoyed seeing young Gabriel Hume, who was an officer and then captain of a ship docked in the port in Jamaica. The romance early on is impetuous, intense, and a bit confusing for both characters. They are young and I thought that Ashe did a nice job of capturing that youth in the early books.

However, then miscommunication and lack of good friends on Gabriel's end and impulsiveness and poor decisions on Amarantha's end create a separation between the two that lasts for years. For those of you who have read Ashe before, you know that the long separation is a favorite plot point of Ashe's. The reasons for the separation are pretty well fleshed out, but I enjoyed In the Arms of the Marquess best with regards to lost lovers reunited :) Years later, the couple meet back up in Scotland and it is at this point that Ashe ties together a lot of plot threads and links this novel to the theme of the Devil's Duke that she has been developing all series. I loved how everything came together in the beginning. It was awesome because I could see it coming and it hit the perfect note.

Initially, I loved the transition. I could feel the intense emotions that came forward, I ached for Gabriel's secret, and I loved the descriptions of the ancient Scottish castles. However, self-righteous stubbornness on the part of the heroine and a needless, angsty race at the end of the book deflated my 5 star enjoyment. Amarantha started off likable. She was fresh, young, and while she made mistakes, I appreciated her thought process as she learned from them. As the story progresses, she becomes an ice queen. While I could understand some of her iciness based on her life experience, I could not understand why she blamed the hero for everything. She is constantly trusting and sacrificing much for others, but she jerks the hero all over the place as she blames him for circumstances beyond his control, says intensely hurtful things, and persistently changes her mind to Gabriel's detriment. Also, there is a threat to the hero at the end of the book that just felt unbelievable to me. Without revealing spoilers, I will just say that I felt with all the connections of noble blood that Gabriel had (as well as his own ducal status), I didn't believe that the threat he was under was ever real, especially to necessitate the heroine's dramatic behavior. I felt that this drama could have been entirely cut from the book and focused more on Amarantha's and Gabriel's reconciliation and teamwork instead and I would have enjoyed it better. Even up to the end, Amarantha makes impulsive, stupid decisions without including the hero and it almost costs her happiness a second time. It really bothers me when characters show growth but then when it really counts, they revert back to the same critical decision that cost them dearly the first time. Finally, Ashe has some scenes where I felt the romantic language went a bit far and it felt more forced than romantic. For example, the hero describes Amarantha as ambrosia woman and she ogles all his male beauty--it just went too far for me and didn't feel right. Ashe's writing is still lovely, but this is the first time I've ever felt that she took it too far, but luckily, this is only at the end in a few scenes (for the most part it is spot-on).

It was in the last 15% of the novel that my rating dropped from 5 stars down to 3.5/4. Between the heroine's rigidity, the forced ending plotline, and the over-the-top romantic language, I just didn't love it to the end. I'd still recommend it because the journey is immersive and Ashe does create some beautiful scenes, but be prepared for some drama at the end that may frustrate you a bit. I will definitely still be eagerly anticipating Ashe's next release.

I received a complimentary copy from Edelweiss from the publisher for a chance to read and write an honest review.

[Ursula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Katharine Ashe. There- just putting it out there.

I want actual history in my HR. I want passion, sexual tension, angst. I want a sexy hero I can respect and who respects women. I want a heroine who is intelligent, fearless and independent. And I can count on Katherine Ashe to give it all to me :)

This story carries on from The Earl, I think my favourite of hers (and one I have yet to review) and again takes place in Scotland.
I won't go into the plot, suffice to say there is lots of drama and the issue of slavery, as it was pursued in the West Indian colonies of the British Empire, is explored. I loved the link to the politics/social problems of the time, and that is something KA always does well.

For me, though, it is always about the characters.



Gabriel, our hero in this book, is a truly wonderful man. Yes, he was incredibly tall, dark and handsome. He spoke with a Scottish brogue. He had been Captain in the Navy and was now a Duke, due to the death of his older brother. So HR cliche fulfilled. But this dude LOVES. I mean, like a BEAST. His love for the young girl Amarantha, whom he meets in Jamaica when she is just 17 and preparing to marry another, stands the test of time. No running off, when he thinks she didn't wait for him, and screwing anything with a skirt. No sin and debauchery. No self-indulgent "rake" behaviour. No, this is a mature and deep-thinking man who decides that she was the love of his life and he will never want another. So he becomes a bit reclusive, dedicates himself to getting his estate on its feet again and gets involved in a philanthropic venture that is about others and not about himself. Sigh.

