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kstep1805's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent, fast paced romance. Loved the characters and the growth in them.
araleith's review against another edition
2.0
So many tropes running into each other at high speed and none of it really gelled as a story for me.
misskrislm's review against another edition
4.0
I've been a fan of Leigh's for a short while now (Having finished her Wicked Quills of London series) and was super excited about starting this new series. Good news: we hear hints of our old favorite characters without being overwhelmed by a largely unrelated casts, and plenty of fresh faces are available for this new session.
She keeps up the societal barriers between her characters while staying true to the turmoil in their hearts. We see the development and progress in them and root for them, even when we shouldn't.
She keeps up the societal barriers between her characters while staying true to the turmoil in their hearts. We see the development and progress in them and root for them, even when we shouldn't.
loverofromance's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
From Duke Till Dawn is the first book in Eva Leigh’s “The London Underground” and I was super excited for this book especially after reading the third installment in the series “Dare To Love A Duke” and where I was charmed by Alex and I really wanted to read his story and was delighted when I saw this book available at my local library. I had a fun time with this book although I do want to mention that the beginning of story is a bit stunted and might throw the reader off, I recommend sticking with the story because it does improve the more you read.
The Duke of Greyland has never fully gotten over the one woman that he fell in love with who was a widow in need and they had a passionate one night stand but then she disappeared and he never heard from her again. But when his two friends drag him to a gambling club, he runs into Cassandra again and he is shocked to see her alive and well. But then Alex learns that Cassandra is not the woman he thought she was, that she was never a widow and that she played him all those years ago, since she is highly experienced at being a swindler to survive and Alex is furious.
Cassandra, was born on the streets and she had to learn how to survive in the best way that she knew how by pick pocketing, or stealing so that she wouldn’t have to deal in prostitution unless she had no choice. She has grown up working with thieves and swindlers. She is currently working with a man who taught her to swindle and is like a father to her and in their current venture planning on setting somewhere else and have a fresh start. But then she runs into Alex again and when he learns the truth he is feeling betrayed and she is the cause of that betrayal and she has never felt remorse until now because she loves Alex and has never forgotten him after all these years. But when she is betrayed herself and her father figure abandons her and many other relying on the money they gathered together in their gambling club venture, if she wants to survive she will need to go to Alex for help and hope that he will forgive her one day.
From Duke Till Dawn, was a enjoyable read, and it may not be my favorite from this author, but I had a fun time with this story but it did take a while before I started to really enjoy it. Its a page turner, so no worries are being able to get into the story but it did start out a bit strange for a second chance romance. There wasn’t any flashbacks (which I was alright with) but it was the way the story was told that seemed a bit unbalanced in the first third part of the book. But then something changed and this is when the story really started to work for me. I really loved the growth of the characters in this book. Cassandra learns about regret and committing wrongs and the guilt that comes with taking advantage of other’s generosity. And Alex learns about the lives about those that live in the underground of London, about poverty and desperation and what some people will need to do in order to survive. He learns the value of forgiveness and redemption. I adored seeing these two grow together and learn to accept one another and their pasts.
From Duke Till Dawn is a story that is packed with adventure, mystery, emotional growth and a sexy romance that is pure sensation!!
From Duke Till Dawn is the first book in Eva Leigh’s “The London Underground” and I was super excited for this book especially after reading the third installment in the series “Dare To Love A Duke” and where I was charmed by Alex and I really wanted to read his story and was delighted when I saw this book available at my local library. I had a fun time with this book although I do want to mention that the beginning of story is a bit stunted and might throw the reader off, I recommend sticking with the story because it does improve the more you read.
She wouldn't have believed such an honorable, principled man would make love to her like he was born for the task. As though his only desire was to give her unending pleasure
The Duke of Greyland has never fully gotten over the one woman that he fell in love with who was a widow in need and they had a passionate one night stand but then she disappeared and he never heard from her again. But when his two friends drag him to a gambling club, he runs into Cassandra again and he is shocked to see her alive and well. But then Alex learns that Cassandra is not the woman he thought she was, that she was never a widow and that she played him all those years ago, since she is highly experienced at being a swindler to survive and Alex is furious.
I'd been like an automaton, going through the paces of my life mechanically, dutifully. But you've taken me from the confines of my comfortable, familiar world and introduced me to danger, and excitement and a giddy sort of joy.
