I received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
One Fine Duke by Lenora Bell Also in this series: What a Difference a Duke Makes, For The Duke's Eyes Only
Series: School For Dukes #3
Published by Avon on July 23, 2019
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era, Espionage
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Avon
ISBN: 0062692453
Ready.
Raised in the countryside by her overprotective uncle, Miss Mina Penny's dream of a triumphant London season is finally here. She determined her perfect match long ago: Rafe Bentley, the wickedest rake of them all. There's only one very large, very unyielding obstacle: Rafe's brother Andrew, the reclusive Duke of Thorndon.
Aim.
This was supposed to be simple. Duke goes to London. Duke selects suitable bride. Love match? Not a chance. But when Drew meets Mina, she complicates everything. How can a lady armed with such beauty and brains fall for his irresponsible degenerate of a brother? Drew vows to save her from heartbreak and ruin, no matter the cost.
Desire!
But Mina is no damsel in distress. She's daring, intuitive, passionate...and halfway to melting Drew's cold heart. And although Mina thought she knew exactly what she wanted, one breathtakingly seductive kiss from Drew changes everything. Now Mina must decide between long-held dreams and dangerous new desires. Could her true destiny lie in the arms of a duke?
One Fine Duke is the third book in Lenora Bell’s latest series “School For Dukes”. This book took me so long to read, and to be honest I was very close to DNF and I can’t believe I am saying that for a Lenora Bell novel because I have really adored her work in the past. But this book was a story that I couldn’t stay fully invested in the story and I think the heroine rubbed me the wrong way at times. Trust me I wanted to really love her but I just couldn’t get behind her in many ways. I believe another aspect I was struggling with a bit was the theme of “spies” in this book. I have read many spy themed romances and I feel like the espionage element was downplayed and I would have liked a bit more balanced focused on this element. The story itself seemed fragmented at times and trust me I don’t mean to be critical of this story or this author in any way but I do need to share my honest opinion of the story.
The story itself surrounds a heroine who has been sheltered all of her life and wants some adventure and quite frankly she is bored and wants excitement and I feel like her character although I understood her good intentions, was a bit frivolous at times. She wanted to be a spy because her parents were spies but her character really bothered me because of how careless she could be and never thought of the dangers she put herself and others in and just viewed it as exciting even though her parents were killed because of their espionage activities.
The hero was so swoony and I loved seeing his character in this story. He is quite the opposite of our heroine. He suffered some trauma has a teenager and now is more reclusive and he is still haunted by his past. He definitely is the reason and the common sense that Mina needs and she brings a fresh breath of fresh air to Drew’s life. In many ways their personalities compliment each other quite perfectly. Their love story was sassy, eye opening and packed with energy. It isn’t my favorite my this author in any way, but its a solid story that many fans of Regency Romance will fall in love with. SPLENDID!
About Lenora Bell
Lenora Bell is a third generation Alaskan and her hometown still has no traffic lights or fast food, but the public library is going strong!
An English teacher with an MFA in Creative Writing, Lenora has traveled the globe using music to bring smiles to classrooms. She currently lives in Switzerland with her carpenter husband and two naughty tiger-striped kitties.
In 2014 she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® Award for Best Historical. She's thrilled to be debuting with Avon Books in 2016!
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