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Knight Miscellany #1
The Duke
Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan—the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.
Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society—until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love. . . .
Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society—until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love. . . .
396 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 28, 2000
287 people are currently reading
8437 people want to read
About the author
Gaelen Foley
44 books1,894 followersGaelen Foley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author of twenty historical romances set in the glittering world of Regency England. Her books are available in sixteen languages and have won numerous genre awards, such as the Bookseller's Best, the NJRW Golden Leaf (three times), the CRW Award of Excellence, the National Reader's Choice Award, the Beacon, and the Holt Medallion.
A Pennsylvania native, Gaelen holds a B.A. in English literature with a minor in Philosophy from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, a quaint lakeside village where Mark Twain once owned a home. It was here, while studying the Romantic poets, such as Wordsworth, Byron, and Keats that she first fell in love with the Regency period in which her novels are set. Gaelen lives in western Pennsylvania with her college-sweetheart husband, Eric, a schoolteacher, with whom she co-writes middle grade fantasy adventure novels under the pen-name, E.G. Foley. (See www.EGFoley.com.) She is hard at work on her next book.
A Pennsylvania native, Gaelen holds a B.A. in English literature with a minor in Philosophy from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, a quaint lakeside village where Mark Twain once owned a home. It was here, while studying the Romantic poets, such as Wordsworth, Byron, and Keats that she first fell in love with the Regency period in which her novels are set. Gaelen lives in western Pennsylvania with her college-sweetheart husband, Eric, a schoolteacher, with whom she co-writes middle grade fantasy adventure novels under the pen-name, E.G. Foley. (See www.EGFoley.com.) She is hard at work on her next book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 687 reviews
August 12, 2021
ME ENCANTOOOOOO!!! Se los juro que me encantó, ahorita veo corazones flotando a mi alrededor. ❤😍💕💓❤💜💖😍
No sé si es uno de los mejores libros de histórica que he leído pero si es uno de los que más me ha enamorado, emocionado y que no he podido parar de leer, me encantó la historia, me encantaron los protagonistas, me encantó su relación.
Y Robert Ay Diosito mi cora💓💘… Suspirando de amor, que Duque que Duque, es que esos duques tienen algo que a una le ponen la piel chinta y le aceleran el corazón. Robert es remilgado, mojigato, estirado, con sentido de la justicia y el honor, pero tiene ese lado protector que ay que bonito Quiero un Robert para llevar please!
🙋
Robert y Belinda que lindos eran juntos, me gustó mucho que desde el principio se declararan su amor y que no hubiera mal entendido con ellos de que si me quiere no me quiere, pero si al final quería darle un par de catorrazos a Robert o sea cómo le hace eso la pobre Bel sabiendo que ella lo ama y sobre todo él amándola de esa manera fue egoísta, cobarde un miedoso ROBERT MALO😡. Me gustó mucho que ella rescatara lo poca dignidad que le quedaba y que al final recobró el orgullo y se dio cuenta que no necesitaba a un hombre para poder estar bien.
Pero sobre todo me gustó que Robert recobrara el sentido y se aventara una de las propuesta de matrimonio más bonitas y originales que he leído.
Cuando se lo propuso yo quedé así
Me advirtieron que Robert no era el mejor de los hermanos knight, ya quiero ver cómo serán los demás si es que Robert es tan 😍😍😍😍
No sé si es uno de los mejores libros de histórica que he leído pero si es uno de los que más me ha enamorado, emocionado y que no he podido parar de leer, me encantó la historia, me encantaron los protagonistas, me encantó su relación.
"He estado solo mucho tiempo, pero cuando estoy contigo... cuando estoy contigo, Bel, la tierra canta y las estrellas bailan, y no me odio por ser alguien aburrido."
Y Robert Ay Diosito mi cora💓💘… Suspirando de amor, que Duque que Duque, es que esos duques tienen algo que a una le ponen la piel chinta y le aceleran el corazón. Robert es remilgado, mojigato, estirado, con sentido de la justicia y el honor, pero tiene ese lado protector que ay que bonito Quiero un Robert para llevar please!
🙋
Robert y Belinda que lindos eran juntos, me gustó mucho que desde el principio se declararan su amor y que no hubiera mal entendido con ellos de que si me quiere no me quiere, pero si al final quería darle un par de catorrazos a Robert o sea cómo le hace eso la pobre Bel sabiendo que ella lo ama y sobre todo él amándola de esa manera fue egoísta, cobarde un miedoso ROBERT MALO😡. Me gustó mucho que ella rescatara lo poca dignidad que le quedaba y que al final recobró el orgullo y se dio cuenta que no necesitaba a un hombre para poder estar bien.
Pero sobre todo me gustó que Robert recobrara el sentido y se aventara una de las propuesta de matrimonio más bonitas y originales que he leído.
Cuando se lo propuso yo quedé así
Me advirtieron que Robert no era el mejor de los hermanos knight, ya quiero ver cómo serán los demás si es que Robert es tan 😍😍😍😍
September 19, 2010
5+ Stars!! The Duke has earned a place of honor on my keepers bookshelf!
This was my first read of author Gaelen Foley and I was more than pleasantly surprised, I was WOW’ed and am finding myself, once again, indebted to my Goodreads friends who encouraged me to read this book.
The Duke is not merely a romance novel, it’s a truly wonderful love story, rich in detail and emotionally compelling characters. We’re given a closer look than we usually get in historical romance novels, at English society’s rules and class structure. We see more clearly what life was like for this those who have and those have naught, and what that means to the people of both ranks. In fact, this book could have been called A Tale of Two Classes.
As the story opens, we meet our hero, Robert Knight, Duke of Hawkscliffe, a man grief stricken over the death of his lady love – who, at the time of her passing, was married to another man. Lucy was young, vibrant and everything he had ever hoped for in a wife, but instead of marrying him, she wedded James Breckenridge, the earl of Coldfell, a man well past being old enough to be her father. Robert has been given some information that would indicate that Lucy didn’t accidentally drown as they had at first believed, but was murdered. Finding the person responsible has become his life’s mission – however long it takes, he’ll find her killer and make them pay, no matter what.
Belinda Hamilton is being pursued by Dolph Breckenridge, a spoiled young man with an exaggerated and entirely unfounded sense of his own self importance. He’s set on marrying Belinda, but her heart belongs to another, and so she repeatedly refuses his advances. As a male of high ranking societal status, with too much power and influence, but lacking the integrity to use them responsibly, Dolph sets out to destroy Belinda. By taking away everything and everyone dear to her, he believes that in the end, she’ll be left with nothing and have no choice but to agree to marry him. Using underhanded tactics, Dolph has her father thrown into debtor’s prison, and makes sure Belinda loses her teaching position at a prestigious girl’s school. Having lost their family home, she’s forced to sell oranges on the streets and take in mending and other odd jobs to earn enough to keep herself fed, and to ensure better living conditions for her father within his prison cell. She’s a woman of great integrity, and although she’s found her life in ruins, she will not to allow herself to be ruined. Sadly, in one tragic turn of events, however, she finds that sometimes, our choices are taken away from us and we have to make to make do with what fate has handed us.
Thanks to an interesting chain of events and revelations, Hawkscliffe and Bel find themselves working together to reach their goals, in a story that runs the gamut of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I sighed… in short, I was captivated by both the story and the players and never once gave up hoping that against all odds, in each other they’d find their happily ever after.
In my opinion, Gaelen Foley’s writing is the perfect blend of the refined diction we would expect from early 1800’s England, without affecting the flow of dialog by using words and phrases that, while historically accurate, would only serve to confuse. Her style reminds me of that of Loretta Chase and Anna Campbell, whose books I truly love, and The Duke has a storyline that simply draws the reader in and hold their attention from the first page to the last… so needless to say, this was a great read and I’m looking forward to continuing the Knights Miscellany series.
April 25, 2025
I have been enjoying reading historical romance books that were published in the early 2000's and before and this book is a great example of why. The writing is great, and it captures the feel of the era. The struggle of gentlewoman at a time when women had no rights. The book starts off with what I find infuriating that a father or fiancé does not take care of his responsibilities. Belinda chooses to become a courtesan and take control of her life and money. This book has it all greed, obsession, sexual abuse, and love wins out. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series. I read this book over 2 days.
March 21, 2011
I should probably warn my friends (most of whom enjoyed this book) that they probably don't want to read my review. And if they do, to just keep in mind that I'm not criticizing you for liking it. I usually don't make this statement, but somehow all but four of my friends gave this book over four stars. And a lot of them have read it. So, you're warned. Moving on...
I'd heard that this book was angsty. What I didn't hear is that it's a hot mess. Honestly, I would never term this book angsty. It's over done and drama filled, but it's not angsty. Angst--to me--takes a depth and darkness that this book just didn't have. This was like the Disney version of the courtesan/prostitute Romances.
Robert irritated me at times, but my biggest gripe about this story was Bel. What irritates me the most is that she had the opportunity to be a really interesting character, but wasn't. Bel seemed incredibly young whenever she played the courtesan. I never felt that the role sat well on her so it was a little hard to believe that everyone was so enamored of her. She was like a little girl dressing up in mommy's clothes and playing a role, thinking that she knew what she was talking about. It was incredibly irritating. She kept regurgitating these courtesan rules that she had been taught, but they just made her seem even more naive. The fact that she thought getting a protector would keep her from ever being abused made her dumb as rocks to me. She kept glamorizing her role, thinking that she had rights, and it drove me nuts that no one ever proved her wrong.
But honestly a lot of her personality and thought process didn't make sense to me. She was supposedly terrified of having sex with a man and was worried about being able to perform her courtesan role, so Robert's ruse seemed perfect for her. Now I can totally accept this. What I can't accept is the fact that a woman terrified of sex would be the aggressor in a lot of close contact situations unnecessary to their agreement. She cuddled up with him and rubbed his head and even gave him head but still was terrified of sex when the plot called for it. Her back and forth attitude made her seem bipolar and like a tease. I have a very hard time accepting that a rape victim terrified of intimacy would only be frightened of actual penetration by a penis but was gung ho for everything else. That makes no sense.
In addition to that, Bel seemed to have no inner awareness of her role in life. She walked into Robert's life and took charge of his household and just generally grated on my nerves. It's not just the fact that she was a prostitute doing this that bugged me. I have a problem with the way Romance novels frequently have servants of any type step above their station with no awareness that what they're doing is really ballsy. I mean, she was in a duke's household. The lack of awareness of this fact really bugged me.
That leads me to my next gripe... the actual duke, Robert. I generally like the aloof, stuffy aristocrats, but Robert was something else. He was judgmental and apt to fly off the handle whenever things didn't go the way he thought they should. He was also an emotional mess and very weak willed. He's participating in this plot (an incredibly dumb plot) because of his love for the married saint, Lucy. But then he realizes that he's only in love with the idea of her. But he doesn't stop the stupid plot. I just had a problem with the whole setup because it seemed like a really dumb plan in the first place.
In addition to this he is also presented as a paragon. He supposedly hasn't even consorted with courtesans before. So I have a hard time believing he would have installed his mistress in his home or have taken her to spend time with his family members in the country! He'd have flashes where he'd seem more lifelike--admitting that even though he lusted after her, he still looked down on her for her profession or being appalled at the thought that someone who thought it was okay to become a courtesan had taught his little sister--but then would lose it again.
I found Robert's attitude toward marrying Bel to be the most realistic part of the book. The last hundred pages is where I finally became hooked and is what bumped the grade of the book up. I still found Robert hard to swallow as a duke, but he and Bel finally dealt with a realistic issue that made sense over the fact that they couldn't marry each other. That's the part when I felt the book really started to shine. Bel's inner struggle with accepting it and Robert's fear that she would leave him when he married was well done. The actual end was rather silly, but I was pleased enough by that point to only roll my eyes a little when I read it.
Edited to add: I forgot to say how irritating I found it that the back of the book referred to Bel as "London's most provocative courtesan" when she hadn't even slept with anyone else. Like I said, it's the Disney version here.
