ARC Review: Last Night with the Duke by Amelia Grey (Rakes of St.James 1)

Title: Last Night with the Duke

         Rakes of St. James 1

Author: Amelia Grey

Release Date: March 7, 2017 

(ARC Version)

Published By: St. Martin’s

Category: Historical Romance – Regency

Type: Digital – Paperback

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Blurb: 

Could finding love be his greatest scandal of all?

The Duke of Griffin has never lived down his reputation as one of the Rakes of St. James. Now rumors are swirling around London that his twin sisters may bear the brunt of his past follies. Hiring a competent chaperone is the only thing Griffin has on his mind--until he meets the lovely and intriguing Miss Esmeralda Swift. In ways he could never have expected, she arouses more than just his curiosity.

Esmeralda Swift considered herself too sensible to ever fall for a scoundrel, but that was before she met the irresistibly seductive Duke of Griffin. His employment offer proves too tempting for her to resist. She can’t afford to be distracted by his devilish charms because the stakes are so high for his sisters’ debut Season. . .unless one of London’s most notorious rakes has had a change of heart and is ready to make Esmeralda his bride.

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Favorite Lines:

The door to her office opened, so Esmerelda turned to greet whoever had come in and saw the Duke of Griffin striding inside. Much to her dismay, her first thought was Yes.  ~  Esmerelda

“I don’t fret. I don’t rail, Esmerelda. But I do notice. I notice everything about you. Somehow, I’ve managed to keep my hands off you until now, but surely you know I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off you … it’s been two weeks, four days, and approximately eighteen hours since I last kissed you.”  ~  Griffin

Excerpt:

          “All right,” she agreed. “And since that is now settled, there is something else I wanted to discuss with you”—she paused—“if you have the time.”

          “You will be taking care of my sisters. I will always have time for you.”

          Esmeralda’s stomach tumbled deliciously. “I will always have time for you.”

          Oh, why was he always saying exactly what she wanted to hear? The duke was dangerous. With a simple turn of phrase, he could make her lose all perspective. It was as if he knew exactly what to say to make her want to melt into a puddle of wonderful feelings right before his eyes. Why did such innocuously words spoken from him seem, at times, so intimate and heavenly to her ears? 

          “Yesterday,”she said, swallowing past a shaky sigh, “Miss Truth’s tittle- tattle said there might be someone out to ruin the twins’Season. Is there any validity to that claim?”

          A fleeting expression of apprehension crossed his face. “There might be.”

          “You must have known this when you visited me a couple of days ago. Why didn’t you mention it?”

          “I was having a hard enough time as it was trying to get you to agree to help me. I didn’t want to give you one more reason not to accept my offer of employment.”

          “If you thought this news would scare me off, you’re wrong.”

          “I’m pleased to hear it, though considering how difficult it was to obtain your services you’ll understand why I   couldn’t be sure.”

          “Has your aunt heard this rumor as well?”

          “She wouldn’t miss reading the weekly offerings from all the scandal sheets in London. It gives her great pleasure to inform me what they say whether or not it concerns me or one of my friends. I indulge my aunt and listen respectfully because it gives her such pleasure to fill me in on the latest gossip.”

          “It’s kind of you to do that,”Esmeralda said. “But do you actually think Lady Vera and Lady Sara could be pursued for meanness by an unscrupulous man? I mean, I find it hard to believe anyone would dare to ruin a duke’s sister.”

          “There are some young men who would dare anything, Miss Swift.”

          Of that she had no doubt. And perhaps she felt like most everyone else. There had been no retribution to the rakes for what they’d done that Season. 

          “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

          “The source of the rumor looks to be reliable, but I have no proof anyone will be foolish enough to try anything. It may be something as simple as playing them for a fool. I don’t know. That is why your job is so important. Every man who comes near them is a potential threat to their happiness. I won’t take that possibility lightly.”

          “I agree you shouldn’t. Do they know about this yet?”

          “No.”He paused as if thinking about what to say next. “I wish they didn’t have to find out. I would rather they have as normal a Season as possible and be free to choose the man they want to marry without having to worry if his attention is true or false.”

          “It does seem unfair that they should be sought out for retribution rather than you and your friends.”

          “You don’t pull your punches, do you, Miss Swift?”

          “I am only stating the truth of what most people are thinking.”

          “Including you?”

          A braver person might have answered affirmatively, but she would not be ensnared in that trap today. She would answer with some of his own words. “Why would I want to answer that and possibly incriminate myself?”

          He lowered his voice. “You learn quickly.”

          Esmeralda didn’t know her heart could beat so fast. “It’s not hard when the teacher is a master.”

          “I could teach you many things, Miss Swift.”

Dialogue Highlight:

          “Did you know that out in the sunlight your eyes lose all their brown coloring and are golden?”

          With that question, Esmeralda felt the atmosphere change. The noise of the crowd faded away, the cool breeze stilled, and the sun heated her face. It was as if she and the duke were the only two people in the park. 

          “How could I possibly know that? I have never seen my eyes outside a house.”

          “I thought perhaps someone might have told you—your parents, possibly a beau?”

          “I’m sure you’ve had countless ladies tell you that your eyes are as blue as a summer sky.”

          He ignored her comment and said, “You skillfully deflected my question, but I’m not going to let you get by with that.”

          She evaded him again by saying, “Did you ask one? I thought you were making a statement.”

          He gave her an amused smile. “It’s always a challenge with you, Esmeralda. I like that.”

