In Bed with the Duke

Governess Brides #9

by Christina Dodd

Demure lady's companion Emma Chegwidden avoids defying society's rules. Until the night she runs right into the arms of the seductive Reaper--a man who rides the night-shadowed countryside and conceals his identity behind a mask. His goal is justice... or is it vengeance? Only one thing is certain: Nothing will stop him from his dark purpose.

Michael Durant, long-lost heir to the duke of Nevitt, has a score to settle. Cynical, dangerous and ruthless, Michael is the last man on earth that sensible Emma should defy. But some challenges are too tempting to resist ... and some passions too fierce to ignore. Soon Michael discovers in Emma the woman he has always longed for: a woman whose beauty and courage reach through to his tortured soul. And he will defy anything, even fate itself, to claim her...

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

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 2, 2010

About the author

Upcoming:
— 6/30/26 TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN: Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #3 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

New and Now!
—MUCH ADO ABOUT MISTLETOE: Daughter of Montague Christmas novella https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— THUS WITH A KISS I DIE Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #2
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Historical Fiction Trade Paperback Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
— WELCOME TO GOTHIC: A Gothic novella in ebook (at last!) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— WHAT DREAMS MAY COME Daughter of Montague novella 1.5 "I’m the daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. No, they didn’t die in the tomb…" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— GIRL ANONYMOUS “Crackling sexual chemistry and a few love scenes guaranteed to scorch readers’ fingers as they turn the pages." — ⭐️ Booklist
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Readers become writers, and Christina has always been a reader. Ultimately she discovered she liked to read romance best because the relationship between a man and a woman is always humorous. A woman wants world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants a Craftsman router, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will make his bald spot disappear.
When Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before she was published. Now her suspense, paranormal, historical, and mystery novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where her 700 lavender plants share the yard with her husband’s various “Big Projects,” including a treehouse, zipline, and their very own Stonehenge.
Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list for humor, book news and entertainment (yes, she’s the proud author with the infamous three-armed cover) at christinadodd.com. For more information on A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, visit daughterofmontague.com. Her legions of fans know that when they pick up a Christina Dodd book, they'll find the story, "Wildly entertaining, wickedly witty!"
Christina is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.

(Source: http://www.christinadodd.com )

Reviews

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was definitely disappointing - and is no one else bothered by the rape scene between the hero and heroine?

Some of my all-time favorite historical romance books have been written by Christina Dodd - One Kiss From You, Rules of Surrender, Lost in Your Arms, and The Runaway Princess. IN BED WITH THE DUKE started off pretty well and I always love books where the heroine is overlooked, shy, etc. - I thought the fact that Emma had a horrible sense of direction and always got lost was going to add some great humor to the story. The first interaction between Emma and Michael was enjoyable, the setting/plot promised to be very adventurous and action-packed, and the physical scenes between the Reaper and Emma were hot. However, this book was ended up being utterly disappointing and in some parts downright offensive.

GENERAL CRITICISMS:
-- Emma and Michael have far too little interaction in the first 2/3 of the book.
-- We don't get to know Michael very well and he remains throughout the whole of the book a somewhat elusive hero
-- Emma "falls in love" with the Reaper after about a week and then makes love with him ... even though they've never had a conversation (literally, he's never spoken to her), they don't know one another, and their interactions basically amount to a full week of physically intimate evenings.
-- While she's "falling in love" with the Reaper, she doesn't really like Michael ... so yeah, how does that work out exactly, since he's supposed to be the real hero?
-- The subplot of Prince Sandre falling in love with Emma seemed extremely forced; there appeared to be absolutely no real reason that he would single her out and become so transfixed and obsessed.
-- This book ended so abruptly I thought that maybe there were some pages missing at the end (and certain previously-unmet family members seemed to pop up out of thin air).