I'd heard that this book was angsty. What I didn't hear is that it's a hot mess. Honestly, I would never term this book angsty. It's over done and drama filled, but it's not angsty. Angst--to me--takes a depth and darkness that this book just didn't have. This was like the Disney version of the courtesan/prostitute Romances.
Robert irritated me at times, but my biggest gripe about this story was Bel. What irritates me the most is that she had the opportunity to be a really interesting character, but wasn't. Bel seemed incredibly young whenever she played the courtesan. I never felt that the role sat well on her so it was a little hard to believe that everyone was so enamored of her. She was like a little girl dressing up in mommy's clothes and playing a role, thinking that she knew what she was talking about. It was incredibly irritating. She kept regurgitating these courtesan rules that she had been taught, but they just made her seem even more naive. The fact that she thought getting a protector would keep her from ever being abused made her dumb as rocks to me. She kept glamorizing her role, thinking that she had rights, and it drove me nuts that no one ever proved her wrong.
But honestly a lot of her personality and thought process didn't make sense to me. She was supposedly terrified of having sex with a man and was worried about being able to perform her courtesan role, so Robert's ruse seemed perfect for her. Now I can totally accept this. What I can't accept is the fact that a woman terrified of sex would be the aggressor in a lot of close contact situations unnecessary to their agreement. She cuddled up with him and rubbed his head and even gave him head but still was terrified of sex when the plot called for it. Her back and forth attitude made her seem bipolar and like a tease. I have a very hard time accepting that a rape victim terrified of intimacy would only be frightened of actual penetration by a penis but was gung ho for everything else. That makes no sense.
In addition to that, Bel seemed to have no inner awareness of her role in life. She walked into Robert's life and took charge of his household and just generally grated on my nerves. It's not just the fact that she was a prostitute doing this that bugged me. I have a problem with the way Romance novels frequently have servants of any type step above their station with no awareness that what they're doing is really ballsy. I mean, she was in a duke's household. The lack of awareness of this fact really bugged me.
That leads me to my next gripe... the actual duke, Robert. I generally like the aloof, stuffy aristocrats, but Robert was something else. He was judgmental and apt to fly off the handle whenever things didn't go the way he thought they should. He was also an emotional mess and very weak willed. He's participating in this plot (an incredibly dumb plot) because of his love for the married saint, Lucy. But then he realizes that he's only in love with the idea of her. But he doesn't stop the stupid plot. I just had a problem with the whole setup because it seemed like a really dumb plan in the first place.
In addition to this he is also presented as a paragon. He supposedly hasn't even consorted with courtesans before. So I have a hard time believing he would have installed his mistress in his home or have taken her to spend time with his family members in the country! He'd have flashes where he'd seem more lifelike--admitting that even though he lusted after her, he still looked down on her for her profession or being appalled at the thought that someone who thought it was okay to become a courtesan had taught his little sister--but then would lose it again.
I found Robert's attitude toward marrying Bel to be the most realistic part of the book. The last hundred pages is where I finally became hooked and is what bumped the grade of the book up. I still found Robert hard to swallow as a duke, but he and Bel finally dealt with a realistic issue that made sense over the fact that they couldn't marry each other. That's the part when I felt the book really started to shine. Bel's inner struggle with accepting it and Robert's fear that she would leave him when he married was well done. The actual end was rather silly, but I was pleased enough by that point to only roll my eyes a little when I read it.
Edited to add: I forgot to say how irritating I found it that the back of the book referred to Bel as "London's most provocative courtesan" when she hadn't even slept with anyone else. Like I said, it's the Disney version here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2011
4.5 stars
February must be 'courtesan' month at my house. Somehow I've managed to read three in a row, all with variations on the same theme. All with a different spin, all wonderful.
When I joined GoodReads and starting reading reviews I noticed that lots of people have issues with 'courtesan' romances. I don't get it, myself. It's a plot device, no different than the spinster, or the rake, or the wallflower. The courtesan is never really a courtesan; she is almost always forced into it due to circumstances beyond her control. Most of the time if she isn't still a virgin she is so inexperienced she might as well be. It is always a romanticized version of a kept-woman or mistress; no street-walkers, doxies or gin-hounds inhabit the pages of historical romance novels. Or at least, not as the heroine. Some of the most romantic, sigh-worthy stories I have read have been about courtesans. And look at Pretty Woman - there's a reason that movie was so popular, and it wasn't all because of Richard Gere.
The first one I read this month was The Duke.
I loved Robert, Duke of Hawkscliffe. Uptight, somewhat repressed, shouldering an overwhelming burden of duty and honour for no other reason than that he has been told all of his life that he must. Just the type of Hero that needs rescuing from himself.
And Belinda Hamilton. I have been reading historical romances for years, and the sheer tenuousness of a woman's position in that society has never been brought home to me more clearly than in this book. In the blink of an eye, Bel loses her father to gaol, her position as teacher at a finishing school, her home, her intended and her future. When we meet her she is selling oranges on a street corner. All of this due to the whims of a spoiled wastrel named Dolph. When she refuses him, he ruins her life. Bel is attacked and raped by the warden from the gaol one night and when she recovers, she approaches a famous courtesan and finds sanctuary in her home.
Hawkscliffe and Bel ally themselves in order to gain revenge on a common enemy. In the process, they fall in love.
Their story is full of choices - heartbreaking ones, like those in real life usually are. Robert must choose between the life he has always thought he would lead, and the life that he actually wants. Watching him fall in love (very much in spite of himself), profess his love, then make some really bad decisions based on what he thinks he should do rather than what he wants to do, is wrenching.
And Bel - she must choose as well. To stay with the man she loves and share him, or to leave him, knowing how much he loves her, in order to be true to herself.
I cheered for these two all the way through the book. To be honest I wasn't sure how it would end or if they would get their HEA, even though they deserved it so much.
Their story is wonderfully written. The flirting they do with each other, when they dance together, when she hosts a political dinner at his home, when they kiss, it all feels REAL. The joy they find in each other, the love they feel for one another fairly jumps off the pages. (And so do the love scenes, btw. Very nicely done. There is also a progression to their physical relationship that seems very real - all in stages, just like real life.)
What a wonderful story. Angsty, full of emotion, a historical Pretty Woman. With an ending as big, and as romantic, and as "Aaaawwwww" invoking as the one in the movie.
February must be 'courtesan' month at my house. Somehow I've managed to read three in a row, all with variations on the same theme. All with a different spin, all wonderful.
When I joined GoodReads and starting reading reviews I noticed that lots of people have issues with 'courtesan' romances. I don't get it, myself. It's a plot device, no different than the spinster, or the rake, or the wallflower. The courtesan is never really a courtesan; she is almost always forced into it due to circumstances beyond her control. Most of the time if she isn't still a virgin she is so inexperienced she might as well be. It is always a romanticized version of a kept-woman or mistress; no street-walkers, doxies or gin-hounds inhabit the pages of historical romance novels. Or at least, not as the heroine. Some of the most romantic, sigh-worthy stories I have read have been about courtesans. And look at Pretty Woman - there's a reason that movie was so popular, and it wasn't all because of Richard Gere.
The first one I read this month was The Duke.
I loved Robert, Duke of Hawkscliffe. Uptight, somewhat repressed, shouldering an overwhelming burden of duty and honour for no other reason than that he has been told all of his life that he must. Just the type of Hero that needs rescuing from himself.
And Belinda Hamilton. I have been reading historical romances for years, and the sheer tenuousness of a woman's position in that society has never been brought home to me more clearly than in this book. In the blink of an eye, Bel loses her father to gaol, her position as teacher at a finishing school, her home, her intended and her future. When we meet her she is selling oranges on a street corner. All of this due to the whims of a spoiled wastrel named Dolph. When she refuses him, he ruins her life. Bel is attacked and raped by the warden from the gaol one night and when she recovers, she approaches a famous courtesan and finds sanctuary in her home.
Hawkscliffe and Bel ally themselves in order to gain revenge on a common enemy. In the process, they fall in love.
Their story is full of choices - heartbreaking ones, like those in real life usually are. Robert must choose between the life he has always thought he would lead, and the life that he actually wants. Watching him fall in love (very much in spite of himself), profess his love, then make some really bad decisions based on what he thinks he should do rather than what he wants to do, is wrenching.
And Bel - she must choose as well. To stay with the man she loves and share him, or to leave him, knowing how much he loves her, in order to be true to herself.
I cheered for these two all the way through the book. To be honest I wasn't sure how it would end or if they would get their HEA, even though they deserved it so much.
Their story is wonderfully written. The flirting they do with each other, when they dance together, when she hosts a political dinner at his home, when they kiss, it all feels REAL. The joy they find in each other, the love they feel for one another fairly jumps off the pages. (And so do the love scenes, btw. Very nicely done. There is also a progression to their physical relationship that seems very real - all in stages, just like real life.)
What a wonderful story. Angsty, full of emotion, a historical Pretty Woman. With an ending as big, and as romantic, and as "Aaaawwwww" invoking as the one in the movie.
March 7, 2020
Finally got a chance to sit down and read this after having it on my TR pile for 2 years. I've read and heard so many rave reviews about this book and I'd be lying if I said I didn't go into this with somewhat high expectations. While I enjoyed reading it, the story seemed to drag on forever before coming to a conclusion and I had some issues with the hero Robert's actions.
The whole 'I love you, I would do anything for you please stay with me forever as my mistress' just didn't work for me and is what made this a 2 star. Complete whomp whomp whomp let down. The pay off wasn't satisfying given what the couple goes through and the ending was a little too forced for me. The ending and the overall progress of the story was underwhelming. An important scene/confrontation happens in the middle of the story, where the heroine Bel shares her tragic past with Robert and it opens his eyes up to what she had been put through and what catapulted her into becoming a courtesan. This scene naturally breaks a lot of barriers between them and of course a dual that follows this confession where Robert is the chivalrous knight fighting for 'his lady' cemented that he would do anything for her. Right? Right? Wrong. Everything just comes to a screeching halt and becomes incredibly muddled after the dual. It just took a complete nosedive into 'WTF? Land' after that dual. Robert becomes a complete selfish oblivious cad with Bel just standing there taking it like a good little mistress. I felt everything went 20 steps backward after that dual much to my frustration. Robert doesn't want to marry her, he can't! His reputation, his position in politics, his family's legacy relies on him to do the right thing by marrying someone within the peerage. So he wants Bel to stay on as his mistress. Forever. She loves him and he loves her so why not? She could want for nothing and he is her protector and he's healed her. Oh Robert I was loving you up until this point. He started to morph into a selfish arrogant ass. I really felt his actions in the second half were completely inconsistent and out of character to the kind of man he is. I wasn't expecting him to play the self-centered oblivious cad who wants his cake and eat it too. I really felt his sense of character completely regressed in the second half of the book and it's a shame. He said she was his lady and not a whore when Bel begged him not to risk his life for her, yet he turns around and does exactly that by asking her to stay his mistress and treating her like an illicit dirty secret. I found it very contradictory.
I'm a big sucker for tormented angst-ridden couples but when the character's motivations and actions don't line up with his words? All together different story. We pretty much have Robert sit on his hands and dig his heels in through the entire second half of the book, refusing to let Belinda go but not willing to marry her because she's a demirep. It took him waaaaay too long to get his head out of his ass for my liking and I can't overlook that or justify it. And Belinda just takes it all in with a brittle smile and a lump in her throat. I just expected more from Robert given the lengths he went to to protect her and keep her safe and happy, but like Bel's father says he seemed to love his name more than Belinda. And I found it very true. It was a big disappointment because it took him a little too long to realize what was in front of his face and how wrong he was. While I do think he has a very loving heart and had his own fears and is a gentleman, I found his excuses for not marrying her to be sad, selfish and pitiful. His actions and behavior near the end I found to be contradictory to his character when he first met Bel and they started to fall for each other. He seriously seemed completely poleaxed and angry over why she kept refusing to stay with him after he breaks the news that he has agreed to marry a family friend's daughter. He was going to marry someone else yet wanted to keep her on the side. That's not a flattering situation to be in especially for a woman like Bel. And his lordly 'you will have nothing without me!' speech did nothing for him.
