Put Up Your Duke (Dukes Behaving Badly #2)
Author: Megan Frampton
Release Date: 30 June 2015
Publisher: Avon
He was once happily bedding and boxing, but in the newest DUKES BEHAVING BADLY novel, Nicholas Smithfield has inherited a title and a bride…
To keep his estate afloat, the new Duke of Gage must honor an agreement to marry Lady Isabella. Stunningly beautiful, utterly tempting, she’s also a bag of wedding night nerves, so Nicholas decides to wait to do his duty-even if it means heading to the boxing saloon every day to punch away his frustration.
Groomed her whole life to become the perfect duchess Isabella longs for independence, a dream that is gone forever. As her husband, Nicholas can do whatever he likes-but, to Isabella’s surprise the notorious rake instead begins a gentle seduction that is melting every inch of her reserve, night by night…
To his utter shock, Nicholas’s discovers that none of his previous exploits were half as pleasurable as wooing his own wife. But has the realm’s most disreputable Duke found the one woman who can bring him to his knees-and leave him there?
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Nicholas is quite merrily living his life as he wishes, with plenty of women and boxing. He has few worries and lives a rather charmed life. Then he's suddenly informed he's actually the legitimate Duke of Gage. Thrust into a new life he's unprepared for, Nicholas' world is turned upside down. Especially when he realises that he has very little option but to marry the woman previously promised to the former Duke.
Isabella has been groomed from a young age to be the perfect Duchess. Once her beauty became apparent her parents repress the girl she is and mold her into the ideal society miss. Isabella experiences a taste of freedom when she's informed that she will no longer be marrying the Duke of Gage, only to have it snatched away when it turns out she still is- just a different one instead. But this one makes her feel all hot and flustered, a very different reaction than the previous one invoked. Isabella soon realises that she has more freedom in her marriage than she's had most of her life, allowing her to grow in strength and discover just who she is.
I thought Nicholas and Isabella were a charming couple and they enjoyed a great chemistry with a slow build romance. This means that trust, understanding and love can grow between them before they actually consummate their marriage. I enjoyed this aspect since they were practically strangers on their wedding day, but it was a little too slow of a build for me. I got to the point where I just wanted them to get on with it a little bit.
Nicholas is charming and handsome, but he is also kind and compassionate. He recognises Isabella's fear on their wedding night and doesn't press her but slowly seduces her. He can be silly and fun and very sweet as well. He's a perfectly nice hero, but possibly a little forgettable. He doesn't have much of his own development and I'd have liked to see him take the reins more as the Duke.
Isabella's development is marked throughout the story and I really enjoyed seeing her grow into herself. Her defenses are slowly lowered by Nicholas and she can finally allow herself to breathe and just be. She allows herself to act as she wants to and not how everyone else expects her to, and finds her voice.
Overall this is a very sweet story as Nicholas and Isabella learn each other and how their relationship will progress. Their romance builds slowly until Isabella finds her strength and they trust each other implicitly. I thought that the threats from the previous Duke could have been more developed since that storyline fell a little flat in the end, but I really enjoyed Margaret's character (Isabella's younger sister) and think she would be a fun heroine to have her own story.
*I received a review copy from the publisher for my honest opinion. Thank you!
About the Author
Megan Frampton writes historical romance under her own name and romantic women’s fiction as Megan Caldwell. She likes the color black, gin, dark-haired British men, and huge earrings, not in that order. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and son.
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Giveaway
There are 3 print copies of Put Up Your Duke to be won in celebration of its release- good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
There are 3 print copies of Put Up Your Duke to be won in celebration of its release- good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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