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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Fool Me Twice
5 Stars
On the run, Olivia Holladay is desperate enough to infiltrate the household of Alistair de Grey, the Duke of Marwick. Posing as his new housekeeper, Olivia needs to search his private rooms for the folder that can ensure her safety. The only problem is convincing the reclusive duke to leave...
Series note: This 2nd book continues the saga of the Duchess of Marwick's letters. While the first book contains tropes I dislike, this might not be the case for other readers. Therefore, it is recommended to read book #1 for the necessary backstory.
After the disappointment of the previous book, which was a DNF, my expectations for Olivia and Alistair's story were quite low. Thankfully, it is a wonderful take on the familiar Beauty and the Beast tale.
Kudos to Duran for being able to rehabilitate Alistair's character after his obnoxious behavior in the first book. While his morose behavior is understandable considering his twisted wife's actions, it does not excuse his cruelty toward his brother and his long-suffering staff. Once he begins to emerge from his depressive rage and his true nature is revealed, he becomes an incredible hero, albeit one that needs a slap upside the head or two when it comes to Olivia.
Olivia is a wonderful heroine. Intelligent, spirited, and resourceful, she has a backbone of steel and has no qualms about telling the duke the truth and putting him in his place. Her verbal sparing with Alistair is a delight, and they have sizzling chemistry.
The minor mystery revolving around Olivia's identity is exciting, and Duran thankfully avoids the pitfalls of the keeping secrets trope by not drawing it out excessively.
In sum, an excellent read, and my only quibble is the lack of an epilogue.
5 Stars
On the run, Olivia Holladay is desperate enough to infiltrate the household of Alistair de Grey, the Duke of Marwick. Posing as his new housekeeper, Olivia needs to search his private rooms for the folder that can ensure her safety. The only problem is convincing the reclusive duke to leave...
Series note: This 2nd book continues the saga of the Duchess of Marwick's letters. While the first book contains tropes I dislike, this might not be the case for other readers. Therefore, it is recommended to read book #1 for the necessary backstory.
After the disappointment of the previous book, which was a DNF, my expectations for Olivia and Alistair's story were quite low. Thankfully, it is a wonderful take on the familiar Beauty and the Beast tale.
Kudos to Duran for being able to rehabilitate Alistair's character after his obnoxious behavior in the first book. While his morose behavior is understandable considering his twisted wife's actions, it does not excuse his cruelty toward his brother and his long-suffering staff. Once he begins to emerge from his depressive rage and his true nature is revealed, he becomes an incredible hero, albeit one that needs a slap upside the head or two when it comes to Olivia.
Olivia is a wonderful heroine. Intelligent, spirited, and resourceful, she has a backbone of steel and has no qualms about telling the duke the truth and putting him in his place. Her verbal sparing with Alistair is a delight, and they have sizzling chemistry.
The minor mystery revolving around Olivia's identity is exciting, and Duran thankfully avoids the pitfalls of the keeping secrets trope by not drawing it out excessively.
In sum, an excellent read, and my only quibble is the lack of an epilogue.
This is a gorgeously tense novel circling around themes of right and wrong, morality and evil, about two damaged and complicated characters who are fantastic foils for each other--one doing the wrong things for the right reasons, one doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, and the way those things collide and brush up against each other is just gorgeous. I loved Olivia's fierce pride, her determination, her total unwillingness to let Alastair win.
In the previous book, That Scandalous Summer, it was really hard to feel for Alastair--he was pointlessly cruel, vicious even, and even knowing that he'd suffered a devastating betrayal, I was too busy rooting for his brother to like him. In this, his complexity is revealed, but his bad traits are accentuated before they're managed. And they are managed, not handwaved away, which is fantastic.
I loved that, in the end, both Alastair and Olivia desired the same thing, under different names; I loved the constant humming awareness of the disparity in power and how they each handled it (Alastair by restraining himself, and Olivia by being brazen.) I loved how many things were not quite what they seemed, and the way all the little pieces of this novel fit together.
Fantastic.
In the previous book, That Scandalous Summer, it was really hard to feel for Alastair--he was pointlessly cruel, vicious even, and even knowing that he'd suffered a devastating betrayal, I was too busy rooting for his brother to like him. In this, his complexity is revealed, but his bad traits are accentuated before they're managed. And they are managed, not handwaved away, which is fantastic.