RAPE SCENE:
I volunteer with a rape crisis hotline and so found the love - a.k.a rape - scene, utterly disgusting. According to the American legal system, the scene between them in the barn qualifies as rape. You have the heroine saying no and struggling; the hero saying, yes you want it, your body is reacting; her saying no again; them having sex. Worst part is that during it all, Emma is saying "no" but apparently thinking "yes" ... does "she said no, but really meant yes" or "she wanted it, just didn't want to admit it" sound familiar? Because those are both justifications rapists use. I like alpha-male heroes as much as the next romance reader, but Michael saying "I own you!" and "I have this right. I take this right!" when talking about having sex with her should turn everyone off.

Christina Dodd has done this in two other books of hers that I read and it was basically the exact same thing and just as disgusting. Her normal non-rapist alpha-male heroes are great and she should stick with them. (The other two books were A Well Pleasured Lady and A Well Favored Gentleman).

BOTTOM LINE:
So did I like the book? No. Should you read it? No. Instead, skip this book and read the four books I listed at the beginning of this review, since those show off Christina Dodd's talent and are actually enjoyable and inoffensive.

GOOD NEWS:
This book is apparently part of the "Great Read Guaranteed!" because the Penguin Group is "so confident you will love this book that we are offering a 100% money-back guarantee!" All you have to do is mail them the book, the receipt, and your explanation of why you didn't like the book. So I will be doing that instead of posting it on PaperbackSwap, since I want them to know exactly what it is I object to.

[willaful · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not fanatical about historical accuracy, but when I run into the word “clone” on the first page of a book set in 1859, I can’t help feeling like nobody involved in creating it really gave a damn. Unfortunately, that surge of indignation was the strongest emotion I felt while reading most of this.

I would have given up on it just a few pages in, but skimming ahead intrigued me--mysterious masked man romance is fun. But since I never did find the overall story or any of the characters very interesting, once the silent anonymous sex scenes were over, the rest of the book was as boring as ever.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In Bed with the Duke" is the story of Emma and Michael.

In this tale filled with mystery, murder and romance, meet our couple Emma and Michael who go through numerous hurdles to end up together.

The hero is a prisoner under house arrest; the heroine is an impoverished lady's companion with a poor sense of direction. There is a masked reaper who's killing the traitors and giving our heroine some sweet, sweet lovemaking, along with there being a super evil OM, some secondary characters with bad fates, loads of action, sensual lovemaking, kidnappings, torture and a HEA.

The series does not have to be read in order, but the mystery of Michael being alive in the last book kicks this one off. The hero and heroine are both likable. It was weird to see how semi-con some of the lovemaking scenes were, but this book is still not a bodice ripper IMO. I felt uncomfortable with all the killings and misdeeds in this book, but the biggest surprise was the 180 change in the heroine's character in the first few chapters.

The ending retribution was SO evil and good.

Safe
4/5

[Carol Storm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish -- the goldfish down the bad woman's magnificent cleavage. Unfair to goldfish. Unfair to cleavage. This is exactly the kind of cheap locker-room stuff that doesn't happen in the works of Lisa Kleypas!

[MountainKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Somewhere between 4- and 3+ Stars*

This was VERY slow to start for me!! I didn't care about the story. I didn't care about the characters. I was not at all invested. Until the last third of the book, then I cared. I was rushing to the end, mostly to just finish the book, but then I actually did want to know what happened and how it all worked out in the end. Overall, it was too little too late to redeem my thoughts but I was happy for how it ended. Though the tie in to the rest of the series felt like a stretch. Well narrated though by Karen Cass - especially with the many different accents necessary in this story.

[Brandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger Warning: Rape.

I love the author and when she mentioned this book in a post I was so excited to find it in my kindle library. And then I read it again and dear god, why does our supposed hero rape the heroine twice? The rest of the story was wonderful but I can’t get past this. Terrible.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latest installment in the Moracadian books. Liked it fine, but really when you have the despot in your hands, you kill him, period. And why pull in someone obviously related to the contemporary paranormal she's got going? It's unnecessarily disctracting & the pages could've been better used to develop the relationship between Michael & Emma. And where the hell did Micheal's family and Throckmorten come from? Shouldn't Michael have been a little surprised to see them? I know from previous books that his family knows where he is, but really a little too convenient in the timing, no? And why does Lady Francuor(I know I've got this name wrong) get Micheal out of the dundgeon? How does she even KNOW there's a dundgeon let alone who's in it? She is the one who thinks Sandre isn't such a bad guy, right? So many quibbles, so little time. Enjoyable, but nowhere near as good as previous books.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

In romances, I can't stand "sex" scenes where the characters are making love, but the whole time the woman is protesting and saying no. That's not making love, that's sexual assault! Definitely makes the novel a lot less enjoyable.