Amarantha is a passionate young thing, very idealistic, very naive at first. She learns life's lessons the hard way and becomes committed to the Abolitionist cause, working to make the English populace at large aware of the inhumanity and immorality of the slave trade. She is independent, fiercely intelligent and determined to never let a man control her life again. She has seen what horror a man's control has meant to other women, too, which is why she takes up the cause of the ex-slave friend of hers from the West Indies and stumbles upon the Duke by accident.

These two strike sparks off each other. The sexual tension, the desperate yearning and rigid self-control they battle to preserve when they are together is exhausting. The witty verbal exchanges and emotional connection they have kept me glued to the page and I was SO cheering on their HEA.

Ashe's books are never easy reading. The souls are often tormented or damaged and the path to the HEA can be winding and painful, so that our protagonists really have to work for that successful conclusion. This makes it all the more satisfying. The writing is mature and confident, the descriptions of Scotland's rugged landscapes and homes/castles beguiling. (I really need to go there again- it's been 25 years!)

I didn't love this one quite as much as the previous one. I think Lady Justice's letters are a triumph and they were the scarlet thread that linked the Falcon Club series together in such a way that the final book (The Earl was a massive and fabulous climax. (I had tears running down my face.) But The Duke was a great story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Please don't take too long before you finish your next book, Ms Ashe!

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by Edelweiss and Publisher for an honest review.

Rating 2.5

This was a positive start with Amarantha and Gabriel relationship and their interaction. The character build was slow but steady, with the hero being the most likable. I found Amarantha at the beginning to be somewhat intriguing, but as the story progressed everything just fell apart and flat.

The story hit a point were to many characters were introduced with too much activity and plot twist and sub plots. Amarantha decision making left me scratching my head and very frustrated. I'm finding KA heroines lately to be immature and lacking in decision making. The hero I found to be strong and likable. We have w a y too much letter writing going on and I got lost in the story of who's who and were everyone is in the story. We than fast forward five years and it didn't get any better but found I had lost interest in what happened to the couple or the storyline.

This author is usually a sure bet for me but recently I've found her writing style different and not what I normally like in HR.

[Sissy's Romance Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review For :THE DUKE by Katharine Ashe 4.5 Stars'THE DUKE' by Katharine Ashe is Book Three in the "Devil's Duke" series. This is the story of Amarantha Vale and Gabriel Hume. This can easily be a standalone book. Amarantha from an early age wanted to only marry for love and thought she might have found that in Reverend Paul Garland. Gabriel was a Lieutenant for the Royal Navy when he first met Amarantha during a hurricane where they were trapped in a cellar. Amarantha and Gabriel survived and they both went into helping other people with the aftermath. Amarantha had made it clear a few days later that she was engaged but Gabriel said 'Not for Long'. Amarantha started to see that Paul wasn't all that she thought him to be and that her feelings were going toward Gabriel. But his ship had to sail out now that the worst of the cleanup was done but he promised to return for her and she was to wait. But she was later told that his ship was ambushed by bandits and that Gabriel was dead. Now several years later Amarantha is a widow looking to find her Sister In Law which has taken her to Scotland. There she finds that Gabriel is a live and they both start to know that they have been kept apart but can they get back what was starting to grow within them?This was a great second chance at love story that Ms. Ashe has wrote! "My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2H... https://twitter.com/soapsrus68 https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookR... http://booklikes.com/bloghttps://roma... https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebo...
 
 

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere in this book, I believe, is a good story.

When I started reading, I was hooked. I loved the interactions between Amarantha and Gabriel (from their meet cute to their forbidden flirtations), and I thought this would be a guaranteed great read.

The novel then skipped into the future and lost me completely. It takes quite a few chapters for the characters to reunite again, and some of those chapters were filled with missives from Amarantha to family members or friends. I'm not a fan of epistolary novels, so I personally didn't enjoy how lengthy those sections were.

When they are brought together again, they're both hiding secrets. Their conversations read like riddles, neither being upfront (for reasons unknown). It's frustrating to read conversation after conversation after conversation where speaking plainly would solve so many problems.