I loved that, in the end, both Alastair and Olivia desired the same thing, under different names; I loved the constant humming awareness of the disparity in power and how they each handled it (Alastair by restraining himself, and Olivia by being brazen.) I loved how many things were not quite what they seemed, and the way all the little pieces of this novel fit together.
Fantastic.
emotional
medium-paced
Reread: 8/25/22
Literal sighing. I needed a good read after reading two highly anticipated books that left me feeling meh. This one felt oddly darker than even Meredith Duran's 'A Lady's Code of Misconduct' and 'The Sins of Lord Lockwood' which are actually pretty angsty and dark themselves. I mean the mmc wasn't even sure what he felt about the fmc 77% through...and still its a great read, assuming you want an angsty angst ridden book filled with angst with a healthy heaping of angst on the side. My God that cover is deceivingly bright.
Original review:
Aw crap. I ADORED this book. It fit my angsty emotional mood perfectly. I could kick myself for not reading this earlier
Literal sighing. I needed a good read after reading two highly anticipated books that left me feeling meh. This one felt oddly darker than even Meredith Duran's 'A Lady's Code of Misconduct' and 'The Sins of Lord Lockwood' which are actually pretty angsty and dark themselves. I mean the mmc wasn't even sure what he felt about the fmc 77% through...and still its a great read, assuming you want an angsty angst ridden book filled with angst with a healthy heaping of angst on the side. My God that cover is deceivingly bright.
Original review:
Aw crap. I ADORED this book. It fit my angsty emotional mood perfectly. I could kick myself for not reading this earlier
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In which Olivia, a bastard who is over Daddy Earl trying to unalive her, decides to steal a file on him from a mad Duke for leverage. To do so, she follows the standard method of playing housekeeper for a Duke who collects dirt on the lovers of his adulterous dead wife. To Olivia’s dismay, dossiers aren’t kept in unlocked desk drawers, but rather in the bedchamber of her reclusive employer, glass bottle thrower, His Grace, Alastair de Grey, the Duke of Angst and Self Flagellation. Olivia, fake housekeeper, irritates the DSM-V diagnostic criteria right out of Alastair, eyes bluer than yours, which makes him so furiously horny he leaves his room just long enough to catch Olivia stealing the dossier. Olivia goes to jail (thanks, Daddy!) and Alastair, who will never ever marry again, rescues her but definitely doesn’t love her. They go on a road trip to have sex in different locations and find answers re: her parentage leading Olivia, prolific liar, to discover that everything she thought she knew about herself was a lie. But it’s cool because she’s going to be a Duchess!
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol
After the death of his wife, Alastair, the Duke of Marwick discovers that what he thought of as a perfect marriage is a sham and turns to a recluse
Olivia plans to steal some documents relating to Lord Bertram, a political associate of Alastair’s, and the man who threatens her very existence, and the only way was to infiltrate the household of Alastair as a maid.
What followed was a wonderful story of Olivia coaxing him to come out of his brooding, betraying him, fighting with the common enemy and falling in love
I enjoyed this book. The cover is also amazing
I haven't read the first book in the series. But this can be read as a stand alone. The prose of Meredith Duran is good and made me sit and think what a good book this is and the 5 stars is mainly for the writing. The beginning was quite slow. But it picked up momentum soon. It was fun to see Olivia trying to get household under control and bring the duke out of his room. The scene where she steals the documents by pointing a gun at Marwick was the highlight of the book. Who stole the truffles? Wait till the end to know it. The book kept throwing surprises till the end. As the story progress from both the hero and heroines point of view, we get to understand the motives behind their actions and get connected to them. Overall a good historical romance read after a long time for me.
Olivia plans to steal some documents relating to Lord Bertram, a political associate of Alastair’s, and the man who threatens her very existence, and the only way was to infiltrate the household of Alastair as a maid.
What followed was a wonderful story of Olivia coaxing him to come out of his brooding, betraying him, fighting with the common enemy and falling in love
I enjoyed this book. The cover is also amazing
I haven't read the first book in the series. But this can be read as a stand alone. The prose of Meredith Duran is good and made me sit and think what a good book this is and the 5 stars is mainly for the writing. The beginning was quite slow. But it picked up momentum soon. It was fun to see Olivia trying to get household under control and bring the duke out of his room. The scene where she steals the documents by pointing a gun at Marwick was the highlight of the book. Who stole the truffles? Wait till the end to know it. The book kept throwing surprises till the end. As the story progress from both the hero and heroines point of view, we get to understand the motives behind their actions and get connected to them. Overall a good historical romance read after a long time for me.
emotional
funny
hopeful