Honest review in return for an ARC. What a thoroughly delightful read. Although, the mystery wasn't revealed. Since this is one of a series, presumably it will be in later books. Definitely worth your time and money!

Requiring a quick replacement chaperone for his twin sisters, The Duke of Griffin, happens upon Miss Esmeralda Swift and immediately knows he has found the one for the job. She took a lot of convincing but Griffin would not back down. Esmeralda moves in with sister and dog in tow and now the only problem is the chaperone and The Duke fighting off their attraction to each other.

This was a good start to The Rakes of St. James series. I liked that Griffin fell for a woman with a strong personality and that he brought out the fun in her. I was heartbroken when she realized how she had never received comfort in the form of hugs and kisses. Griffin was ready to change that!

The comical elements were good but some things fell flat. Other than the reason to need a replacement chaperone, the Aunt's storyline never went anywhere. The issue of the threat to the girls was anticlimactic unless it is being saved for another book in the series.

Overall I enjoyed it and look forward to more.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher for an honest review. For me, this title was about 3 1/2 stars. Last Night with the Duke is the first in a new trilogy, The Rakes of St. James featuring three dukes who are good friends. The Duke of Griffin, Benedict, and two friends had a bet when they were younger to see who could get the most young ladies to meet a secret admirer. News of their bet got out and many in society were outraged. Several years later, Benedict's twin sisters are set to make their debut amid rumours that someone is out to get back at their brother for the bet through his sisters. Worried about their season and without a chaperone due to his aunt's illness, Benedict inquires at Miss Fortescue's Employment Agency to find a lady capable of shepherding his sisters through their season. Intrigued by Miss Esmeralda Swift who runs the agency, he keeps offering her the position until he finds terms she can't refuse. Esmeralda is raising her orphaned 12 year old sister Josephine after the recent death of her step-father. The granddaughter of a viscount, Esmeralda's mother was disowned when she left home to marry her second husband, an Irish poet against her family's wishes. This action changed Esmeralda's future that had included a Season of her own. Allowed to bring her sister and the family dog with her, Esmeralda takes up her position and finds herself increasingly drawn to Benedict. Esmeralda is a strong female who puts her sister's well-being above all and I really enjoyed her as a heroine; my one criticism is her insistence in believing that all aristocrats are like her mother's family. Benedict is a caring older brother and I loved his interactions with Josphine; I was a little frustrated by his actions toward the end of the book as I felt it was out of character, but overall I liked him. Readers who enjoy a slow build up to physical intimacy will enjoy this title; there is sexual tension between the two leads throughout the book, but they don't jump into bed without getting to know each other. Overall, I enjoyed Last Night with the Duke and look forward to the next Rake of St. James title.

I was excited to read another book by Ms. Amelia Grey. She is a talented author who can weave an exciting and enjoyable story although this one was slow to get going. Esmeralda Swift has been dealt a harsh hand. No longer is she the pampered young girl, but a young woman who is determined to make a life for her and her younger sister Josephine. A chance meeting with the Duke of Griffin and Esmeralda's life changes. He's hired her to chaperone his twin sisters as they make their debut in Society.

I loved the witty banter back and forth between Esmeralda and Griffin. She gave him no quarter and spoke her mind, sometimes without thinking. Little did she know, that trait was exactly what drew him to her. Ms Grey masterfully teases out the details of the incident that labeled Griffin as one of the Rakes of St. James and the scandal that has followed him for years. However, when Griffin finds out about a secret Esmeralda has been keeping from her, her circumstances change again and not for the better. Back and forth these two verbally battle, all the while trying to resist the rising passion and temptation for each other. I especially loved young Josephine and her dog Napoleon. That was such a sweet addition to the story. I was either laughing at her antics or shedding a tear at a little girl trying to act so grown up.

All in all, this book will definitely appeal to fans of Regency Romance.

I found this book on netgalley and received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. The author, Amelia Grey, was new to me, but I like that this is the first book in a series and was excited to give it a whirl.

That being said, for me, this book did not live up to its full potential. It is a rather obvious Cinderella retelling, but the most interesting part, to me, was the heroine's work life. I wanted to hear more about the employment agency and would have been just as happy if Esmeralda had fallen in love with a merchant down the street. Though, to be fair, that would have been far more realistic and far less Cinderella retelling. Anyway, I love the idea of Esmeralda - a single female, providing a safe home for her younger sister, while generating an income and managing the employment agency. She sounds very modern and accomplished. Her keen intellect and sharp tongue serve her well. I was disappointed that we never get any resolution about her jerk of a boss, her posh/jerk family connections, or what happens to the agency when she gets her HEA.