There are also a lot of characters and subplots thrown in during the second half that I struggled to keep track of.

I stopped reading at page 200.

I did enjoy the beginning of the book immensely, and because of that I'd give this author another try in the future. This book just doesn't seem to be a good fit for me personally.

[Tracy DeNeal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa!!!! I've been following this series from the beginning. I never anticipated this resolution to the mystery. I was anxious throughout. I had no idea how this would be resolved.

Katharine Ashe has woven an expansive tale that takes the reader from a genteel English home of the nobility to colonial Jamaica and then to the wilder climes of Scotland.

Our protagonists are seldom in the same location, but the action is so tight and the intricacies of the story are so vital that there is little need for constant contact between the two.

Gabriel Hume has maintained a shadowy presence throughout the Devil's Duke series. Innuendo and rumor combined with damning circumstances have painted a grim picture of him throughout the series. The truth of him was not only plausible, but satisfying as this story progresses.

Amarantha Garland nee Vale, portrayed as the very beautiful younger sister of our dear Emily Vale (Pocahontas, Marie Antoine, Boudicca, Lady Justice, et. al) appeared in earlier novels briefly although I didn't truly get to know her until this book. I'm so happy that I did. She is awesome.

The antagonists were legion. As we moved from one phase of the story to the next, antagonists presented themselves. Some were worse than others. We even experience weather as an antagonist.

The love story was so sweet. The manner in which our dear couple meets is so poignant. The expectation and the reality were so different. It propelled me along and I wanted more. Ashe gave it to me in spades.

I truly enjoyed this book and lost sleep last night and this morning trying to get to the resolution. I wanted to know. I couldn't wait. To me, that is the hallmark of a truly great story. The inability to relinquish a book in favor of sleep is proof of the superiority of the story.

[Lover of Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would like to say that I loved this book and that I adored this story….but its sad to say that I will be marking this as a DNF. I actually haven’t done that in a long while actually so I always hate having to do it, but I have found that as a reader, blogger, book reviewer its a necessary evil and one that I don’t enjoy especially when I have so much admiration for the author. She has always worked for me in the past, which is why this DNF is so painful for me. Because I did give it till about 57% before I called it quits and normally I try to quite earlier if I am not into the story or the book just isn’t working for me. I don’t think that it was the writing at all, because at the beginning I was into it actually. I was very intrigued by the prologue. But the story actually was so CONFUSING. It had so many players, new ones coming in all the time and I was feeling dazed out of the confusion trying to work it all out and how on earth they had anything to do with this pair. Even after 50% of the story we didn’t really see them interact that much together and that can be frustrating to see. I also didn’t feel like this book had much direction that much. It felt so NOT Katharine Ashe, the story just felt off for me, and after a whole week of trying to get through it I gave up on it.

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful written, sweeping, epic, and full of adventure and love.

My only detractor was a frustrating heroine. This hero was everything I wanted and more and the heroine had me ready to shake her, one too many times.

This author's writing was delightful though and I cannot wait to read more.

4/5 stars

[O · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last, a separation and reunion romance where the heroine doesn't uselessly wait for the hero and gets on with her life during the separation. I never thought I'd see it!

Amarantha is betrothed to a missionary and leaves England to join him in Jamaica. There she meets the hero, Gabriel, a navy Lieutenant who has all the qualities of the 'ideal man' she had imagined since she was eight. They fall in love but Gabriel's orders come through and he asks her to break it off with the missionary and wait for his return. Sometime later the heroine receives news of Gabriel's death, and though she's grieving, decides to move on and marry the missionary.

It is only months later that she learns Gabriel is not really dead and there are rumours that he is with another woman. Heartbroken, she proceeds to make the best of her life as a missionary's wife. Five years later when her friend mysteriously runs away, she starts to look for Gabriel again- for answers.

Gabriel is the very definition of swoon-worthy romance hero. I adored reading his perspective because you can really feel the love he has for Amarantha everytime he looks at her, thinks of her, how he describes her. Take this example:

Halting again, she faced him and for the first time in five and a half years Gabriel wished the entire world away—everything but this woman. He had forgotten this pleasure, the acute pleasure of walking beside her, feeling her near, his senses filled with her voice and colors and the cadence of her movements. That simply trading words with another human being could forge a well of joy in his stomach seemed a miracle. He had forgotten this. He had made himself forget.

