The Duke: A Devil's Duke Novel

I've been waiting to read this last book in the 'Devil's Duke' series, and it was well worth the wait. I love the whole series and this is possibly the best yet. The story gripped me right from the first page and I didn't want to put it down (although I had to - it is a good long novel and amazing value as Kindle edition). The characters are interesting and likeable and the story is very well written. If you are a fan of historical romance, I thoroughly recommend this.

The book reminds me of my early romance reading days, a sweeping love story spanning years and continents. I loved both main characters, but there were too many secondary characters and stories for my taste. I have a feeling most characters already made an appearance in earlier stories (this is book three), but I haven't read them therefore I sometimes felt overwhelmed. That being said, I definitely recommend this book. *I received an ARC from the publisher*

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Talk about a slow burn. This book made me wait. I'll admit that I am not the most patient with books, and I did find this really difficult in the middle, but I'm glad I stuck it out because the last 30% was worth it.I don't really read historical romance, but it's a very popular subgenre of romance, so I naturally have to try a book every now and then. I find that it can be a bit OTT with the language of the time, and the last one I tried reading for review basically took a bunch of Austen characters, gave them new names, and threw them into a different historical setting. Yes, there are commonalities that are acceptable across the genre, but there should also be originality.And I think that's why I made it through The Duke when I haven't been able to with other books. I felt that the two main characters were genuinely interesting. I loved Amarantha's fiery spirit, directness, and sense of fairness that did not default to what was acceptable at the time. Gabriel's balance of confidence, gruffness, and yet genuine desire Amarantha to choose him (with some encouragement) was enticing. (I've also been catching up on Outlander, so the timing of a Scottish accent was perfect.) I also want to say that Amarantha's (unusual for the time) attitude towards sex was awesome. And the chemistry was hot. Mmmmmm.The plot got a bit convoluted, with so many people involved that I lost track of the names. (There were also characters from previous books in the series that appeared who I would have appreciated better had I read those books; I only discovered this after when I checked out the other books on Goodreads.) That being said, the author did somehow manage to bring the many storylines together at the end. (Yet I was still a little confused by how things managed to work out...hmmm...)I'm glad that I gave historical romance another chance, and I'll be trying a few more books of the type. (In fact, if anyone has some recommendations, please do let me know!) This particular may have been a bit slow and confusing for me, but I was rewarded for my patience in the end with excellent kissing (and more) scenes!

Each story is different, but dwells on the plight of women at that time. Very well written

the story was not easy to follow new characters kept being added all the way through at odd times not comfortable readingyou couldn't relax and enjoy the story

In so many novels there is no romance to them, they meet and somehow mysteriously they are in love - not in " The Duke " - Gabriel and Amy's story is a true romance novel and will make your heart sing, adventurous and dramatic, and a wish for humanity to be better - I loved the characters of the young women developing a community of their own to be safe from the unfairness of the men in control of their lives - I loved that in the epilogue we are aware of what happens to young Luke after his mother dies and his father finds him - definitely my favorite novel of the series but it was nice to catch up with the Saint and the other characters from the previous novels

This, in my opinion, is the best book Katharine Ashe has written and she has written some very good ones. We met Gabriel Hume, Duke of Loch Irvine, in the previous 2 books of this series, “The Rogue” and “The Earl”. Those glimpses didn’t begin to scratch the surface of the man you’ll come to know in “The Duke”.Before Gabriel inherited his title, he was a Lieutenant in His Majesty’s navy. In Jamaica, he meets Amy Vale while taking shelter in a storage cellar during a hurricane and is attracted to her. Lady Amarantha Vale has fallen in love with a mere preacher, Mr. Paul Garland, and has followed him, with a chaperone, to Jamaica. After the storm, she spends time helping the doctor with the injured. She gets to know both Paul and Gabriel. Gabriel sets sail and asks her to wait for him to return. She decides not to marry Paul, but reconsiders when Gabriel’s cousin tells her he died at sea.Later, Amy learns Gabriel survived the storm and believes he lied to her. Now widowed, Amy sails to Scotland to look for her missing friend, Penelope Baker. Penny’s trail leads to Castle Kallin, Gabriel’s highland estate. She also learns he is now a Duke. Finding the gates locked, she spies Gabriel repairing the roof but he does not acknowledge her. Determined to find Penny, she returns to Edinburgh and then to Haiknayes Castle as his guest.Gabriel has secrets and problems of his own to deal with. He still loves Amy and desires to keep her safe. There are several very interesting story lines going on at this point. I will not go into detail as I refuse to spoil a very good complex plot. I like Amy very much but Gabriel stole my heart. He is one of my very favorite heroes and I think you’ll be surprised by him.I hope you will try this wonderful book. This book can be read on its own, but is part of a series.