Another thing that made me raise a brow was the first time Belinda gives Robert a blow job. Now this happens a few weeks after she takes him on as her protector. Mind you at this time she has only been a courtesan for only a few months and hasn't been involved with anyone else before meeting Robert. She is supposed to be repulsed and terrified of men touching her in any sexual way. But she seemed to be completely happy and at ease with the seduction routine, giving him the blow job of his life with a saucy smile and some bold moves without any hesitation or fear on her part. I found that scene contrived and out of character for her given her past experience with a brutal man and her innocence in all sexual acts. At this time she's only been 'taught' what to do by Harriet Wilson the courtesan who took her under her wing. It's safe to say Bel felt safe with Robert, but still, I found her bold actions and lose flirty pet names with him to be inconsistent with her cautious character.
Final Verdict:
I probably would have been swooning over this book and given this a 5 star if I had read this 2 years ago when I started to devour HR books left and right. But now, I just wasn't blown away with it like everyone else has and had some issues with it. Even with the issues, the overall story and character motivations just did nothing for me. These two kept sharing ILY's for a good portion of this book, but I struggled to be swept away by it. And I tried. I really did. I'm kind of surprised actually how this book has been credited as Gaelen Foley's best work, I disagree on that. I don't think this was her strongest work. And I kept waiting for that sucker-punch breathless moment where I'm completely enthralled by a story and it just didn't happen here. Also, I kept noticing a lot of odd grammatical errors and awkward sentence structuring in this. I really felt this could have been polished up more with the number of mistakes I found. Her choice of phrasing certain things did not read right and were confusing to follow at times.
May 8, 2019
“Everybody fails me, Robert,” she whispered, staring at him—a young girl without hope, without dreams.
“I won’t,” he said without a second’s hesitation—to his own vast astonishment.”
You, who have master ‘d Love s gentle art,
tell me what ails me here in my heart. . .
Strange agitations, trembling desires,
blissful sensations, blistering fires?
Shiv ‘ring will seize me, then burning pain,
then in a moment, freezing again!
I seek for something charming and good,
never encounter d, not understood,
a thing I sigh for against my will,
a thing I fly from, pursuing still,
a thing that haunts me, day and night,
and how perplexing, how sad my plight.
You who have master d Love s gentle art,
tell me what ails me here in my heart.
“I won’t,” he said without a second’s hesitation—to his own vast astonishment.”
You, who have master ‘d Love s gentle art,
tell me what ails me here in my heart. . .
Strange agitations, trembling desires,
blissful sensations, blistering fires?
Shiv ‘ring will seize me, then burning pain,
then in a moment, freezing again!
I seek for something charming and good,
never encounter d, not understood,
a thing I sigh for against my will,
a thing I fly from, pursuing still,
a thing that haunts me, day and night,
and how perplexing, how sad my plight.
You who have master d Love s gentle art,
tell me what ails me here in my heart.
December 14, 2017
No sé por dónde empezar a hacer esta reseña.
Supongo que primero tengo que darle las gracias a mi tocaya por recomendármelo!
Y ahora intentar hablar un poco sobre el libro:
Conocemos por primera vez al duque Robert (pongo el nombre porque el apellido es muy difícil de recordar cómo se escribe 😂) cuando está llorando la pérdida de su amada, una mujer casada con un viejo amigo (y lo de viejo es literal. Y de nuevo no doy el nombre de ninguno porque ni me acuerdo 😂) a la que ha amado en silencio pero nunca ha hecho nada con ella. Su viejo amigo, el muy conspirador, se acerca a Robert para comentarle sus sospechas de que cree que la muerte de su esposa no fue accidental como dijo el juez, cree que alguien la ha matado. Robert no puede creérselo y le pregunta si sospecha de alguien, y el hombre, asusto zorro como es, dice que sospecha de su sobrino Dolph (no sé ni si lo estoy escribiendo bien, para los nombres soy horrible). Es entonces cuando propone a Robert que vengue la muerte de su esposa matando a Dolph una vez confiese que ha asesinado a su esposa.
En el camino de esa investigación de supuesto asesinato, donde Robert busca una debilidad con la que atacar a Dolph, conoce a Belinda, una mujer que ha tenido que pasar las penurias más horribles por culpa del imbecil de Dolph. Un trato que lleve a una venganza, dará mucho de si en la relación entre Robert y Belinda.
Ayyyyyy, ahora como os explico los sentimientos que me ha producido este libro.
Lo empecé escéptica de todo. La sinopsis no me llamaba y no creí que pudiese engancharme. Pero que tonta yo, que en cuanto lo empecé no pude soltarlo. Ya podéis comprobar que con lo extenso que es me lo he leído en un día 🙈
Me he enamorado de Robert, aunque a veces su ira le hacía decir cosas que me daban ganas de pegarle. Pero es que el amor que sentía por Belinda ❤️❤️ fue precioso. La autora tiene una forma de escribir que, incluso con lo que odie a Dolph, al final incluso llore por el 😢
Y el drama de toda la historia, bueno, simplemente Belinda me hizo sentir muy orgullosa en ciertos momentos. Creo que, en esa época, plantarle cara a un hombre era algo impresionante así que se merecía un aplauso enorme 👏🏻
Me ha encantado el libro, lo recomiendo muchísimo. Creo que todo el que lo leyera lo disfrutaría de la misma manera 😃
Supongo que primero tengo que darle las gracias a mi tocaya por recomendármelo!
Y ahora intentar hablar un poco sobre el libro:
Conocemos por primera vez al duque Robert (pongo el nombre porque el apellido es muy difícil de recordar cómo se escribe 😂) cuando está llorando la pérdida de su amada, una mujer casada con un viejo amigo (y lo de viejo es literal. Y de nuevo no doy el nombre de ninguno porque ni me acuerdo 😂) a la que ha amado en silencio pero nunca ha hecho nada con ella. Su viejo amigo, el muy conspirador, se acerca a Robert para comentarle sus sospechas de que cree que la muerte de su esposa no fue accidental como dijo el juez, cree que alguien la ha matado. Robert no puede creérselo y le pregunta si sospecha de alguien, y el hombre, asusto zorro como es, dice que sospecha de su sobrino Dolph (no sé ni si lo estoy escribiendo bien, para los nombres soy horrible). Es entonces cuando propone a Robert que vengue la muerte de su esposa matando a Dolph una vez confiese que ha asesinado a su esposa.
En el camino de esa investigación de supuesto asesinato, donde Robert busca una debilidad con la que atacar a Dolph, conoce a Belinda, una mujer que ha tenido que pasar las penurias más horribles por culpa del imbecil de Dolph. Un trato que lleve a una venganza, dará mucho de si en la relación entre Robert y Belinda.
Ayyyyyy, ahora como os explico los sentimientos que me ha producido este libro.
Lo empecé escéptica de todo. La sinopsis no me llamaba y no creí que pudiese engancharme. Pero que tonta yo, que en cuanto lo empecé no pude soltarlo. Ya podéis comprobar que con lo extenso que es me lo he leído en un día 🙈
Me he enamorado de Robert, aunque a veces su ira le hacía decir cosas que me daban ganas de pegarle. Pero es que el amor que sentía por Belinda ❤️❤️ fue precioso. La autora tiene una forma de escribir que, incluso con lo que odie a Dolph, al final incluso llore por el 😢
Y el drama de toda la historia, bueno, simplemente Belinda me hizo sentir muy orgullosa en ciertos momentos. Creo que, en esa época, plantarle cara a un hombre era algo impresionante así que se merecía un aplauso enorme 👏🏻
Me ha encantado el libro, lo recomiendo muchísimo. Creo que todo el que lo leyera lo disfrutaría de la misma manera 😃
October 30, 2018
A re-read.
Okay, this is a standard bearer Regency romance for me. Maaaayyybbbeeeee, it’s not the five star I first gave it, but it’s a solid 4 for romance, emotional development, sexual woohoo tension, and great characters. Hint: I actually remember their names. Usually, I’m ummmm….the h.. and the .. H
Belinda is a sweet, intelligent, enchanting heroine with a spine of steel determined to survive as long as she is honorable. Dolph, the dolt, has his eye on her and brings her life crumbling down to the point that she loses any position in society, is forced to sell oranges then is slowly pushed into being a courtesan as her choices are gone. Or She will also be known as a demirep and sometimes whore. Belinda takes in the role as much to get revenge on Dolph as to support herself.
Hawk, yum, is the the Duke. Honorable, stalwart, stuffy and head of a household of mismatched children as mommy wasn’t as proper as she should have been. So with that background and the nature of being a Duke in Regency England, status is an essential part of his makeup. Yeah, I know, I’m already making excuses.
Knowing that Hawk had unrequited love for another Peer's now dead wife, said evil manipulative Peer has asked Hawk to avenge her death. Guess whose name pops up as the evil doer? Dolph who happens to be the evil Peer’s heir.
Hawk and Belinda meet as she is trying to select a protector. They are totally enthralled with each other and Foley does an excellent job showing it. Charming flirtation. They make a deal that he will pay her to act as bait, and there will be no sex.
Long story short the events pile up that solidify what great characters these two are as well as there ever deepening romance. They suit each other in every way. Somebody has to act like an idiot, and it’s Hawk. He falls into his Duke, I-want-my-cake-and-eat-it-too role. Was I mad? Yes. Did it add spice to the story? Yes. Did he redeem himself? Yes!!
There is a mild suspense/mystery story in there I am not going to get into, but what a great book and a good setup for the rest of the series. I’ve read most of them, and hummuna hummuna.
Trigger: there is a rape scene. No, not the perpetrator is not the H, but event is the impetus for her to become a courtesan. It’s not overly graphic but makes an impact.
Okay, this is a standard bearer Regency romance for me. Maaaayyybbbeeeee, it’s not the five star I first gave it, but it’s a solid 4 for romance, emotional development, sexual woohoo tension, and great characters. Hint: I actually remember their names. Usually, I’m ummmm….the h.. and the .. H
Belinda is a sweet, intelligent, enchanting heroine with a spine of steel determined to survive as long as she is honorable. Dolph, the dolt, has his eye on her and brings her life crumbling down to the point that she loses any position in society, is forced to sell oranges then is slowly pushed into being a courtesan as her choices are gone. Or She will also be known as a demirep and sometimes whore. Belinda takes in the role as much to get revenge on Dolph as to support herself.
Hawk, yum, is the the Duke. Honorable, stalwart, stuffy and head of a household of mismatched children as mommy wasn’t as proper as she should have been. So with that background and the nature of being a Duke in Regency England, status is an essential part of his makeup. Yeah, I know, I’m already making excuses.
Knowing that Hawk had unrequited love for another Peer's now dead wife, said evil manipulative Peer has asked Hawk to avenge her death. Guess whose name pops up as the evil doer? Dolph who happens to be the evil Peer’s heir.
Hawk and Belinda meet as she is trying to select a protector. They are totally enthralled with each other and Foley does an excellent job showing it. Charming flirtation. They make a deal that he will pay her to act as bait, and there will be no sex.
Long story short the events pile up that solidify what great characters these two are as well as there ever deepening romance. They suit each other in every way. Somebody has to act like an idiot, and it’s Hawk. He falls into his Duke, I-want-my-cake-and-eat-it-too role. Was I mad? Yes. Did it add spice to the story? Yes. Did he redeem himself? Yes!!
There is a mild suspense/mystery story in there I am not going to get into, but what a great book and a good setup for the rest of the series. I’ve read most of them, and hummuna hummuna.
Trigger: there is a rape scene. No, not the perpetrator is not the H, but event is the impetus for her to become a courtesan. It’s not overly graphic but makes an impact.