Not only that, another reason I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the hero is that he stayed celibate during the five years of their separation! Even though he was betrayed, even though he had every valid reason to move on, he couldn't do it because he was still in love with her. Those who read separation romances would know something like this happening is as rare as a seeing a unicorn.

Usually, the "heroes" idly fool around with other women and still claim they're in love with the heroine. Usually, the manwhores say stuff like "I've slept with countless other women but never forgot you!" However they froth at the mouth if the heroine as much as looked at someone else during their separation, and most will very readily call her a slut for doing so. You'll find none of that here. Gabriel never shamed the heroine for marrying the missionary. He actually never said one bad word to her. There is not a single bone of condescension or assholery to be found in him.

Compared to him, Amarantha was a horrible heroine. She felt like a dithering idiot who is mistrustful of the hero EVEN AFTER their misunderstandings were cleared. Which is weird because she was the one who decided to not trust Gabriel and believe idle rumours without evidence. It doesn't make sense that she has trust issues when it should be the hero instead. Even after their reunion, she put him through unnecessary heartbreak and pain over and over and it was awful to read.

BUT, the role-reversal was delightful to read, and Gabriel was a sweetheart so I can't give this anything less than five stars.

[Fabiola Chenet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm very sad with this quotation for one of Katharine's books. But the heroine's choices from the beginning to the end annoyed me a lot.

[Ang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the long awaited continuation of the Devil’s Duke series and conclusion to the mystique surrounding the “Devil’s Duke”.

In typical Katharine Ashe style, there are a lot of details and dialogue between characters. The heroine, Amarantha Vale, the sister of Emily Vale in The Earl and many of the Falcon Club books, has her story told and it’s a bit of back and forth in time. Her connection and relationship with Gabriel, the hero, is developed well and one hopes the best for them despite their circumstances. Information is doled out periodically about what occurs between them and does not completely flow but we get the gist of it.

Not wanting to divulge any potential spoilers, I will just say Gabriel’s character is fully fleshed out and he is a wonderful, endearing leading man. I loved his sense of humor, honor, and devotion to those he loved. I became very frustrated with Amarantha as I really couldn’t understand her motives.

Katharine Ashe is a very eloquent writer and we get a lot of information - she always provides very rich stories. At times there was unnecessary dialogue but that is par for the course and just gives us more about each character. I feel her writing is similar to Grace Burrowes who also always has enriched stories with a lot of dialogue and description.

This is a good read and installment in the Devil’s Duke series. It could stand alone, but there are references to past characters without much background. I wish there wasn’t so much time between her books as I can’t remember what happens in prior books and there is no recap given. However, I realize authors have lives and I wouldn’t want quality compromised in order for books to be churned out on a set schedule.

[Dani (Dani Reviews Things) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Talk about a slow burn. This book made me wait. I'll admit that I am not the most patient with books, and I did find this really difficult in the middle, but I'm glad I stuck it out because the last 30% was worth it.

I don't really read historical romance, but it's a very popular subgenre of romance, so I naturally have to try a book every now and then. I find that it can be a bit OTT with the language of the time, and the last one I tried reading for review basically took a bunch of Austen characters, gave them new names, and threw them into a different historical setting. Yes, there are commonalities that are acceptable across the genre, but there should also be originality.

And I think that's why I made it through The Duke when I haven't been able to with other books. I felt that the two main characters were genuinely interesting. I loved Amarantha's fiery spirit, directness, and sense of fairness that did not default to what was acceptable at the time. Gabriel's balance of confidence, gruffness, and yet genuine desire Amarantha to choose him (with some encouragement) was enticing. (I've also been catching up on Outlander, so the timing of a Scottish accent was perfect.) I also want to say that Amarantha's (unusual for the time) attitude towards sex was awesome. And the chemistry was hot. Mmmmmm.

The plot got a bit convoluted, with so many people involved that I lost track of the names. (There were also characters from previous books in the series that appeared who I would have appreciated better had I read those books; I only discovered this after when I checked out the other books on Goodreads.) That being said, the author did somehow manage to bring the many storylines together at the end. (Yet I was still a little confused by how things managed to work out...hmmm...)

