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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Sophia is so delightful that you can almost overlook how Adam is kind of a jerk most of the book. even at the end when he blames her for making him so mad that he raises his voice during the proposal. yeah, that behavior is going to end well.
It's been a while since I've read Suzanne Enoch and I forgot how much I like her books. This was engaging and enjoyable. Sophia was strong, funny, and genuine. Adam was strong and passionate, if a little temperamental and misguided at times. Their relationship was so easy and I was surprised it took him so long to realize that not only did he love her, but that they could solve each others problems by getting married. I loved his confrontation with her father, who was even more pompous than we were led to believe. I was surprised that the Duchess of Hennessy was the one who had looked out for Sophia all those years. I am glad that Adam and Oliver started to make up, and that Blackwood and Camille were back and still happy. Love this series and this author!
This is the third book of the Scandalous Brides series. I would say this book would be okay as a standalone. It's probably a bit more enjoyable knowing the last book, but not necessary. The characters from the previous story, Camille and Keating, have quite a bit of page time, but you won't be lost or miss anything if you skip it. Sophia has a bit of page time as well as Adam in the previous book so you get to know their personalities a bit.
Sophia is our heroine and I did like her. I enjoyed her dialogue. She was quick, witty, optimistic and funny. Her life hasn't been the best. She's the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and his maid and has never been allowed to forget it. Eventually, she came to find a place at the Tantalus Club. However, her father is done with dealing with the embarrassment and demands she leaves the club and marries a vicar. Sophia is invited to the Duke of Greaves holiday house party and she longs for once last chance for fun before she's married off and forgotten about.
Adam has a family problem that he finally must resolve. He has to marry by the age of 30 and sire an heir by 31 or all his unentailed property and wealth will go to his extremely unlikable viper of a sister and her son. Unfortunately the time has come, so he invites a hoard of eligible women to his Christmas house party.
So I think I liked the previous book in the series more than this. I still liked this one more than book one though. There's plenty to love about this book and so many adorable scenes. Yet something happened to not pull it together as strongly as it should have for me. It was low on feels and tension for me.
I think you will like this book if:
-you love a duke!
-you prefer an experienced heroine
-you loved those big house parties (I do!)
-forced proximity
-a bit of humor, lower on angst
-sex scenes but nothing overdone or super explicit
There was something about this book that had almost a contemporary feel for me. The hero referenced a naked pillow fight as a joke. Was that a thing back then? Probably. But it just brought to mind little teenagers with braces for me. They jump into sex pretty fast, some of the dialogue felt a little modern, there's condoms. None of these things bother me but just added up together in this book I think it just wasn't grabbing me like I wanted it to.
Still enjoyable! I have the final book in the series to read, but I'll probably wait a few weeks before picking it up.
Star rating: 3 1/2 round to 4
Number of books read by this author (including this one): 4 and 1 novella
Sophia is our heroine and I did like her. I enjoyed her dialogue. She was quick, witty, optimistic and funny. Her life hasn't been the best. She's the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and his maid and has never been allowed to forget it. Eventually, she came to find a place at the Tantalus Club. However, her father is done with dealing with the embarrassment and demands she leaves the club and marries a vicar. Sophia is invited to the Duke of Greaves holiday house party and she longs for once last chance for fun before she's married off and forgotten about.
Adam has a family problem that he finally must resolve. He has to marry by the age of 30 and sire an heir by 31 or all his unentailed property and wealth will go to his extremely unlikable viper of a sister and her son. Unfortunately the time has come, so he invites a hoard of eligible women to his Christmas house party.
So I think I liked the previous book in the series more than this. I still liked this one more than book one though. There's plenty to love about this book and so many adorable scenes. Yet something happened to not pull it together as strongly as it should have for me. It was low on feels and tension for me.
I think you will like this book if:
-you love a duke!
-you prefer an experienced heroine
-you loved those big house parties (I do!)
-forced proximity
-a bit of humor, lower on angst
-sex scenes but nothing overdone or super explicit
There was something about this book that had almost a contemporary feel for me. The hero referenced a naked pillow fight as a joke. Was that a thing back then? Probably. But it just brought to mind little teenagers with braces for me. They jump into sex pretty fast, some of the dialogue felt a little modern, there's condoms. None of these things bother me but just added up together in this book I think it just wasn't grabbing me like I wanted it to.
Still enjoyable! I have the final book in the series to read, but I'll probably wait a few weeks before picking it up.
Star rating: 3 1/2 round to 4
Number of books read by this author (including this one): 4 and 1 novella
Sophia White is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful duke, one who is threatening the only family she's ever known, the people she works with at the notorious Tantalus Club, unless she marries a man of his choosing. She knows that her father is vindictive and has never loved her, so this preacher must be a truly awful man, but she is determined to save her friends. At the same time, she is determined to go into this truly hideous marriage with at least some good memories, so she accepts an invitation to the Duke of Greaves' holiday party.
Adam Baswich, the Duke of Greaves, is an incredibly proper man. His father had an incredibly notorious reputation and he has spent his entire life living it down. Knowing that being with Sophia White would only mar his reputation, he tries to resist her allure. But she lights up his entire house and has charmed his staff. How can he not fall in love? But there are so many obstacles, can they be overcome?
Adam Baswich, the Duke of Greaves, is an incredibly proper man. His father had an incredibly notorious reputation and he has spent his entire life living it down. Knowing that being with Sophia White would only mar his reputation, he tries to resist her allure. But she lights up his entire house and has charmed his staff. How can he not fall in love? But there are so many obstacles, can they be overcome?
medium-paced
3.75-4 stars. I wish she told him off more, and I wish he acted more devilish as opposed to intimidating, but the plot was good and exactly what I needed.