[Gemma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was reading and enjoying it until I learned that there's rape scene in this book--with the "hero" as the attacker. That's a deal-breaker for me.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed In Bed With The Duke, although there isn't really a Duke in the story. Michael Durant is the heir to the Duke of Nevitt and has been in Moricadia for two years, missing and presumed dead by his family in England. In reality, he has been imprisoned and tortured by the evil ruler and his henchmen. Miss Emma Chegwidden is in Moricadia as a paid companion to her loathsome employer, Lady Lettice, who belittles her and makes her rub her feet. After an unfortunate occurance involving a small goldfish that ended up down the front of her employer's dress, Lady Lettice gives Emma the sack. She leaves her stranded with no way home to England, or in fact, no way to the hotel they were staying at to collect her things. She becomes lost in the forest, almost attacked by a wolf, and runs into "The Reaper," who is said to be the ghost of the last king of Moricadia before the present rulers beheaded him and took over the country. This is a story of evil rulers, horse riding phantoms, mistreated subjects, revenge and justice. Oh and a lovely romance between Emma two very different men - the fierce Reaper and the broken, tortured Michael Durant.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally enjoy Christina Dodd, this title however was not as enjoyable. This was mainly due to a couple of scenes where the male protagonist has sex with the female protagonist by force - and it is okay because she wants it. The only reason this wasn't date rape was that it would have ruined the story. Bottom line, she said no, he overpowered her. I could never get past this aspect of force between these two characters to enjoy the story. Christina Dodd, I am disappointed in you. You are a better story teller than this.

[bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this , not even by skipping pages. I think my dislike of this book started on the first few pages. The heroine is a companion (ie slave) to a old , spoiled women who treats the heroine like crap. The first couple of chapters are basically the spoiled women belittling the heroine and make silly wagers with her admires that the heroine will get lost when she sends her out to do her bidding (the heroine has a horrible sense of direction and always gets lost).
The spiteful biddy asks the heroine to wet her handkerchief, makes abet that the heroine will get lost. The heroine, of course loses her way, but reminds herself how smart she is and wets the handkerchief in a fountain. When she brings it back to the shrew, she doesn't realize there is a goldfish stuck in it . Goldfish goes down the nasty women's bodice, embarrassing her and she throws the heroine out into the night. In the mean time, there is political unrest and the "reaper" is the instigator of all this and he rescues the heroine, who of course got lost and ended up in the wrong place. He drops her off at another women's house who takes her under her wing and turns the ugly duckling into a swan. A prince, who is after the reaper, tries to court her, but she plays the game hoping to save the reaper, whom she is in love with.
I was turned off from the beginning when the author went on for several chapters about how ugly, waspish etc., etc. the heroine was and how she was treated by her employer. What made me stop skipping chapters instead of pages was when the reaper took on almost magical powers. Some how he was able to remove a man from a coach that he was traveling in with his wife and within a matter of moments the reaper hung him from a tree directly above the coach without the wife knowing or hearing a peep. I gave up after that... I wasn't sure if this was a romance, gothic , spy or historical novel.. it literally was all over the place.
Heat level- I really have no idea since I couldn't make it through the book and the chapters I lightly skimmed where all about the prince and the heroine lamenting the reapers fate.
Violence- From my what I read there seems to be no greater violence then the hanging.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked the idea of a simple and plain-looking ladies companion catching the eye of a dashing and very wealthy Duke, the story itself was anything but intriguing. The characters lack dept and even the story itself seemed kind of thrown together and rushed. Almost like no love or care was put into the book. Often times I found myself snickering at the character interactions and dialogue because sometimes it seemed...ridiculous. Before you think that I am bashing Dodd's story, I did keep in mind that it took the author 4 years before returning to historical romance with this book. Maybe I expect more from her? Not sure but I was disappointed.
The only thing that kept me going from beginning to end was Dodd's uncanny and unbelievably intriguing sex scenes. She really is an artist when it comes to this and if anything in the book was done with must thought, it was the sex. But then again, what do we read romantic novels for if not for the sex? Still, while I was disappointed int this book, it does not hinder my adoration for Christina Dodd's continuous contribution to my reading delight.