One thing I'm hoping is that, if the series continues, we see Amarantha and Gabriel again, and that Amarantha has a child like she wanted.

I'm glad that I gave historical romance another chance, and I'll be trying a few more books of the type. (In fact, if anyone has some recommendations, please do let me know!) This particular may have been a bit slow and confusing for me, but I was rewarded for my patience in the end with excellent kissing (and more) scenes!This review was originally posted on Love in a time of Feminism

[Lianne Pheno · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, in my opinion, is the best book Katharine Ashe has written and she has written some very good ones. We met Gabriel Hume, Duke of Loch Irvine, in the previous 2 books of this series, “The Rogue” and “The Earl”. Those glimpses didn’t begin to scratch the surface of the man you’ll come to know in “The Duke”.

Before Gabriel inherited his title, he was a Lieutenant in His Majesty’s navy. In Jamaica, he meets Amy Vale while taking shelter in a storage cellar during a hurricane and is attracted to her. Lady Amarantha Vale has fallen in love with a mere preacher, Mr. Paul Garland, and has followed him, with a chaperone, to Jamaica. After the storm, she spends time helping the doctor with the injured. She gets to know both Paul and Gabriel. Gabriel sets sail and asks her to wait for him to return. She decides not to marry Paul, but reconsiders when Gabriel’s cousin tells her he died at sea.

Later, Amy learns Gabriel survived the storm and believes he lied to her. Now widowed, Amy sails to Scotland to look for her missing friend, Penelope Baker. Penny’s trail leads to Castle Kallin, Gabriel’s highland estate. She also learns he is now a Duke. Finding the gates locked, she spies Gabriel repairing the roof but he does not acknowledge her. Determined to find Penny, she returns to Edinburgh and then to Haiknayes Castle as his guest.

Gabriel has secrets and problems of his own to deal with. He still loves Amy and desires to keep her safe. There are several very interesting story lines going on at this point. I will not go into detail as I refuse to spoil a very good complex plot. I like Amy very much but Gabriel stole my heart. He is one of my very favorite heroes and I think you’ll be surprised by him.

I hope you will try this wonderful book. This book can be read on its own, but is part of a series. Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me an ARC. They did not ask or require me to write a favorable review. Release date is September 26th.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The second chance trope is not my favorite. However, this one started out very promising. I almost gave it 5 stars.

In my opinion, Gabriel is the perfect reformed rake. Amarantha was young and naive when the story started but had pluck, and I liked that about her. The problem was that as time passed and she experienced life and hurt and should have gained wisdom, she didn't grow as much as she should. By the end, it was just a little too melodramatic; and she became irritating.

I do enjoy Katharine Ashe's writing. Her main characters are not perfect, and her villains are not irredeemable. I appreciate human flaw apparent in everyone.

[Tania Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Duque foi bem mais interessante que os anteriores da saga!

O romance demorou a desenvolver mas todo o mistério em volta do Duque do Diabo e da procura de Amarantha e do regresso ao passado, foi uma boa leitura!

[Jen]

This started out strong for me, but Aramantha's dramatics were exhausting. Gabriel is the only reason I finished it.

[Bambi Unbridled · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Devil's Dukes series is a spinoff of Katharine Ashe's Falcon Club series. I have not read the Falcon Club series yet, and I tried to start the Devil's Dukes last year with The Rogue, and I felt too lost to finish the book. When Avon sent along the fourth book in the series, The Prince, I decided to give this one another shot. I wanted to try The Duke, because I am a sucker for a broody dark duke, particularly a Scot.

Amarantha Vale is our young and idealistic heroine, who runs off to Jamaica to marry a reverend and be first lady of his flock. Amarantha quickly learns the social difficulties at the time. Volunteering at a hospital, treating patients of all races, Amarantha observes the inequity of the races and the bigotry of her peers. Throughout this portion of the book, I admired Amarantha and her charitable nature, hard work, and willingness to treat everyone equally. I also felt a little sad for Amarantha as we saw the loss of her naivety once she was in the real world and not being sheltered by her family. Meeting the dashing Captain Gabriel Hume, it was easy to see how she fell victim to his charm, as he was quite the tempting character.

