A DUKE BY DEFAULT
Series: Reluctant Royals #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Alyssa Cole
Release Date: July 31, 2018
Award-winning author Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series continues with a woman on a quest to be the heroine of her own story and the duke in shining armor she rescues along the way
New York City socialite and perpetual hot mess Portia Hobbs is tired of disappointing her family, friends, and—most importantly—herself. An apprenticeship with a struggling swordmaker in Scotland is a chance to use her expertise and discover what she’s capable of. Turns out she excels at aggravating her gruff silver fox boss…when she’s not having inappropriate fantasies about his sexy Scottish burr.
Tavish McKenzie doesn’t need a rich, spoiled American telling him how to run his armory…even if she is infuriatingly good at it. Tav tries to rebuff his apprentice, and his attraction to her, but when Portia accidentally discovers that he’s the secret son of a duke, rough-around-the-edges Tav becomes her newest makeover project.
Forging metal into weapons and armor is one thing, but when desire burns out of control and the media spotlight gets too hot to bear, can a commoner turned duke and his posh apprentice find lasting love?
“You’re my liege. You’re the person I’m fighting for.”
Alyssa Cole delivered another sweet and heartfelt romance with A Duke by Default! She continues to be one of my go-to contemporary romance authors these days. There’s just something about her stories and her characters that speaks to me as a reader. And this book, is a great example of what this talented author can do!
Portia Hobbs might be my favorite Alyssa Cole heroine to date. When she was introduced, she was a bit of a hot mess. She has a truckload of issues that made her an interesting character to me. I didn’t like her that much in A Princess in Theory but I was curious about her. And I knew that Alyssa Cole is going to do her story justice.
She was done with fuckboys, and fuckbosses for that matter, no matter how sexy their accents were.
I was so right. Alyssa Cole not only made me sympathize with Portia, she made me love her. I wasn’t even halfway in when I knew without a doubt that Portia would become one of my favorite contemporary romance heroines. No joke. Cole did a fantastic job exposing all of Portia’s wounds, her hopes and dreams, and things that make her what or who she is. And I loved everything I read about her.
But it wasn’t just Portia who made this book for me. The hero, Tavish MacKenzie was Portia’s boss, and he’s grumpy and hot as hell. And if you’ve been following me for long enough, you’d know that I have a weakness for hot, grumpy heroes. Tav is a world-class grump, and he is perfect for Portia. Oh, he did some knuckleheaded things and had put his foot in his mouth a couple of times but he is a great hero.
Her boss acted like a gruff, annoying jerk, but dammit there was something about a man who could casually mention Middle Cornish at dinner conversation without sounding pretentious that Portia found irresistible. It didn’t matter—she would resist.
I loved these two characters individually and as a couple. Their romance was emotionally rich and compelling. It tugged at my emotions without being manipulative. The interaction between Tav and Portia is taut with sexual tension and chemistry, I had to stop and fan myself a couple of times because their chemistry was off the freaking charts.
But it wasn’t just their chemistry that drew me in. It was also the fact that these two characters genuinely liked and respected each other. Their banter and how they related to each other was just as satisfying as their red-hot chemistry.
Not only that, I also loved the way Alyssa Cole wrote the secondary characters in this book. None of them felt like throwaways. Even that librarian who was in the book for like two pages, made me smile. Cole makes you notice them. She has a knack of elevating secondary characters that makes you genuinely interested in reading about them. I adored Jamie and Cheryl as well as Tavish’s parents. His interactions with them is probably my favorites, outside of his interactions with Portia, of course.
“We were attracted to each other, we kissed, you humped my leg a little, and everything’s fine now.”
We also get to know Portia’s accomplished twin, Reggie. Although, I wish there was more of her. Two other standout characters that I really liked was Nya and Johann. Eeep! Oh my gosh, there’s so much I want to learn about these two. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything but, you guys, I’m even more excited to read the third book in this series. I cannot wait!
My only gripe about this book was the lack of epilogue. I mean, it doesn’t even have to have an epilogue but I wish the ending was longer. It felt abrupt to me and there were some confrontations that I wanted to happen. I’m going to spoiler tag them, so enter at your own risk:
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One, I wish Portia get to confront her parents! I was really upset about the things they said, albeit they don’t realize how hurtful they were. But still, they really did a number on Portia.
