Sins of a Duke by Stacy Reid – a Review

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Description:
She would be his perfect revenge…

All of the young ladies whispered about the Duke of Mondvale in hushed tones, their eyes following his tall, dark figure with barely disguised lust. For the newly-ostracized Lady Constance Thornton, he is magnetic and altogether desirable. Irresistibly so. Since her reputation is already ruined in London society, why shouldn’t she be impudent and dance with the scandalous “Lord of Sin”?

Little does she know of his plans. The beautiful and innocent Lady Constance is no mere plaything for Lucan Wynwood. She will be his revenge. By ruining her, he will have his vengeance against herbrother. Except that the Lady Constance is full of surprises… and now she could well be the ruin of him.

Review:

Sins of a Duke is the 3^rd novel for Stacey Reid in her Scandalous House of Calydon series. Having not read the previous two stories in this series I didn’t find it hard to follow along or get involved in the story or characters. The setup and general plot of the story is well orchestrated and laid out for the reader, allowing one to quickly become immersed in the world that Ms. Reid creates in Sins of a Duke.

I very much enjoyed this book. It begins with a mission of revenge but soon turns into one of romance and love. Our hero the Duke of Mondvale is set upon a quest for revenge against Constance’s brother the Duke of Calydon over what happened to his dear sister. Only one small problem, his target, Lady Constance becomes more then just an act of revenge for our Duke Lucan Wynwood. She becomes the object of affection and love he never thought possible for a man like him. Ever since that fateful night and their chance meeting and dance under the stars Lucan is taken by Constance and can’t seem to keep his mind on matters of revenge. Instead of staying to his plan, every time he and Constance are together his mind goes off in a totally different direction.

For Lady Constance, being seen with the Lord of Sin doesn’t seem to be a problem for her since she is already ruined in the eyes of the Haute Monde for being a bastard. The Beautiful Bastard has since become what she is referred to by the Haute Monde since it was discovered that her mother had an affair and she was the product. Since she feels she will never be called upon by someone in the higher circles why not go after something that is forbidden and strictly for herself. I loved Constance’s character. She’s a breath of fresh air among the stuffiness of the women of the Haute Monde. How they looked down upon everything and everyone who they didn’t deem worthy drives me batty. I love it when someone stands up to them and decides to stick it to them. Enter Constance who goes by the beat of her own drum. This is one of the reasons Lucan is so taken by her. Even though it’s his fault society found out about her birth situation she goes about her day and doesn’t let society see that their dismissal of her bothers her. Constance is a very strong, intelligent and strong minded women. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go get it, even if it means going in disguise to a well known gentlemen’s club run by none other then our dashing Duke Lucan Wynwood.

Constance and Lucan are perfect for each other. Both are very strong characters, know what they want and will go after it with everything they have. Their scenes together are sweet and funny at times, while others are passionate and sexually charged. We get to see what it is that motivates both of them and how they’ve both come to this particular point in their lives. The romance between them isn’t rushed and gives the reader the chance to learn about each as individuals and as a couple. Keeping the romance moving along at a steady pace while keeping Lucan’s plans of revenge simmering on the outer edges of that romance adds a spark and kick to the story and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see if Constance will ever find out the truth of Lucan’s sudden appearance in her life, and if she does what will it mean for Lucan’s growing feelings of love for Constance. Does this romance stand a chance with a quest for revenge as the motivation for their courtship?

Sins of a Duke is a fast paced quick read, that’s filled with revenge, redemption, passion and romance. The story is well played and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see what will happen next for Lucan’s plan of revenge and his growing feelings of love towards his unsuspecting target Lady Constance. This was a fun read, that kept me entertained from beginning to end. If you are a fan of historical romance that’s filled will all of the above, then I highly recommend this one to you.

For now, happy reading.

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Publisher