          She gasped. “You can’t call me by my given name.”

          “I can and will when we are alone and no one around to hear but you. Now, here is a direct question for you, Esmeralda. Have you ever been kissed?”

          Her immediate instinct should have been to shy away from such intimate conversation once more and insist he call her Miss Swift at all times. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she was outraged he’d ask her something so personal, but staring into his striking gaze as it brushed down her face to her mouth, she knew she didn’t want to resist him in that way or any way. 

          Maybe she wanted him to call her Esmeralda and to know that her lips had never been touched by another’s. Maybe she wanted him to know she’d welcome his kiss. 

          Still, her practical, survival nature came to her rescue and she resisted what her heart desired and said, “I’ve not had time nor opportunity for such things as hugs and kisses.”

          “Twenty-five and never been kissed.”His voice was low, and soft. “I find that very intriguing.”

          His hold over her intensified. There was something about his unobtrusive interest in her that stirred her womanly passions to an anticipation she couldn’t have known existed. 

          Her throat ached with an increasing need that was always denied—to feel his lips caress hers. Perhaps he found it intriguing she’d never been kissed, but she found it discouraging that she’d never had the opportunity to know what it felt like to be kissed. She wanted to know. 

          Putting all her sensible, inner declarations aside, and willing her voice not to quiver, she asked, “Are you offering to change that, Your Grace?”

Review: 

Esmerelda has had a rough go of it. Her mother was cast out after being widowed and then defying her brother so that she could remarry for love. Mother and stepfather have both since passed away, leaving Esmerelda to support herself and her younger sister. Now running a struggling employment agency, and the owner taking advantage of her, she is wondering where the next amount of money will come from for the past due bills. When the Duke of Griffin happens into her agency, she can’t afford to say no to his requests to chaperone his twin sisters during their debut despite her numerous excuses to try and escape the offer. The Duke posses many problems even though the money is more than she could ever expect to bring in over the next year. What harm could fall in six weeks anyway? The Duke refuses to take no for an answer and she’s run out of excuses. If only he wasn’t so dang intriguing.

Griffin is immediately taken with Esmerelda – a Rake by notoriety, his past deeds have set up a possible disaster for his sisters’ debut season. He is in need of extra helps to ensure their reputations remain intact. He knows Esmerelda is the one he requires, and he’ll stop at nothing to ensure her acceptance of his proposal. Before too long, he’s craving quite a lot more from her and considering how best to redirect her refusals into surrender. In a moment of heated emotions, Griffin makes a disastrous mistake and he’s not sure how to fix it. He isn’t accustomed to losing anything he’s wanted – he’s never wanted anything more than Esmerelda – and he isn’t about to start losing now.

I am so thrilled to have been able to read and review this book as an ARC. Unfortunately, life happened, and the review never occurred, so I just re-read the book and would willingly do so several more times. I enjoyed myself immensely while reading this beautifully told story of two extremely strong-minded individuals who ultimately attract to each other despite their seemingly opposing personalities and stations in life. Imagine Griffin’s shock when he discovers that Esmerelda is, in reality, one of his peers. I absolutely adored their burning passion and the fact that they fought it for as long as possible without giving in too easily despite their raging desire to succumb. Their sharp wit and delectable banter heightened each engagement. I effortlessly played each scene vividly in my mind as the drama unfolded. Adding delicious detail to the plot were several additional characters. Sometimes I find there are too many characters added to a story in an effort to fluff the content. Not so in this case. Each individual added a memorable contribution and I ended up discovering each one to be just as likable as the last; desiring to find out more about each of them. The other two rakes, Rath and Hawk were delectable, and I am thrilled to know that I have the other two books of the series to dive in to next. I am more than willing to spend several more hours with each of the Rakes of St. James. Even Griffin’s sisters, Sara and Vera, were captivating – so similar in appearance yet completely opposite in mannerisms and delightfully entertaining. I do have one question though – What is Griffin’s name? The entire book he is only referred to as The Duke of Griffin and everyone calls him by his title or Griffin. I don’t recall ever seeing his name mentioned anywhere. Odd, that. He had to have been someone prior to inheriting the title.

I did truly find the entries of MISS MAMIE FORTESCUE'S DO'S AND DON'TS FOR CHAPERONES, GOVERNESSES, TUTORS, AND NURSES as included at the beginning of each chapter, to be highly entertaining. What a thoughtful and insightful detail to add. A little something extra added for the benefit of the reader to be able to have a bit of comprehension into Esmerelda’s determination to behave in particular ways as authored by the founder of the agency. I was quite annoyed with Napoleon’s storyline – I won’t ruin that detail. While I understood the way things worked out, I believe Griffin should have sought some sort of retribution even if just a dressing down of the offender. Now that I think of it – the same holds true for Mr. Forescue for taking advantage of Esmerelda when she took over the agency. That would have been quite satisfying to see to be certain. Unfortunately, such details were unnecessary to complete this lovely book, so I will just have to leave it be. Regardless of the undesirable outcome for such scoundrels, I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with these wonderful characters and look forward to beginning the next book in the series – Hawk’s story – which I shall begin forthwith. Assuming the next books are just as enchanting, and I would be shocked if they were not, lovers of HR are sure to gladly embrace the Rakes of St. James and their unexpected journeys toward love with exasperating, competent women who confront them at every opportunity and arouse their passion like no other.

Kindle ARC version provided by publisher/St. Martin’s in exchange for an honest review.