Lady Amarantha Vale is sure she's found her true love and follows him to Caribbean where he plans to be a missionary. Instead, she meets Gabriel Hume, a young naval officer. Together, they live through a hurricane and get to know each other to the point that they plan to marry. Plans go awry as Amarantha is told of Gabriel's death and she marries her missionary instead. Several years later she is a widow and returns to Scotland when she finds Gabriel is not only alive but a Duke.This was a good story in the style of Kathleen Woodiwiss but I found some of it a bit confusing as much of the story is told in flashbacks and excerpts from letters that jump around a bit. Gabriel is a great dark brooding hero and while I found Amarantha silly at first, I liked how she eventually grew up to become a good match to Gabriel. She's pert and they have good banter between them as well as sexual chemistry. I didn't read the other books in the series and I think that might have helped me keep every character straight with all their backstories. Still, this was a good read.

I feel so conflicted rating this book 3 stars because overall I liked the story, but there were so many issues I had along the way. **SPOILERS** I really didn't like how disjointed the first half of the book felt with the story being told via letter excerpts and broken into part 1, part 2, part 3', etc. so quickly into the story. Also, to me, it felt as if the story was told on the assumption we should just know things. For example, when the story jumps forward all of a sudden and it's been 5yrs and we're supposed to just know/assume that she married Mr. Garland and he's deceased now leaving her a widow. I actually had to go back and re-read because I was so confused on how it had gone from point a to b so quickly. Another point of contention for me was the rapid fire back and forth indecisiveness between the H & H. They knew they still had feelings for another, but they both fought it and would say one thing, but in the next instant flip completely. That being said, when it was good between the H & H it was good! I thought it was super funny from the get-go that she nicknamed him "Shark Bait". As I said, I liked the story, but just wish it hadn't felt so disjointed and all over the place.

Whoa!!!! I've been following this series from the beginning. I never anticipated this resolution to the mystery. I was anxious throughout. I had no idea how this would be resolved.Katharine Ashe has woven an expansive tale that takes the reader from a genteel English home of the nobility to colonial Jamaica and then to the wilder climes of Scotland.Our protagonists are seldom in the same location, but the action is so tight and the intricacies of the story are so vital that there is little need for constant contact between the two.Gabriel Hume has maintained a shadowy presence throughout the Devil's Duke series. Innuendo and rumor combined with damning circumstances have painted a grim picture of him throughout the series. The truth of him was not only plausible, but satisfying as this story progresses.Amarantha Garland nee Vale, portrayed as the very beautiful younger sister of our dear Emily Vale (Pocahontas, Marie Antoine. Boudicca, Lady Justice, et. al) appeared in earlier novels briefly although I didn't truly get to know her until this book. I'm so happy that I did. She is awesome.The antagonists were legion. As we moved from one phase of the story to the next, antagonists presented themselves. Some were worse than others. We even experience weather as an antagonist.The love story was so sweet. The manner in which our dear couple meets is so poignant. The expectation and the reality were so different. It propelled me along and I wanted more. Ashe gave it to me in spades.I truly enjoyed this book and lost sleep last night and this morning trying to get to the resolution. I wanted to know. I couldn't wait. To me, that is the hallmark of a truly great story. The inability to relinquish a book in favor of sleep is proof of the superiority of the story.