September 22, 2018
5 TIMES A BILLION STARS
HOLY MOTHERFUCKKK THAT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD I'M LITERALLY GONNA CRY RN
update 9-22-18 did I mention whenever I'm feeling down I come back and read my favorite parts of this novel? It is just so beautiful. I keep forgetting how much I love it but then I see my old review like, damn this had a big impact on me
Me during the novel
Me at the end of the novel
So SO SATISFYING I SWEAR I HAD LOST SOME HOPE OF FINDING THE RIGHT AUTHOR AFTER LOOKING AND LOOKING FOR GOOD AUTHOR AND GOOD BOOKS AND NOW MINE EYES HATH BEEN SHOWERED WITH THE WORDS OF THIS AMAZING AUTHOR I CRY I LOVE I NEEEDDDDD
OK ONWARD TO MY REVIEW
Starting with what I loved!!!
The Plot: It was so unique! I haven't read very many courtesan novels, but boy was this wonderful and nontraditional! Belinda was not your average mistress. She has a very heartbreaking backstory! One I will not delve into because I think it's best to go into this not knowing much. Long story short, she has lost everything, and has been forced to support herself, until and she has no choice but to resort to being a courtesan. She is smart and so strong, with a lovable personality and she is not the dumb bimbo heroine I have been reading about in so many other novels who can't control her vagina in front of her dude. Also! This was not insta love! It was instant attraction, but the love grew steadily, and very believably throughout the novel!
NOW ONWARD!!!
Enter Robert or "Hawk", Duke of Hawkscliff
MMMMMMM HULLLOOOOO MR. DUKE HERE ARE MY PANTIES I DON'T EVEN FUCKING NEED A CARTE BLANCHE FROM YOU
WwwOOOWWWWww WHAT GREAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FROM THIS STUCK UP, CONSERVATIVE, JUDGEMENTAL DUKE??? He was my weakness, quiet and brooding, but secretly so so lonely all he needed was the perfect woman (ME!)
JK!!! Bel was perfect for him
“I’ve been alone so long, but when I’m with you, oh, when I’m with you, Bel, the earth sings and the stars dance and I don’t loathe myself so much for a bore.”
But still, just the way his character's depth was revealed throughout the book was truly amazing! The way he comes to realize when he was in the wrong about certain things, and accepting certain things like a real adult and a very admirable man!!
Applause to Gaelen Foley ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE AUTHORS JUST SAYINNN
Their Romance: This was honestly such a beautiful romance overall. While there was a revenge subplot and a class difference/gossip/toxic London Ton hanging over them, she managed to make the romance the main part of the plot. At the beginning, Bel and Hawk (lol I actually hate how they called him Hawk I think it's such a stupid name) are attracted to each other, and have witty banter back and forth and we're rooting for them right away because they are so intriguing both by themselves and with each other. Then, as you know from the blurb, they make a deal and their relationship is "fake" but it's actually very real. From then on their relationship grew, and that is all I will say! One must read the book one's self and experience it first hand!!! They help each other come out of their shells, they make each other happy, and they heal each other. I love how they are both so honest and how neither of them changed for the worse. Robert realized his faults and decided to change them in the end, and Bel never allowed her love for her man get into the way of her independence as a woman!
My favorite part of the romance, was what had made it so realistic, which was that by the time they fell in love, they were already best friends. That was truly romantic, and I got a little teary eyed during because it was so utterly sweet.
There are some heartbreaking parts of the novel! And it all tied up really well. The characters' relationship does go through a lot, and honestly they come through stronger by the end. I'm just so so happy I read this novel! Everyone else should read it too!! Literally crying rn
OH HOW I LOVE HAPPY ENDINGS!
HOLY MOTHERFUCKKK THAT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD I'M LITERALLY GONNA CRY RN
update 9-22-18 did I mention whenever I'm feeling down I come back and read my favorite parts of this novel? It is just so beautiful. I keep forgetting how much I love it but then I see my old review like, damn this had a big impact on me
Me during the novel
Me at the end of the novel
So SO SATISFYING I SWEAR I HAD LOST SOME HOPE OF FINDING THE RIGHT AUTHOR AFTER LOOKING AND LOOKING FOR GOOD AUTHOR AND GOOD BOOKS AND NOW MINE EYES HATH BEEN SHOWERED WITH THE WORDS OF THIS AMAZING AUTHOR I CRY I LOVE I NEEEDDDDD
OK ONWARD TO MY REVIEW
Starting with what I loved!!!
The Plot: It was so unique! I haven't read very many courtesan novels, but boy was this wonderful and nontraditional! Belinda was not your average mistress. She has a very heartbreaking backstory! One I will not delve into because I think it's best to go into this not knowing much. Long story short, she has lost everything, and has been forced to support herself, until and she has no choice but to resort to being a courtesan. She is smart and so strong, with a lovable personality and she is not the dumb bimbo heroine I have been reading about in so many other novels who can't control her vagina in front of her dude. Also! This was not insta love! It was instant attraction, but the love grew steadily, and very believably throughout the novel!
NOW ONWARD!!!
Enter Robert or "Hawk", Duke of Hawkscliff
MMMMMMM HULLLOOOOO MR. DUKE HERE ARE MY PANTIES I DON'T EVEN FUCKING NEED A CARTE BLANCHE FROM YOU
WwwOOOWWWWww WHAT GREAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FROM THIS STUCK UP, CONSERVATIVE, JUDGEMENTAL DUKE??? He was my weakness, quiet and brooding, but secretly so so lonely all he needed was the perfect woman (ME!)
JK!!! Bel was perfect for him
“I’ve been alone so long, but when I’m with you, oh, when I’m with you, Bel, the earth sings and the stars dance and I don’t loathe myself so much for a bore.”
But still, just the way his character's depth was revealed throughout the book was truly amazing! The way he comes to realize when he was in the wrong about certain things, and accepting certain things like a real adult and a very admirable man!!
Applause to Gaelen Foley ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE AUTHORS JUST SAYINNN
Their Romance: This was honestly such a beautiful romance overall. While there was a revenge subplot and a class difference/gossip/toxic London Ton hanging over them, she managed to make the romance the main part of the plot. At the beginning, Bel and Hawk (lol I actually hate how they called him Hawk I think it's such a stupid name) are attracted to each other, and have witty banter back and forth and we're rooting for them right away because they are so intriguing both by themselves and with each other. Then, as you know from the blurb, they make a deal and their relationship is "fake" but it's actually very real. From then on their relationship grew, and that is all I will say! One must read the book one's self and experience it first hand!!! They help each other come out of their shells, they make each other happy, and they heal each other. I love how they are both so honest and how neither of them changed for the worse. Robert realized his faults and decided to change them in the end, and Bel never allowed her love for her man get into the way of her independence as a woman!
My favorite part of the romance, was what had made it so realistic, which was that by the time they fell in love, they were already best friends. That was truly romantic, and I got a little teary eyed during because it was so utterly sweet.
There are some heartbreaking parts of the novel! And it all tied up really well. The characters' relationship does go through a lot, and honestly they come through stronger by the end. I'm just so so happy I read this novel! Everyone else should read it too!! Literally crying rn
OH HOW I LOVE HAPPY ENDINGS!
July 13, 2021
#RetoRita5 #RitaFoley
Ha sido una lectura que he disfrutado de principio a fin, sobre todo por los protagonistas!!
Nos movemos en el Londres de la época georgiana (1814) entre dos mundos completamente opuestos: el de la sociedad aristocrática y el de las cortesanas. El retrato que nos hace la autora es magistral, poniendo de manifiesto las grandes diferencias entre ambos, la línea divisoria que marca la separación entre lo digno y lo "indigno", a los ojos del mundo social. También deja patente la gran hipocresía en la que vivían los caballeros de la época.
La trama nos arrastra por la vida de Belinda Hamilton, su caída y ascenso dentro de la sociedad. La presión que la vida ejerce sobre ella, las circunstancias desafortunadas, la empujan a tomar una mala decisión que la hundirá en un infierno del que, sin embargo, sabrá salir con la cabeza alta. Se convertirá en la cortesana más deseada y en el arma de la venganza del duque de Hawkscliffe. Esta venganza se convierte en una subtrama dentro de la novela, que aporta los giros y las acciones dentro de la obra.
Debo decir que la trama es sencilla y, en cierto modo, predecible, pero lo que hace magnífica esta lectura son sus personajes y la gran riqueza de sentimientos que la autora vierte en cada una de las páginas. Robert Knight no es el típico duque, aunque se muestre serio, responsable y formal. Tiene un poso de dulzura que hace que te enamores de él enseguida. Cuando conoce a Bel, algo se remueve en su interior y, poco a poco, su corazón se va abriendo y se van derritiendo los muros con los que se había protegido. La forma en la que se va enamorando de ella es deliciosa, repleta de ternura y de pasión. Sin embargo, tendrá que batallar con su propia inflexibilidad y su sentido del honor y del deber, y, cuando logre la victoria, en una escena final espectacular, se convertirá en un hombre libre.
Belinda es la única hija de un caballero que se encuentra en la prisión de Fleet a causa de unas deudas. Esta situación la vuelve vulnerable y la deja a merced de los depredadores, que no tardan en sacar ventaja y hundirla hasta hacerle traspasar el límite de lo socialmente aceptable y convertirla en una paria social. Como mujer luchadora y fuerte, Belinda se levanta sobre sus cenizas y se reconstruye a sí misma al transformarse en la cortesana más requerida de Londres. Sin embargo, no sabía que su idea de buscar un protector terminaría transformando su corazón y la llevaría a romper la regla número uno de una cortesana: Nunca te enamores.
El romance entre ambos está lleno de sentimientos que van envolviendo al lector, haciéndonos sentir lo que ellos sienten, ayudándonos a conocerlos por dentro hasta hacernos ver todo lo que cada uno guarda en su interior. La autora nos hace sufrir con ellos al ver todas las barreras que se interponen entre ambos y que nos llevan a preguntarnos una y otra vez cómo conseguirá darles su final feliz. Y, desde luego, lo logra de forma maravillosa.
Una novela estupenda de una autora con un estilo ágil, ameno y perfecto. Recomendable al 100%.
Ha sido una lectura que he disfrutado de principio a fin, sobre todo por los protagonistas!!
Nos movemos en el Londres de la época georgiana (1814) entre dos mundos completamente opuestos: el de la sociedad aristocrática y el de las cortesanas. El retrato que nos hace la autora es magistral, poniendo de manifiesto las grandes diferencias entre ambos, la línea divisoria que marca la separación entre lo digno y lo "indigno", a los ojos del mundo social. También deja patente la gran hipocresía en la que vivían los caballeros de la época.
La trama nos arrastra por la vida de Belinda Hamilton, su caída y ascenso dentro de la sociedad. La presión que la vida ejerce sobre ella, las circunstancias desafortunadas, la empujan a tomar una mala decisión que la hundirá en un infierno del que, sin embargo, sabrá salir con la cabeza alta. Se convertirá en la cortesana más deseada y en el arma de la venganza del duque de Hawkscliffe. Esta venganza se convierte en una subtrama dentro de la novela, que aporta los giros y las acciones dentro de la obra.
Debo decir que la trama es sencilla y, en cierto modo, predecible, pero lo que hace magnífica esta lectura son sus personajes y la gran riqueza de sentimientos que la autora vierte en cada una de las páginas. Robert Knight no es el típico duque, aunque se muestre serio, responsable y formal. Tiene un poso de dulzura que hace que te enamores de él enseguida. Cuando conoce a Bel, algo se remueve en su interior y, poco a poco, su corazón se va abriendo y se van derritiendo los muros con los que se había protegido. La forma en la que se va enamorando de ella es deliciosa, repleta de ternura y de pasión. Sin embargo, tendrá que batallar con su propia inflexibilidad y su sentido del honor y del deber, y, cuando logre la victoria, en una escena final espectacular, se convertirá en un hombre libre.
