Anna Campbell

A REPUTATION AT RISK What woman in her right mind would say no to marrying the dashing Duke of Sedgemoor? Miss Penelope Thorne, that's who. She's known Camden Rothermere since they were children-and she also knows she'd bring nothing but scandal to his name. Cam can hardly believe Penelope turned down his proposal. But if she wants to run off to the Continent and set the rumor mill ablaze, he can't stop her. Then her brother's dying request sends him to bring home the one woman he thought he'd finally gotten over. The only way they'll both get back to London without their reputations in tatters is to pretend they're married during the journey. That means kissing like they mean it and even sharing a bed-until it becomes hard to tell where the game ends and true desire begins . . .

What a Duke Dares

Lover of Romance 

Penelope Thorne, has known Cam since she was a child, and they practically grew up together. But when he shocks her with a marriage proposal, she refuses but not for the reasons he thinks. She loves Cam but knows how hard he has worked to make his family's name respectable again. She knows that if he marries her she may bring scandal to his name and he would one day despise her. So Penelope leaves England and travels all over Europe. Camden, has always respected and liked Penelope, and years later, engaged to be married to a young woman he barely knows, he finds one of his closest friends, Penelope's brother dying, and has one last request...find his sister and bring her home to England. So he practically forces her back to England, but through a turn of events, they end up compromised, and have no choice but to marry. Penelope knows that Cam will only regret marrying her, she has loved him for years, and knows she is too opinionated to be the obedient and passive duchess that he expects. But when a passion flares between them, Cam and Penelope begin a journey of self discovery, healing, and learning to trust. Will Cam learn the power of true love?

What A Duke Dares is the third in the latest series by this author. I had very high expectations from this book, and I did enjoy it quite a bit, but I think I had a little hard time fully getting into the story, not as much as the previous books. Having said that, there were many great qualities that I loved about this story and it had some aspects that I had a fine time with. The story sets up when Cam first proposes to Penelope, and you see the seeds of love just wanting to break free. Their interaction is pulling and enigmatic...you see a connection even though at first both characters deny it to themselves. Then we skip ahead, to where Cam hears the death request from Pen's brother. Penelope has never forgotten Cam, and the last thing she needs is him dragging her back to a place where she feels constricted and not have the freedom to be herself. She reluctantly agrees to go back, but when they are caught in a storm and forced to pose as husband and wife...they know they will have to get married for real. Penelope resists way too much, you see how much she loves Cam, and that she would do anything but hurt him....but I do feel her character was a bit flaky at times. I loved her for the most part, but this section of the story really got annoying a bit. But Cam well....he was stellar. He told her they were getting married despite her reasons.

There is quite a bit of sensuality in this story...very heated and compelling and moving. I love seeing these two together, and although passionate had a emotional hint to it even in the "bedroom". I loved seeing the emotional and physical connection go hand in hand. This story reeks of full intimacy blooming between this couple. It was a sweet and tender story that has you in love with this story and the moving love story!! But there is also a side sub plot that will really put you in the ringer and have you at the edge at times. 

Overall stunning and emotionally moving from beginning to end!! Great details on each page, characters to worm their way into your hearts, and a romantic tale that is guaranteed to overwhelm your senses!! LOVED IT!!

Preye

The storyline is solid and the characters were so beautiful I ached. I found the male protagonist's reason for avoiding scandal a bit over-stretched at the beginning but I eventually understood his reasons. I love that he fell in love even before he knew what love felt like and was ready to nip all his plans to redeem his family name because of the female protagonist.

One problem I had was with the characters' self-loathing and self-flagellation. I'm happy that was resolved towards the end because I was getting fed up with the characters feeling self-loathe over the smallest things. I have a sneaking suspicion that the male protagonist has RSD(Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria). Whenever he was told no, he retreated to the little chamber in his mind to berate himself over and over again. 

I also need to mention the careless manner women were talked about in this book. Although few and far between, I cringed whenever I came across the outrageous comments. Also, there's a scene towards the end where Camden(male protagonist) finds out Penelope(female protagonist) kinda helped her brother elope and was so downright mean to her. 

I didn't like that and although I believe that people have the right to get angry and whatnot if it's someone you love then you have to still have a modicum of respect for her. Interestingly, Camden doesn't make a show of respecting her after the revelation until Leath(the brother of the girl Penelope's brother eloped with) insults her. Wow.

There's something to be said about authors that follow more than one couple and deliver excellently! This is one of those works. The author follows Penelope's brother and his love interest from their meeting to eventually eloping. They're so beautiful and disgustingly in love, my heart throbbed a bit in envy. Their story felt a little rushed and I am eager to know how they reentered society and dealt with the vitriol aimed at them.

That said, this was a fantastic read. There aren't long and titillating conversations between the leads but it's interesting to watch the characters realize the depth of their feelings.

Francesca G

This was better than I anticipated honestly

What a Duke Dares

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