As for the hero, Griffin, ugh. He's the worst sort of spoiled Duke with a raging case of lust-at-first-sight. My biggest complaints about him include how he kept correcting or rephrasing everything Esmeralda said about him and about how he made a big deal about her calling him Griffin...Uh, if we're talking about intimacy and relationship building, wouldn't he have an actual first name, rather than his title? Yes, his title is better than "Your Grace," but you'd think he'd want her to call out his actual name in the heat of the moment, if you catch my drift. Not that you have to worry about that, since there are only a few heated kisses and one rushed (tacked on as an afterthought?) bedroom scene.

On the up side, the book is very short. On the down side, the secondary characters are not fully developed into their own beings (except for Josophine, maybe) and we are left with several questions about the plot. In general, I hope some of these issues will be cleaned up before the final publication version. But, if not, maybe they will be answered in the rest of the series. I certainly am curious what will happen next!

It looks like Amelia Grey has the start to another great series! Esmeralda Swift is barely making ends meet when she gets an offer of employment from the Duke of Griffin that is impossible to refuse. Little does she know the whole story behind the need for her employment and perhaps Miss Esmeralda is keeping a secret of her own from the handsome, devilish Duke. A very enjoyable Regency romance read.

Last Night with the Duke by Amelia Grey
The Rakes of Saint James #1

Three young men made a wager…
A scandalous wager – at least society said it was.
Three young dukes gained the dubious “honor” of being named…
…The Rakes of Saint James.

Years later Benedict Mercer, Duke of Griffin and one of the dubbed rakes has twin sisters to launch into society. With rumors regarding their safety being whispered around and the chaperone unable to fulfill the job he is in need of a strong willed woman to take over. In Esmerelda Swift he finds the woman he believes is best – not only to play chaperone – but perhaps for more. After some bargaining an agreement is made and Esmerelda moves in to fulfill her duties.

There are dances, soirees and walks and
There are men who come calling and show interest in the twins and
There are a few surprises, revelations and kisses.

All in all this was a typical regency romance. The descriptions of clothing and rooms and such are luscious. The interactions are for the most part benign (with one steamy more explicit encounter). The story is a bit slow, predictable and bland. There is the token misunderstanding that needs to be fixed. Griffin and Esmerelda are both strong characters that make a good couple – they seem to fit together and I felt they deserved their HEA.

Although the scandal did not seem all that scandalous to me I found the book entertaining and the introduction to the two other “rakes” made me feel I would like to read their stories, too. I have a feeling that perhaps they are a bit more scandalous than Griffin proved to be in this story but…only time will tell.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. This is my honest review.

3 Stars

I loved this book! It's the start of a new series, the hero is a bit alpha but gets put in his place by an even sassier heroine. The tension is palpable and I found myself having chills after reading passages where they didn't even touch. Yes, Griffin and Esmeralda are the perfect couple and I couldn't put the book down. Highly recommend and cannot wait for the next in the series!! This is one I'd recommend to any friend looking to read historical romance.

While I love historical romances, this was just ok for me. I think it's just the way I prefer my books, but I felt there were too many open questions and the part with Napoleon broke my heart. While the ending was happy, I had wished it was happier. I also wished Esmerelda's cousin had made an appearance and at least acknowledged her rightful place in society.

3 Stars

This one was ok. Some aspects of the story and the way the charters behaved were just wrong for a historical novel. It kind of threw me off some times. The pacing of the story was odd too. The first 40% of the book takes place within the first day of H and h meeting each other. I felt the secondary plot was weak and uninteresting. Obviously the whole point was for the H and h to get the two characters together and I enjoyed their relationship and their interactions, I just felt the story itself was weird.

This was a delightful novel. Always enjoy Amelia Grey stories and this was great. It wasn't as painful as many regency romance novels can be, the H was straightforward and interesting, the h was honest and kind. There wasn't a horrible mystery, and only one misconception, which was quickly clarified, instead of waiting weeks or months. This is the beginning of a series, which I look forward to reading. Sweet, passionate romance.

