It's All About the Duke: The Rakes of St. James

Amelia Grey

May 2018 · The Rakes of St. James Book 3 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this ebook

“A master storyteller.”—Affaire de Coeur

Nearing thirty, the Duke of Rathburne is finally ready to make amends for the wager that caused him and his best friends such scandal—but taking on a ward who needs a husband is a feat he’s not sure he can manage. The last he saw of Miss Marlena Fast, she was a spirited little ruffian, not the sort of bride most bachelors on the marriage mart sought. But one glance at the lovely lady she has become is enough to convince him otherwise...

Orphaned young and shuffled from family to family, Marlena counts on her fierce independence and quick wits to keep herself content. Being the responsibility of a notoriously wicked duke who upended so many lives is an unexpected challenge when she realizes he arouses her decidedly feminine desires. Marlena must be careful. She has her own scandalous secret to protect. If he finds out, will it shatter her chances of a happily-ever-after with the notorious rake?


It's All About the Duke is the next Regency romance in The Rakes of St. James series from Amelia Grey.

Ratings and reviews

Nearing thirty, the Duke of Rathburne is finally ready to make amends for the wager that caused him and his best friends, Griffin & Hawk such scandal—but taking on a ward who needs a husband is a feat he’s not sure he can manage. The last he saw of Miss Marlena Fast almost a decade ago, she was a spirited little ruffian, not the sort of bride most bachelors on the marriage mart sought. But one glance at the lovely lady she has become is enough to convince him otherwise. Orphaned young and shuffled from family to family, Marlena counts on her fierce independence and quick wits to keep herself content. I absolutely adored the chemistry between Rath & Marlena, little things like Rath knowing almost to the minute how long it had been since he had seen her were so touching & had me totally hooked. Rath is tall, broad shouldered, handsome with a smile that makes your knees go weak. He’s also got a wicked sense of humour, which I loved. Marlena is hiding a secret & gradually learns there’s two sides to every story. A delightful page turning read. I really liked the previous two books in the series but for me this was the best of the three, it could be read on it’s own but to fully appreciate Rath & Marlena I’d recommend reading the first two books My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I admired what a strong and confident Marlena Fast, the heroine Ms. Grey created in her lasted book. The love, care and independence provided for Marlena by her previous guardians helped shape the woman she became while living a somewhat carefree life. Having a well known Rake, the Duke of Rathburne, as her latest guardian was bound to affect her and restrict some of her independence as she readied for her debut season. The shenanigans created a few years prior by the Rakes with their secret admirer letters had lasting consequences that none of the three Rakes of St. James realized or knew about. Writing the scandal sheet under an alias name, Marlena’s secret could cost her the love of a good man. I felt badly how guilty she was feeling as she met many of the people she had written about over the years. I was quite glad that she realized how hurtful her words were and how they could have affected those people. In fact, the Rakes of St. James were also made aware of how much those recipients of their letters were affected. Yes, it is wise to think before we act as Marlena and Rath learned in this wonderful love at first sight story. Ms. Grey wrote a wonderful story with relatable characters, humorous as well as a few uncomfortable situations. I really enjoy reading this book and had trouble putting it down, turning page after page, wanting more once I turn that last page. I highly recommend this book to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Full review posted at Reader's Edyn on 020820 Marlena Fast is in a pickle – living with freedoms afforded by a bedridden guardian, she has become accustomed to the independence given while she waits for a season within the ton which should have occurred a few years back. Thrusting her deeper into said pickle is the shocking revelation that her guardianship has been transferred to the Duke of Rathburne – notorious Rake of St. James and current hot topic in the weekly scandal sheets. The more time she spends with Rath, the more she grasps how rakish he can be, but that he truly is an attentive, thoughtful man; not to mention stimulating to the point of distraction. When she falls for him, her gut wrenches knowing she can never have him. Marlena has a secret she can never allow Rath to know because there is no telling what type of retribution he will seek against the one who revived the folly of his youth, breathing life into the scandal sheets each week, possibly exposing innocents to compromising situations in her zeal. Marlena is Miss Honora Truth. The Duke of Rathburne – Rath – cannot believe what kind of situation he’s gotten himself into following a long night with a bottle of brandy. Now stuck with a ward of his own, he sets out to do his father proud, trying to behave responsibly for once in his life. That description may be a bit harsh, but he is seeking penance for the bet he put his friends up to many years ago and what better way than to suffer the gossips right along with his two best friends as they did when their sisters debuted in Society. What he didn’t count on was the ragamuffin he remembers from several years ago captivating his so thoroughly. He absolutely cannot seduce his ward, but damn if she doesn’t consume his every thought. That settled, he will have her. But the truth she has been protecting and the reason for all of the oddities that seem to surround her might be more than their delicate relationship can rally back from. But like the other Rakes of St, James, Rath isn’t accustomed to losing and despite his startling discovery, he isn’t about the begin now – not with so much on the line. He’s just got to figure out how to tie up all of the loose ends of the tangled web he’s caught up in. I am beyond pleased to announce that I consider this book the best of the series. If you read my previous reviews for the preceding books in the series, I was a bit worried because they were so much alike that the books came across as a retelling of nearly the same story. While I still enjoyed them quite a lot, I was less than ecstatic at their similarities. The Rakes of St. James still captivated me and while I was a bit let down with the 2nd book, I was still hoping that Rath’s book was quite the thing. He was, after all, the rake I was most looking forward to finding his own HEA. Thankfully, this final book in the trilogy met my expectations. I would have been heartbroken to have said otherwise. However, I am once again mystified as to what Rath's name is. Who was he prior to inheriting his title? What a clever spin to give Rath a ward to be responsible for since he was the only of the Rakes who did not have a sister that could have been adversely affected by the gossip rags. And not just any ward – the very woman who started the scandal sheet to begin with. Talk about overcoming obstacles – however, I would have argued (and was surprised it wasn’t mentioned) that had Marlena not begun such a potentially ruinous tale, not one of the Dukes would have met their HEAs. While the personalities of Marlena and Rath follow suit to the other MCs in the earlier books, there was the added strife of Marlena carefully guarding her secret identity; Marlena coming to grips with the fact that not one of the Dukes was the cad she had written them to be; and Rath with his keen senses, knowing it was just a scant amount of time before he caught on to the ruse – his well-developed ability to discern having been eluded to in the previous installments...

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Amelia Grey read her first romance book when she was thirteen and she’s been a devoted reader of love stories ever since. Her awards include the Booksellers Best, Aspen Gold, and the Golden Quill. Writing as Gloria Dale Skinner, she won the coveted Romantic Times Award for Love and Laughter and the prestigious Maggie Award. Her books have sold to many countries in Europe, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia, and most recently to Japan. Several of her books have also been featured in Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs. Amelia is the author of over twenty-five books. She’s been happily married to her high school sweetheart for over thirty-five years and she lives on the beautiful gulf coast of Northwest Florida.

Amelia is the author of The Heirs' Club series, including The Duke In My Bed, It's All About the Duke, and Wedding Night With the Earl.