"Delightful Regency Story of Love and Danger"
The Naked Duke Upon the death of her father, the very proper Sarah
Hamilton journeys from Philadelphia to meet her titled
English relatives. This was her father's dying wish and
he assures her that his brother the Earl of Westbrooke
will take care of her. Traveling by public coach, Sarah
arrives late at night at an Inn where a drunken stranger
seemingly takes her under his wing and secures her a
room. Imagine her shock when she wakes to find a naked
man in her bed. Worse yet, the naked man is a Duke and
the drunken stranger, Robbie, is not only her cousin, but
the new head of her family. Since the Duke's Aunts
discovered him naked with Sarah, she is hopelessly
compromised and he proposes marriage. She turns him down
and thinks she will live with Robbie. But, Robbie, the
Earl of Westbrooke, runs a bachelor household and it is
decided it would not be appropriate for her to stay there--
so she goes to Alvord with James and his Aunts. Luckily for Sarah, James, the Duke of Alvord is a
wonderful man who treats her with care and kindness.
James for his part, is absolutely enchanted with Sarah, as
are his Aunts , his sister and all of his servants. Sarah
is insistent she needn't marry James, but a gentle
conspiracy to have her marry the Duke and save the estate
from his cousin Richard soon ensues. In Sally MacKenzie's first book, she has managed to create
two absolutely wonderful characters caught up in a
difficult and often dangerous situation. Sarah is
likable, plucky and beautiful--everything needed in a
romance heroine. But, James is a truly unique hero--known
as the Monk he has a reputation in the Ton as a womanizer,
but when the truth about him is revealed it is just
delightful. James is thoughtful, responsible, eminently
likable and also extremely intelligent. He is also a
complete realist who knows that his cousin is trying to
kill him--even though the authorities do not believe him. James's scummy cousin Richard has managed to make all of
his attempts look like accidents, but James is well aware
of what is going on and has taken precautions. At the
first hint of James's interest in Sarah, Richard goes so
far as to threaten her life if she marries James. He also
manages to plant seeds of doubt about James's ability to
be faithful to one woman. Richard wants James unwed
with no chance of an heir. Richard is an odious and
threatening villain, who with the help of his male lover,
has no qualms about killing. What distinguishes Richard
from other equally slimy romance villains is how fully
developed his character is--often the villain is filled in
with broad strokes, but here the reader really learns what
makes Richard tick. The secondary characters in THE NAKED DUKE are well
developed and I loved James's Aunts and flighty sister
Lizzie. Even the secondary villain Dunlap is well drawn
and an interesting character. I also enjoyed James's
friendship with Charles and Robbie and would enjoy seeing
both of them with love stories of their own. Particularly
Charles who's friendship with Sarah is well drawn and
who's joy at not being the heir to an estate is palpable.
Charles is also a war hero, who is a bit at loose ends
and a truly interesting man. I hope that we will see his
story soon. MacKenzie manages to strike a perfect balance between the
romantic story of Sarah and James, which is lots of fun
with witty dialogue between this delightful pair; and the
more melodramatic efforts of Richard to kill them. The
climax is all one could hope for with an extremely
satisfying and well earned happily-ever-after ending. I enjoyed THE NAKED DUKE so much that I will certainly be
looking forword to MacKenzie's second book.
Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Posted May 11, 2005
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