http://alicev.net/blog

[Sylvie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why is it that English are presented of high morals against all other foreigners? If I remember right wasn't the Prime rate manipulated at the initiative of English banks? Not very imaginative of the author also this country in the Pyrenees at the doors of the French who dared cut off their King's head; it might almost make us think of... well... Andorra maybe?! The final is strange with our 6 heroes simply walking out while guards ignore them because "no one would dare question a duke" though the escapees are not dressed to attend the party that is to bring confusion to their escape. If there had been blood in the prince office, the prince disappearance and 6 people walking out with 2 of them well known and under suspicions by the guards, as well as a few group members dressed in rags or bloodied, seems very improbable their party would have just walked out.
Too bad. Up to that end the book might have made 2 stars but Dodd has written better and certainly the date rape scene could have been changed. Bottom line if it's no it doesn't mean yes. So I can't give any stars at all

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, Christina Dodd, I did so love your Governess Brides series until this one. The truth is, I'm not terribly sure where this novel went wrong. Was it the heroine, who only seemed to lose her sense of direction when it was essential to the plot? Was it the hero, who was an awkward mix of fear and bravery? Was it the vaguely non-consensual sex?

Or was it her shock at discovering that the Duke and the bandit were one and the same? I found this point particularly ridiculous, as the title of the book gives it away immediately. My suspension of disbelief does not, apparently, work that way.

[Dorkette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, but this is bad, and I've only finished chapter 3. Various anachronisms, an aristocratic hero in captivity and presumed dead who attends a large party of nobility including countrymen and women, a heroine who can unknowing carries a live goldfish in her handkerchief for many minutes, a bad guy (not THE bad guy) in a historical called "Rickie", the "Distinguished Academy of Governesses" -- oookkkkaaayyyyy...

[Lisa Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to lower my rating on this book as I purchased it twice. In otherwords, when I was at the bookstore I didn't remember having bought and read it once. Luckily, B&N exchanged it. It was okay, but it did not reach out and pull me in like some of this wonderful author's other works. Maybe it was just my mood.

[Win · Rating 3 out of 5]

bosennnnnnn....uda mahal ternyata mengecewakan....

[aseekerofbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I'm still sad about Aimee 😟

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moricadia, 1849

Orchestra de patru oameni se opri din cântat. Sesizând momentul, contele Cloutier spuse fraza care urma cu siguranţă să captiveze atenţia tuturor oaspeţilor din jur:

― Lady Lettice, ai auzit de fantoma care călăreşte în noapte?

Fraza îi atrase atenţia englezului Michael Durant, moştenitor al ducatului din Nevitt. Michael nu se lăsase impresionat de balul sofisticat organizat de Lord şi Lady Thibault. Era o copie identică a tuturor balurilor englezeşti la care participase vreodată, ca să nu mai vorbim de balurile prusace, franţuzeşti, veneţiene… Făcuse Turul Europei şi descoperise că bogaţii se imitau unii pe alţii şi îl plictiseau de moarte.

Acum, în seara asta, muzicanţii cântau, oaspeţii dansau, mâncarea era la modă şi salonul în care se jucau cărţi era plin. Prinţul Sandre şi gărzile lui se foiau de colo-colo, conferind balului şi patina regală.

Dar nu era nimic demn de raportat… până acum. Iar momentul se datora doar faptului că Cloutier nu-şi dădea seama ce gafă făcuse. Nu-şi dădea seama că a doua zi pe vremea aceea avea să fi fost deja izgonit din Moricadia şi în drum spre Franţa, blestemându-şi propria înclinaţie spre bârfă.