Belinda es la única hija de un caballero que se encuentra en la prisión de Fleet a causa de unas deudas. Esta situación la vuelve vulnerable y la deja a merced de los depredadores, que no tardan en sacar ventaja y hundirla hasta hacerle traspasar el límite de lo socialmente aceptable y convertirla en una paria social. Como mujer luchadora y fuerte, Belinda se levanta sobre sus cenizas y se reconstruye a sí misma al transformarse en la cortesana más requerida de Londres. Sin embargo, no sabía que su idea de buscar un protector terminaría transformando su corazón y la llevaría a romper la regla número uno de una cortesana: Nunca te enamores.
El romance entre ambos está lleno de sentimientos que van envolviendo al lector, haciéndonos sentir lo que ellos sienten, ayudándonos a conocerlos por dentro hasta hacernos ver todo lo que cada uno guarda en su interior. La autora nos hace sufrir con ellos al ver todas las barreras que se interponen entre ambos y que nos llevan a preguntarnos una y otra vez cómo conseguirá darles su final feliz. Y, desde luego, lo logra de forma maravillosa.
Una novela estupenda de una autora con un estilo ágil, ameno y perfecto. Recomendable al 100%.
May 2, 2021
4.5⭐
Intense. That is the word I would describe this book.
This is my first book from this writer but wow, what a book. All the emotional roller-coaster... This book is centered in a woman trying to live disaster after disaster with her head held high. Not an easy feat, I tell you, I cried with some things that happened with her. It is hard to think that woman and children had no protection whatsoever back then. To acts of not their own, they would pay such high prices.
The heroine was incredibly strong and sweet at the same time, doing everything in her power to help her father and whoever was in her path. The hero was a righteous prude, even though I liked him, I hated his attitude towards what is right and wrong.
It was nice seeing the heroine slowly healing, amazing seeing her fool of a father waking up from his scholar's world and finally standing up for his daughter as he should have done from the beginning.
The story slows a bit before ending and I hated the whole mistress thing, but it was a great read nonetheless.
Trigger warning: rape
Intense. That is the word I would describe this book.
This is my first book from this writer but wow, what a book. All the emotional roller-coaster... This book is centered in a woman trying to live disaster after disaster with her head held high. Not an easy feat, I tell you, I cried with some things that happened with her. It is hard to think that woman and children had no protection whatsoever back then. To acts of not their own, they would pay such high prices.
The heroine was incredibly strong and sweet at the same time, doing everything in her power to help her father and whoever was in her path. The hero was a righteous prude, even though I liked him, I hated his attitude towards what is right and wrong.
It was nice seeing the heroine slowly healing, amazing seeing her fool of a father waking up from his scholar's world and finally standing up for his daughter as he should have done from the beginning.
The story slows a bit before ending and I hated the whole mistress thing, but it was a great read nonetheless.
Trigger warning: rape
July 17, 2012
The first book in Gaelen Foley's Knight Miscellany series. Sometimes a book comes along that you think you might not like but you give it a chance and then it becomes a favorite and it ends up on the keeper shelf to be enjoyed over and over again. That's what happened with this one. Gaelen Foley has written some good stories but none have overly wowed me until this one. Someway, somehow she managed to take a theme that I'm not in love with and write a beautiful love story that I will treasure for a long time.
November 12, 2021
Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 🔥
Humor: Just a bit
(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and the Tartans facebook group.)
Basic plot
Belinda’s irresponsible father has caused a number of problems. Now in debtor’s prison, Belinda is trying to pay for his fees. Driven to her lowest point, becoming a courtesan will help her have some possibility of a safer life and get her financially back on her feet. She meets Robert and chooses him for a protector – he has his own reasons for needing to get close to Belinda.
Give this a try if you want:
- Mid steam – a handful of open door scenes, and some skimmed over (see end of review for details)
- Class differences trope – heroine is a courtesan and hero is a duke
- A touch of fake relationship – the hero secures her as his mistress, but it’s as a cover only for his investigation
- Regency time period
- Ruined heroine/working heroine – heroine becomes a courtesan after her life is shattered
- You must be okay with a number of content warnings! (See end of review for details)
My thoughts:
I am quite conflicted over this book. I was pretty in love with the first half the book. And the only reason for that is the heroine. That is why this book gets 4 stars instead of 3 stars.
Belinda was just amazing. Her strength shines through on every page and I just adored her. Her story is just heartbreaking but she is such a fighter through the whole thing. As the book went on though, I found myself more and more annoyed with the hero, and ultimately I think she deserved better than she got.
Robert just didn’t do it for me. First of all, I never really understood his relationship with the woman that started his whole revenge/investigation. I don’t feel like it made the most sense especially why he was so obsessed with her, it was just strange. And I’m okay with the hero being a jerk, I really am. But this one just did not improve for me, or seem to regret his behavior by the end of the book. Or I wasn’t convinced of it anyway.
I definitely understand why he couldn’t marry her. I get that. But to make it a big problem with their relationship, and then at the end for it just to not be a problem any more...well it drives me bonkers. I’ve seen this in a number of class difference romances where they just CANT marry until they just DO and everything is fine. At least...I don’t know, have a solution to it, or address it in some way...I’ll be very curious how it will be portrayed in the future books of the series, a courtesan turning into a duchess.
Sometimes I’m left with a romance feeling...incomplete? Perhaps like I’m not convinced they are truly going to have a happily ever after. And I was a bit left feeling like that here. I wasn’t convinced of Robert’s love, I wasn’t convinced it was unconditional and not a fragile love. I’m hoping as I continue with the series, it convinces me of that (I’m sure it will), because right now it’s just niggling at the back of my thoughts.
Here’s a few random parts that I wanted to note from the book
Content Warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 🔥
Humor: Just a bit
(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and the Tartans facebook group.)
Basic plot
Belinda’s irresponsible father has caused a number of problems. Now in debtor’s prison, Belinda is trying to pay for his fees. Driven to her lowest point, becoming a courtesan will help her have some possibility of a safer life and get her financially back on her feet. She meets Robert and chooses him for a protector – he has his own reasons for needing to get close to Belinda.
Give this a try if you want:
- Mid steam – a handful of open door scenes, and some skimmed over (see end of review for details)
- Class differences trope – heroine is a courtesan and hero is a duke
- A touch of fake relationship – the hero secures her as his mistress, but it’s as a cover only for his investigation
- Regency time period
- Ruined heroine/working heroine – heroine becomes a courtesan after her life is shattered
- You must be okay with a number of content warnings! (See end of review for details)
My thoughts:
I am quite conflicted over this book. I was pretty in love with the first half the book. And the only reason for that is the heroine. That is why this book gets 4 stars instead of 3 stars.
Belinda was just amazing. Her strength shines through on every page and I just adored her. Her story is just heartbreaking but she is such a fighter through the whole thing. As the book went on though, I found myself more and more annoyed with the hero, and ultimately I think she deserved better than she got.
Robert just didn’t do it for me. First of all, I never really understood his relationship with the woman that started his whole revenge/investigation. I don’t feel like it made the most sense especially why he was so obsessed with her, it was just strange. And I’m okay with the hero being a jerk, I really am. But this one just did not improve for me, or seem to regret his behavior by the end of the book. Or I wasn’t convinced of it anyway.
I definitely understand why he couldn’t marry her. I get that. But to make it a big problem with their relationship, and then at the end for it just to not be a problem any more...well it drives me bonkers. I’ve seen this in a number of class difference romances where they just CANT marry until they just DO and everything is fine. At least...I don’t know, have a solution to it, or address it in some way...I’ll be very curious how it will be portrayed in the future books of the series, a courtesan turning into a duchess.
Sometimes I’m left with a romance feeling...incomplete? Perhaps like I’m not convinced they are truly going to have a happily ever after. And I was a bit left feeling like that here. I wasn’t convinced of Robert’s love, I wasn’t convinced it was unconditional and not a fragile love. I’m hoping as I continue with the series, it convinces me of that (I’m sure it will), because right now it’s just niggling at the back of my thoughts.
Here’s a few random parts that I wanted to note from the book
Content Warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
July 23, 2009
Through a series of very unfortunate events, Belinda Hamilton found herself in a situation where she had no option but to offer herself for hire as a courtesan. Her father was in debtor's prison and she couldn't earn enough money to take care of both of them.
Belinda decided that she had certain requirements in a protector, the most important being that he wasn't married. Robert Knight, the duke of Hawkscliff fit the bill perfectly. He was unmarried, handsome, and the most eligible bachelor around.
The duke of Hawkscliff didn't want a mistress. He believed that sex wasn't something that one paid for, however he took Belinda on as his mistress because he planned to use her to extract a confession from the man he believed had killed the woman he loved. Their arrangement was to be a facade, and once the murder was avenged, they would go their separate ways. What the prudish duke didn't count on was falling in love with his beautiful courtesan.
I really enjoyed this book. There were several twists, both happy and heartbreaking, that I didn't anticipate. Belinda was a likable and sympathetic character who didn't let her circumstances in life beat her down. Robert was an interesting mix of sweet and sexy male that I found really appealing. I usually prefer the typical alpha male in my hero, but Robert leaned more toward the beta until the end of the book where he was forced to go all alpha on a couple of apes who hurt the heroine. I wanted to kick his butt in the last 50 pages of the book, but he redeemed himself in the end (don't they always?).
This book was definitely worth staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish even though I had to be up early. I couldn't put it down.
Belinda decided that she had certain requirements in a protector, the most important being that he wasn't married. Robert Knight, the duke of Hawkscliff fit the bill perfectly. He was unmarried, handsome, and the most eligible bachelor around.
The duke of Hawkscliff didn't want a mistress. He believed that sex wasn't something that one paid for, however he took Belinda on as his mistress because he planned to use her to extract a confession from the man he believed had killed the woman he loved. Their arrangement was to be a facade, and once the murder was avenged, they would go their separate ways. What the prudish duke didn't count on was falling in love with his beautiful courtesan.
I really enjoyed this book. There were several twists, both happy and heartbreaking, that I didn't anticipate. Belinda was a likable and sympathetic character who didn't let her circumstances in life beat her down. Robert was an interesting mix of sweet and sexy male that I found really appealing. I usually prefer the typical alpha male in my hero, but Robert leaned more toward the beta until the end of the book where he was forced to go all alpha on a couple of apes who hurt the heroine. I wanted to kick his butt in the last 50 pages of the book, but he redeemed himself in the end (don't they always?).
This book was definitely worth staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish even though I had to be up early. I couldn't put it down.
September 5, 2018
...the first thing that Harriette taught her - the prime rule of the courtesan's creed - was: Never fall in love. To love a man was to be in his power and power, to a courtesan was everything.
Loved this one. It was my first book by GF, and I was very impressed with her writing. Classic romance storyline but very well done. Loved this heroine. The hero frustrated the hell out of me, but heaven help me, I was besotted just as she was. Such decadent love scenes, I scarcely remembered turning the pages. And what a great set up for series. I am really looking forward to meeting the rest of the Knight brothers.
March 25, 2015
This book has one of the most selfish heroines I've read.
I actually wanted to slap her a bit for being so idiotic in the end.
Considering what she is, and what she demanded of him in the end, knowing that it would RUIN him completely...
She's a moron. He isn't any better. This is one of the rare situations where I'd have preferred a non-HEA (and I want HEA EVERYWHERE!!!), or one where she stays as his mistress. This uber-jolly, absolutely non-realistic ending just ruined the book for me.
October 21, 2018
Después de varias recomendaciones, por fin he leído esta historia; no es la típica novela romántica histórica, contiene más la "cruda realidad" que se obvia en este tipo de historias (la miseria, pobreza, hambre, prostitución...); como no estoy acostumbrada a la inclusión de esos temas, quizá haya sido la parte que me ha costado más. No obstante, la historia de Belinda y Robert ha tenido de todo y la recomiendo muuucho.
