A DUKE TO REMEMBER is book 2 in the Season for Scandal series by Kelly Bowen. Bowen is a relative newcomer to the historical romance scene, with her backlist starting in 2014, but she rightly deserves all the Good Book Noise that has been buzzing around the internet about her Regency romances. While her stories are all slightly implausible, they are all such rollicking fun that I can lose myself in the adventure and simply smile and laugh through the whole book.

A DUKE TO REMEMBER features Elise deVries, an intrepid actress who uses her skills for good. She works in disguise for Chegarre & Associates, an elite consulting agency that solves personal problems and investigates mysteries for the members of the ton. Elise is tasked with locating the missing duke of Ashland in order to save the duchy from an avaricious cousin who has imprisoned the dowager duchess in Bedlam. Not very much of the story is dedicated to finding the wayward duke. Elise stumbles on him fairly quickly in the story. Noah Ellery had left behind the trappings of aristocracy and has been rusticating as in the wilds of Nottingham (Noah's identity isn't a spoiler, as it's revealed in the book blurb). First Elisa must convince Noah to come back to assume his proper place in society, which he is very against doing. Noah and Elise must outwit assassins, re-establish Noah's bona fides in the ton, and rescue Noah's mother from the clutches of the sadistic care of Bedlam mental institution. All the while, Elise is trying to resist her instant attraction to the lovely and handsome Noah.

Elise has a chequered past, and has a backstory that gives her some great reasons to be both independent and intrepid. While she is an unlikely character, I do enjoy her greatly. I typically cheer for females who are fighting against patriarchy or are unusually competent in historical fiction. There is an instant attraction between Elise and Noah, but it takes some time for their attraction to come to the point, as it were; and their growing sexual closeness is well done, rather than the insta-lust that mars so many tales these days. The well fleshed-out personalities of Elise and Noah with their tragic pasts lend poignancy to their progressive intimacy, and I love how Elise tries to resist Noah for his own good. Kelly Bowen has quickly earned her way onto my Must-Read list. A DUKE TO REMEMBER is definitely a typical lovely Bowen offering, with a strong heroine, a captivating romance, and good fun. You'll be glad to read this book!

Book Summary