Two. I wish Portia had told Tavish and Reggie and her parents about her ADHD diagnosis. I understood why Portia might have reservations but still, I wish she had told someone.
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However, those things did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Overall, A Duke by Default was fabulously charming read. You really won’t want to miss this one. I know some readers are worried about Portia because of the things she did in the first book, but guys, trust. Alyssa Cole made me love this imperfect character and if she can do that to me, I reckon, she has a chance of making you love Portia as well.
“You can think what you want about yourself, but I’ve two eyes and a brain in my head and the view right now? It’s bloody brilliant.”
SOMEONE ELSE’S OCEAN
We’d become magnetic and inseparable and I let it happen in my selfish haze knowing it would rip us to shreds to lose it.
Someone Else’s Ocean will not be a book you read, it’ll be a book you experience. It’s a book that’ll take you on an emotional journey filled with heartbreak, hope, and second chances. It will tug at your every heart string, it’ll make you feel, it will break you, and it will put the broken pieces back together again. It was a beautiful romance that was brimming with emotion and I loved every heart wrenching page of it.
With over 1.5 million books sold world wide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.
DIRTY SEXY PLAYER
Weston King initially got my attention in 
ALMOST HEAVEN
All.
THE DUKE BUYS A BRIDE
KISS AN ANGEL
I have NO idea how I missed this book by one of my all time favorite authors, considering I’ve practically read her entire backlist. But I did. And I’ve been kicking myself for days for taking this long to do it. Because this book? THIS BOOK WAS MAGICAL! It is hands down my favorite contemporary romance, not only from this author, but period. Yes. It was THAT good. Actually, no. It wasn’t just good. It was brilliant. It was enchanting, sigh inducing, heartwarming, funny, swoony, PERFECTION.
Suddenly sweet and somewhat sheltered Daisy that’s used to globe trotting and dining with celebrities with her flighty and selfish past model mother, finds herself thrust into circus life, with a husband that’s determined to prove to her that she can’t hack it. Put to the test on just how much of the ordinary life she can endure, Daisy soon finds that there’s something almost magical about the circus, and more than meets the eye to her husband.
Daisy was the sweetest, most endearing heroine I’ve ever read. I loved all of her vulnerabilities and insecurities. I loved her soft sort of strength and the way she finds herself in a place she last expected.
CHURCH.
Holy hell. I mean holy hell! These might be the most fucked up characters I’ve read in a long while. Or ever. I’m still trying to figure out how I felt about them. But what I do know? Is days after finishing, I’m still thinking about it. And that certainly stands for something.
I don’t want to tell you too much about the plot or the characters, because I don’t want to ruin the suspense of it. And let me tell you, this book is full of it. It’s twisted and full of twists with an undercurrent of something so dark, you’re almost afraid to name it. It’s like Charles Manson meet Natural Born Killers sort of twisted.
SIREN BELOVED
My favorite installment so far in the Texas Sires series! This book had it all; an emotional and angsty second chance romance, a sizzling MMF menage, a delicious grovel, and three people with deep emotional scars from their past finding that love really can cure all wounds. I adored this book! Simply adored it! I devoured it in one sitting and it made me fall in love with Lexi Blake’s writing all over again. This author has this incredible ability to write the most emotional stories, wrap around them some incredibly hot romance, and then tie it all off with a dose of suspense. The result is a completely unputdownable book that only gets better with every page.
BECAUSE YOU’RE MINE
When I saw that one of my favorite authors will be writing a mafia romance, I was all over it like white on rice. I didn’t even bother reading the blurb before adding it. And then when I saw the cover? I was basically frothing at the mouth to get my grabby little hands on it. Admittedly, it’s not often where a book can live up to a ridiculously hot cover for me. But not only did this book do it, it exceeded them!
Because You’re Mine was a page turner from beginning to finish. It was a sizzling, aciton-packed thrill ride full of twists and turns. I was immediately enraptured with these characters and their story.
Lorenzo oozes danger from every pore and screams heartbreak waiting to happen. But there’s something about him that draws her like a moth to a flame, and it’s not long before the fiery passion between them begins to consume them both. But they each hide dangerous secrets from each other, and it doesn’t take long before Cat’s past catches up to her in the most deadly of ways.
