The Duke of Desire by Jess Michaels Series: The 1797 Club #9
Published by The Passionate Pen on September 18, 2018
Genres: Romance
Source: Netgalley
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The 9th Book in the beloved 1797 Club series from USA Today Bestseller Jess Michaels
Robert Smithton, Duke of Roseford is known for his lusty appetites and his cold, cold heart. Still thanks to his title and his fortune, everyone wants him and he’s bored of it all. He wants something, but he cannot place what exactly that is. Until he meets Katherine, the Countess of Gainsworth.
Married for six months to an old man who died when they were making love, Katherine is just returning to Society. Although scandal follows her, so does interest, as the men of Society wonder about her prowess if it could kill a man. When Robert begins to pursue her, she is horrified. After all, she blames him for the circumstances that sent her into her loveless marriage in the first place.
When Katherine ignores him, Robert only pushes harder and ultimately she begins to wonder if revenge is a dish best served through desire. What she finds when she touches him at last is pleasure unlike any she’s ever known, and a connection she does not wish to feel. Now she must decide if she wants revenge or happiness and Robert must determine if love is worth fighting for. Length: Full-length novel
Heat Level: Seduction, scandal and lots of sin!
This book is part of a series (The 1797 Club), but can be read as a standalone book.
I received The Duke of Desire for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Also in this series: The Daring Duke, Her Favorite Duke, The Broken Duke, The Silent Duke (The 1797 Club, #4), The Duke of Nothing, The Undercover DukeThe ninth duke to tell his story is one I’ve wondered about since the very beginning of this series. Robert Smithton, Duke of Roseford, was shown to be the most lusty rake in all of England and certainly the biggest one of The 1797 Club. In the first eight novels, several of his exploits are revealed. One being sharing a lover with another member of the club at the same time. Another was dragging his brother duke, Matthew, to a masquerade where sexual favors were traded like candy. I didn’t have a very good impression of him until his involvement in Matthew and Isabel’s story, The Duke of Hearts. He finally showed what a loyal friend he was and that there was more beneath the lusty exterior. I was excited to finally get to the story that describes what actually makes Robert tick. It is more tragic than one might imagine. As it turns out, he needed to stumble over and over and over again to find love in a place he never expected.
Katherine, the Countess of Gainsworth, is just coming out of mourning from a husband who died while they were in bed. She was forced to marry Gainsworth, twenty-five years her senior, when her pious father caught her in a barely compromising position. After her father’s hateful words about her wanton nature and the circumstances of her husband’s death, she fears everything about returning to society. With her late mother’s sister by her side, Katherine is brought into the circle of Duchesses. The wives of The 1797 Club embrace her into their lives and we get a chance to see her form lasting friendships with Isabel, Emma, Charlotte, Meg, Adelaide, and Helena.
I loved seeing so many of the dukes and duchesses in this story! Both Robert and Katherine’s interactions with the rest of the club was an integral element to their love story. This was no ordinary love story by far. While Katherine is not the first widow to be pursued by one of the club, she is the first to want revenge on a club member. Michaels takes this new angle of a heroine and unrepentant rake and pulls their strings to make them create a new dance only they could perform.
If you are a fan of this series, you need to read this novel as soon as possible. If you thought the other novels were passionate, this one burns the pages over and over again. I’m sad that only one duke remains, but I adore this series so much that I will continue re-read each and every one of them for years to come. I anxiously await to hear how Kit falls in love and Michaels brings this fantastic series to a close.
The 1797 Club Series
The Daring Duke – James Rylon, Duke of Abernathe
Read my review HERE!
Her Favorite Duke – Simon Greene, Duke of Crestwood
Read my review HERE!
The Broken Duke – Graham Everly, Duke of Northfields
Read my review HERE!
The Silent Duke – Ewan Hoffstead, Duke of Donburrow
Read my review HERE!
The Duke of Nothing – Baldwin Undercross, Duke of Sheffield
Read my review HERE!
The Undercover Duke – Lucas Vincent, Duke of Willowy
Read my review HERE!
The Duke of Hearts – Matthew Cornwallis, Duke of Tyndall
Read my review HERE!
The Duke Who Lied – Hugh Margolis, Duke of Brighthollow
Read my review HERE!
The Duke of Desire – Robert Smithton, Duke of Roseford – September 2018
The Last Duke – Christopher Collins, Duke of Kingsacre – November 2018
For more info on the series, go http://www.1797club.com and join the club!
About Jess Michaels
USA Today Bestselling author Jess Michaels likes geeky stuff, Vanilla Coke Zero, anything coconut, cheese, fluffy cats, smooth cats, any cats, many dogs and people who care about the welfare of their fellow humans. She watches too much daytime court shows, but just enough Once Upon a Time (CaptainSwan FOR LIFE). She is lucky enough to be married to her favorite person in the world and live in a beautiful home on a golf course lake in Northern Arizona.
When she’s not obsessively checking her steps on Fitbit or trying out new flavors of Greek yogurt, she writes erotic historical romances with smoking hot alpha males and sassy ladies who do anything but wait to get what they want. She has written for numerous publishers and is now fully indie and loving every moment of it (well, almost every moment).
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