Veena’s review of Last Night with the Duke (Rakes of St. James, Book 1) by Amelia Grey
Historical Romance published by St. Martin Books 07 Mar 17
I am a fan and have enjoyed many a book by Ms. Grey. Is it just me or does this plot seem familiar?
An indiscretion from his youth still haunts the Duke of Griffin, especially when he’s ready to launch his twin sisters. Happenstance brings him to Ms. Swift’s agency in search of a competent chaperon who can successfully navigate the currents of modern-day society and guide his sisters to successful marriages.The duke is enthralled with Esmeralda as he watches her counsel one of her employees on the best way to handle her charge. Besides the fact that he finds her outrageously attractive, he’s convinced that she’s the one who can help his sisters successfully navigate their first season. Esmeralda runs the agency, not work the contracts that come their way.She’s also unable to resist in the face of the duke throwing money and other blandishments her way. Soon she and her young sister and their puppy are ensconced in the ducal household, ready to begin the adventure of the London season.
The duke is no saint, though he resists the temptation that Esmeralda offers by maintaining his own separate household apart from his sisters. His youthful follies have come home to roost, and apparently there is a wager that someone is out to take their revenge through one or both of his siblings. He is joined in his vigil of his sisters and search for villains by his childhood friends and co-conspirators in youthful follies who are both fellow dukes themselves.
There are some sweet and soft moments when Griffin shows his gentle side for his sisters and for Esmeralda’s young sister, when her puppy gets into mischief. There is a fun picnic in the park when Griffin carries all the accoutrements just so he can get a few sweet moments with Esmeralda, even though he knows it’s wrong of him to want his sister’s chaperon.
All in all, this is a slow-moving story that did not rock my boat at all. The mystery the author alluded to in the beginning of the book, with someone gunning for the three friends, dubbed the rakes of St. James, never really materializes. Perhaps there will be more to that in the next book in the series.
Grade: C
Summary:
Could finding love be his greatest scandal of all?
The Duke of Griffin has never lived down his reputation as one of the Rakes of St. James. Now rumors are swirling around London that his twin sisters may bear the brunt of his past follies. Hiring a competent chaperone is the only thing Griffin has on his mind–until he meets the lovely and intriguing Miss Esmeralda Swift. In ways he could never have expected, she arouses more than just his curiosity.
Esmeralda Swift considered herself too sensible to ever fall for a scoundrel, but that was before she met the irresistibly seductive Duke of Griffin. His employment offer proves too tempting for her to resist. She can’t afford to be distracted by his devilish charms because the stakes are so high for his sisters’ debut Season. . .unless one of London’s most notorious rakes has had a change of heart and is ready to make Esmeralda his bride in Last Night with the Duke, the first novel in the brand-new Regency Rakes of St. James series by New York Times bestselling author Amelia Grey.
No excerpt available.
