Several aspects of this one were just slightly off. I couldn't quite 'buy in' to it, and was ultimately disappointed. (The ending especially was a little predictable and tedious). I'm not so dismayed as to not still try out the next book in the series though. ( )

Murder, mystery and loyalty!

I really liked the main protagonists, General Marcus Braddock and Danielle Williams.
Prior to Marcus' return to England from the continent and the defeat of Napoleon, Danielle had written to him to notify him of his sister Elise's death.
The Honorable Danielle Williams, daughter of Baron Mondale, runs the Nightingale pipeline for deserted and battered women, spiriting them away to other parts of the country or the Americas, where abused women are given safe havens.
Marcus, now the Duke of Hampton, has been awarded a dukedom as a reward for his heroic campaigns. Marcus has been trying to talk to Danielle about his sister's death. Dani is avoiding him. She is troubled that he might find out about her secretive enterprise, of which Elise was a part. What Marcus does discover is that Elise was murdered. Dani had "warned Elise to stay away from Scepter.” Now Dani is in a quandary. Had Elise ignored Dani's warnings and tried to help women by herself, taken risks apart from Nightingale, without the proper support?
Marcus and Dani join forces to discover Elise's killer. Their inquiries put both of them in danger but when Dani becomes the target Marcus is enraged. Marcus really is the epitome of an inconvenient duke, inconvenient for Dani and for those who murdered Elise. It's the Duke's strategical thinking and loyal friends, along with Dani's shrewd understandings, that turn the tide at the eleventh hour. Although loose ends are left tantalizing us into future developments, particularly about Scepter.
And it's in this spirit that the armory is born"—The Armory, Where Evil Fears to Tread." A place for ex soldiers, a sanctuary, where these loyal men will, "band together and use [their] skills to shut down Scepter and to help those in need, wherever they might be, no matter the threat."
I found the Inconvenient Duke an enjoyable read despite being is a tad predictable in some instances. I look forward to more in this series. The Duke has some interesting friends!

A Sourcebooks Casablanca ARC via NetGalley ( )

Anna Harrington’s first entry into this new series is a lovely sensual romance, and an exciting, breath-holding, fast-paced mystery. The characters are relatable and likable and the writing, as always, is excellent.

The Napoleonic wars are over and the soldiers have returned home. The life that awaited them in England wasn’t what they would have thought. The military had no use for them and there were few, if any, jobs available. The war office was slow to pay pensioners and those who remained on the payroll. It was common to see a soldier in his tattered uniform begging on the streets. This treatment of the men who had sacrificed so much for king and country really rankled returning war hero, General Marcus Braddock, newly minted Duke of Hampton. He’d lost so much while he was away at war – and now he felt lost, restless, and unsettled.

With the wars over, there is a new, home-grown menace afoot in England. It is growing in power and influence every day – and its name is Scepter. Nobody knew it even existed until, unwittingly, Elise, sister of Marcus Braddock, stepped into their path and was murdered for it. Once Marcus realizes that Elise was murdered rather than being killed in a riding accident, he will stop at nothing to find her murderer and see him punished.

Elise was Danielle Williams's best friend – closer than sisters. Danielle was bereft at the loss of her best friend and when she learned she’d been murdered she was riddled with guilt.

Marcus is convinced that Danielle (Dani) knows what happened to his sister and he is determined to get the information from her. Danielle has many secrets, but knowing about Elise’s murder isn’t one of them. As she learns more and more, she and Marcus begin to draw closer to each other. Marcus is beside himself when he realizes that Dani is also in danger – because she and Elise were doing similar things. Dani’s passion has been rescuing battered and abused women from the men who have control of them. She’s always very careful and nobody knows that she is involved – or do they?

Fasten your seatbelts for this exciting, romantic ride. It is filled with passion and pain and a delightful HEA. The story sets up the premise for the Armory versus Scepter very nicely and leaves us looking forward to the next book in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )