A Duke in the Night (The Devils of Dover, #1) by Kelly Bowen
Series: The Devils of Dover #1
Published by Forever on February 20, 2018
Genres: Historical
Pages: 368
Goodreads

FINAL DECISION: A disappointment for me after the book came highly recommended. There is just too much slammed in this book that hides the fact that there is little connection between the hero and heroine. The characters felt out of place in the historical setting and I’m frankly becoming annoyed with writers sticking modern sentiments into the historical settings.

THE STORY: Ten years ago, August Faulkner danced with Clara Hayward on a dare. But he has never forgotten her nor has she forgotten him. Now the headmistress of a school for young ladies, Clara comes into the orbit of August again when he (now a duke) wants to acquire her family’s struggling business.

OPINION: The first chapter of this book is the best part. Unfortunately, I don’t think the relationship between the characters ever progresses beyond that moment in time. The book attempts to attribute too much emotion to that moment and nothing between them really develops beyond that moment.

This book feels more like women’s fiction concerned more about feminist issues of women’s empowerment than the romance. August really suffers in this book because he is merely a foil for Clara to assert her opinions about women’s rights. This book is clumsy in its attempts to make all these issues work together. Both Courtney Milan and Lisa Kleypas have written much better integrated books that address feminism in historical context.

I got bored because it seemed to be a story about a woman asserting her independence more than it is a romance and I couldn’t really feel any connection between the hero and the heroine.

WORTH MENTIONING: I only finished this book because it came so highly recommended to me and I kept hoping that something would end up working for me in the book. Some readers who are looking for modern issues to be explored in historical contexts might like this book, but it wasn’t for me.

CONNECTED BOOKS: A DUKE IN THE NIGHT is the first book in the Devils of Dover series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2 stars.