Cassandra, was born on the streets and she had to learn how to survive in the best way that she knew how by pick pocketing, or stealing so that she wouldn’t have to deal in prostitution unless she had no choice. She has grown up working with thieves and swindlers. She is currently working with a man who taught her to swindle and is like a father to her and in their current venture planning on setting somewhere else and have a fresh start. But then she runs into Alex again and when he learns the truth he is feeling betrayed and she is the cause of that betrayal and she has never felt remorse until now because she loves Alex and has never forgotten him after all these years. But when she is betrayed herself and her father figure abandons her and many other relying on the money they gathered together in their gambling club venture, if she wants to survive she will need to go to Alex for help and hope that he will forgive her one day.
He was everything she dared to dream of but could not allow herself to expect
From Duke Till Dawn, was a enjoyable read, and it may not be my favorite from this author, but I had a fun time with this story but it did take a while before I started to really enjoy it. Its a page turner, so no worries are being able to get into the story but it did start out a bit strange for a second chance romance. There wasn’t any flashbacks (which I was alright with) but it was the way the story was told that seemed a bit unbalanced in the first third part of the book. But then something changed and this is when the story really started to work for me. I really loved the growth of the characters in this book. Cassandra learns about regret and committing wrongs and the guilt that comes with taking advantage of other’s generosity. And Alex learns about the lives about those that live in the underground of London, about poverty and desperation and what some people will need to do in order to survive. He learns the value of forgiveness and redemption. I adored seeing these two grow together and learn to accept one another and their pasts.
You're the woman I love. Courageous. Strong. Wickedly intelligent" He touched his fingertips to the underside of her chin, holding her reverently. "I want all of you. And I want to give you all of me"
From Duke Till Dawn is a story that is packed with adventure, mystery, emotional growth and a sexy romance that is pure sensation!!
beckiebookworm1974's review against another edition
2.0
This story for me was just Ok: I do love me a good historical that gets the juices pumping.
Sadly for me, this wasn't juice pumping stuff sigh.
There was nothing I could actually put my finger on that made me so disconnected here I just was.
From Duke Till Dawn is essentially a second chance love affair featuring a duke and a con artist at its centre.
So the Duke of Grayland and Miss Cassandra Blake have a moment: at least on his part.
Stepping back into there lives neither quite forgot the other: both still carrying a lit torch.
but with lies and deceit standing in there path blocking the way to true happiness it really does seem hopeless.
So when a chance encounters at a later date brings these two together again Cassandras lies topple over like a pack of cards revealing the utter deception beneath.
Not exactly impressed at being her patsy the Duke is determined to enact his pound of flesh.
But when Cassandras business partner does a runner leaving her in the lurch there's only one man she can turn to for help.
So yeh this was very instalove and a trifle monotonous in places.
This story had its moments but I essentially found it hard initially to warm to either character.
The Duke seemed to have a bit of a superiority problem and also seemed trifle clueless and unforgiving of what Cassandra had done ultimately for survival.
Did find this a bit harsh myself.
Cassandra well I just wasn't feeling her and I'm not really sure why that was.
Look: if you like a sweet love story that is equal parts suspense and romance then this will more than likely appeal to you.
Myself I prefer something a tad grittier.
So this was well written despite my slight disconnect and I can definitely recommend this on that particular front.
Just a shame this ultimately wasn't my particular brand of Bovril.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of From Duke Till Dawn (The London Underground, #1)
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
hspindlew's review against another edition
3.0
I think Leigh is a good writer, however (personally) I find she has a tendency to overexplain and attempt to outreason her characters. While utter self-naivety can be grating, particularly when dealing with fully grown adults engaging in a romance, I also find the opposite can be a bit annoying. I this case, their levels of selfawareness are so high to be frustrating because while there is a modicum of inward development in them, it doesn't really feel like much. It was a little lackluster all-round, frankly
chelsea_not_chels's review against another edition
3.0
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
I've hit a point where there aren't a lot of historical romances I'm looking forward to reading. This sounds ridiculous; of course there are tons of historical romances out there. Probably even a lot of good ones! The problem is finding them, because a lot of them are awful. So I carefully poked through the ebooks available from my local library and finally got out a few, From Duke Till Dawn being one of them. A few other ones got returned within reading a few chapters, but I pushed through with this one.
