One Night of Surrender (Wicked Dukes Club #2) by Darcy Burke-Review & Excerpt Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 30 2019
After one passionate night a decade ago, Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh, never forgot Isabelle, the intelligent, witty and forbidden daughter of a head of college at Oxford. However, since suffering a disastrous marriage to an unfaithful wife, the duke has vowed never to succumb to temptation again. Until the day he discovers his friend’s governess is the one woman who still haunts his dreams.
Once penniless, Isabelle Cortland has finally saved enough money to finance a school for impoverished girls. But when a chance encounter rekindles buried desires, Isabelle knows she can’t be a duke’s mistress and a headmistress at the same time. No longer a naïve girl, Isabelle won’t repeat the past. Not even for one night of surrender…
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REVIEW:Darcy’s done it again! One Night of Surrender, this installment of the Wicked Duke’s Club is entertaining and unforgettable.
In a youthful night of passion, ten years prior, Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh and Isabelle Cortland, daughter of an Oxford professor, shared a love that marked each other’s soul for the rest of their lives.
Ten years later, both having married other people and lost those spouses to death, found themselves crossing paths again. Valentine’s unfaithful wife left him single again but with a fear of ever falling in love again. Isabelle’s unhappy marriage ended with the death of both her father and her gambling husband. However, she takes solace in her singleness, loving the freedom of making her own decisions and hopes to start a school for girls. Love, for her too, seems unlikely.
Currently, Isabelle is a governess with a passion for teaching the girls in her charge different languages and serious science and mathematics, great but not the norm for girls of the time period. Valentine a widow whose unfaithful wife died along with the child, has been healing and taking care of his duty and sister. He’s getting pressure to remarry and produce an heir by his grandmother.
When Isabelle’s employer, Lord Barkley and his family need a place to stay while their house renovations are being finished, he asks his friend Duke Eastleigh if he can help. Isabelle is so afraid for anyone to find out about her past with Eastleigh, she hopes she can avoid crossing his path. However, fate has other plans!
When Valentine discovers who Barkley’s governess is, he begins to dream of the woman who left her mark on his ten years earlier
Author Burke makes this wonderfully entertaining tale of fated lovers a great and rocky ride. A wonderful addition to this great series.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Georgianna S.
Garbed in the immaculately tailored suit of clothing he’d worn to dinner, he grinned, and her entire body heated in response. “You do remember my name.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” That was all she managed to get out before he pushed past her and strode into the room.
He frowned as he surveyed the chamber. “This is very small.”
“You act as though you’ve never been up here.”
“Not never, but not in some time.” He straightened and gave her a decisive nod. “I’ll move you downstairs.”
Closer to him. That was a terrible notion. “No, you won’t.”
He took a step toward her, the frown returning. “A governess isn’t a servant.”
“Nor is she a member of the family.” Footsteps on the stairs filled her with alarm. “You need to go. You can’t be in here.”
He rotated his head, presenting his ear toward the door and took another step forward. “Is someone coming?”
“Yes,” she hissed.
“Then I can’t very well leave. I’d walk right by whomever it is.” He sounded utterly unconcerned.
Isabelle closed the door with a firm click. Then she spun around to glare at him. “Are you trying to get me tossed out?”
“I would never toss you out. And no, I’m not trying to have your employment terminated. Though I will say I never imagined I’d see you as a governess.” His gaze dipped over her as if he were assessing what he had seen her as—and she didn’t want to know.
Too aware of his lingering attention and the fact that she wore only a night rail covered with a rather thin dressing gown, she crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a cool stare. “You need to go.”
“And I shall. Soon. After we…talk.” He looked around the room once more, and his gaze settled on the diminutive chair situated in the corner next to her miniscule nightstand.
“We have nothing to talk about,” Isabelle said.
He moved to the chair and sat down. “Come now, after a decade, there is plenty to discuss. I could sit here with you all night.”
All night. They’d done that once. But they hadn’t been sitting. Or talking. Well, there had been some talking. And some sitting…of sorts. She blushed at the memory.
He gave her a sly look. “What are you thinking about?”
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional contemporary romance. A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. Visit Darcy online at www.darcyburke.com and sign up for her newsletter, follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/darcyburke, or like her Facebook page,www.facebook.com/DarcyBurkeFans.
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