It's All About The Duke

Our Review

There are romantic sparks zinging everywhere in Amelia Grey’s last novel in the Rakes of St. James series. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DUKE is impossibly irresistible and ravishingly romantic. From the start, Ms. Grey’s novel has me swooning over the rake, Rath, the Duke of Rathburne. Tall, extremely handsome, overly confident with a hint of mischievousness, Rath is good at charming the ladies, which indubitably is his downfall. Rath and his two best friends, back in their college days, created a scandal over a scheme they hatched by sending out secret admirer letters to ladies at random. They never expected it to backfire and impact lives. Rath learns his lesson, hopefully, enduring the wrath from his dad who tirelessly tried to raise him as a gentleman. In turn, society labels him and his friends, rogues.

Rath is requested by an ailing family friend to oversee his ward, Marlena Fast. Rath deliberates and realizes he needs to atone for things in his life. He once met Marlena when she was young but now, after meeting her, she has blossomed into a beautiful belle. Oh boy, Rath has his work cut out for him. She sets his pulse racing and more…

Marlena Fast is a beautiful, spirited lady, with a huge heart and an orphan. In the course of being raised in various families, she learned at a young age to not be afraid and to stand up for yourself. When she finds out her uncle is ill and turns over her guardianship to someone else, Marlena thinks she might faint. It is the Duke of Rathburne and he is to find her a husband! How will Marlena survive when he is so, so…incredibly dashing and is the very object of her writings for the local newspaper gossip page and more! It is a kept secret that she and her neighbor collaborate on the gossip column. Oh, no, what will Marlena do now?

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DUKE is an incredibly crafty, clever, saucy and risk-taking historical romance novel. Ms. Grey has penned another spectacular story that is super hard to put down! It is so much fun reading about a lady, Marlena, who tries hard to conceal the fact that she is a writer. Plus, she writes about none other than the Duke of Rathburne, who is her present guardian and is tasked to find her a suitable husband, nonetheless! Will Rath uncover Marlena’s secret? There are many intriguing sub-plots as well, with relatives, friends, cousins and neighbors. Marlena and Rath both have skeletons in their closets. Will they fall in love in spite of everything? This is a superbly woven story filled with scuttlebutt, surprises and much more! I laughed, cried, sighed, and read to the wee hours of the morning. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DUKE is doubly delightful and scandalicious. Just like a calorie-laden, double-dipped, candy-coated, ice cream cone!