'Last Night with the Duke' by Amelia Grey is book One in the "The Rakes of St. James"series. This is the story of Griffin and Esmerelda. Griffin is getting ready to present his twin sisters to the town. But fears that without proper supervision for his sisters and that his wild past might hurt their them he thinks to get a competent chaperone. When he overhears Esmerelda talking to one of her employees he knows that she would be strong enough to handle his sisters and his past behavior. But what they don't count on is their attraction to each other which is pretty instant. Esmerelda does try to talk him out of her being the one for his sister but he is not having any of that. Esmerelda is the granddaughter of a Viscount but her grandfather disowned her mother when she up and married what he thought was beneath her. So Esmerelda has settled into her life as a worker, servant, and businesswomen. Their story did play out somewhat slow but for me I loved watching it happen. Ms. Grey is one of the authors I go to when I want a good Historical Romance and this did not disappoint. "My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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This story deeply touched me as two thoughtful people discovered much about themselves and love. The characters were believable and relatable to me without for one moment sacrificing the historical integrity (except the three eligible Dukes part). I appreciated the families of Griffin and Esmeralda, especially Josephine. I look forward to reading how their families fit in to the continuation of The Rakes of St. James trilogy.

Amelia Grey’s “Last Night with the Duke” is very, very good. Griffin is at a loss; his twin sisters are about to launch on their first season and his aunt has come down with a terrible rash (sounds like shingles). His sisters need a chaperone, a guiding hand, he is walking and thinking when he spots an agency that employs governesses and chaperones, he stops in and is instantly enthralled with Esmeralda. He knows he must have her and not just for a chaperone.

Esmeralda is barely holding everything together; she is raising her young sister alone and barely making enough to make ends meet. She refuses Griffin’s offer to be a chaperone to his sisters, he insists, she agrees only if she can bring her sister and their dog. Of course he agrees, he believes she will be a fine chaperone and he is a duke, he always gets his way.

There is quite a bit of chemistry between Griffin and Esmeralda. It did take them quite a bit to get together and express their feelings for each other, they alluded to it and danced around it for a while. This book was great though, there aren’t a lot of passionate scenes, but the buildup is really good.

I would highly recommend this book. There is a bit of a “mystery” going on, the duke and his other duke friends caused a scandal when they were younger and it seems someone is out for a bit of revenge. This wasn’t answered at the end of the book, so I am thinking that plot line will continue.

The Duke of Griffin's reputation as a rake has never really bothered him, until rumours that his twin sisters would probably bear the brunt of it. Now head of the family, he wants nothing to go wrong and so hireing Esmeralda, the granddaughter of a Viscount, as chaperone, he hopes she can alleviate any actions against the twins and help them with their debut, and keep them out of mischief.


I enjoyed this story which was given to me as an advanced readers copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

A very cute read. Griffin and Esmeralda are perfect for each other. Sarcastic, witty, smart and great fun. Imagine all of the crazy antics of being the only man living amongst a bunch of women/young ladies, well that is what happens in this story. Some great laugh out loud moments and some very sweet emotional moments. I really enjoyed reading their story. I do not think the scandal is over…there are two more dukes, right?!?

Esmeralda is a viscount's granddaughter but after her mother was disowned by the family for marrying an Irish poet, she finds herself overseeing a chaperone and governess business.
Griffin might have been a wild youth, but as the Duke and head of the family now, he wants nothing to go wrong when his twin sisters make their debut.
With the possibility of someone out to hurt Griffin's sisters he hires Esmeralda as their chaperone, thinking she has the fortitude to keep them out of mischief.
Sisters, dogs, young bucks, and finding love in a surprising place will make this a season Griffin and Esmeralda won't forget.

"Surrender, Miss Swift. I have won this battle."

Last Night With the Duke is the first in a series and introduces us to Griffin and Esmeralda. I found the beginning to be a very slow start with their first conversation taking 20-30% of the story. There was also a feeling of insta-lust/love as they were both very physically attracted to one another immediately. The slow start feed into a very slow half, the story doesn't really get going until the second part. The whole point of Griffin hiring Esmeralda is to keep his sisters in line and safe during their season debut. When Griffin younger, he and his two other Duke friends (the author acknowledges the stretch it would be to have three young and unmarried dukes at one time) committed a prank where they set up a situation where debutantes were tested to see if they would show up to meet a secret admirer. There's a rumor going around that someone is still upset over how that might have affected a debutante and is going to ruin Griffin's sisters to get back at him.

