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A review by laura03
For the Duke's Eyes Only by Lenora Bell
4.0
I was ready for Lady India's story, like, three chapters into the first book in this series, so you can imagine my excitement at reading this book. And, for the most part, that excitement held. Childhood friends to rivals to wary partners to lovers is a very specific trope that I am very specifically into, and, for the most part, this hit all the high notes.
India and Raven were EXCEPTIONAL at goading each other and teasing each other, and kissing each other. On the mouth and other locations. Honestly, the two of them may have some of the best HR banter I've read recently. Plus, Raven was so beset with his responsibility™ and filled to the brim with pining™ and I am into that.
That being said, I did go back and forth on three or four stars for this one. Mostly because I think the potential for mystery and adventure was there but never quite achieved. It felt like we kind of rushed through that plot, which would have been a super cool main plot, and while I'm all in favor of carriage makeouts and floor 69's, I wanted a bit more intrigue and working together. India was so clever, and Raven was an actual spy. Even if that had to stay secret for plot-type reasons, it felt like they could have added a bit more to the quest for the Rosetta Stone. The scene where they fought together was hands-down my favorite in the whole book. More of that, please!Also, I kind of wanted Marcus to be evil, but that's just my deep-rooted desire for drama.
Overall, though—I enjoyed this a lot. It was fun and different, and while it still ended with a nice tied-up bow, I appreciated this bow more than I did in the first book in this series. (But I do wish she'd called him Daniel again at one point. I wanted her to call him Daniel again, so bad.)
India and Raven were EXCEPTIONAL at goading each other and teasing each other, and kissing each other. On the mouth and other locations. Honestly, the two of them may have some of the best HR banter I've read recently. Plus, Raven was so beset with his responsibility™ and filled to the brim with pining™ and I am into that.
That being said, I did go back and forth on three or four stars for this one. Mostly because I think the potential for mystery and adventure was there but never quite achieved. It felt like we kind of rushed through that plot, which would have been a super cool main plot, and while I'm all in favor of carriage makeouts and floor 69's, I wanted a bit more intrigue and working together. India was so clever, and Raven was an actual spy. Even if that had to stay secret for plot-type reasons, it felt like they could have added a bit more to the quest for the Rosetta Stone. The scene where they fought together was hands-down my favorite in the whole book. More of that, please!
Overall, though—I enjoyed this a lot. It was fun and different, and while it still ended with a nice tied-up bow, I appreciated this bow more than I did in the first book in this series. (But I do wish she'd called him Daniel again at one point. I wanted her to call him Daniel again, so bad.)