What A Devilish Duke Desires by Vicky Dreiling (Review)

I have to say that it has been an adventure watching change Bell, Colin, and Harry throughout The Sinful Scoundrel series. I still standby what I have said about Colin and Harry they were dorks. Maybe adorkable. Ever since Harry's grandfather died you saw the mantle of responsibility slowly suck the life of him, so it was refreshing to see Harry slowly become the lovable character we have know he was all along. As you can guess it we are talking about What A Devilish Duke Desires, lets dive into Harry's story.

At the beginning, Harry is melancholy at the beginning of the story, because he's the lone ranger now. Both his best buds are happily married and no longer able carouse. He's at a lost and trying to figure out what do next, and now he's a duke. Poor guy has a target on his back for matchmaker mama's who would love to see their daughters as Duchess of Granfield. All he wants to do is find a girl who will love him for just being Harry. In a sense he's wallowing in a pity party. That all changes in a blink of an eye, when he meets a charming young lady willing to gut him if he got too close. Instead, she calls him Sir Galahad by the end of their encounter. Eventually, they do meet again, but they still don't know each others name. Both are smitten. It's not until the third time they meet that things between Harry and Lucy become interesting. Especially, when Harry calls Lucy out for treating him just like everyone else, and can't see past the ducal title.

Okay, Lucy is different from any character Vicky has ever written, because she's a servant. She cleans rooms at Albany and she teaches dance to society. So, the idea of Harry wanting to be with her ludicrous, because everyone would start to wonder if she was his mistress. We all know that a duke would never marry a servant, so why would she get her hopes up. However, a friendship builds between Harry and Lucy, of course it becomes something more.

As I was reading What A Devilish Duke Desires kind of reminded me a little of Pride and Prejudice, and I know you all are going "WHAT!", just hear me out. When Lucy finds out that Harry is a Duke she let her own prejudice kind of dictate her feelings. Unlike Elizabeth she didn't let her pride get in her way, but I think her grandma help with that. She let the friendship between them to blossom. However, there were a couple of road blocks in the way, for instance Mrs. Norcliffe (Harry's mother). In some ways, Mrs. Norcliffe kind of reminded me of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, because Mrs. Norcliffe try to put Lucy in her place. So, I started to dislike her, and she wasn't the true villain in the story. You can't fault her for wanting to make a good match for Harry, even though it's his choice on who he wants to be with. Fortunately she had an allied in Mina, who reminded me of Miss Darcy, but with a little more sass. Basically, the story is about overcoming obstacles that might stand in away and figuring out if they are worth fighting. We see a determine Harry wanting to win the girl of his dreams, and he doesn't care if he has ducal title. In the long run he wants someone who will love him for just being Harry, and he sees that in Lucy. Lucy is an obstacle in itself, because she thinks of propriety and what others will think. I love Harry's attitude "If there is a will, there is a way." I love how he shows how much he cares for Lucy. Throughout the story you see Harry doing little and huge gestures for Lucy that would win any girl over, but she's a stubborn one.

Overall, I love What A Devilish Duke Desires, because we start to see Harry come out of his shell of grief and become the fun lovable guy he first met in Bell's book. Seeing him grow to be the gentleman that he is has been a treat. I hope you will take a chance on Harry in What A Devilish Duke Desires.

Copy provided by the publisher.

Rating:
5 Stars