November 2, 2018
Robert Knight, duque de Hawkscliffe, es un caballero en toda regla que ha perdido a la mujer que amaba es por eso que se asociará con Belinda Hamilton, una mujer que no lo ha tenido fácil en la vida y que ahora es una de las cortesanas más adoradas y que también busca venganza.
Empezando serie y conociendo a otra nueva autora para mí y no sé si es que yo ya lo veo todo bien pero me han gustado las dos. En primer lugar diré que Gaelen Foley tiene una estupenda forma de narrar y ambientar sus historias donde no encontré partes aburridas, todo parecía estar bien estructurado para así no perder el hilo. Tengo que decir que me sorprendió porque no se corta un pelo en narrar ciertas escenas, y ha sido capaz de tocarme el corazoncillo.
En lo que respecta a la parte más romántica pues me gustó, no se excede en interminables encuentros de la pareja, solo lo justo. Esta historia muestra el lado “oscuro” de la sociedad de la mano de Bel que es un personaje que tiene que reconstruirse a sí misma y aprender a sobrevivir, quizás vemos más que en otras novelas; y luego está el contrapunto con el personaje de Robert que representa a la clase alta. Sin duda la diferencia de clases aquí se refleja muy bien.
Me ha gustado mucho como nuestra protagonista se ha sabido desenvolver (ay lo que sufrí con ella) y el efecto que causa en el personaje de Robert que al principio es más estirado… y que poco a poco se va transformando gracias a la influencia de Bel. En conjunto ellos forman una buena pareja con sus conflictos, muy interesantes. Habrá muchos momentos de esos en los que nos volveremos locos con el rumbo de esta pareja, eso me ha gustado porque he sufrido con ellos, incluso algunas veces con ganas de tirar de los pelos a Robert de tan estirado que era y en otros adorarlo porque sí que nos dará sorpresas este hombre.
Hay muchos más personajes que iremos conociendo como algún hermano Knight, luego algunos como el padre de Bel que nos traerá de cabeza entre otros.
En suma, la novela ha estado muy bien estructurada, hay de todo un poco: romance, intriga… multitud de emociones, por lo que no puedo decir que me haya dejado indiferente, me ha gustado y sobre todo me ha emocionado de muchas maneras y eso sin duda es lo que buscamos en una novela, que nos emocione.
Un buen comienzo de saga que espero se repita con el segundo volumen.
Empezando serie y conociendo a otra nueva autora para mí y no sé si es que yo ya lo veo todo bien pero me han gustado las dos. En primer lugar diré que Gaelen Foley tiene una estupenda forma de narrar y ambientar sus historias donde no encontré partes aburridas, todo parecía estar bien estructurado para así no perder el hilo. Tengo que decir que me sorprendió porque no se corta un pelo en narrar ciertas escenas, y ha sido capaz de tocarme el corazoncillo.
En lo que respecta a la parte más romántica pues me gustó, no se excede en interminables encuentros de la pareja, solo lo justo. Esta historia muestra el lado “oscuro” de la sociedad de la mano de Bel que es un personaje que tiene que reconstruirse a sí misma y aprender a sobrevivir, quizás vemos más que en otras novelas; y luego está el contrapunto con el personaje de Robert que representa a la clase alta. Sin duda la diferencia de clases aquí se refleja muy bien.
Me ha gustado mucho como nuestra protagonista se ha sabido desenvolver (ay lo que sufrí con ella) y el efecto que causa en el personaje de Robert que al principio es más estirado… y que poco a poco se va transformando gracias a la influencia de Bel. En conjunto ellos forman una buena pareja con sus conflictos, muy interesantes. Habrá muchos momentos de esos en los que nos volveremos locos con el rumbo de esta pareja, eso me ha gustado porque he sufrido con ellos, incluso algunas veces con ganas de tirar de los pelos a Robert de tan estirado que era y en otros adorarlo porque sí que nos dará sorpresas este hombre.
Hay muchos más personajes que iremos conociendo como algún hermano Knight, luego algunos como el padre de Bel que nos traerá de cabeza entre otros.
En suma, la novela ha estado muy bien estructurada, hay de todo un poco: romance, intriga… multitud de emociones, por lo que no puedo decir que me haya dejado indiferente, me ha gustado y sobre todo me ha emocionado de muchas maneras y eso sin duda es lo que buscamos en una novela, que nos emocione.
Un buen comienzo de saga que espero se repita con el segundo volumen.
May 11, 2019
Una historia preciosa. Un hombre con un código moral muy estricto que se dará cuenta, que algunas veces, es mejor dejarse llevar por el corazón que por el deber. Y una mujer,que por circunstancias de la vida, se verá obligada a hacer cosas que nunca se imagino, para sobrevivir. Una venganza los unió, y el amor les descubrirán que lo vence todo... hasta los prejuicios
June 29, 2024
2.5 stars
Nope, nope, nope.
This is my first book by this author, and here is what I liked: the author carefully constructed the framework for her tale, paced it pretty well, and paints a word picture masterfully. She took her time building her story.
Here is what I didn’t like: the author took too much time building her story, covering the same ground over and over, because using different words to say the same thing repeatedly really captures a reader? Not this reader. A courtesan can’t fall in love with a protector: yeah, I got it. A duke can’t marry his mistress: again, I got it. A bigger problem was the inconsistent characterization, what with the “paragon” duke, upright and tight, honor-shackled and propriety-bound, flaunting his mistress all over London, and the formerly-genteel Belinda, after a crash course in courtesanship by three of London’s most famous demirep’s (and how did that happen? Was is verbal instruction only? Pictures? Hands-on?) giving expert fellatio and pawing the Duke like a seasoned streetwalker in the very public Vauxhall Gardens while falling to pieces at the mere idea of sexual congress. Trite dialogue. Cliches. Questionable period authenticity.
But this might still have been 3 or 3.5 stars if If an author is going to ruin a relationship that late in the game, I’m going to conclude her main characters SHOULDN’T be together and I’m going to hold a grudge for wasting that much of my time.
Since this did have its good points I would give this author one more try, but it’d better be better.
Nope, nope, nope.
This is my first book by this author, and here is what I liked: the author carefully constructed the framework for her tale, paced it pretty well, and paints a word picture masterfully. She took her time building her story.
Here is what I didn’t like: the author took too much time building her story, covering the same ground over and over, because using different words to say the same thing repeatedly really captures a reader? Not this reader. A courtesan can’t fall in love with a protector: yeah, I got it. A duke can’t marry his mistress: again, I got it. A bigger problem was the inconsistent characterization, what with the “paragon” duke, upright and tight, honor-shackled and propriety-bound, flaunting his mistress all over London, and the formerly-genteel Belinda, after a crash course in courtesanship by three of London’s most famous demirep’s (and how did that happen? Was is verbal instruction only? Pictures? Hands-on?) giving expert fellatio and pawing the Duke like a seasoned streetwalker in the very public Vauxhall Gardens while falling to pieces at the mere idea of sexual congress. Trite dialogue. Cliches. Questionable period authenticity.
But this might still have been 3 or 3.5 stars if If an author is going to ruin a relationship that late in the game, I’m going to conclude her main characters SHOULDN’T be together and I’m going to hold a grudge for wasting that much of my time.
Since this did have its good points I would give this author one more try, but it’d better be better.
February 15, 2024
After losing her job, her "virtue," and her father to prison, Bel reinvents herself as a Cyprian, the most sought-after sex workers in the demimonde. She meets Robert Knight, the "paragon duke" at a party, and after some flirtation she decides she'll have him as her first protector.
Robert, as she will later discover, wants to enlist her in a revenge scheme against a mutual enemy, compensating for her time, of course, as she is a courtesan and in his eyes, everything is for sale. He's attracted to Bel and simultaneously repulsed by her position. In order to square away these seemingly competing feelings, Robert mentally moves Bel to a separate category, elevating her above other courtesans.
The reckoning Robert has at the end is truly remarkable. He discovers that Bel, the great love of his life, did not trust him with a painful secret because she wanted his respect. He's pained to learn that he's made her feel like she had to prove herself in his company.
Can the paragon duke respect a courtesan? Only if he wants a happy ending.
Robert, as she will later discover, wants to enlist her in a revenge scheme against a mutual enemy, compensating for her time, of course, as she is a courtesan and in his eyes, everything is for sale. He's attracted to Bel and simultaneously repulsed by her position. In order to square away these seemingly competing feelings, Robert mentally moves Bel to a separate category, elevating her above other courtesans.
The reckoning Robert has at the end is truly remarkable. He discovers that Bel, the great love of his life, did not trust him with a painful secret because she wanted his respect. He's pained to learn that he's made her feel like she had to prove herself in his company.
Can the paragon duke respect a courtesan? Only if he wants a happy ending.
July 29, 2021
Nuestra reseña en A la cama con... un libro
//RELECTURA//
Me ha gustado tanto como la primera vez o incluso algo más, me parece una historia preciosa que Gaelen Foley, además, lograr escribir muy bien, nos transmite perfectamente los sentimientos de los personajes y sus anhelos. Es bonito, sentimental y muy hot cuando es necesario. Estupendo.
//RELECTURA//
Me ha gustado tanto como la primera vez o incluso algo más, me parece una historia preciosa que Gaelen Foley, además, lograr escribir muy bien, nos transmite perfectamente los sentimientos de los personajes y sus anhelos. Es bonito, sentimental y muy hot cuando es necesario. Estupendo.
April 20, 2024
Everything I like in a well-written historical fiction novel— damsel in distress, prideful hero, independent woman, treachery, a few bad guys and a swoon-worthy ending!!
(Reviewed 9/27/17)
(Reviewed 9/27/17)
October 24, 2024
Terminé este libro hace varios días y había olvidado comentarlo por aquí. ¿Qué puedo decir de esta novela? Que la amé, que ha sido un descubrimiento maravilloso, que Robert y Belinda se van a quedar por siempre en mi corazón y que he sufrido una barbaridad con ellos, así como me he conmovido y me he enamorado de su historia ♥ Leer a una autora como Foley, sumergirme en semejante romance, me han recordado por qué amo como amo las novelas románticas ♥♥♥
RELECTURA: Me ha ocurrido algo extraño, y es que no he disfrutado tanto de la historia como la primera vez que la leí, aunque quizá se trate de que no fue el mejor momento para ponerme con ella.
RELECTURA: Me ha ocurrido algo extraño, y es que no he disfrutado tanto de la historia como la primera vez que la leí, aunque quizá se trate de que no fue el mejor momento para ponerme con ella.
February 3, 2021
Well. This book was fantastic. If I could give it 100 Stars, I would.
If you look at my top-ten shelf, you will notice a general cocktail of story elements that make me love (like... love love) a book: emotional rollercoasters filled with desperation and longing, which are typically very grounded in some carefully thought out historical reality. There are exceptions, but what I want more than anything is to watch two people find their footing in life and love rather than some outlandish romp that requires some complex suspension of disbelief. Naturally, then, the honest depiction of a rising political star and duke falling in love with his young mistress was my crack.
I should start by warning future readers, since I was NOT prepared for the seriousness of the content in this book, that The Duke is decadent and dark, with the realities of courtesan life, infidelity, and rape put on full display. While rape is littered everywhere in historical romance, this is one of the few books that come to mind where it is written out for readers, as are the heroine's residual trauma from the event.
...Ergo= Trigger Warning .
Right that task done, now I shall wax poetic.
