The Other Duke by Jess Michaels

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MY THOUGHTS

“A refreshing take on the marriage of convenience trope!”

The Other Duke opens the new Notorious Flynns series written by Jess Michaels and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It is a refreshing take on the marriage of convenience trope popular in Historical Romance stories but adds a new flavor to it with the tortured heroine!

Serafina MacPhee has been betrothed to the Duke of Hartholm since she was a child. She has also been dreading her wedding to the loathsome Cyril, current Duke of Hartholm, her betrothed when the unthinkable happens, Cyril dies and she is FREE. Well, almost because she finds out that the betrothal document does NOT state the name of the Duke she was to marry BUT the Duke of Hartholm, who now happens to be Cyril’s cousin and rake, Raphael Flynn!

Raphael “Rafe” Flynn detests being a Duke but grudgingly accepts his fate for his family. He has no plans to marry Serafina or anyone at all but is unable to invalidate the betrothal document. He reluctantly agrees to marry Serafina when she proposes that they have a marriage of convenience. When both hero and heroine are thrown together in close and intimate settings, Rafe and Serafina start to fall in love with each other. That is until a shattering secret threatens to tear the two lovers apart.

I love the chemistry between Serafina and Rafe. Both were very likable characters and I was able to relate to them right away. One of the reasons that I enjoyed reading this story was the addition to the tortured heroine! In this story, it is the heroine, Serafina who has a dark and unloved past while Rafe comes from a family full of love and happiness. I love that despite being rumored to be a rake, Rafe doesn’t appear to be one in this story because the focus was on Serafina.

The only negative thing that I found is that The Other Duke is predictable. There wasn’t a lot of thrill or surprise in the story at all. I also did not like the cover for this book. Unfortunately, the heroine looks like she is smelling something…..in THAT area!

I read this book in one night and I definitely recommend this to those who want their historical romance extra spicy!