Sins of a Wicked Duke

First book I’ve read by Sophie Jordan and was impressed. Enjoyed the pacing and characters, will definitely read the rest of the series.

I do like a Cinderella storyline. While the heroine was passingly described as plain, it wasn't significant enough to warrant this book being placed on that specific shelf. Poor girl with a childhood full of abuse and pain dresses up in trousers to get a decent wage (can't argue with that). Most of the angst was about the dissolute behavior of the rake hero; I prefer the angst to be focused around insecurity and healing from trauma. But still a good read. I'll be checking out the rest of the trilogy. (3.5 stars)

I read the book a year ago but keep coming up on it in recomendations, which in and of itself means I wholly recommend it. Best book in the series, the sequels i couldn't finish because the writing style somehow became bland and prosy. I loved this books heroine, best protration of her hands down.

After reading multiple enthusiastic reviews at multiple sites I decided to pick this book up. Unfortunately this book didn't work for me nearly as well as it did for those other happy readers. The description of the book sounded promising and the details mentioned by the reviews were ones that I usually like. For some reason it just didn't come together for me in this book. I spent most of the book with one eyebrow cocked struggling to believe in the characters and their motivations.

For some reason I could never bring myself to like Fallon. I know that her pity party of one was supposed to make me feel for her, but it didn't work. I found her whiny and the type of person that would cut off her nose to spite herself. Her father died show more years ago following the demands of his employer. Fallon is unwilling to move past it and has a hatred for all noblemen (because her father's employer was one). The employer had paid for her to go to a school after her father's death, but that only deepened Fallon's dislike of him. The school she was sent to had a sadistic headmaster who got his jollies out of beating the girls enrolled there and watching them suffer.

This sounds like a nice background for character growth and the realization that it is narrow minded to blame a large group of people for the actions of one man. Unfortunately I didn't see that happen until the last few pages. When it finally did happen I didn't believe it. It seemed like she stayed mired in her bitterness the whole book until the author realized the end was coming up and had Fallon play lip service to character growth so that she and Dominic could get their HEA.

Very little was ever made out of the fact that Fallon was a servant and Dominic was a duke. I know it was brought up a few times by Fallon to explain why they could never be together but it seemed like lip service. When they finally got together in the end the class difference was ignored in a way that I found laughable. I know that Fallon blamed her looks and the fact that she wouldn't put out for not being able to keep a job, but I really don't believe that. She seemed to have no awareness of the fact that she was a servant and what that meant to her standing in the world. The girl couldn't keep her mouth shut and her rudeness contained if you stapled her lips shut. I think that was the real reason she couldn't keep a job.

Dominic was a pretty bland character. He was made out to be this dissolute rake that still managed to be sexy to Fallon. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. Usually there is something about the rakes that wallow in darkness that fascinates you even as their actions repel you. He didn't have that spark. Because of this lack I couldn't understand what Fallon was so fascinated by. She apparently saw something in him that fascinated her enough to look past his skeezy behavior. I wish I had seen it too.

One last point... I really dislike the fact that Fallon's charade lasted for so long. It made the rest of their relationship seem really rushed. It seemed like the minute Dominic saw she had breasts he worshipped her. Very irritating. I don't know if I'll try this author again. If the rest of her books are styled in this manner I don't think they'll work for me. show less

I do like a Cinderella storyline. While the heroine was passingly described as plain, it wasn't significant enough to warrant this book being placed on that specific shelf. Poor girl with a childhood full of abuse and pain dresses up in trousers to get a decent wage (can't argue with that). Most of the angst was about the dissolute behavior of the rake hero; I prefer the angst to be focused around insecurity and healing from trauma. But still a good read. I'll be checking out the rest of the trilogy. (3.5 stars)

An extremely sexy post-Regency romance with a cross-dressing heroine. It starts out promisingly enough, but the unsympathetic male lead and unconvincing situations sink it.

"Sins of a Wicked Duke" is Sophie Jordan's latest historical with moderate heat about a young woman whose temperment and looks have made it hard for her to keep a job. So she does the unthinkable--cuts her long hair, disguises herself, and hires on as a footman!

Fallon's life took a hard turn as a young girl when her father died. She was sent to a school where her flame-red hair earned her especially harsh treatment from the headmaster. She hated every moment, but did cherish the two friends she made and kept. After escaping the school, she's had a hard time earning her keep as a servant, simply because she refuses to become a man's toy and tends to speak her mind. After losing yet another job, Fallon comes up with the perfect show more plan...she'll become a footman! But 'best laid plans' and all that since the house she hires out to is that of the licentious duke. If anyone can penetrate her disguise, it's certainly a man who knows women as well as the Duke.

Dominic grew up with all the privileges of his station. He also grew up under the severe tutelage and control of his grandfather, who blamed Dominic's father for the ruination and death of his daughter, Dominic's mother, and was determined to punish Dominic for his 'blood'. After being told so often that he was a devil, Dominic decided to live up to his name...and he's done quite the bang up job of it ever since. Now he's jaded and becoming bored with life, until he meets a beautiful servant girl he can't seem to forget.

Not a bad read, just not very memorable. I had difficulty becoming attached to either of the lead characters and that affected my enjoyment of the plot. What was nice about this story is the lack of any danger or intrigue. This is purely a romance about two people who should be all wrong for each other...but discover that nothing levels the playing field like love. show less