This was a good plot to create some mystery, it's brought up and worried about by Griffin, but then that was it. The danger, villain, or storyline never came to fruition and fizzled at the end. With the mystery plot not going anywhere I turned to the romance. I'm personally not a fan of insta-lust/love, so I started off on the wrong foot with this one. I also never thought Griffin and Esmeralda spent enough time together to develop any sort of relationship. Griffin was instantly an invader of Esmeralda's space and by their third conversation he was rubbing his nose against hers but since they didn't have any emotional connection, the tension felt off and misplaced. This also could have been a personal issue too, but since Esmeralda worked for Griffin, the unequal power dynamic gave his looming an uncomfortable feel.

The secondary characters of Griffin's sisters seemed nice if a little airy and spoiled while Esmeralda's younger sister seemed kind of bratty to me. Her attitude at times was obviously allowed to create angst and emotion but for me, I would have sent her to her room more than once. Griffin's friends are obviously introduced and set-up for books of their own, they didn't make a strong appearance but they were genial enough.

The biggest problem I had with this book was that I felt it was slow and nothing seemed to be happening until the very end when the last 10% rushed to wrap up the plots. Except for a very, very at the end bedroom scene, this was an extremely clean read with just a few kisses, which bedroom closed readers may appreciate.

This is one of those books you cannot put aside. I loved Esmeralda (always makes me think of the „The Hunchback of Notre-Dame“ with Maureen O’Hara). I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and this one is an easy 5-star-thingie.



Esmeralda Swift, the granddaughter of an aristocrat, lives with her sister over the agency for governesses and so on. She sees herself as an independent woman and too intelligent to fall for a scoundrel. She also has to care for her (half-) sister Josephine and their dog Napoleon (- loved this wordplay!)

When the Duke of Griffin finds his way into her agency in search for a chaperone for his twin sisters he sees her and knows that he must have her for all it takes. And it takes a lot of compromises because Esmeralda doesn’t want to be a chaperone.

Of course she falls for him and of course he falls for her but he doesn’t know about her family ties to a baronet but think her working class and as soon as she is in his employment he knows that he isn’t allowed to touch her – it’s something he doesn’t do, force himself on employees.

Nevertheless, sooner or later things turn around and they are allowed to be in love.

So, what was so good about this story? Esmeralda and Griffin are equals, they love to discuss and fight. Next to all this I didn’t care about the background story of the “Rakes of St. James” a lot in the beginning because it wasn’t explained but further on you also dip into this one because you know that there are the other rakes and their stories will eventually be in the center of Grey’s next books (wild guess!). Plus, there are the funny twins and their ongoing arguments and aunt Evelyn who pulls all the ties in the background (because of her illnesses) and not to forget Napoleon and Josephine – I liked the fact that Josephine grew up so much over the short period of the story – maybe a little too much.

All in all … loved it!

Esmeralda and Griffin are attracted to each other the minute he is caught eavesdropping on her scolding her employee at the Employment agency she manages. Immediately he decides that no one else will do to help chaperone his twin sisters during their debut season. Esmeralda hesitates until he offers a huge salary and says she can bring along her sister, Josephine, and their dog, Napoleon. Of course the attraction escalates but there are secrets that Esmeralda hides and a misunderstanding that may tear them apart.

I was captivated by the handsome Duke and by his fellow rakish friends, both dukes, Rath and Hawk. (Their stories to come in future books in the series) The chemistry between Esmeralda and Griffin was hot, no matter how much they tried to douse the flames it always flared up. Napoleon, the dog, was a comical side character. Griffin’s twin sisters Sara and Vera were typical rival siblings, so much fun to watch them try to outdo each other in their romantic debut season. Although a bit predictable it was a very entertaining read and a delightful first book in a series.

The Duke of Griffin is the first title in Amelia Grey’s Rakes of St. James. When Griffin heard that a plot to ruin his sisters at their debut, just because of what he and his friends done some years ago, the protection of Griffin’s twin sisters became paramount. With his aunt, unable to attend the season with the twins. Griffin decides to take matters into his own hands and hire a chaperone. What he finds was an intriguing Esmeralda Swift.

Esmeralda has her own problems mainly taking care of her 12-year old sister and her employment agency. But with the shady landlord swindled her into a higher price for ownership of the agency. She needs a cash flow. When Griffin enters her world with an offer she couldn’t refuse, she accepts but swore that she wouldn’t fall for one of the Rakes of St. James.

The plotline had so much promise. But fell flat on the delivery. For instance, the mystery of the person doing the plotting of ruining his sisters. The revelation was so lackluster. That I found the reuniting of pet and owner more enjoyable.