First and foremost--this story is a carefully researched, carefully placed story with real historical figures sprinkled in everywhere. From the drama with Harriette Wilson and Lord Ponsonby et al., to the important reformist Whig, Henry Brougham (he is a historical beaux of mine), the presence of Sir Walter Scott,and Lord John Scott, the 1st Earl of Eldon... the list goes on and on. So carefully was this story researched, I genuinely wondered if Bel's character was based off of some demirep in the Wilson sisters' (real courtesans) circle. Nope, it was just that thoroughly done. The precedent of the few aristocrats that married their mistresses are mentioned, but also the truth of the demirep lifestyle: that, until very recently, many artisocratic men simply lived their lives with their mistresses. Unlike most mistress tropes in HR , it didn't glorify the courtesan life as some pleasure filled bacchanalia. Women shoved vinegar soaked sponges up their vaginas or consumed lead to prevent pregnancy. They were almost always on the brink of penury because they had to stay within the--expensive--bounds of high society life. They bore illegimate children, and they were frequently handed around groups of friends. The Wilson sister's and Bel's almost clinical approach to sex and courtesanship was refreshing because to prostitutes... this view of sex work is logical.
So often, too, mistress tropes centre almost exlusively on sex. The heroine is usually a fallen women who decides to embrace her new life as a scarlet lady by hoping her protector will be generous but also give her immense pleasure. This is not the story that is told here, because Foley intentionally removes sex as a driving force in Bel and Robert's relationship. Again, mistresses were more on the spectrum of Geisha than hooker--so this choice too, made sense. Bel, after deciding to become a courtesan, admits internally that all she wants is someone gentle and kind and if she can enjoy sexual acts then that is simply a bonus. Oh!--Robert and Bel want to bang. But that isn't what the story is about, however tropey the synopsis makes you want to think otherwise. The fact that Foley was comfortable enough in her knowledge of courtesan culture to write a story with this level of nuance was, for me, worthy of great admiration. It was simply an added bonus that the prose was elegant, excellently executed (lol, alliteration much? whatever I'm waxing poetic!!!) and the characters were wonderfully drawn.
Robert 'Hawk', duke of Hawkscliffe, and his unwillingness to marry his mistress... reminded me of the Duke of Leighton in Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart only this time there isn't some dreadful mother influencing him or situation where the pressures of society prohibiting such a mésalliance remain unseen. Here, the social pressure is clearly conveyed through the placement of Robert within, but also at the epicentre, of elite Tory politicing. Combine this with Robert's honor, heart and concern with duty--and not in a stupid 'use the ever present but never actually explored concept of 'duty' as a plot device'--and it makes sense that he acts as he does in pursuing Lucy's murderer and loving Bel the way he thinks is appropriate.
Recently I raged about the dilution of the concept of nobility in HR in one of my reviews, so I won't over expound on it here. But I get it, sometimes HR is fantasy and fluff--and most of the time I love that. But deep down, I want socio-cultural realities of the past to be shaping stories completely. I want HR novels to be unflinching in their historical depicitons circa Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon . The concept of the duke here, in The Duke, is beautifully upheld in Robert's personality, his actions, and his arc. Foley clearly made the decision with this book to be true to the period and the circumstance and made the effort to explore the realities of the relationship she created. Yes, Robert drags his feet, and yes, he makes Bel essentially choose to compromise her morals ... but... it was honest. If he had done anything differently, it would have been a break from character. And in any case it all comes right in the end in a very Princess Bride way, galloping away on a horse included. Plus, this way we got to read a scene that I felt as painfully as when Rochester begs Jane to stay in Jane Eyre. I loved how tender and fierce he is and how much he panics when ... I genuinely cried during the last 30% of the book and even reread parts because they were so emotionally gripping. Robert's journey is not at all sugar-coated to make it more agreeable to modern audiences... which is probably the reason I adored him. But then, I love heroes like Lucas Kendrick (Heartless), and Christian, the Duke of Jervaulx (Flowers from the Storm)... essentially proud, often prejudiced men shaped by their noble circumstance who evolve out of their prescribed shells. Robert Knight is another one these wonderfully flawed men.
As for Belinda La Belle/'Bel' Hamilton.. amidst all the heartache, neglect, and abuse that she endures she was a wonderfully consistent and carefully portrayed female character. She is a complex mix of vulnerability and strength. Beneath her cool, aloof courtesan's facade is actually a very gentle and loyal woman. Where her arc isn't grand and sweeping, it is subtle and slow as she learns to respect herself after her traumatic experiences. I adored her journey.
So, sufficed to say: I loved this book very fiercely. I tentatively put it in my almost-top-ten shelf. I say tentatively only because I will have to see how many times I reread it before it bumps some other book off my actual top ten list. I think it is only a matter of time though, since this book is so beautiful.
This is by no means an easy novel to read. It is painful and dark and infuriatingly honest in way I think alot of readers think HR shouldn't be, but for me this was everything that made it a winner.
If you look at my top-ten shelf, you will notice a general cocktail of story elements that make me love (like... love love) a book: emotional rollercoasters filled with desperation and longing, which are typically very grounded in some carefully thought out historical reality. There are exceptions, but what I want more than anything is to watch two people find their footing in life and love rather than some outlandish romp that requires some complex suspension of disbelief. Naturally, then, the honest depiction of a rising political star and duke falling in love with his young mistress was my crack.
I should start by warning future readers, since I was NOT prepared for the seriousness of the content in this book, that The Duke is decadent and dark, with the realities of courtesan life, infidelity, and rape put on full display. While rape is littered everywhere in historical romance, this is one of the few books that come to mind where it is written out for readers, as are the heroine's residual trauma from the event.
...Ergo= Trigger Warning .
Right that task done, now I shall wax poetic.
First and foremost--this story is a carefully researched, carefully placed story with real historical figures sprinkled in everywhere. From the drama with Harriette Wilson and Lord Ponsonby et al., to the important reformist Whig, Henry Brougham (he is a historical beaux of mine), the presence of Sir Walter Scott,and Lord John Scott, the 1st Earl of Eldon... the list goes on and on. So carefully was this story researched, I genuinely wondered if Bel's character was based off of some demirep in the Wilson sisters' (real courtesans) circle. Nope, it was just that thoroughly done. The precedent of the few aristocrats that married their mistresses are mentioned, but also the truth of the demirep lifestyle: that, until very recently, many artisocratic men simply lived their lives with their mistresses. Unlike most mistress tropes in HR , it didn't glorify the courtesan life as some pleasure filled bacchanalia. Women shoved vinegar soaked sponges up their vaginas or consumed lead to prevent pregnancy. They were almost always on the brink of penury because they had to stay within the--expensive--bounds of high society life. They bore illegimate children, and they were frequently handed around groups of friends. The Wilson sister's and Bel's almost clinical approach to sex and courtesanship was refreshing because to prostitutes... this view of sex work is logical.
So often, too, mistress tropes centre almost exlusively on sex. The heroine is usually a fallen women who decides to embrace her new life as a scarlet lady by hoping her protector will be generous but also give her immense pleasure. This is not the story that is told here, because Foley intentionally removes sex as a driving force in Bel and Robert's relationship. Again, mistresses were more on the spectrum of Geisha than hooker--so this choice too, made sense. Bel, after deciding to become a courtesan, admits internally that all she wants is someone gentle and kind and if she can enjoy sexual acts then that is simply a bonus. Oh!--Robert and Bel want to bang. But that isn't what the story is about, however tropey the synopsis makes you want to think otherwise. The fact that Foley was comfortable enough in her knowledge of courtesan culture to write a story with this level of nuance was, for me, worthy of great admiration. It was simply an added bonus that the prose was elegant, excellently executed (lol, alliteration much? whatever I'm waxing poetic!!!) and the characters were wonderfully drawn.
Robert 'Hawk', duke of Hawkscliffe, and his unwillingness to marry his mistress... reminded me of the Duke of Leighton in Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart only this time there isn't some dreadful mother influencing him or situation where the pressures of society prohibiting such a mésalliance remain unseen. Here, the social pressure is clearly conveyed through the placement of Robert within, but also at the epicentre, of elite Tory politicing. Combine this with Robert's honor, heart and concern with duty--and not in a stupid 'use the ever present but never actually explored concept of 'duty' as a plot device'--and it makes sense that he acts as he does in pursuing Lucy's murderer and loving Bel the way he thinks is appropriate.
Recently I raged about the dilution of the concept of nobility in HR in one of my reviews, so I won't over expound on it here. But I get it, sometimes HR is fantasy and fluff--and most of the time I love that. But deep down, I want socio-cultural realities of the past to be shaping stories completely. I want HR novels to be unflinching in their historical depicitons circa Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon . The concept of the duke here, in The Duke, is beautifully upheld in Robert's personality, his actions, and his arc. Foley clearly made the decision with this book to be true to the period and the circumstance and made the effort to explore the realities of the relationship she created. Yes, Robert drags his feet, and yes, he makes Bel essentially choose to compromise her morals ... but... it was honest. If he had done anything differently, it would have been a break from character. And in any case it all comes right in the end in a very Princess Bride way, galloping away on a horse included. Plus, this way we got to read a scene that I felt as painfully as when Rochester begs Jane to stay in Jane Eyre. I loved how tender and fierce he is and how much he panics when ... I genuinely cried during the last 30% of the book and even reread parts because they were so emotionally gripping. Robert's journey is not at all sugar-coated to make it more agreeable to modern audiences... which is probably the reason I adored him. But then, I love heroes like Lucas Kendrick (Heartless), and Christian, the Duke of Jervaulx (Flowers from the Storm)... essentially proud, often prejudiced men shaped by their noble circumstance who evolve out of their prescribed shells. Robert Knight is another one these wonderfully flawed men.
As for Belinda La Belle/'Bel' Hamilton.. amidst all the heartache, neglect, and abuse that she endures she was a wonderfully consistent and carefully portrayed female character. She is a complex mix of vulnerability and strength. Beneath her cool, aloof courtesan's facade is actually a very gentle and loyal woman. Where her arc isn't grand and sweeping, it is subtle and slow as she learns to respect herself after her traumatic experiences. I adored her journey.
So, sufficed to say: I loved this book very fiercely. I tentatively put it in my almost-top-ten shelf. I say tentatively only because I will have to see how many times I reread it before it bumps some other book off my actual top ten list. I think it is only a matter of time though, since this book is so beautiful.
This is by no means an easy novel to read. It is painful and dark and infuriatingly honest in way I think alot of readers think HR shouldn't be, but for me this was everything that made it a winner.
February 2, 2024
✨️5 Stars ✨️
Gaelen Foley's The Duke follows the Duke of Hawkscliffe, finding the murderer who killed his lady love. He will go to great lengths to uncover, even if it means to purposely being scandalized by the beautiful courtesan Belinda Hamilton. Bel needs a protector and agrees to be Hawk's mistress, in name only. To their great surprise, they end up falling in love…
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and their sizzling chemistry! Hawk and Bel are wonderful together. I love their passion for one another and for others. They have become one of my favorite couples! 5 stars, hands
Previously read in 2018. I'm updating my reviews to better suit GR and IG (readinginbliss)
Gaelen Foley's The Duke follows the Duke of Hawkscliffe, finding the murderer who killed his lady love. He will go to great lengths to uncover, even if it means to purposely being scandalized by the beautiful courtesan Belinda Hamilton. Bel needs a protector and agrees to be Hawk's mistress, in name only. To their great surprise, they end up falling in love…
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and their sizzling chemistry! Hawk and Bel are wonderful together. I love their passion for one another and for others. They have become one of my favorite couples! 5 stars, hands
Previously read in 2018. I'm updating my reviews to better suit GR and IG (readinginbliss)
October 11, 2017
Este libro tiene una de las declaraciones más bellas, hermosas, preciosas y todo lo que terminé en "as" que he leído en mi vida.
Es de todo lo que me acuerdo Hahaha pero el libro es genial. Robert es medio duro pero ¿que podemos esperar de un duque?
Me chiflan los duques 😍🙈
Es de todo lo que me acuerdo Hahaha pero el libro es genial. Robert es medio duro pero ¿que podemos esperar de un duque?