Overall, it was a cute book. The heroine, Cassandra, is a con artist, which is something I haven't encountered in a historical romance before. Straight-up thieves, yes, but con women? Not so much. Two years before the start of the book, Cassandra conned Alex, the Duke of Greyland, out of five hundred pounds, and then slept with him in a mutual fit of passion. But she disappeared before he woke up, and he's spent the past two years trying to get over her while simultaneously trying to woo a young woman who would be a suitable wife. That arrangement has just gone down the drain when Alex finds Cassandra again--running a gaming hell. And when he quickly finds out about the con, he wants revenge...but he still likes her, and also wants to help her when her partner skips town and leaves Cassandra with all of his debts. #drama
The problem here is that the initial connection, the sizzle, happens entirely off the page, because it happened in that initial encounter two years before we actually get to the story. For the entirety of the book, we're told how the two characters are experiencing all these feelings again, but because we never actually get to see that, there doesn't seem to be much of a blooming of romance here.
Without a lot of romance, what is a historical romance to rely on?! Well, in this case, a few things. This is not a sweet romance (there are sex scenes, and some of them are considerably raunchier than a lot of historical romance missionary sex--at a sex club, against a wall, from behind, etc.) but many parts have the feel of it. This is because, while we don't see a lot of the chemistry part of the relationship, what we do see is the growing caring and trust between the two. This is something that's underplayed in a lot of romances, which focus too much on the sizzle. So, while this hasn't struck a balance, it was nice to see an emphasis on other parts of the relationship...while still allowing the characters to get down and dirty when the mood called for it.
That said, Alex is possibly an unrealistically awesome person. I can't think of many, if any, instances in which a man who found out the woman he was in love with had conned him would dive head-first into helping her. He's a duke; he doesn't need the five hundred pounds back, which is made glaring obvious again and again and again. If he really wanted revenge, as he swears he does upon this revelation, he could have just left Cassandra to her debtors. Of course, he's too honorable of a person to do that, but this whole situation--which, unfortunately, anchors the entire plot--just seems a little weak, to say the least.
The writing itself is decent. The pacing is good--not great, but good. There are, for instance, a few occasions when the characters went shopping or for desserts instead of actually trying to accomplish anything. While I love these scenes in most books, with such pressing circumstances surrounding these two characters, these outings seemed a little out of place.
Still, I enjoyed this book, and while I'm not rushing to read everything Eva Leigh has ever written, I'm certainly open to reading her other works in the future.
3 stars out of 5.
I've hit a point where there aren't a lot of historical romances I'm looking forward to reading. This sounds ridiculous; of course there are tons of historical romances out there. Probably even a lot of good ones! The problem is finding them, because a lot of them are awful. So I carefully poked through the ebooks available from my local library and finally got out a few, From Duke Till Dawn being one of them. A few other ones got returned within reading a few chapters, but I pushed through with this one.
Overall, it was a cute book. The heroine, Cassandra, is a con artist, which is something I haven't encountered in a historical romance before. Straight-up thieves, yes, but con women? Not so much. Two years before the start of the book, Cassandra conned Alex, the Duke of Greyland, out of five hundred pounds, and then slept with him in a mutual fit of passion. But she disappeared before he woke up, and he's spent the past two years trying to get over her while simultaneously trying to woo a young woman who would be a suitable wife. That arrangement has just gone down the drain when Alex finds Cassandra again--running a gaming hell. And when he quickly finds out about the con, he wants revenge...but he still likes her, and also wants to help her when her partner skips town and leaves Cassandra with all of his debts. #drama
The problem here is that the initial connection, the sizzle, happens entirely off the page, because it happened in that initial encounter two years before we actually get to the story. For the entirety of the book, we're told how the two characters are experiencing all these feelings again, but because we never actually get to see that, there doesn't seem to be much of a blooming of romance here.
Without a lot of romance, what is a historical romance to rely on?! Well, in this case, a few things. This is not a sweet romance (there are sex scenes, and some of them are considerably raunchier than a lot of historical romance missionary sex--at a sex club, against a wall, from behind, etc.) but many parts have the feel of it. This is because, while we don't see a lot of the chemistry part of the relationship, what we do see is the growing caring and trust between the two. This is something that's underplayed in a lot of romances, which focus too much on the sizzle. So, while this hasn't struck a balance, it was nice to see an emphasis on other parts of the relationship...while still allowing the characters to get down and dirty when the mood called for it.