Prefăcându-se interesat Michael se apropie şi el de grupul de pretendenţi ai lui lady Lettice Surtees.

― O fantomă? a scos lady Lettice un ţipăt ascuţit, demn de o tânără alarmată. Nu! Şi spune-mi, te rog, ce face fantoma asta?

înainte ca Cloutier să apuce să răspundă, Lady Lettice se întoarse spre însoţitoarea ei, o fată de douăzeci şi ceva de ani, şi se răsti:

― Fă-ţi treaba, fato! Fă-mi vânt cu evantaiul! Am obosit dansând cu atâţia admiratori.

Tânăra ― slabă de parcă s-ar fi lăsat luată de prima adiere de vânt, cu o bonetă de dantelă peste un păr şaten şi cu nimic remarcabil ― încuviinţă fără nicio vorbă. Scoase un evantai de fildeş şi dantelă din săculeţul pe care îl ţinea legat la mijloc, se postă în dreapta lui Lady Lettice, care avea faţa roşie şi transpirată, şi începu să-i facă vânt.

― Este prea cald aici, se plânse Lady Lettice. Nu crezi, Lord Escobar?

Escobar, care stătea în stânga ei, răspunse:

― Aveţi dreptate, señorita, este o seară de vară neobişnuit de caldă.

Să o numeşti pe Lady Lettice „señorita” era o curtoazie exagerată ― era o văduvă la patruzeci de ani, cu fălcile lăsate, semn că începea să îmbătrânească. Dar sânii ei erau imenşi şi bine puşi în evidenţă de corsajul cu dantele extrem de decoltat, iar talia îi fusese strânsă în balene ca să pară subţire, deşi abia mai putea să respire din cauza lor. Nici nu era de mirare că dansul o obosise atât.

[Nana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gue dapet novel ini dari oma-oma temen keroncong gue di gereja. Trus gue yang... hmmm... si oma ini demen cerita-cerita romens panas juga ya....

Kenapa dua bintang doang?
1. Terjemahannya kayaknya agak-agak berantakan. Yang paling jelas sih tentang penyebutan "dia" yang ga jelas merujuk ke tokoh mana. Kalo versi bahasa Inggrisnya mungkin lebih jelas karena ada "he" dan "she", jadi ketauan siapa yang lagi mikirin siapa, siapa yang lagi ngomong, dst. Kalo bahasa Indonesia kan puyeng yaaakk...

2. Karakter tokoh utamanya, Emma, ga jelas. Pertama-tama dia keliatan linglung, penurut, lemah. Tau-tau jadi punya bakat medis, trus agresif, trus berani marah-marah, dan terakhir dia kayaknya jago nunggang kuda dengan duduk lurus gitu (dulu kan cewek duduknya menyamping yaaa)

3. Chemistry 2 tokoh utamanya yang kayaknya dipaksain banget. Terutama pas si Emma main sosor gitu. Hahahaha...

4. Ending-nya ngegantung aja gitu.

Padahaaalll.... ceritanya berpotensi jadi seru dan romantis lhooo.... Asli, bukan cuma romance, tapi ada action dan politiknya juga.

Jadi, ceritanya tuh gini. Ada kerajaan bernama Moricadia yang rajanya baru dikudeta sama keluarga de Guinard yang kejamnya setengah mati. Sekarang, di bawah pimpinan Pangeran Sandre, rakyat Moricadia hidup dalam ketakutan. Si pangeran ini soalnya hobinya ngegantung orang trus dipajang deh tuh orang-orang yang digantung. Selain itu, si pangeran juga nyekap bangsawan Inggris, Michael Durant. Dua tahun lamanya Michael disiksa (digantung, dilepas, digantung, dilepas... gitu deh, kayak teh celup aja!) tapi akhirnya si Michael jadi tahanan rumah doang (jangan tanya gue kenapa, karena gue ga tau).
Suatu hari, muncul hantu berkuda bernama Reaper, yang dipercaya merupakan roh almarhum raja Moricadia dulu. Pangeran Sandre marah dan mau Reaper dibunuh karena dia percaya Reaper itu orang. Tapi malah sepupu Pangeran Sandre yang mati digantung Reaper.
Di sisi lain, ada Emma Chegwidden, pelayan bangsawan Inggris resek gitu. Gara-gara kecerobohannya, dia diusir dari pesta dan dasar sembrono, dia malah masuk hutan dan diselamatkan oleh Reaper. Emma lalu jadi pendamping Lady Franchere, sepupu Pangeran Sandra yang kebetulan kastilnya juga ditempati Michael Durant. Sejak diselamatkan oleh Reaper, Emma malah jadi punya hubungan sama Reaper yang suka diem-diem nyelinap ke kamarnya Emma (dan yaa... taulah ya mereka terus ngapain..) Emma pun bertekad buat ngebantu misi Reaper menggulingkan Pangeran Sandre.
Siapa Reaper, rasanya udah ketebak yak...

