The Duke's Heart

Heather Boyd

Oct 2019 · Distinguished Rogues Book 11 · Heather Boyd

About this ebook

The Duke of Exeter may have failed to marry, but he’s determined to find a bride for the cousin who will unwillingly inherit Sinclair’s title and his overwhelming responsibilities when he dies. With a pinch of artful planning, a hint of competition, and a healthy dose of romance, he’s sure that he’ll get his heir wed in no time at all. What he never expected was that his disagreement with an old friend would herald the return of the lady he lost long ago—and that her return to society could upset his budding matchmaking scheme.

Lady Catherine Forbes, Kitty to dear friends, is astonished that her brother’s disagreement with the powerful duke has gone so far and has had no choice but to return to London to take her stubborn family in hand. Meeting the duke again was no doubt inevitable, but being drawn to him so strongly is something that takes her by complete surprise. They were never meant to be, but old habits are hard to break. Are they too set in their ways to risk their hearts or will the needs of others separate them a second time?

 A steamy regency historical romance novel.

 

Distinguished Rogues Series 

Book 1: Chills (Jack and Constance)

Book 2: Broken (Giles and Lillian)

Book 3: Charity (Oscar and Agatha)

Book 4: An Accidental Affair (Merrick and Arabella)

Book 5: Keepsake (Kit and Miranda)

Book 6: An Improper Proposal (Martin and Iris)

Book 7: Reason to Wed (Richard and Esme)

Book 8: The Trouble with Love (Everett and Whitney)

Book 9: Married by Moonlight (Gilbert and Anna)

Book 10: Lord of Sin (Julian and Portia)

Book 11: The Duke’s Heart (Sinclair and Kitty)

Book 12: Romancing the Earl (Price and Lenore)

Book 13: One Enchanted Christmas (Otis and Meg)

Book 14: Desire by Design (Alexander and Sylvia)

Book 15: His Perfect Bride (Harry and Ophelia)

Book 16: Pleasures of the Night

Ratings and reviews

Loved the Characters, But the Plot... This is a proper novel-length story. So many authors write novellas these days that it is a surprise to actually read a novel. I was particularly delighted to see that the author featured a couple who is middle-aged, him approaching his 50th birthday and her a little younger. That's not often done in contemporary romance in general and certainly not in Regency romance. The author created excellent characters in the hero and heroine as well as secondary characters like her brother, her young niece, and his heir presumptive cousin. As I never re-read a books description before I start reading a book to review, when I first started the book, I thought the story might be about Teddy, the heir, and I was highly amused at his first scene where he's pretending to be the duke’s footman because he's not comfortable yet with the idea of being his heir. By the way, I thought Teddy was a great character, and I hope the author writes his romance. I wasn't quite sure about the hero at first as he seemed a little lightweight to carry a novel, seemingly bored with life and a little shallow at times. He became much more interesting when the heroine came on the scene. They had been teenage lovers who separated, she marrying another man and going to live in Ireland for the last 30 years. While I liked the characters, I didn't think the author did much interesting with them for too long of a time. She set up some potentially interesting subplots, like bringing the niece up to scratch enough to enter society and the marriage mart and watching Teddy become more comfortable in his role as heir presumptive. Even the mad scientist brother could have had an interesting, potentially comic subplot. I actually think novel-length romances need one or two of these, especially if the couple doesn't really get together much until later in the book, as happened in this case. I read this book over the course of several days, and I find myself not remembering what happened early on because it wasn't that interesting. Things improved when the couple decided to rekindle their former flame, but even that felt like it came together too easily. The impediments keeping them apart seemed too small, especially if they just discussed options more. So while I love the characters, the plot and subplot(s) needed work to make this a fully satisfying novel. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

I found this 2nd chance story to be entertaining. Kitty and Sinclair (The Duke of Exeter) knew each other as children and fell in love without a care for society’s strictures. Sinclair was wealthy and expected to marry well; whereas Kitty was from a poor/humble background and a companion to Sinclair’s twin sister. His sister was a horrible person and the reason that both Sinclair and Kitty were parted from each other for 30 years. Sinclair never married and Kitty never returned after leaving and marrying another. It took awhile before the two of them had an open, honest conversation about what truly happened all those years ago. It makes for a good story, but the fact that these two were parted and never stopped loving each other for all those years; yet don’t seem to have any anger towards the person who caused them pain irks me... apparently book people are much better than me. For anyone who likes mature characters and 2nd chances, this is the story to read. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Sinclair, the Duke of Exeter, once again growled at his cousin, Thaddeus Godfrey Berringer (“Teddy”), at the servant’s clothing he wore. But his cousin argued that dressing that way would keep his identity a secret, and it has since no one looks twice at the servants. Now Sinclair was having Lord Wade look for a young bride, not for him as everyone would assume, but for Teddy who was his secret heir. Sinclair made Teddy stay in the room with them, and the Viscount kept glancing at him, not knowing why he was there. Of the women listed on the paper which Lord Wade was to discreetly check out, none were suitable, just as Sinclair himself had figured. As Lord Wade was leaving, the glass window in the room shattered as eggs and debris were hurled into the room by Percy Hunter, an alleged old friend of Sinclair. He had no idea why he was doing this, but it was becoming a regular occurrence. Soon he would have to have him arrested or committed to Bedlam, though he preferred to do neither. Lady Catherine Forbes (“Kitty”), former secret mistress of the Duke of Exeter 30 years ago, had been in the city only half a day. She intended to have her brother Percy committed to Bedlam because Percy Hunter had become reckless when he went mad in the past year. If he hurt Exeter, he could be hanged for it. Kitty wanted to help Felicity, his young daughter, through the troubled days ahead. Kitty went to see her good friend, Willa, and Willa insisted she come stay with her. She was going to Vauxhall Gardens to a masked even and invited Kitty with her since no one would recognize her in the mask. Maybe she would hear whispers about Exeter too. She needed to make sure Percy had not harmed him. Out in the garden, Sinclair spotted a woman he reacted to but did not recognize. His eyes stayed on her and he kept close until she looked at him. When she spoke, she had an Irish accent. They bantered back and forth until she said she could no longer do this and took off her mask, shocking him. Thirty years ago, he had been quietly planning to marry her when she ran off and married someone else. She turned and ran from him now. Meeting the duke again was no doubt inevitable, but still being drawn to him so strongly takes her by surprise. She told herself they were never meant to be, but her heart never felt that way. If he can find her again, will they risk their hearts to fall in love again? Or will all the other things going on around them, taking care of family needs, separate them once again? This was a very enjoyable story drawing the reader in with mystery and curiosity. Not a typical story, it still came together and was well-written and intriguing. Grab your copy and see what exactly is going to happen with all of the various parts of this delightful action-packed story line.

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author Heather Boyd believes every character she creates deserves their own happily-ever-after—no matter how much trouble she puts them through. With that goal in mind, she writes steamy romances that skirt the boundaries of propriety to keep readers enthralled until the wee hours of the morning. Heather has published over 40 regency romance novels and shorter works full of daring seductions and distinguished rogues. She lives north of Sydney, Australia, with her trio of rogues and a four-legged overlords. For more information visit https://www.heatherboydbooks.com