I liked both characters enormously, they were both intelligent, mature people who connected instantly. What let me down with this one was how long it took two intelligent people to sort their stuff out and get it all together – it just seemed odd given their general smarts and savvy that they could have worked it out. But, other than that, it was a really nice romance
Full review at the Incurable Bluestocking.
Well, this is one of the best historical romances I’ve read in a long time. I really mean that. I tore through this in about 24 hours because I just couldn’t stand to be parted from it.
Sophia is exactly the sort of heroine I have been yearning for: cheerfully independent, even in the face of difficulties; not a virgin and not ashamed about it; knows what she wants sexually and isn’t afraid of her passions; good-natured and forgiving but not a pushover; decisive and undeterred from pursuing what she wants out of life. Of course, the reason she can get away with being all of these things is because she lives a life outside the bounds of the good ton. Sophia White is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessey, sired on his wife’s maid. Raised in obscurity, Sophia eventually finds a comfortable place at the Tantalus Club (a gentlemen’s club owned by a woman and staffed entirely by ladies, if you haven’t read the earlier books in the series or my reviews of them) — and she appears in both of the previous books in the series as a supporting character. This was going along well for her until her father randomly chose to care about her existence again — not to acknowledge her, but to threaten her. Tired of being ribbed by his peers about his by-blow’s occupation, he’s arranged for her to marry an alarmingly pious vicar in Cornwall; if Sophia doesn’t agree, he will use his power to destroy the Tantalus Club and everyone Sophia cares about.
Adam Baswich, Duke of Greaves, unwittingly provides Sophia with an opportunity for one last hurrah before her sentencing. He invites her to a Christmas house party at his estate in Yorkshire, ostensibly to keep Camille and Keating (see Taming an Impossible Rogue) company. But as Sophia is traveling to the estate, the bridge over the river collapses, dunking her in it. Adam rescues her, but that leaves them as the only people on the correct side of the river until the bridge is repaired, except for Adam’s unbelievably snotty elder sister. … So Adam has to settle for Sophia’s company. And what company it turns out to be.
The most excellent thing about this book is that Adam and Sophia are so beautifully well-suited for each other. Their interactions while they’re alone at his estate are just gorgeous — warm and funny, passionate and teasing, thoughtful and challenging — everything that a marriage should be. But they can’t see it, bless ‘em. They do build a real friendship, which is so important and honestly pretty rare in romance novels. … The sex scenes throughout this book are magnificent, not least because we don’t have to deal with any of that “teach the virgin to accept pleasure” nonsense. Nope, Sophia knows what she wants and grabs at it, quite literally in a few cases. It’s so refreshing.
… I knock half a point off because the end is a little unsatisfying — it all crashes together very quickly, with literally no denouement whatsoever. … And I also dock for an unflattering portrayal of Cornwall, which really is a lovely region with gorgeous landscapes and the nicest people I’ve ever met anywhere in the world. On the whole, though, Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it.
Well, this is one of the best historical romances I’ve read in a long time. I really mean that. I tore through this in about 24 hours because I just couldn’t stand to be parted from it.
Sophia is exactly the sort of heroine I have been yearning for: cheerfully independent, even in the face of difficulties; not a virgin and not ashamed about it; knows what she wants sexually and isn’t afraid of her passions; good-natured and forgiving but not a pushover; decisive and undeterred from pursuing what she wants out of life. Of course, the reason she can get away with being all of these things is because she lives a life outside the bounds of the good ton. Sophia White is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessey, sired on his wife’s maid. Raised in obscurity, Sophia eventually finds a comfortable place at the Tantalus Club (a gentlemen’s club owned by a woman and staffed entirely by ladies, if you haven’t read the earlier books in the series or my reviews of them) — and she appears in both of the previous books in the series as a supporting character. This was going along well for her until her father randomly chose to care about her existence again — not to acknowledge her, but to threaten her. Tired of being ribbed by his peers about his by-blow’s occupation, he’s arranged for her to marry an alarmingly pious vicar in Cornwall; if Sophia doesn’t agree, he will use his power to destroy the Tantalus Club and everyone Sophia cares about.
Adam Baswich, Duke of Greaves, unwittingly provides Sophia with an opportunity for one last hurrah before her sentencing. He invites her to a Christmas house party at his estate in Yorkshire, ostensibly to keep Camille and Keating (see Taming an Impossible Rogue) company. But as Sophia is traveling to the estate, the bridge over the river collapses, dunking her in it. Adam rescues her, but that leaves them as the only people on the correct side of the river until the bridge is repaired, except for Adam’s unbelievably snotty elder sister. … So Adam has to settle for Sophia’s company. And what company it turns out to be.
The most excellent thing about this book is that Adam and Sophia are so beautifully well-suited for each other. Their interactions while they’re alone at his estate are just gorgeous — warm and funny, passionate and teasing, thoughtful and challenging — everything that a marriage should be. But they can’t see it, bless ‘em. They do build a real friendship, which is so important and honestly pretty rare in romance novels. … The sex scenes throughout this book are magnificent, not least because we don’t have to deal with any of that “teach the virgin to accept pleasure” nonsense. Nope, Sophia knows what she wants and grabs at it, quite literally in a few cases. It’s so refreshing.
… I knock half a point off because the end is a little unsatisfying — it all crashes together very quickly, with literally no denouement whatsoever. … And I also dock for an unflattering portrayal of Cornwall, which really is a lovely region with gorgeous landscapes and the nicest people I’ve ever met anywhere in the world. On the whole, though, Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it.