We met Gabriel Hume, (now) Duke of Loch Irvine when he was an enterprising young captain in the royal army. He quickly becomes enthralled with the optimistic Lady Vale, and sets out wooing her despite her engaged status. I found Gabriel to be a romantic and somewhat sentimental hero, and I liked him immensely. He really became the star of the story for me. He was incredibly altruistic and sought to do good deeds and take care of people selflessly and without seeking credit. His work on behalf of women in need, no matter their class or color, was a fantastic aspect of the story.

So our couple is not together for a good part of the story and, during that time, I enjoyed how the story was building and getting to know our characters internally through inner monologues, actions and events. Then we jump ahead about 5 years and Gabriel and Amarantha are reunited, which is where the story switches to be more dialogue-driven. Unfortunately this is where I started to lose the story, and I could never get it back.

Amarantha has changed and I no longer liked her attitude, or the way she treated Gabriel. She seemed very cold and Gabriel was undeserving of her ire. Gabriel stayed true to his character throughout, and I was continually aggravated with Amarantha's disrespect and callousness toward him. She even went so far as to strike him. I think the author tried too hard to establish the feminist aspect of our heroine, and she crossed the line from strong, empowered woman to cold-hearted bitch. Being bitchy is not representative of any feminism that I want to be a part of... you can be a strong woman who is still nice to people (including men)! I couldn't figure out if this was supposed to be a role reversal story, or if the current political climate has just made me overtired of women espousing these characteristics. Maybe its both. But not only was the heroine giving me heartburn with her personality... but her actions doubled my ire. She is someone apt to run off into cockamamie schemes that make everything worse, instead of consulting with the people involved in the situation. I think I literally shook my Kindle a few times at her antics.

So, in sum, I loved Gabriel. He was near saintly in my eyes. I hated Amarantha. She was disrespectful ingrate and I wanted to thump her right off the page. The secondary characters were interesting. I know some of them are probably from the Falcon Club series, and I would like to know their backstory so I will probably get around to reading those books sometime this year. I didn't feel lost reading this book, like I did with The Rogue, so I hope to continue on to The Prince without undue stress. I am very interested in our exiled prince's book as he was a very mysterious character in this installment. Let's hope the next heroine is easier on my nerves.

[Rose Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

As reviewed at Roses Are Blue: http://wp.me/p3QRh4-De

Ever since she was a young girl, Lady Aramantha (Amy) Vale dreamed of marrying a golden haired prince of a man who would sweep her off her feet into happy ever after. She meets the handsome Reverend Paul Garland when she's only seventeen, but she knows that he's the one. He's about to start his mission work in the West Indies, and though her family has strong reservations, they allow Amy to travel there to marry him.

Soon after Amy's arrival, a hurricane strikes while she is away from her lodgings. She finds shelter in what she thinks is an abandoned building, but finds that she's sharing it with a young man, a naval officer, Lt. Gabriel Hume. Over the next several hours, Amy and Gabriel, whom she has dubbed "Shark Bait," jibe at each other good-naturedly, and hope they live to see the end of the storm. At the height of its fury, Amy found comfort in holding Gabe's large hand and leaning on him.

They do survive, but the island is badly damaged and there are many injured. Amy begins helping a local doctor, since her fiancé is busy putting his church to rights, and has postponed their marriage until he does so. Gabriel's ship remains in port, and he, along with his crew, assist the doctor, throwing him into Amy's company every day. Gabriel has a reputation as a libertine, but he has never felt anything like the feelings he has for Amy. Though he acts the gentleman, every day he charms her more and more. When Gabriel finally meets the Reverend, he knows that he's not the man for Amy, and begins to try to convince her that she should break off her engagement.

Finally, Gabe's orders come through, and he has to leave on a mission. He meets with Amy, and urges her to end her betrothal, and to wait for him. He promises to return as soon as his assignment is over, and Amy, now deeply in love with him, agrees. Before her fiancé even returns and she has a chance to talk to him, she is informed that Gabe's ship was attacked and he didn't survive. Her extreme heartbreak leads her to try to hide her grief and to go forward with her marriage. After she becomes the reverend's wife, she learns that she was told a lie. Gabriel is very much alive - and he, in turn, has learned that she went ahead and married shortly after his departure on his mission.