That said, Alex is possibly an unrealistically awesome person. I can't think of many, if any, instances in which a man who found out the woman he was in love with had conned him would dive head-first into helping her. He's a duke; he doesn't need the five hundred pounds back, which is made glaring obvious again and again and again. If he really wanted revenge, as he swears he does upon this revelation, he could have just left Cassandra to her debtors. Of course, he's too honorable of a person to do that, but this whole situation--which, unfortunately, anchors the entire plot--just seems a little weak, to say the least.
The writing itself is decent. The pacing is good--not great, but good. There are, for instance, a few occasions when the characters went shopping or for desserts instead of actually trying to accomplish anything. While I love these scenes in most books, with such pressing circumstances surrounding these two characters, these outings seemed a little out of place.
Still, I enjoyed this book, and while I'm not rushing to read everything Eva Leigh has ever written, I'm certainly open to reading her other works in the future.
3 stars out of 5.
amandaventure's review against another edition
4.0
I had heard cool stuff about Eva Leigh books before I decided to pick up From Duke Till Dawn. I heard they were feminist, sex positive, and fun books to read. After reading this one, I can say those claims are mostly true. The "fun" one is a bit subjective. From the pun in the title to the caper like blurb I thought this was going to be a rom-com. It wasn't. I do prefer my historical romance to have a humorous quality so the fact that this wasn't meant to be all that funny made me take off a star. However, that's just my personal taste and maybe that kind of thing won't bother other historical romance readers.
The premise for the story is pretty fun and one I haven't necessarily read much of before. This is about Alex, the Duke of Greyland, and Cassandra, a con-woman. Some time ago, Cassandra conned Alex out of a lot of money, had sex with him, and ran off in the night. Now, several years later, their paths cross again only for Alex to find out she played him. The plot thickens when Cassandra's "business" partner takes off with all the money leaving her in debt to some of the most dangerous criminals of the London underground. The only person she can turn to for help is the one person with good reason to despise her, Alex. Then there's peril and drama as they try to hunt down her "business" partner and recover the stolen money.
How's the smut? I'm glad you asked. It's actually pretty good. I was impressed by it. I will say that the smut doesn't happen until much further into the book so it's a bit of a slow burn. However, the smut that we did get was pretty steamy. One thing I did like about the story was that it was sex positive. Cassandra and Alex have both been with multiple people and neither one shames the other for it. That's somewhat rare for the time period in historical romance. I think almost all of the books I've read in the genre feature virgin women. However, I think it's rather refreshing to have a "light skirt" in the mix as well and for her to not be seen as somehow "ruined" because of it.
In the end I pretty much got everything that I wanted to get out the book. It was feminist, sex positive, and fun. The only thing it didn't really deliver on was humor. I think if this was more of a comedy and a bit less of a drama I would have enjoyed it much more. It would have been a contender for a 5 star rating. But as it stands right now, I still gave this a 4 because it was a good time to read.
The premise for the story is pretty fun and one I haven't necessarily read much of before. This is about Alex, the Duke of Greyland, and Cassandra, a con-woman. Some time ago, Cassandra conned Alex out of a lot of money, had sex with him, and ran off in the night. Now, several years later, their paths cross again only for Alex to find out she played him. The plot thickens when Cassandra's "business" partner takes off with all the money leaving her in debt to some of the most dangerous criminals of the London underground. The only person she can turn to for help is the one person with good reason to despise her, Alex. Then there's peril and drama as they try to hunt down her "business" partner and recover the stolen money.
How's the smut? I'm glad you asked. It's actually pretty good. I was impressed by it. I will say that the smut doesn't happen until much further into the book so it's a bit of a slow burn. However, the smut that we did get was pretty steamy. One thing I did like about the story was that it was sex positive. Cassandra and Alex have both been with multiple people and neither one shames the other for it. That's somewhat rare for the time period in historical romance. I think almost all of the books I've read in the genre feature virgin women. However, I think it's rather refreshing to have a "light skirt" in the mix as well and for her to not be seen as somehow "ruined" because of it.
In the end I pretty much got everything that I wanted to get out the book. It was feminist, sex positive, and fun. The only thing it didn't really deliver on was humor. I think if this was more of a comedy and a bit less of a drama I would have enjoyed it much more. It would have been a contender for a 5 star rating. But as it stands right now, I still gave this a 4 because it was a good time to read.
abbythompson's review against another edition
5.0
Oh Eva Leigh (aka Zoe Archer) I adore your heroes and heroines. Adults who aren't afraid of adulting and doing necessary emotional work to achieve their HEA. So so so good.