Deserted – 4 stars
Sophia thinks she’s escaped the clutches of her tyrannical cousins when she comes to be companion to the Duchess of Cuttyngham, even if it’s under strange circumstances. But when her employer makes her escape to Brussels and her family pursues her to her new home, Sophia is forced to turn to the icy but beguiling Earl of Frostbrook for help.
This is the third book in The Duel series, which follows the fallout of the Duke of Cuttyngham’s death in a duel on the brink of Waterloo. Though the leads in this book are more tangentially tangled up in the overarching plot than those of the other books, the series should definitely been read in order.
I’d been looking forward to Sophia’s book for a little while now – her setup as Giles’s not-quite-fiancée and her prickly character promised an interesting story. While her romantic past is somewhat shafted in the book itself, I still enjoyed her dynamic with the closed-off Frostbrook, and how they were both able to soften and open up to each other.
However, while I did enjoy the subplot of Sophia’s cousins, it was a little predictable – I’ve seen that inheritance grab plenty of times before! That the main characters are on the outer edges of the duel plot also meant that I felt like this book didn’t really move the plot forward much beyond briefly introducing a new character who we learn much more about in the final book.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
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Beloved – 3.5 stars
Suspicious of her father’s involvement in the death of a duke, Olivia Rainey goes to deliver a reluctant warning to his heir, only to become further entangled in the mystery.
In this final book in the Duel series, we finally get a conclusive answer to the mystery of the Duke of Cuttyngham’s death, even if we knew pretty much from the start who committed the crime. With a side of romance and self-discovery, as a little treat.
Having been hidden away all his life due to a congenital disability, Victor was on the verge of escaping to university when his father’s death forces him to shoulder the mantle of the title. Hidden away due to her illegitimacy, Olivia and he find first friendship and then love with each other, and I loved how they became both stronger and happier as a team. A major theme of this series has been overcoming isolation, and I enjoyed seeing how Olivia helped Victor break the ice and connect to his servants and neighbors after being besmirched by horrid rumors all his life.
However, I did feel that character development was given a bit short shrift with all the drama of the murder mystery and then the aftermath of the battle of Waterloo. We see Victor and Olivia grow together, but not as much where they were growing from, especially Olivia. While I enjoyed the quiet, slow-paced romance, I did wish there was some more space devoted to this element too.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
