Book Review: One Night With the Duke by Jodi Ellen Malpas

About the Book:

Series: Belmont Square #1

Page Length: 304

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Publisher: Forever Pub.

Synopsis: It’s 1814 and nineteen-year-old Eliza Melrose, daughter of a printing magnate, is about to be launched into London’s high society – much to her distaste, the last thing she wants is a husband.

Eliza’s ‘misplaced’ thirst for adventure, knowledge and the creative word is a bone of contention for her father, who battles endlessly to keep her curiosity and ambitions in check, for women are not meant to ask questions or give opinions in matters of business.

But then she meets the youngest son of the late Duke of Chester, a disgraced nobleman who is shrouded in mystery and proving quite impossible to resist…

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

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My Review:

A slow-burn historical romance, One Night With the Duke is an entertaining story with danger, secrets, and intrigue. The story is told in first person from Eliza’s perspective, which gives you a ton of insight into her character. I haven’t read a lot of historical romances in the first person. Usually, they’re in the third person, so it was an interesting change for the genre.

Eliza is an intelligent, curious, and wild young woman. She’s also really headstrong and unconventional. She knows her parents want her betrothed to a member of the ton, but she wants to become a spinster and write for her father’s newspaper. She longs for the freedom that wasn’t afforded to women of her station, and she doesn’t want to conform to the dictates of society or her parents’ pressure. However, Eliza also knows that she is the key to her parents’ acceptance into society.

And if you like mysterious, brooding men shrouded in secrets, then the Duke, Johnny Winters is your guy. His return comes with rumors and speculations about his involvement in his family’s death. Of course, Eliza needs to investigate her new neighbor and find out if the scandalous secrets are true. I liked them together. They have good chemistry and banter, and they complement each other well. Their love story has a bit of steam too, and some of the things Johnny says to Eliza are pretty swoon-worthy!

I also really liked Eliza’s brother and sister. Clara and Frank have their own stories to tell, and I’m hoping we’ll see them in future books in the series. The plot is interesting too, and I became invested in finding out what really happened to Johnny’s family. Luckily, Johnny has the impetuous Eliza determined to unravel the mystery.

Thanks to Forever Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.