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A review by jackiehorne
The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham
4.0
This was an unexpectedly strange read. A historical that took its history seriously, but that also included a strong BDSM/erotic thread, a combination that you don't find very often. But in spite of (perhaps because of?) its unexpectedness, there was something deeply winning about Peckham's debut historical romance.
Poppy Cavendish, granddaughter to a viscount, is about to lose her beloved greenhouse, and all the plants she's been cultivating therein, after the death of her guardian, her unconventional beloved uncle. But when her neighbor, the sister of the Duke of Westmead, offers her a commission to decorate a ballroom with her blossoms, and throws in help moving her plants as part of her payment, Poppy agrees, despite having to spend time with the brusque duke.
For his part, the duke, Archer, is plagued by guilt over the death of his wife and child (said wife turns out to have been.) And he relieves his guilt by being whipped in a private sex house in London. Neither he nor Poppy wishes to marry, although Archer realizes he must if he wishes to carry on his line. He decides to hold a party where he will search out a lady who "saw him as a title and a bank vault. The kind of wife who would, when afforded certain enviable comforts, bear him an heir and not expect him to take more than a strictly legal interest in the proceedings. The kind of woman who would not require an investment of emotion he was not equipped to give" (Kindle Loc 364).
But Archer and Poppy are attracted to one another, and Archer decides to propose to her, rather than to any of the more appropriate women he might woo, framing the proposal as strictly business: she will provide him with an heir, and he will give her the money to set up a major plant importing business. She should not expect him to give her love or affection in return. To her surprise, though their early married days are tender and affectionate. So when Archer inevitably pulls away, Polly is hurt, and unhappy.
I enjoyed Peckham's deft character development, and the clear affection both Polly and Archer slowly develop for one another. Her writing is strong, too: take this bit, from late in the story, "She had thought, as a younger woman, that she was her best self alone. That she was meant to inhale solitude and turn it into energy, like a plant. She had confused solitude with happiness. She was not a plant. She missed her husband. If she was not mistaken, he missed her too." (3280)
I wasn't as keen on having such a traumatic incident be the root of Archer's kinkiness, even if by book's end he isn't magically cured of his predilections by the love of a good woman. And I can definitely understand why some readers find the Black Moment scene a scene of unforgivable cheating and betrayal. But it did make a welcome change to have a submissive hero in a historical, another uncommon occurrence.
I'll definitely be reaching for the next book in the Charlotte Street series.
Poppy Cavendish, granddaughter to a viscount, is about to lose her beloved greenhouse, and all the plants she's been cultivating therein, after the death of her guardian, her unconventional beloved uncle. But when her neighbor, the sister of the Duke of Westmead, offers her a commission to decorate a ballroom with her blossoms, and throws in help moving her plants as part of her payment, Poppy agrees, despite having to spend time with the brusque duke.
For his part, the duke, Archer, is plagued by guilt over the death of his wife and child (said wife turns out to have been
Spoiler
Poppy's governessBut Archer and Poppy are attracted to one another, and Archer decides to propose to her, rather than to any of the more appropriate women he might woo, framing the proposal as strictly business: she will provide him with an heir, and he will give her the money to set up a major plant importing business. She should not expect him to give her love or affection in return. To her surprise, though their early married days are tender and affectionate. So when Archer inevitably pulls away, Polly is hurt, and unhappy.
I enjoyed Peckham's deft character development, and the clear affection both Polly and Archer slowly develop for one another. Her writing is strong, too: take this bit, from late in the story, "She had thought, as a younger woman, that she was her best self alone. That she was meant to inhale solitude and turn it into energy, like a plant. She had confused solitude with happiness. She was not a plant. She missed her husband. If she was not mistaken, he missed her too." (3280)
I wasn't as keen on having such a traumatic incident be the root of Archer's kinkiness, even if by book's end he isn't magically cured of his predilections by the love of a good woman. And I can definitely understand why some readers find the Black Moment scene a scene of unforgivable cheating and betrayal. But it did make a welcome change to have a submissive hero in a historical, another uncommon occurrence.
I'll definitely be reaching for the next book in the Charlotte Street series.