If all that isn't heartbreaking enough, fast forward to five years later. Amy, now a widow, decides to leave the islands, and to follow the trail of one of her dear friends, who has traveled to Scotland. Amy is a very different person now. She's tougher, stronger, and more determined than ever, but, unfortunately, she's also harder. The trail she follows leads her directly to Gabriel, who is also a different person now. His father and brother have died, and he is now a duke, but local gossip would make him out to be a devil, and possibly a murderer. The story gets a bit complicated here, and there were so many characters and subplots, that I realized I should have read the previous two books of this series first.

I love the man that Gabe has become. He cultivates his mysterious and devilish reputation for another purpose. Once he realized that his love for Amy was stronger than ever, he was determined nothing would stand in his way. His wit, his sincerity, his honor, and his devotion made him the type of hero I adore. While I certainly understood the heartbreak that Amy endured, I couldn't help but shake my head at her stubbornness, and her unwillingness to finally grasp happiness, even when she learns the truth of what happened five years ago. It hurt me to see the pain she was causing Gabe because she had closed her mind and her heart. In the end, she chose to make a decision that, to me, was very foolish, but one that showed her true feelings for Gabriel.

Thankfully, through all the twists, turns, and obstacles, THE DUKE works its way to a happy ending for a couple who should have already been living their happiness. Their passion (finally!) is very steamy and satisfying. I will definitely be reading the first two books of this series, THE ROGUE, and THE EARL, and I'm certain that will round out my understanding and enjoyment of THE DUKE even more. Despite feeling a little bit at sea, this was a read that grabbed my attention, interest, and emotions. I stayed up until the wee hours to finish this captivating book with the hero who stole my heart.

[Gaele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amarantha Vale and Gabriel Hume met years before in Jamaica – she was engaged to marry and he was a naval officer. Despite the difference in circumstance and place – the two found a connection that neither could forget. Now years have passed, and Amarantha, now widowed is in search of her sister in law – a trek that carries her to Scotland, where she hears tales of the “Devil’s Duke” with a dark reputation that keeps people at bay. But, on learning the Duke’s name, Amarantha can’t make the two pieces of this puzzle connect – the Gabriel she knew with the man people claim he has become doesn’t mesh. And, discovering that he is still alive – the hurt and anger she felt at what she believed was his loss, and the steps her life took her through since that information came to her all create a firestorm. She must reunite with Gabriel – get answers to questions she’s had for all those years, and possibly find happiness.

For his part: Gabriel is content to let tales of his ‘dangerous nature’ take hold – he’s nothing like that as a kindly and caring man – interested only in keeping his people safe and his secret hidden. He’s never forgotten Amarantha – but can’t believe that her life didn’t follow the path set before her, including forgetting him. He’s never quite let go of that yearning though – and when the two actually do face one another, his kindness and obvious affection for her makes him a wonderful hero.

And with this sweeping romance – as he tries to ignore Amarantha’s rather dismissive and quick to anger temperament, her character is difficult in her often mercurial (and not so nice) reactions when her plans or views of the world are challenged. I honestly wasn’t a huge fan of hers, even the multiple opportunities to watch her interactions with the multitude of secondary characters were up and down for me – some good, some not so. But, to his credit – Gabriel’s affections and even his honest and open reveal of the secret that had a big hand in separating them years before are honorable – and his worry that she’s hardened her opinions of men and marriage so much as to shut her out won’t work in his favor. For Amarantha loves her rather sweeping proclamations of her decided opinions. And I often wished she didn’t.

But, this story has all of the appeal and ‘long lost love’ sighs that will appeal to most readers – with only moments of confusion arriving with the many secondary characters – making this a story best read in series order. I love Katharine Ashe’s ability to make her heroines stand from a feminist perspective – one that is often more modern in thought and custom than the era – but never shying away from showing that even the determined and self-defining Amarantha isn’t always one who is easy to get on with, reasoned or even reasonable as her story unfolds.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review; all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at I am, Indeed

[Tracy Emro · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Amarantha Vale travels to Jamaica to marry the man of her girlish dreams, but before she does, she will meet the man that will forever own her heart.

Amarantha and Gabriel meet during a hurricane in Jamaica and bond is formed that neither time or circumstance can break. The spend time together over the next 9 weeks and the bond grows even stronger and when Gabe asks Amarantha to break off her betrothal and wait for him, she agrees. But a well placed lie along with vicious gossip, turn their lives in different directions.

