ARC Review: The Devil’s Own Duke by Lenora Bell

“while this story was fun and the characters sweet, it was missing something for me.”

~ Under the Covers

I picked this book out of order, having not read the first in the series, but having enjoyed Lenora Bell’s books in the past. On that, this book read well as a standalone.

This is a romance with class differences where our hero, Ash, is the owner of a gambling hell and the heroine, Hetty, is a lady of society in need of an heir to the title in her family so they don’t lose everything. Her original plan was for her father to remarry and have a son. But conveniently, and much to her dismay, Ash seems to have a claim to the title. 

There are some things you can certainly expect in this story. A total cinnamon roll hero, a marriage of convenience, a heroine determined to make her vineyards and English wine recognized for their quality 

But while this story was fun and the characters sweet, it was missing something for me. A bit boring overall in execution and pacing. There was a lot of potential with the plot that I don’t think was ever developed. The bad guy storyline felt like an afterthought and honestly I would’ve loved to see some of the hero’s passion and motivation explored further. We spent a lot of time with our heroine and her vineyards and I think spending a bit more time with the hero, his backstory and the kids he was trying to help would’ve given this story a bit more depth.

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this author’s writing and I’ll be picking up more of her books in the future. I know she’s always good for a sweet historical romance.

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