Name: Lover of Romance 's review of The Duke Effect by Sophie Jordan
Item: The Duke Effect
Rating: 3
Author: Lover of Romance

Sophie Jordan

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sophie Jordan continues her bestselling Rogue Files series with this captivating romance that will thrill her many fans. She doesn’t care about love… Despite being surrounded by her happily wed sisters, Nora Langley prefers botany to ballrooms and would rather spend a lifetime in her laboratory than consider affairs of the heart. An expert herbalist, Nora has been masquerading as her late physician father for years, dispensing invaluable medical advice. She corresponds with people all over the world, including an old army colonel. But when the man shows up on her doorstep, he is nothing like she expected—he is a young, handsome heir to a dukedom who suddenly threatens everything she holds dear. He only cares about duty… Constantine Sinclair arrives on the Langley doorstep in a desperate bid to save the woman who raised him, the Duchess of Birchwood … only to discover that the venerable doctor he expected is a bold and lovely charlatan. Furious at the deception, he vows to reveal her secrets. Determined to prove her skills, Nora promises to save the duchess in exchange for Con keeping her secret. Con reluctantly agrees… and soon Nora’s brilliant, headstrong ways are throwing his carefully controlled life into chaos. What happens when the rigid soldier begins to lose his grip on his heart?

The Duke Effect

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sophie Jordan continues her bestselling Rogue Files series with this captivating romance that will thrill her many fans. She doesn't care about love... Despite being surrounded by her happily wed sisters, Nora Langley prefers botany to ballrooms and would rather spend a lifetime in her laboratory than consider affairs of the heart. An expert herbalist, Nora has been masquerading as her late physician father for years, dispensing invaluable medical advice. She corresponds with people all over the world, including an old army colonel. But when the man shows up on her doorstep, he is nothing like she expected--he is a young, handsome heir to a dukedom who suddenly threatens everything she holds dear. He only cares about duty... Constantine Sinclair arrives on the Langley doorstep in a desperate bid to save the woman who raised him, the Duchess of Birchwood ... only to discover that the venerable doctor he expected is a bold and lovely charlatan. Furious at the deception, he vows to reveal her secrets. Determined to prove her skills, Nora promises to save the duchess in exchange for Con keeping her secret. Con reluctantly agrees... and soon Nora's brilliant, headstrong ways are throwing his carefully controlled life into chaos. What happens when the rigid soldier begins to lose his grip on his heart?

Emma Hak-Kovacs

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, SO FAIR WARNING, UPON READING THE REVIEW.
The Duke Effect is the final installment in the “Rogue Files” series by Sophie Jordan. And I can’t believe I have reached the end of this series. I have really discovered some fun stories that this author has penned for us romance lovers. It did take me much longer to read this one than I expected. I will be honest I was very apprehensive of the heroine. I wasn’t a fan of her in previous books and found she could be manipulative in other books and there was something about her character that just rubbed me the wrong way. And honestly, this book was my least favorite of the series, it had its moments that worked for me, and even though I had lower expectations, it didn’t quite meet up to what I was expecting.

THE DUKE EFFECT IS A SEXY READ THAT DELIVERS IN ITS SMALL MOMENTS THAT FEATURES:
-Constantine Sinclair-heir to a Dukedom, military man, distrustful of others
-Nora Langley-scientist in medicine, curious, self consumed

The Duke Effect sets off with our hero, Constantine, who has come to the family home of the Langley sisters, as he is looking for the cure for a woman who is ailing, and he will do whatever it takes to find a cure. He comes to discuss matters with an established doctor but then realizes he has been duped by Nora Langley, who has been posing as her father and is furious at her deception. Nora Langley has never cared for society or finding a match, she cares more about her vials and potions and spending her free time in her laboratory. While she feels an intense attraction to Constantine, she knows they are too opposite from each other to make anything work. But when she teams up with Constantine to find a way to help The Duchess of Birchwood, more builds slowly between them in ways neither expected to find. But Constantine is destined to marry another woman, will he be able to fight for the woman he truly loves or do what is expected of him as the heir to a dukedom?

The Duke Effect was a book that I truly struggled with at times and I had a feeling that I would. There were some aspects that I liked though, but many other elements that just didn’t work for me. The hero really doesn’t care for the heroine for much of the book, it didn’t bother me too much to be honest but I was hoping that the distrust that he shows would melt more and not be dragged out through so much of the story. Then we have our heroine, and man I didn’t care for her at all. She could really be stuck in her own arrogance. While she had some positive attributes, she seemed so blind to many factors of society that didn’t make sense. Even though this was an audiobook and the ending seemed a bit rushed, and nothing really developed in this book. It seemed to lack so many elements that I enjoy in a romance and especially in a historical romance. This story was exactly what I really expected though. My expectations were low so I wasn’t expecting some fantastic book to sweep me away. While I always enjoy a strong heroine, her character just didn’t work for me. She just rubbed me the wrong way. The story just had many flaws and fell flat in other aspects. I didn’t understand the lack of interest Nora’s sisters had, or the rushed ending or lack of real connection between Nora and Constantine. There was a high level of chemistry but it was really hot smexy scenes but nothing more substantial than that.

The narration wasn’t my favorite either, it wasn’t horrible, but the way the narrator was handling the hero’s inflection and voice tone, detracted from the story. It was distracting and gave the impression of demeaning the hero at times, and I didn’t like the vibe which that portrayed for the story. I want my hero to sound sexy, not whiny. And the way the narration was implemented had him sounding like that and didn’t care for that aspect.

Overall I found The Duke Effect to be disappointing at times, but still had its redeeming qualities that will work for some readers and will attend to those will more modern sensibilities.

Sheena

I am a little surprised by how good this was especially after reading ‘The Virgin and the Rogue’. Nora was a strong heroine that was outspoken, cared little for what others thought of her, and was true to herself while Constantine was always supportive in all of Nora’s endeavors, even the idea of her furthering her education in medicine and becoming a physician despite the views of women and medicine during that era. I thought her and Constantine (brooding hero in all its many shapes and forms) made a great duo, and what I enjoyed the most was how unrushed their romance was. The slow-burn of these enemies turned lovers' historical romance was everything, making a small piece of me wishing their story never ended.

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The Duke Effect by Sophie Jordan

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