Jadi yaaa begitulah.

[Nell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The eighth book in the Governess Bride series (because I’m not including the prequel thing in the count) and I had high hopes for this book because I really liked the previous book, My Fair Temptress. Unfortunately, as a romance, this did not live up to any of the other books in the series. I felt like the romance very much took a back seat in this one – insta love with barely an exploration of who these characters were as people or getting to know each other beyond a basic level.

I actually really enjoyed the story, it was interesting and well done. I just wish the romance aspect had lived up to the quality of the story. There was also a very questionable rapey moment between the h/h that had me going bleugh – it wasn’t good and didn’t feel overly consensual. So that threw more into the mix of not good romance.

But, a good story, and I’m actually looking forward to reading the next book, so I was left with mixed emotions after reading this one. But by far the worst in the series.

[Angela Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book. Emma is intelligent, passionate, and courageous despite circumstances designed to quell these traits. Michael is the same, which is why I like them for each other. I especially appreciated that Emma is empowered enough, after Michael enforces his will TO THEIR MUTUAL SATISFACTION, to immediately climb on board to enforce her will to their mutual satisfaction. I don't believe I've ever read THAT before! Certainly, there are instances that require a complete suspension of disbelief (the apparent ease in dispatching Rickie, a non-professional with the ability to reattach blood vessels and nerves, for example) and possibly an anachronism or two; however, the charm of this "Zorro of Monte Cristo" world won me over. This may not be Ms. Dodd's finest work, but I liked this story well enough as the historical romantic fiction it was meant to be.

[Norla Chee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romance novels generally bore me, but Christina Dodd makes the plot center stage instead of the sex, and I would actually read more of her novels. I do wish when authors use foreign names such as Sandere or Fanchere they'd put a glossary at the back as to how to pronounce them. I change my pronunciation several times throughout until I find one I like. Loved how Emma went from victim to heroine to partner.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t my favorite Christina Dodd but it was very entertaining. Emma is a ladies companion for an awful woman. They have traveled to some made up country (I think it’s made up 😬) and Emma gets fired and thrown out. While running from a wolf The Reaper (hems kind of a ghost but we all know ghosts don’t exist) saves her.
Emma is now indebted to The Reaper so she tries to help him take revenge on the forcible false king.

[Orion Someone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent prequel to Taken by the Prince.

I read Taken by the Prince first, so I was happy to read a prequel to that book. This universe between these two books is both wonderful and terrifying. The tension of a horrific regime mixed with wealth and glamour while the native people of the country live in poverty was superb. So good!

[Susan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma comes to Moricadia with her abusive employer. The country is run my a sadistic tyrant. The Reaper is trying to bring the leader down. Emma ends up helping him.

There is torture mentioned and good people die so it's not a book I'd read again but it was a good read nevertheless.

[Ludmila Gomoja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Când iti gasesti sufletul pereche , nu conteaza clasa sociala, cum arata sau ce cred altii.... Emma este o insotitoare, fiica de vicar, dar Michel este viitor duce , dar nimic nu le sta in cale atunci cand sunt in circumstante si intr-o tara unde nu conteaza din ce clasa sociala esti...

[Etin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting and refreshing plot! The end was a little frustrating though, with the sorta happily-ever-after-with-an-unfinished-story theme.

[Angel Tochukwu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read