What I Did for a Duke: Pennyroyal Green Series [Mass Market Paperback]

(This was originally posted on Book Lovers Inc)

What I Did for a Duke is the 5th book in the Pennyroyal Green series. I haven't read the previous books, and in fact this is the 1st book I read from this author but it won't be the last. I can't wait to read the previous books. What a funny and moving story. I am already planning on re-reading it as soon as I my print copy arrives. This book will go straight to my Keep-Forever Shelf.

From the very first chapter I knew I would love the hero, Alexander Moncrieffe, Duke of Falconbridge. First he is mysterious and there are a lot of rumors about his past (Killing his wife with poison for example) and he does nothing to contradict them . He is said to be ruthless with those who crossed him. And most of all he gives meaning to the phrase 'Vengeance is better served cold'. All the women want Alexander but they are also all afraid of him too. He has such a charisma..*happy sigh* One of the things I loved about him is that he is 'older'. Alexander is about 40 and he doesn't act like a young rake (I was gonna say 'fool'), he acts like a mature man and let me tell you it makes him even more attractive. I'm not saying he doesn't like gambling or things like that but he's not reckless either. I have a huge crush on him so I'm completely biased. *wink*

Alexander was betrothed to a young lady until he found her in a compromising situation with Ian Eversea. He could have had his revenge on Ian at that time but he decided to do much, much worse. Alex will seduce Ian's innocent sister then abandon her and crush her heart. Well that's his plan. I told you he was ruthless! Ian of course doesn't know what the duke intends to do and is living in fear of his vengeance. Of course nothing goes as planned. Genevieve has been in love with her best friend for years and recent news left her completely crushed. She is in no mood to entertain anyone during the House party her parents are holding, even less the mysterious and dark Duke everyone's talking about. But it's not like she has a choice.

This book is very funny and I giggled and smiled from start to end. It made me feel really good and I loved it. Alexander and Genevieve both have a very funny sense of humor. Their discussions are often hilarious. Oh how I love Genevieve's witty intelligence. She is a quiet one which doesn't mean she's shy. I like how she thinks before talking, she doesn't blurt out what comes through her mind. If she says something, it's for a reason.

The Duke will do his best to seduce Genevieve and all I'll say is that my it melted my heart. I had tears..ahem I mean DUST in my eyes quite a few times. When I started reading it I thought, 'hey it's gonna go this way and big revelation and cries and hurt'...I was wrong! It surprised me completely. It's very original while still playing with a basic formula. I know I'm rambling, but I LOVED it.

What I Did For a Duke was pure pleasure to read. The author gave us intelligent characters with depth and a sense of humor. They never thought they'd fall in love with each other, both had their plans and falling in love was not part of it. I was shouting at my ereader (and at Susi), cheering them to do the right thing...I think at some point I went all 'Come on, kiss her NOW, KISS HER AHHHHH' . Yes this book drove me crazy (crazier? lol) but it was worth every minute. This is a charming book that had me smiling all along. It's definitely of one the Top Historical I've read.

I give What I Did for a Duke 5 Bookies.

There is no great adventure in this novel, no espionage, no crime to solve, no treasure to plunder. What I did for a Duke is purely character driven and the focus is on how love grows between two people, how relationships form and how they strengthen through mutual respect and honesty. You would be forgiven for thinking that this sounds boring but it serves to create a believable and combustible chemistry between the two leads.

Alex Moncrieff, Duke of Falconbridge, seeks revenge on the scoundrel who cuckolded him and effectively ended his engagement to a woman he believed he could love. His quarry is Genevieve, the scoundrel's sister, who he intends to seduce and abandon - thus rendering a punishment that befits the crime. The story centres round a house party hosted by the scoundrel's family, allowing Alex the opportunity to put his nefarious plan into action.

What he fails to foresee is that Genevieve is not a typical Regency miss. She is clever, wilful and already in love. On the morning of Alex's arrival she learns that Harry, her love, plans to marry another and so it is a colourless and lacklustre Genevieve that first greets Alex. Despite her heartbreak she cannot help but be drawn into witty banter with the Duke. It is this banter that Long excels at, spinning words together to create realistic and amusing dialogue.

Alex is a fabulous hero; jaded, dark and unapologetic. He is also the opposite of what I usually want from a hero. A widower who actually loved his first wife? I like my heroes to be rakes and resolute bachelors - preferring the idea that the heroine is their first love leading them into a HEA. Naive and idealistic? Yup, but that's the joy of reading romance. Cleverly Long tells us that Alex is a widower of ten years, making his past distant, on only one occasion are details of his marriage revealed and this is to Genevieve and the conversation engenders neither jealousy or insecurity in her. What it does do is illustrate a jaded and cynical hero who is open to the concept of love, who is indeed more embracing of it than the heroine though it does not weaken him. Often in historical romance the male is much older than the female, reflecting the era, this irritates me as the age gap is usually ignored or glossed over. Long has given us Alex who is almost forty - not a crime in itself but Genevieve is barely twenty and usually this would make me uncomfortable. Not here as both characters address it, Genevieve and her friends laugh about it, Alex makes the most of it. Ultimately it works because the heroine is not childish and has an awareness of sex and sexuality, though experience with neither.

Genevieve is a clever lady, she is able to read people and situations and sees straight through Alex. What might have been a Great Misunderstanding is kerbed by an insightful heroine. Genevieve deduces that Alex has a motive for spending time with her and forces him to admit it early on in the novel. An admirable move, as this meant that both she and Alex were able to see each other clearly and to admire each other without secrets.

The reason for the half star deduction is purely because there were about twenty pages when Genevieve annoyed me, though I do stress I loved her for the other 300! She was a bit confused about ideas of love, while I was swallowing my heart every time I saw Alex's name. Additionally, while I love Long's writing - especially her dialogue, she has a tendency to overlay her characters' thoughts with her own voice. These moments make her writing accessible and amusing but often to the detriment of context. Pedantic of me, I know, and so I urge you not to let these little things deter you from reading what is an otherwise brilliant regency romance.

I love reading regency romance, it's my guilty pleasure. Julie Ann Long is better than your average romance writer. She had me laughing out loud and really rooting for the h&h. I even cried! I like the fact that her heroines are strong women but not those "plucky" annoying characters that we're told we're supposed to love. Instead she reveals characters that you slowly fall in love with. She has a good plot, that focuses on the romance and you really feel that real love and understanding grow between the characters. I'm writing this review not just for this book, which is really good but also for the author as a whole. I read this book and loved it, it's definitely one of my favourites. Then for some reason some of the other blurbs about her other books plots just didn't appeal to me so I left them. Then when I did eventually read them I loved them. I like other authors like Mary Balogh, Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypass so if you like them, I'd give some of this author's books a try. I'm a sucker for true love and I really feel she captures that feeling and intensity just spot on. Five out of five stars!