A Duke In The Night by Kelly Bowen

A Duke in the Night by Kelly Bowen
Series: The Devils of Dover Series Book #1
on February 20, 2018
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Victorian
Pages: 337
Goodreads

An enchanting historical romance from the 2018 RITA award-winning author that New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean calls "a charming, clever, and engaging storyteller."
Named to All About Romance's "The Best of 2018!"
Duke. Scoundrel. Titan of business. August Faulkner is a man of many talents, not the least of which is enticing women into his bedchamber. He's known-and reviled-for buying and selling companies, accumulating scads of money, and breaking hearts. It's a reputation he wears like a badge of honor, and one he intends to keep.
Clara Hayward, the headmistress of the Haverhall School for Young Ladies, on the other hand, is above reproach. Yet when she's reunited with August all she can think of is the way she felt in his arms as they danced a scandalous waltz ten long years ago. Even though her head knows that he is only back in her life to take over her family's business, her heart can't help but open to the very duke who could destroy it for good.
"Where have you been all my life, Kelly Bowen? If Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean, and Lisa Kleypas were to extract their writing DNA, mix it in a blender, and have a love child, Kelly Bowen would be it."-HeroesandHeartbreakers.com

A Duke In The Night is book one in The Devils of Dover series by Kelly Bowen. This was my first time reading a book by Kelly Bowen and I am so glad that I found her. In my humble opinion, her story telling was masterful. Although I really enjoyed this book, I have to mention just one point that bothered me. In the book the hero August Faulkner, the twelfth Duke of Holloway owns a number of successful businesses. Apparently he was never planning on being a duke. Well, August has a younger sister named Anne. Anne has a knack for “marketing” although that term is never (thankfully) used, as well as business sense. She can secretly glance through August’s business accounts and find ways to save him money and improve his establishments. Here’s what I found lacking…what interests in Anne’s background would give her the proper education to be able to design tavern signs or surmise the accounting books and find areas to improve? Bowen doesn’t give the reader enough background to justify Anne’s ability. I’m certainly not saying that Anne couldn’t have knowledge of these things during Regency times. Afterall, women were trained in running a household and so basic math was definitely a subject that they studied. As far as designing a tavern sign, young ladies of wealth had special tutors in painting and art. I just wish Bowen had given us a little more knowledge of Anne’s upbringing and her educational background. Picky? Probably. Maybe I’m feeling hormonal this week. But other than that absolute rabbit hole, I loved the characters and their depth. I would also call this a smart and steamy read. I am looking forward to reading more by Ms. Bowen. I only have one other criticism. How does the title fit the story? A Duke in the Night? O well. It certainly won’t stop me from reading the next book in this series especially with this amazing cover art.