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What the Duke Desires
384 pages
A tense, passionate historical romance where the desire for vengeance is eclipsed only by the pull of forbidden attraction.
What it feels like
This historical romance delivers a brisk, emotionally charged experience where duty and vengeance collide with overwhelming desire. The narrative thrives on the simmering tension between a powerful duke bound by family expectations and a woman determined to clear her own family's name by destroying his. As their calculated motives dissolve into a passionate affair, the mood shifts from suspenseful and guarded to intensely swoony and dramatic. The prose leans into the sensuous and the high-stakes emotional conflict, keeping the reader hooked on the push-and-pull of betrayal and ecstasy. It is a perfect fit for readers who crave historical love stories steeped in dark family secrets, scandalous pasts, and the intoxicating thrill of falling for the enemy.
- Mood
- swoony
- suspenseful
- emotionally charged
- Tone
- romantic
- dramatic
- passionate
- tense
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- tension between duty and desire · cost of vengeance · family legacy and reputation · forbidden attraction
- The writing
- Sensuous and dramatic, focusing on the intense internal conflicts and simmering chemistry between the leads.
- The arc
- Moves from a place of calculated vengeance and duty to a passionate, conflicted surrender to love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love historical romances where dark family secrets and revenge collide with undeniable physical attraction.
Content notes
- family betrayal
- themes of revenge
- scandal
About the book
The duke always gets exactly what he wants...As the new Duke of Billingham, Simon Crathorne has one main duty to fulfill: find a proper wife and continue his family's exalted name. But of all the eligible women who have come to his country party, he desires only one. And she may be the most unsuitable bride of all.Lillian Mayhew is desperate to expose a devastating secret about Simon's distinguished late father so she can salvage her family's reputation. Yet from the moment she meets her rakishly handsome host, she begins to question if she can destroy his world so callously. She once wanted nothing more than to destroy his good name-and now she wants nothing more than his kiss.Caught between vengeance and ecstasy, Simon and Lillian begin a passionate affair. But betrayal lurks behind every stolen touch-and the duke's shocking past may be his ultimate undoing...
Description from Open Library.
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