Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart

Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart (2011) Sarah MacLean

Juliana Fiori is the daughter of scandal–her mother abandoned her first husband and twin sons and ran off to Italy to marry a merchant, and then abandoned that husband as well. After her father’s death, she discovers she has two brothers who will both help her and present her to society. Unfortunately, society is uninterested in a young woman of dubious birth.

Juliana was suddenly, embarrassingly aware of the fact that she was in a man’s home. Unescorted. With the exception of a dog. Who had already been revealed to be a poor judge of character.

Simon Pearson, the Duke of Leighton, wants nothing to do with scandal, partially because of how he was raised, and partially because of events in the previous book. His is friends with the younger Ralston, St John, but can’t stand the older brother Gabriel, who as a notorious rake until marriage (see, the first book) settled him down, and with his own impending scandal, wants absolutely nothing to do with Juliana.

Unfortunately, trouble seems to follow Juliana, and leads her to the Duke of Leighton.

“Handled him how?”

She paused, cradling her bruised wrist in her hand in a way that made him wonder if she might have sprained it. “I hit him.”

“Where?” Ralston blurted.

“In the gardens.”

The marquess looked to the ceiling, and Simon took pity on him. “I believe your brother was asking where on his person did you strike your attacker?”

I really like Juliana. I loved her inability to get idiom and her turns of phrase.

“He called me a pie!” she announced, defensively. There was a pause. “Wait. That’s not right.”

Simon, on the other hand, was very hard to like. I understand that he was raised by a horrible mother, and has tried very hard to live up to his reputation as a Duke, but… he he is just not very nice.

(H)e took her elbow and turned her toward her brother’s home. “Walk.”

“Why?”

“Because we cannot remain standing here. It is not done.”

She shook her head. “Leave it to the English to outlaw standing.”

I want Juliana to be happy, and I of course want Simon to stop being a jerk, but I have a difficult time believing he’d truly overcome how he was raised, and would make Juliana happy in the long run.

So, it was an interesting story, I just didn’t like the hero, and am not certain they really had a HEA.
Rating: 6.5/10

Published by HarperCollins ebooks

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