Me chiflan los duques 😍🙈
April 2, 2020
***When I first read this book, I posted an abbreviated review, so after re-reading it, I'm now posting my full original review, along with a short amended comment at the end.***
The Duke is, in all honesty, one of the best books I have read in quite some time. It contained many swoon-worthy moments, making it a truly romantic read, yet it also had enough angst and complexity to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering how the author would pull off a happily-ever-after ending. I found the use of a courtesan, albeit a relatively innocent one, as the heroine, to be a rather unique element. I would not normally think of a "fallen woman" as heroine material, but in this case it worked for me because of the extenuating circumstances surrounding her choice of profession. I also found the details within the story about the lives of courtesans to be very interesting. I could appreciate the author's highlighting of the limited choices for women in that era, and it really made me think about what circumstances might lead a woman to make that kind of choice. I was quite impressed with the way Ms. Foley was able to deftly weave a number of real-life individuals, including some courtesans, into the narrative as secondary characters. I thought this added a great deal of depth and interest to the story. There were also some details of British politics of that time, but unlike a couple of other stories I read recently where I found the political element to be extremely dull, here I felt that it really added to the story in a rather profound but nuanced way.
In The Duke, Gaelen Foley has created a hero and heroine who were, in my opinion, both likable and memorable. I thought that Belinda was an incredibly strong, brave and courageous woman. Even though she had been victimized, she never allowed herself to be a victim, instead boldly facing those who had caused her harm, and in one case even showing compassion and forgiveness. Bel was a woman who had a tender heart and a deep sense of honor. Even when faced with becoming a courtesan as a matter of survival, she tried to maintain her dignity by upholding a certain moral code which I found admirable. I also loved that she would not bend that code even though it meant giving up the most important thing in her life, and ultimately, it was her resolve on this matter that led to Bel finally earning the respect that she so richly deserved. Robert was a kind, gentle and patient man with the heart of a romantic, yet he became Bel's protector not only in word but in deed as well. In fact, the level of fierceness that he reached to ensure Bel's protection, was rather surprising for this previously controlled and mild-mannered man. Robert was a man who was torn between love and duty, and as such, he could sometimes be a bit hard-headed. It was nice to see him grow and change, eventually breaking out of the mold he had been placed in by his father and the ton, allowing himself the freedom to experience his heart's desire. I absolutely loved the interactions between Robert and Bel. Their relationship was just thoroughly beautiful with each of them giving very generously, unselfishly, and in equal measure to one another, creating some very lovely and sensuous love scenes. I don't think I could have asked for a much more romantic and well-matched couple.
All in all, Gaelen Foley has an amazing writing style which contains so many wonderful nuances that make the reader feel as though they are actually experiencing the story as it happens. There were places in the narrative where I felt like she was holding something back, but after careful consideration, I think that it may have been intentional. I'm not precisely sure how Ms. Foley accomplished this, but as I read, I felt all the insecurity that I imagined Bel must have felt in her relationship with Robert, knowing that he was a duke and she a mere courtesan. There were times when I wasn't sure if I liked this, as I was expecting a grand and prefect romance, but I realized that it made me more aware of what a women in Bel's position might have really felt, making the story all the more realistic. Even though I wanted to be upset with Robert at times for his stubbornness and in one case, not seeing the obvious, I also understood his trepidation at the thought of further scandalizing his family name. When an author makes me think about and understand all the things that drive their characters to behave a certain way, I feel that they have done their job well.
I could not find much to truly criticize in this book, but one thing I thought could have been a bit stronger was the final reveal on the cause of Lucy's death. I felt that there was a bit too much justification surrounding it, and that it could have been written in such a way that this would not have been necessary. Overall though, it was a relatively minor part of the story that I was generally able to overlook. Also, the romantic in me would have liked Robert to come to his senses a little sooner or perhaps never have had to in the first place, but there were so many positive things that occurred during the time he and Bel were apart that I could hardly complain. Bel was able to regain her dignity and self-worth in full measure, while Robert was able to realize some very important things about Bel, as well as being able to reinvent himself and find freedom from his family's infamous legacy. As the end of the story approached, I was wondering how the author would redeem Robert's mistakes in a believable and forgivable way, but I needn't have worried. It ended with a grand romantic flourish and a two-for-one happily-ever-after that was absolutely breathtaking.
The Duke is the first book in the Knight Miscellany series. It briefly introduces Robert's brother Alec who becomes the hero of book #6, One Night of Sin, as well as their sister, Jacinda, and her companion, Lizzie, who become the heroines of book #4, Lady of Desire, and book #5, Devil Takes a Bride, respectively. Book #2, Lord of Fire, and book #3, Lord of Ice, feature twins, Lucien and Damien, respectively, as the heroes, and the final book #7, His Wicked Kiss has black sheep, Jack, as the hero. These three are also Robert's siblings and are mentioned by name in The Duke, but do not actually appear as secondary characters. I found The Duke to be a thoroughly engaging and romantic read that has earned a permanent place on my keeper shelf. It was the first book by Gaelen Foley that I have read, but certainly will not be my last. I am anxiously looking forward to reading the next book in the series as well as checking out her other works.
Note: As a warning to sensitive readers, there is an incidence of rape in the first chapter. It isn't particularly graphic, but it is emotionally intense. There is also an instance of rather brutal violence when Robert takes matters into his own hands to avenge Bel.
Update: After thoroughly enjoying a re-read of this book, I've decided to upgrade my rating to 5 stars. I wasn't as bothered by the denouement of the mystery element this time around, and I was more clearly able to see how the conflicts and what I perceived as stubbornness on Robert's part were actually part of some rather impressive character development. Not to mention, I was once again blown away by the emotions I felt while reading it. This is a more-than-worthy keeper that I may yet re-read again in the future.
The Duke is, in all honesty, one of the best books I have read in quite some time. It contained many swoon-worthy moments, making it a truly romantic read, yet it also had enough angst and complexity to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering how the author would pull off a happily-ever-after ending. I found the use of a courtesan, albeit a relatively innocent one, as the heroine, to be a rather unique element. I would not normally think of a "fallen woman" as heroine material, but in this case it worked for me because of the extenuating circumstances surrounding her choice of profession. I also found the details within the story about the lives of courtesans to be very interesting. I could appreciate the author's highlighting of the limited choices for women in that era, and it really made me think about what circumstances might lead a woman to make that kind of choice. I was quite impressed with the way Ms. Foley was able to deftly weave a number of real-life individuals, including some courtesans, into the narrative as secondary characters. I thought this added a great deal of depth and interest to the story. There were also some details of British politics of that time, but unlike a couple of other stories I read recently where I found the political element to be extremely dull, here I felt that it really added to the story in a rather profound but nuanced way.
In The Duke, Gaelen Foley has created a hero and heroine who were, in my opinion, both likable and memorable. I thought that Belinda was an incredibly strong, brave and courageous woman. Even though she had been victimized, she never allowed herself to be a victim, instead boldly facing those who had caused her harm, and in one case even showing compassion and forgiveness. Bel was a woman who had a tender heart and a deep sense of honor. Even when faced with becoming a courtesan as a matter of survival, she tried to maintain her dignity by upholding a certain moral code which I found admirable. I also loved that she would not bend that code even though it meant giving up the most important thing in her life, and ultimately, it was her resolve on this matter that led to Bel finally earning the respect that she so richly deserved. Robert was a kind, gentle and patient man with the heart of a romantic, yet he became Bel's protector not only in word but in deed as well. In fact, the level of fierceness that he reached to ensure Bel's protection, was rather surprising for this previously controlled and mild-mannered man. Robert was a man who was torn between love and duty, and as such, he could sometimes be a bit hard-headed. It was nice to see him grow and change, eventually breaking out of the mold he had been placed in by his father and the ton, allowing himself the freedom to experience his heart's desire. I absolutely loved the interactions between Robert and Bel. Their relationship was just thoroughly beautiful with each of them giving very generously, unselfishly, and in equal measure to one another, creating some very lovely and sensuous love scenes. I don't think I could have asked for a much more romantic and well-matched couple.
All in all, Gaelen Foley has an amazing writing style which contains so many wonderful nuances that make the reader feel as though they are actually experiencing the story as it happens. There were places in the narrative where I felt like she was holding something back, but after careful consideration, I think that it may have been intentional. I'm not precisely sure how Ms. Foley accomplished this, but as I read, I felt all the insecurity that I imagined Bel must have felt in her relationship with Robert, knowing that he was a duke and she a mere courtesan. There were times when I wasn't sure if I liked this, as I was expecting a grand and prefect romance, but I realized that it made me more aware of what a women in Bel's position might have really felt, making the story all the more realistic. Even though I wanted to be upset with Robert at times for his stubbornness and in one case, not seeing the obvious, I also understood his trepidation at the thought of further scandalizing his family name. When an author makes me think about and understand all the things that drive their characters to behave a certain way, I feel that they have done their job well.
I could not find much to truly criticize in this book, but one thing I thought could have been a bit stronger was the final reveal on the cause of Lucy's death. I felt that there was a bit too much justification surrounding it, and that it could have been written in such a way that this would not have been necessary. Overall though, it was a relatively minor part of the story that I was generally able to overlook. Also, the romantic in me would have liked Robert to come to his senses a little sooner or perhaps never have had to in the first place, but there were so many positive things that occurred during the time he and Bel were apart that I could hardly complain. Bel was able to regain her dignity and self-worth in full measure, while Robert was able to realize some very important things about Bel, as well as being able to reinvent himself and find freedom from his family's infamous legacy. As the end of the story approached, I was wondering how the author would redeem Robert's mistakes in a believable and forgivable way, but I needn't have worried. It ended with a grand romantic flourish and a two-for-one happily-ever-after that was absolutely breathtaking.
The Duke is the first book in the Knight Miscellany series. It briefly introduces Robert's brother Alec who becomes the hero of book #6, One Night of Sin, as well as their sister, Jacinda, and her companion, Lizzie, who become the heroines of book #4, Lady of Desire, and book #5, Devil Takes a Bride, respectively. Book #2, Lord of Fire, and book #3, Lord of Ice, feature twins, Lucien and Damien, respectively, as the heroes, and the final book #7, His Wicked Kiss has black sheep, Jack, as the hero. These three are also Robert's siblings and are mentioned by name in The Duke, but do not actually appear as secondary characters. I found The Duke to be a thoroughly engaging and romantic read that has earned a permanent place on my keeper shelf. It was the first book by Gaelen Foley that I have read, but certainly will not be my last. I am anxiously looking forward to reading the next book in the series as well as checking out her other works.
Note: As a warning to sensitive readers, there is an incidence of rape in the first chapter. It isn't particularly graphic, but it is emotionally intense. There is also an instance of rather brutal violence when Robert takes matters into his own hands to avenge Bel.
Update: After thoroughly enjoying a re-read of this book, I've decided to upgrade my rating to 5 stars. I wasn't as bothered by the denouement of the mystery element this time around, and I was more clearly able to see how the conflicts and what I perceived as stubbornness on Robert's part were actually part of some rather impressive character development. Not to mention, I was once again blown away by the emotions I felt while reading it. This is a more-than-worthy keeper that I may yet re-read again in the future.
December 12, 2017
Esta es una de esas historias de amor que adoro y considero maravillosas.
Se quedó conmigo la primera vez que la leí y con esta relectura, la he vuelto a disfrutar tanto o más que la primera vez. Sus protagonistas, Bel y Robert.... los adoro, me emociona su historia y su sentir. Sus circunstancias, sus sentimientos contenidos, el dolor, el amor, me parece que está escrito todo tan bonito que, para mí, es de esos libros que vale la pena leer al menos una vez si eres lectora de romántica.
Me encanta
Se quedó conmigo la primera vez que la leí y con esta relectura, la he vuelto a disfrutar tanto o más que la primera vez. Sus protagonistas, Bel y Robert.... los adoro, me emociona su historia y su sentir. Sus circunstancias, sus sentimientos contenidos, el dolor, el amor, me parece que está escrito todo tan bonito que, para mí, es de esos libros que vale la pena leer al menos una vez si eres lectora de romántica.
Me encanta
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