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    If I Only Had a Duke
    If I Only Had a Duke
    If I Only Had a Duke
    Audiobook9 hours

    If I Only Had a Duke

    Written by Lenora Bell

    Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    After three failed seasons and a disastrous jilting, Lady Dorothea Beaumont has had more than enough of her family's scheming. She won't domesticate a duke, entangle an earl, or vie for a viscount. She will quietly exit to her aunt's Irish estate for a life of blissful freedom. Until an arrogant, sinfully handsome duke singles her out for a waltz, making Thea the most popular belle of the season.

    The duke ruined her plans, and he'll just have to fix them.

    Dalton, Duke of Osborne, is far too heartless for debutantes or marriage-he uses dalliances and public spectacle to distract from his real purpose: finding the man who destroyed his family. When his search leads to Ireland, the last thing he needs is the determined, achingly innocent Thea, who arrives in the dead of night demanding he escort her to her aunt. His foolish agreement may prove his undoing. The road to the Emerald Isle is fraught with unforeseen dangers, but the greatest peril of all might just be discovering that he has a heart . . . and he's losing it to Thea.

    Contains mature themes.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 17, 2017
    ISBN9781515985082
    If I Only Had a Duke
    Author

    Lenora Bell

    Lenora Bell is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of historical romances. A teacher with an MFA in Creative Writing, Lenora has lived and worked on five continents. She currently lives in Colombia with her partner and two tiger-striped rescue kitties. She loves hearing from readers! Sign up for her mailing list to hear about new books, sales, and giveaways.

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    Reviews for If I Only Had a Duke

    4/5

    50 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I have a new author to add to my repertoire. Thanks, it was so good .
    • 3/5
      Didn't like the narrator much. Good characters and chemistry but plot devolved a ways in
    • 4/5
      Same as with the first in the series, some of the premises are a tad unlikely, but if you're willing to overlook those then the story is quite enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      I loved these characters. I enjoy that so far, this series has had a major romance and a minor romance in each one. My chest definitely got tight quite a few times because there was so much pain in the past for the OTP. Hard not to root for them to make it, though. There's not a lot of sex, but what there is is steamy and worth it.
    • 5/5
      If I Only Had a Duke in which the “real” Dorothea gets her happily ever after, is as much fun as was How the Duke Was Won.

      Here are the reasons behind my love of this story. The excerpt below is of our heroine sneaking in the hero's room, pretending to be a masseuse, while he's half naked waiting for his massage...

      "And then the true enormity of her task became clear. She was meant to climb. On top. Of a duke. She should have brought a rope and pickaxe. This wasn't a crossroads -it was a mountain expedition."

      I also loved the author's prose.

      "In the lamplight, Osborne's face was formed from obdurate angles and foreboding shadows, as if the playful cleft in the middle of his chin had wandered there from someone else's visage and lost the way home."

      And how can you not love a hero as described like this:

      "Everyone knew he burned through mistresses as if they were kindling and he aimed to start a bonfire large enough to incinerate London."

      Can I just say that the sensuality was off the charts?! Check it out!

      "His lips were gentle, yet demanding, moving over her as a brush slid across a canvas. She felt his kiss spread all the way down to her leather-encased toes, like a drop of Prussian-blue watercolor paint touched to a wash of water to create a hazy, cloud-strewn blue sky."


      .... sigh ..............


      I have no doubt that the third book Blame It on the Duke will be just as good and fun!

      Melanie for b2b

      Complimentary copy provided by the author
    • 5/5
      I’ve found my new favorite romance author. Lenora Bell, that’s you!If I Only Had A Duke begins with a peek at some correspondence between the Lady Dorothea (or Disastrous Dorothea as she’s known among the ton) and Dalton, Duke of Osborne. Dorothea is anxious to catalog an attic full of artwork that is hidden away in Dalton’s ancestral home in Ireland but the duke, for deep and dark reasons, is adamant that things remain as they are. So Dorothea sets out to waylay the roguish duke at a ball in London and plead her case. She certainly isn’t there to snare a husband, having failed for three previous seasons to do so; she simply wants to be ignored by society, return to Ireland where she hopes to live with her aunt, and catalog the duke’s artwork, of course. He wants nothing to do with the lady and so he decides that by honoring her with the first dance of the season she will be so beset by suitors that she’ll forget about his artwork. His ploy works but Dorothea is so angry that he has thwarted her hoped-for social failure that she seeks revenge upon the man. What follows is humorous, poignant, soul-wrenching (on the part of the duke), and love-inspiring.A terrific journey through the British countryside and a boat ride later, you’ll be totally involved with these characters. I enjoyed the duke’s male companion, Connell, who provides much of the humor, especially when their carriage is beset upon by a girl dressed in boy’s clothing trying to pass herself off as a highwayman.Looking forward to the next book by this talented author.
    • 3/5
      3.5 Stars | Hot SteamAfter adoring Lenora Bell’s dazzling debut, How the Duke Was Won, I couldn’t wait to read Lady Dorothea and The Duke of Osborne’s happily ever after. Though not as spellbinding as the first novel in the Disgraceful Dukes series, Thea and Garrett’s tale is a nicely written and pleasing afternoon diversion that’s filled with madcap adventure, humor, rich romance, and toe-curling passion.The instant Garrett appeared as a disgruntled pen pal responding to Thea, the uninvited and pushy miss invading his estate’s attics, I was in lust. Combative, formidable, and wildly appealing, that enraged duke was just my flavor of alpha male—complicated, tortured, gruff but honorable, and a phenom in the bedroom. He commanded and enthralled in each scene he inhabited. And, ultimately, it was his delectable character that inspired me to keep turning the pages because I found Thea’s character problematic for a lot of the story. While undoubtedly smart, very sweet, and kind hearted, her excessive quirks, absurd snap decisions, and general over-the-top behavior tested my suspension of disbelief over and over. I would have preferred less Thea-driven vaudevillian escapades in exchange for more potent, intense, and emotionally raw scenes to propel the plot. My opinion of her began to shift positively however when I discovered that her impulsiveness, blind gusto, and irrepressibleness in Garrett’s embrace became wicked and wanton assets that were a delight to read. The radiant Thea I observed swept up in passion—exploring, experiencing, and in full bloom—was the Thea I’d yearned for. Thankfully, as the novel progressed, her green, sheltered perspective seasons, her outlandish actions become endearing, and she emerges a sympathetic, grounded, worldly, and relatable woman.And those steamy scenes that changed my mind? Oh my goodness! So many to enjoy! Lengthy, lusciously detailed, and blistering hot, their encounters are happily seared into my memory. Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review.