THE DAY OF THE DUCHESS
Series: Scandal & Scoundrel #3
Genre: Historical Romance
Author: Sarah MacLean
Release Date: June 27, 2017
The one woman he will never forget…
Malcolm Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven, has lived the last three years in self-imposed solitude, paying the price for a mistake he can never reverse and a love he lost forever. The dukedom does not wait, however, and Haven requires an heir, which means he must find himself a wife by summer’s end. There is only one problem—he already has one.
The one man she will never forgive…
After years in exile, Seraphina, Duchess of Haven, returns to London with a single goal—to reclaim the life she left and find happiness, unencumbered by the man who broke her heart. Haven offers her a deal; Sera can have her freedom, just as soon as she finds her replacement…which requires her to spend the summer in close quarters with the husband she does not want, but somehow cannot resist.
A love that neither can deny…
The duke has a single summer to woo his wife and convince her that, despite their broken past, he can give her forever, making every day…
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DESERTED DUKE DISAVOWED!
August 19, 1836
House of Lords, ParliamentShe’d left him two years, seven months ago, exactly.
Malcolm Marcus Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven looked to the tiny wooden calendar wheels inlaid into the blotter on his desk in his private office above the House of Lords.
August the nineteenth, 1836. The last day of the parliamentary session, filled with pomp and idle. And lingering memory. He spun the wheel with the six embossed upon it. Five. Four. He took a deep breath.
Get out. He heard his own words, cold and angry with betrayal, echoing with quiet menace. Don’t ever return.
He touched the wheel again. August became July. May. March.
January the nineteenth, 1834. The day she left.
His fingers moved without thought, finding comfort in the familiar click of the wheels.
April the seventeenth, 1833.
The way I feel about you . . . Her words now—soft and full of temptation. I’ve never felt anything like this.
He hadn’t, either. As though light and breath and hope had flooded the room, filling all the dark spaces. Filling his lungs and heart. And all because of her.
Until he’d discovered the truth. The truth, which had mattered so much until it hadn’t mattered at all.
Where had she gone?
The clock in the corner of the room ticked and tocked, counting the seconds until Haven was due in his seat in the hallowed main chamber of the House of Lords, where men of higher purpose and passion had sat before him for generations. His fingers played the little calendar like a virtuoso, as though they’d done this dance a hundred times before. A thousand.
And they had.
March the first, 1833. The day they met.
So, they let simply anyone become a duke, do they? No deference. Teasing and charm and pure, unadulterated beauty.
If you think dukes are bad, imagine what they accept from duchesses?
That smile. As though she’d never met another man. As though she’d never wanted to. He’d been hers the moment he’d seen that smile. Before that. Imagine, indeed.
And then it had fallen apart. He’d lost everything, and then lost her. Or perhaps it had been the reverse. Or perhaps it was all the same.
Would there ever be a time when he stopped thinking of her? Ever a date that did not remind him of her? Of the time that had stretched like an eternity since she’d left?
Where had she gone?
The clock struck eleven, heavy chimes sounding in the room, echoed by a dozen others sounding down the long, oaken corridor beyond, summoning men of longstanding name to the duty that had been theirs before they drew breath.
Haven spun the calendar wheels with force, leaving them as they lay. November the thirty-seventh, 3842. A fine date—one on which he had absolutely no chance of thinking of her.
Tell me, Seraphina. If there were no one—no sisters or god or goddess to protect, no American, no aristocracy to watch and judge? What would you do if I pursued you?”
The Day of the Duchess is one of those books that makes me go, “This is the reason why I read romance!” Does it have a healthy dose of angst? Yes, it does. It also has one of the best grovels I’ve read in a while. The satisfying ending was worth every single heartache I, and the characters, went through. And every emotional moment in this book was earned.
Seraphina, Duchess of Haven, is back from exile with a single mission: get a divorce from her estranged husband, Malcolm Bevingstoke. The Duke however won’t let her go without a fight. He has regretted his actions in the past and is willing to do anything to win his wife back. But he has to contend with a lot of obstacles before he can even begin to fix what he broke years ago. So he concocted a crazy plan. Ask Sera to accompany him on his estate to help him choose her replacement and then she’ll get her divorce.
It’s a crazy plan from a man who’s desperate to win back his wife and atone for his sins in the past. What he didn’t know is Seraphina is desperate, too. But for different reasons. And it’s something that I totally could relate to. It’s something that we take for granted now but was totally not an option for women back then. And this is important to the story and to Sera’s character arc and it made me understand her motivation and sympathize with her.
The tension between them was unmistakable. These are two people who clearly still love each other desperately but are so desperately broken that they can’t see beyond their own pain. Sarah MacLean did a phenomenal job at writing both of these characters at their darkest moments. They both made mistakes. Malcolm’s transgression would have been a deal breaker for me if not for the fact that the author was able to convince me that he truly regretted his actions. And some of his actions were not immediately known to Sera. She didn’t know what he’s done to make it up to her after she left.
And that’s one of the beauty of this book. I went through it knowing that these two are still desperately in love and that they deserved each other. I want them to work out their issues because them not being together would be a tragedy. But man, did they have to work for it.
I mentioned above how much the satisfying ending was so earned. And this is the reason why. Both characters had to find a common ground first before they could even move on.