Five and a half years later, Amarantha is a widow and has made her way to Scotland to find her missing sister in law. This is where she learns of the Devil's Duke and realizes that he is in fact the young man she once loved. Unable to believe the lies about him, she sets out once more to find Penny and to get answers about Gabe.

When they finally met again, they are both a bit wary of the other and neither realize that their HEA was thwarted purposefully. Gabe has secrets, that he cannot share, even with the girl that captured and held his heart for these past 5 years. But Amarantha is not willing to walk away without answers. As they grow closer and truths are revealed, another lie interferes with their newly born relationship and a threat that may cost Gabe his life is issued.

Amarantha is not willing to grieve for Gabe again and sets out to save him, but in true Gabe fashion, he would rather sacrifice himself than let others suffer for him.

This is truly an epic tale, spanning several years and two continents. Gabe is a hero every woman wishes she had and Amarantha is a truly lovely (if not slightly misguided) woman. The sexual tension between them is red hot and when they finally give in to the enviable, it is wondrous. The book is well written, flows nicely, has lots of twists and turns, secrets, surprises, cameos from previous characters, amusing moments, tense moments and heartbreaking moments. It was an emotional roller coaster of a read and I loved every second!

I would highly recommend this book and even though it is the third book in the series, it could easily be read as a stand alone title with no problems. I have read the other reviews where the reviewers didn't care for Amarantha and will say, I was right there with them, but after I finished the book, I had a revelation, I don't think that Ms. Ashe set out to make Amarantha seem unlikeable, I think she wrote Gabriel too well and made her readers fall in love with him and therefore no heroine would have been good enough for him. So judge for yourself, is Amarantha unlikable? I don't think so, I think the problem is Gabriel is too wonderful (as if that is a problem).

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher*

[Les Romantiques · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed by Fabiola

The Duke is the third volume in the Devil’s Duke series. My review of the first two books are there: The rogue (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) and The earl (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ).

It makes me sad to give just one star to a Katharine’s book. But it’s harder and harder for me to appreciate the last opus from this author of whom I had a big crush for her novel I married a Duke. I wasn’t expecting a lot with The Duke, not having really loved The Earl, the series’ second volume. Well, in spite of this, I was very disappointed from the very first pages. The book is set in several parts, and the story takes place on several years.
Firstly, when I realized that facet, I cringed a little. Being a fan of classical romance, I don’t really like stories that take place on several years. I liked that the stories take place on a specific and quite short period.
Then, and it’s the reason why the rest of the book completely and definitively lost all appeal for me : the heroine’s choice about her future in 1817! I shouldn’t say anything here because nothing is said in the synopsis but let’s say it’s the kind of choice that doesn’t allow me to fully appreciate a love story between a hero and a heroine.
In any case, this choice, and the tragic circumstances separate the heroes during 4 years. When they meet again, the reader has the feeling it’s by accident and we must wait till the end of the book to have some revelations about that, and it’s quite long. And till the end I wanted to shake the heroine, especially with the presence of a rival for our hero.
In any case this reading was very difficult for me. The 4th and last volume should be published in 2018. I don’t know yet if I will read it…

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Gabriel stole my heart, both the young more open and carefree man and then the older more darker delicious duke. Amarantha (love the name) was carefree, high-spirited woman that wanted no man to tie her down or hold her back.

Ashe gives a story that had the drama, angst, betrayal, loss, love, romance and of course well written character, witty banter, snarky comments, and a love that has stood against time and may finally get that chance at happy. The pages here turn for the drama, conflict, passion, concern, loss, connection, love, triumph. This was a historical romance that took you back to the years when there was more than just romance and a quickie plot-line. This one held a extra layer of depth. And dare I say, an element of nasty that most do not wish to be reminded of.

I am a big lover of historical romance. Even more of a second chance historical romance. This time I have to say that I am a bit conflicted about what I read. I love Katharine Ashe. She gives you drama filled romances that have some substance and normally clarity, but this time I must be clear. I got confused a and lost. The depth of some of the events were sometimes a bit beyond me and at other time drew me in wanting to know more. While this may be one of her reads that captured me with Gabriel and had me waning to understand Amarantha a bit more, I find that it will not be one that will have me coming back to read it a second time. "