To Desire a Wicked Duke

Nicole Jordan
ISBN: 978-0-3455-1009-9
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: BookPleasures
On Sale: February 22, 2011

The Courtship wars continue! If you have followed this series by Nicole Jordan, I’m sure you highly anticipate its release. The sixth and final book of the series explores the story of Tess with a secondary story that wraps up ties for Fanny Irwin who has played a role in each novel to date. In this final installment, Tess gets a second chance at love! This time around it is with the wicked Duke of Rotham, the elder cousin of her late fiancé. It’s been two years since Richards' death and Tess is ready to move on. She doesn’t expect to move on in the arms of Ian but fate, desire and attraction all have their own plan.

One of the wonderful perks of historical romance is the throwback in language that the reader experiences. Gone are words such as ass, erection and affair. The contemporary words of today are replaced with words such as derriere, hardness, and liaison, giving the language a sophisticated feel. Nicole’s writing shows this perk off in its highest regard. I greatly enjoyed the dialogue as well as the descriptive wording this book used. In a way it enabled me to understand and appreciate the beauty of the scenes without feeling I was walking in on something I shouldn’t be.

This title is a great example of a near perfect romance novel. It was loaded with the must have steamy scenes but full of story and intrigue as well. The hot stuff fit in with the story rather than the story catering to the steamy excerpts. The book follows the main story of Tess and Ian’s relationship while also entertaining a secondary story, Fanny’s relationship. It includes many incidents that tie everything together. The novel entertains with its slight mystery and steamy passion.

I had a hard time putting this novel down. It had a few quirks in reference to the characters avoiding honesty and communication. However, it was an aspect needed in order to let the book arrive at its conclusion. The author hits that not all may be as it seems which brings intrigue to the novel. I would suggest this book to romance readers, especially those who enjoy historical romance or the 18th century. I have not read the other books in this series and purposefully accepted this novel out of order to see if it would stand on its own. I am happy to report it can! The author does a great job of bringing characters from previous novels into the book without having to supply mundane facts for previous readers of the series. New readers are given enough information to read this title on its own without confusion. I have every intention of reading the rest of this series, starting with book one! While I do that, I suggest you read “To Desire a Wicked Duke”.
[Heat Level 4]