I don’t blame Sera for not trusting Malcolm at his word. What she went through was heart-wrenching. At the same time, as much as I hated what Malcolm did, it was impossible not to be moved by how genuinely sorry he was for the past. And he suffered as well. I loved, LOVED how their relationship evolved.
Apart from Sera and Malcolm, the Day of the Duchess are full of interesting characters. Of course, Sera’s sisters, the Soiled S’s are by the far the most interesting ones. But there were characters here who really stood out as well. Caleb and the ladies that were supposed to vie for the title of the next Duchess of Haven were charming and wonderful. I’m so looking forward to reading Caleb’s book. I won’t tell you his potential partner. You’d have to read this book to find out. But man, that’s going to be another angsty one for sure.
Overall, I LOVED this book. The romance was just top-notch. And the grovel…*swoon* It took me quite a bit of time to recover after I finished it because it was that good. Well done, Ms. MacLean. Well done!
THE PRINCE
You’re probably like, “Wtf with the mermaid gif?” WELL, you should read the book to find out wtf :).
SILVER SILENCE
ONE IS A PROMISE
It doesn’t matter what this woman writes, she manages to hook me with just the first page alone. Her words are riveting, crackling with so much intensity, you feel like her characters are going to jump right out of the pages. They’re living, breathing things that are so real, it’s hard to believe you’re reading fiction. Her stories are live wires full of so much chemistry, it crackles and burns. And this book? It was all of those things and more. So much more!
What happens when you find a once in a lifetime kind of love, only to lose it in a way that you’re still not able to move on from? That’s exactly what Danni is trying to figure out. Three years ago she was living the dream with the love of her life; Cole. After a ridiculously sweet meet-cute, they fall hard and fast. They plan their life together. They plan a wedding. But then everything gets shattered and Danni is left alone to pick up the pieces.
What I really loved is how believable Danni’s connection is to Trace without taking anything away from her memory of Cole.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.
ONE IS A PROMISE
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Shivers. I have honest to god shivers. This author is simply incomparable. She writes such raw, emotional, sensual stories that are unlike any I’ve ever read. What makes them so memorable is that they’re just so…real. They’re immeasurably satisfying but without having to be wrapped up in a perfect little bow at the end. I truly believe that Behind The Curtain is Kery’s best book to date and easily my favorite by her. It was such a beautiful and poignant second chance romance that was packed with as much heat as it had feeling. I love every page of it.
Eight years ago, behind the veil of youthful innocence and nativity, Asher Gaites and Laila Barek fell in love. It was was lovely, pure, and true. Asher was just out of university and about to take on his career outside of his parent’s influence and pull. Laila was a sheltered young woman just discovering the wonders of love and lust. They had all the odds stacked against them; Laila’s conservative Moroccan family, Asher’s upcoming move to a different state to begin his job, yet none of it could stop them from falling head over heels…only to be ripped apart.
If you haven’t read a book by this author yet, you can’t start with a better book than this one. It was so much more than just a romance. I loved every page of it and simply can’t recommend it enough.
TOO HARD TO FORGET
Show of hands; who likes a good grovel?
How about an EPIC grovel?
How about a grovel that lasts for almost the entire half of a book?
How about when that grovel is wrapped into one of the sexiest and most delicious second chance romance stories?
And what if ALL THAT is written by the queen of dirty talk, Tessa Bailey?
Confession time, this was possibly my least anticipated book in the series. *cringes*
ATTACHMENTS
Beth – This book was barely about her. The only pov we see is when she is writing emails with Jennifer. And how Lincoln sees her and feels about her. (mmmm…..Lincoln) She has a boyfriend for almost the whole book (no, there isn’t cheating in this book), and I had no idea how Lincoln was going to get the girl!! (mmmm…..Lincoln)
This book has a sloooooooow burn. Most of the time, slow burn is a no-go for me. But this book could slow burn forever, and I wouldn’t even care. I cried. I laughed. So much laughing. So much feeling. So much.
Damn it, I can’t even write a review for this book because it’s so unique. It’s not even a book. It’s life. BOOM!
MIDNIGHT TARGET
FINALLY! After what felt like the longest wait ever, we get the story for Ash and Cate, and Sully and Liam. And while you can read this book as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the series in order to truly appreciate the many intricacies, plot and character developments. A lot of the characters are introduced early in the series and while the author gives plenty of background in the book, it still has a much better effect reading in order.
On the backdrop of the non-stop action, we get a secondary romance plot line for Sully and Liam. Years in the making, these two men finally face what’s been in front of them…an undeniable lust and an undercurrent of something much more…
WALK OF SHAME
Where has this book been all my life?!! Where?!! I don’t have the words to describe all the love I had for this story! It was addictingly delicious and wickedly funny! Walk Of Shame is a book that will leave you with a full heart and a goofy smile on your face. It will make you swoon and make you laugh. It’s a book that you’d be incapable of reading without smiling the entire time. It was, in a word, PERFECTION.
I adored every single page of this book. Every. Single. Page. The friendships between Georgie and her girlfriends, the witty banter between her and Andrew, the slow burn, the crackle of attraction, EVERYTHING. Everything just flowed effortlessly to make for one unputdownable read that left me with a goofy grin from beginning to finish. I can say with utmost certainty that this may have been my favorite book by this author to date. If you’re looking for a witty rom com with a dash of enemies to lovers, you seriously can’t go wrong with this book!
