A review by rjordan19
If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell

5.0

Wow! So glad I abandoned my paranormal reading to come back to HR - my very first Lenora Bell - If I Only Had a Duke. Read it in one night and truly loved this story. 4 1/2 stars.

I found Lenora to have a wonderful writing style. Laugh out loud humor in the first half of the book. I loved the characters, they had memorable personalities. I enjoyed spending a fair amount of time in the hero’s head as well as the heroine, which I love!

Our heroine, Thea, has always been a good little girl, attempting perfection for her mother and society. Towards the beginning of the book she’s given a new pair of red boots from a family member. I just love how they symbolize her fiery personality coming to life and her adventures just starting in them. She’s funny, sweet, feisty and I really enjoyed her character.

Our Duke, Dalton, is a Rake with a carefully crafted reputation and a dark secret. A man with pain and barriers erected, he’s not about to let this little innocent woman ruin his plans, or ruin her. Loved the Dukes character. I also really enjoyed his manservant Con. He was a wonderful side character.

You won’t be getting a kiss until 150 pages in and full consummation much much later 😆. I loved the scene that takes place in between those though. I still felt the pull of the main characters through most of the book. There were steamy scenes in the beginning that didn’t even have a kiss. I thought it was well done.

There were a few minor things I didn’t love in the book. I can’t even really say I disliked them, just maybe I wasn’t expecting. I wasn’t in love with the very end and I also wish there was an epilogue further in the future.