The Duke Next Door
3 Stars

Synopsis
Deidre Cantor has adored Calder Marbrook from afar for years and finally seizes the opportunity to marry him when her cousin Phoebe leaves him at the alter. But Calder has a secret that may just destroy his marriage before it has even begun...

Review
Cute romance but could have done without the silly misunderstandings.

Deidre and Calder have a smoldering chemistry and their sex scenes are intense and erotic. Unfortunately, the problems begin when they open their mouths to speak. Their bickering is snarky and entertaining at first but becomes tedious as they continue sniping at each other and fail to communicate.

Calder has potential as a tortured hero but his characterization as a wounded beast in need of taming fails to come across effectively. On the flip side, Deidre is a strong heroine who refuses to allow the man she loves to dominate her. Her relationship with Calder's impish daughter is the real highlight of the book.

The suspense plot is good - Wolfe is suitably nasty and Baskin seriously demented but the resolution is anti-climactic. Moreover, the tavern scene is convoluted, ridiculous and unnecessary to the story.

Sophie and Graham's book is next and hopefully the series will end on a positive note. ( )

I am a big Celeste Bradley fan so it pains me to give a middling review to one of her books, but what's a girl to do? This book seems like it was written by two people or by one writer who started it, put it in a drawer, and finished up 10 years later.

The first half of the book is largely boring and frequently repetitive. It also provides us with a wildly unappealing hero. Calder is boring, taciturn, dismissive, condescending, and downright mean. He is also verbally abusive to his young child and at various points leaves her to wander freely through a textile factory (what could go wrong?) and hands her a loaded gun she is not trained to use when she asks for it. I need to note here that I am not clear on the age of the child because she is 7 in the first half and 9 in the second half even though the entire story takes place over the course of a week. One more note, I was really bugged by how Deirdre castigates herself for her impatience with Calder when he is being an ass. She should be patient with him when he orders her about (not is a sexy way) and treats her like temporary help? Its sad and embarrassing.

Calder redeems himself to some extent in the second half of the book, but that is insufficient. There is no reason our heroine could want him other than the fact that he has a title she needs to access her own inheritance and he is handsome. This makes it hard to sympathize with her incessant wailing about him only wanting her for her looks while protesting her deep love for him. She loves his title, she loves his abs and glutes (spoiler: she "notices" them a lot), but never explains why that is different from his loving her hair and her breasts (spoiler: he "notices" them a lot.) Its just a lot of stuff and nonsense filling pages where they should be getting to know each other better and/or banging.

The second half of the book has our hero suddenly becoming an Edwardian version of Liam Neeson in nearly every movie he has been in the last 10 years. There is no transition time. This guy instantaneously transitions from The Great Santini to Bryan Mills (for those who have not seen Taken or its 74 sequels that is Neeson's character.) Why?

I don't ask a lot from my bodice rippers. I would have overlooked most of this if I hadn't spent 200 pages bored to tears. But I did spend 200 paged being bored to tears so I am feeling unforgiving. Bradley has so many lovely books, but this one is a miss. ( )

A delicious Regency read!! Engaging characters and an entertaining plot line. Nice amount of steam to keep the story popping!

I love a lively historical with all the pomp and circumstance! Really enjoyable read!

A fun series. ( )

Frippery fun - lord knows if I contemplated the plot it really probably wouldn't make much sense, but it's still a light, entertaining read - perfect brain candy. ( )

Simplistic but highly entertaining. I always like marriage of convenience plots so it was easy for me to like this one as well. The characters, especially Calder's, are not described in depth and some scenes, like when he fondled her publicly in the staircase, are over the top, but I liked the result nonetheless. Light but with just a touch of angst to add some interest in the mix, it was fast paced and very enjoyable. I think I may have liked it more than the first one, but certainly Celeste Bradley is an author I'll look out for when I'm in a mood for a mind candy. ( )