A DUKE TO DIE FOR is the first in Amelia Grey’s Rogues’ Dynasty books. A DUKE TO DIE FOR is about Duke Blakewell and Henrietta Tweed, while the next two will be about Blackwell’s two cousins (Lord Raceworth and Lord Morgangale).

Great fun sums up this story quite well. Despite his initial bluster, Blakewell isn’t quite as bad as his reputation makes him out to be. At least he takes his role as Duke quite seriously (even if he is a tad absentminded), so maybe it's more he hasn’t had time to keep up his reputation as the Devilish Duke. Henrietta, for all her superstitions, is rather level-headed and mature. She’s only nineteen, but shows more sense then many of the older people of the story.

As for the curse, it truly was a self-fulfilling prophecy, I think. Sure enough, if you go looking for trouble, you can subscribe just about any ordinary event to it. What I was really pleased by was Blakewell and how quickly he understood Henrietta. There wasn’t any misunderstandings between them, and even if he didn’t always believe what Henrietta said (who would believe a curse was put upon a seven year old girl?), he didn’t condescend or make light of it.

I look forward, eagerly, to the next two books although I have a feeling Blakewell might keep my heart. ( )

Miss Henrietta Tweed arrives on the doorstep of the home of the Duke of Blakewell and explains that she is his ward.

She's quite willing to be reasonable, she's almost twenty, the Duke could sign over her inheritance and she will go off on her own.

But the Duke decides he does want to be her guardian and then it turns out to be so much more.

A real charmer, great character development. ( )

With this book Amelia Grey has written a romance with a great sense of fun and humor. I read many different genres of romance books and enjoy coming back to this style of romance. I will be mixing more of Amelia Grey's books into my reading list. On my Nook the book listed 271 pages.

What is a roguish young nobleman supposed to do with a shockingly lovely young ward?
The Duke of Blakewell believes he'd better marry her off as soon as possible, before he gives in to temptation himself...

But Henrietta doesn't want a husband— she wants her independence...
Sure that she carries a curse that killed her previous guardians, Henrietta just wants the duke to sign over her inheritance before something terrible befalls him...

In a moment of passion, they become scandalously entangled, and suddenly the duke must take Henrietta's curse seriously, and she must take drastic measures to save the one man she could love... ( )

Miss Henrietta Tweed arrives on the Duke of Blakewell’s doorstep with little but her clothing, her maid, and assurances that she is now his ward. The young and scandalous Blakewell has never even heard of her, but her story is so preposterous he decides it must be true, and in any case he is so behind on his correspondence that he can well believe a letter was sent ahead of time. All Henrietta wants is for her fortune to be signed over to her; she is nearly 20 and has experience managing money, but Blakewell is convinced that he needs to do his best by her and marry her off. When he realizes that he can’t get enough of her company, his plans take an abrupt shift.

I’m always pleased when I discover a new romance author I’ll like, and I suspect I have found one here. While this book doesn’t push any boundaries of the genre, it is a book that can be read in a day with a great deal of pleasure. Both characters are interesting, particularly Blakewell. He’s quite convinced that he’s a determined rake only to discover that he actually has a crush on his ward for possibly the first time in his life. At least, that’s how I saw it.

Henrietta, meanwhile, has never had the opportunity to get to know a young, virile man before and despite her intelligence, seems very impressed by him. My favorite segments of the book are their conversations when their words are followed immediately by their thoughts:

“All right, maybe you should start by telling me about your parents’ death. Do you mind?”

Yes. Don’t make me remember.

…

“I haven’t talked about them in a long time.” - p. 217

I like the interplay between their presented personalities and what they’re really thinking. I enjoyed the struggle to articulate their feelings for each other and watching them coax honesty from one another.

As far as the plot was concerned, I also could easily believe that Henrietta thought she was cursed. If she was told it at the impressionable age of 7 and then lived to watch guardian after guardian die, she logically might begin to wonder, no matter how clever she was.

I also enjoyed the interplay among Blakewell’s family. None of them are closely related but ties of affection are clear. I’m very much looking forward to the forthcoming novels featuring Blakewell’s two cousins. I loved the snippets at the beginning of each chapter quoting Lord Chesterfield from Blakewell’s grandmother’s letters. Apparently, Lord Chesterfield actually existed and many of these quotes are his from advice letters to his son. If they’re not, the characters question the quotations in the chapter, because many of these quotes were floating around at the time and could easily have been attributed to him. They were all relevant and the note of history really added something for me.

All in all, this is a very enjoyable romance, and I would recommend it to any romance fans seeking out a new author.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=703 ( )

Lucien Blakewell is struggling to come to terms with the backlog of paperwork cluttering his desk , but he never expected the responsibilities of his new dukedom included the guardianship of a young lady. After all, the rakish Blake is the last person anyone would want looking after a beautiful debutante. But level-headed Henrietta Tweed turns up on his doorstep hoping to take charge of her own life and inheritance - and to save her latest guardian from the curse that has taken the lives of the last five men responsible for her welfare.

Henrietta - I really liked her. She was pleasantly sensible and take-charge without being overbearing. She has a touching vulnerability that arises from the accident that killed her parents and her being shuffled from home to home. I really enjoyed the scenes in the Season - Henrietta's first dance in particular was very touching. When Blake's cousins dance with Henrietta, it shows their concern for Blake and their acceptance of Henrietta in the most lovely way. A beautiful moment of the author showing, not telling the strength of the group's affection.

The plot involving the hot air balloon (and Blake's vulnerability to vertigo) is novel, and allows the author to introduce the other cousins (and Gibby) for later books. There's a fair share of comedic moments (Lord Snellingly's poem, for instance), and overall the story is good fun. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the characters' inner feelings and their speech, but in certain scenes, I found the dialogue did not engage me in the story as much as I had hoped. Nothing cringe-worthy, though, so a minor quibble to an enjoyable book.

More at my blog.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free review copy from the publisher. ( )