The Best Things in Life are Dukes
Series: Dukes in Danger #10
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
Published March 1st 2024 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
A broken engagement, a duke, and a house party…

When Luke Beauchamp, Duke of Ashcott, was thrown from his beloved’s home by her brother, there was only one thing to do: become a spy and run away to France.

Perhaps not his finest moment—but he’s learned from his mistake, and is determined to win Lady Margaret Everleigh, his one true love, back. The trouble is, she has absolutely no desire to see him, and plenty of witty remarks at his expense.

When Luke knows what he wants, he gets it. He’s the most scandalous rake in the ton, and he’ll do anything, even orchestrating a “surprise” meeting at a fortnight-long house party, to win her back.

Lady Margaret, or Peggy to those she loves, isn’t buying it. All this remorse is too little, too late. Where’s Luke even been since he abandoned her to the scandal of a broken engagement?

Try as she might, Peggy can’t entirely escape either Luke, or her feelings for him—but unfortunately a few other house guests at this party have plans for her that she may not like…

Will Luke ever humble himself to reveal his true feelings to Peggy—and will Peggy finally admit to herself, let alone the man she once loved and lost, that the best things in life are dukes?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Returned to London after some time in France, Luke Beauchamp, Duke of Ashcott, wants to rekindle his romance with former fiancee Lady Margaret Everleigh. They had a whirlwind romance, but when her brother, the Duke of Dulverton, discovers Luke hiding in their library, he throws him out, and Luke goes without a fight. Peggy wants nothing to do with Luke, and flees Bath for the Sedley's house party, hoping he'll get the message. But Luke won't give up, and when he realises they are at the same party, he will do anything to prove his love to her, and get her back, once and for all.

This book definitely jogged a lot of memories. The heroine's elder brother was the protagonist in book 2, Strike While the Duke is Hot, and the Sedley's were the couple in book 4, A Duke in Time Saves Nine. Peggy and Luke were an alright couple, though I thought she may have given in a little sooner than expected. Luke definitely made a mistake in leaving the Dulverton home without a fight when Henry discovered the couple, but his time in France - working as a spy - helped to shape him into the man he now was. I liked the way they did come together, though hated that Peggy was nearly harmed in the process. The book has set up for the next story, and I look forward to reading it.

Dates Read:
February 17, 2024

Rating
3 Stars