Review: Only a Duke Would Dare (Seductive Scoundrels, #2) by Collette Cameron

 

Print Length: 246 pages

Publisher: Blue Rose Romance (October 17, 2018)

From Goodreads.com:  Marriage—an unpleasant obligation

A troublesome addendum to his father’s will requires Victor, Duke of Sutcliffe to marry before his twenty-seventh birthday or lose his fortune. After a three-year absence, he ventures home, intent upon finding the most biddable and forgettable miss in Essex. A woman who will make no demands upon him and won’t mind being left behind when he returns to London. Except, Victor meets Theadosia Brentwood again and finds himself powerless to resist her—even if she is promised to another and the exact opposite of what he thought he wanted in a duchess.

Marriage—an impossible choice
Secretly in love with Victor for years, Theadosia is overjoyed when he returns. Until she learns he must marry within mere weeks. When he unexpectedly proposes, she must make an impossible decision. How can Thea elope with him when he’s marrying out of necessity, not love? Besides, if she does wed Victor, her betrothed—a man she loathes—will reveal a scandalous secret. A secret that will send her father to prison and leave her sister and mother homeless.

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This was another one of those stories that was GOOD, but I feel missed the mark at being great. 

There were a lot of mentions of things that had either happened in the past (Victor being friends with Thea's brother James and them hanging around together when they were younger), and mentions of things happening in the moment (Thea and Victor going on walks together which we only get to see once, and her agreeing to help his mother with plans for a ball that we never get to see). I feel as though including more of those things would have leant more credibility to the thought of Thea secretly having feelings for him before he comes back, and would have also made their friendship/courtship feel more realistic. It would also have made it more believable when Victor realizes he has feelings for Thea as well. Instead, I felt like he was only saying he did because he realized that was what she needed to hear in order to agree to marry him. 

The same goes for the secondary characters. We only learn of her betrothal and the circumstances surrounding it towards the end of the book, which I believe made it feel rushed. This was especially irksome for me because of how much detail and work the author put in to showing off the true nature of Mr.Leadford beforehand. I would have liked to see this portion of the story come to a more enjoyable conclusion instead of everything being tied up nice and neat with a bow (and honestly very little serious consequences for either party) the way that it was. 

What it comes down to is the fact that the author has a very strong writing style. She can weave a good story, but I feel like there is more that could have been done to make this story better.  I would still read more in this series (and from this author)!

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                       Only a Duke Would Dare is available from Amazon.com
                                      (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)