Lord Alexander Pemberton, second son of the Duke of Bedford, has spent his life being reminded of his less than revered position in the family. So when he loses the love of his life, Lady Patience, to an arranged marriage with his brother, a heartbroken Alex joins the military. Four years later, he's called home to assume the title after his brother's death. Though he's unprepared for his new responsibilities, Alex is stunned to discover that Patience never married his brother. And that he's now expected to marry her…Once carefree and innocent, years of bullying at the hands of her fiance and her father have left Patience Browning jaded. And now that her father expects her to marry Alex, she knows promises made in their youth aren’t enough to overcome what life has done to them. Alex is not the same man he was before war, and she can't marry someone who doesn't love her. But real love can grow and transform, if only Patience could believe that.
This was a pretty good book. I’m not too crazy about second chance romances, but this one was an exception. Watching them go from innocent and in love to jaded from everything they had been through in 4 years almost breaks your heart and praying for their HEA. The whole story was very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I really enjoyed Alex and Patience's story! This was a reunion story, which is always one of my favorites!

Ripped apart by the actions of their parents, Alex and Patience are reunited after 4 yrs. But the time apart has made both of them different people. Can they find the love that they once shared? I really loved watching these two find their HEA!

I can't wait to see what the next Lords and Ladies in Love story will bring us!

Enjoyable read. A second chance romance. I was provided a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

So I very much like the concept of the book. The H & H start as friends and have a five day whirlwind romance. The of course promise to be with each other but of course that can’t be life right. This book was nice at time I wish some things where more elaborated on but all in all a nice book. I received this book for review from NetGalley.

Another great historical romance written by Callie. Right from the first page we are drawn into the times with lords and ladies. The detail and description in this book have you thinking you are walking right along with Patience and Alex. 
I read this book over an afternoon. Alex falls in love with the younger and sweeter Lady Patience and promises to make a life with her in three years. Only to find that very night his love has been promised to his other brutal brother Cyrus. I loved these characters right from the start. At first i thought Patience was going to be one of these delightful ladies who never speaks out and does as she is told but you soon come to learn she is quite a strong force. Alex on the other hand is so smitten he takes the news poorly. He goes off to war with a broken heart and returns a broken man. I loved this sweet tale of young lust and need that turned into a love so strong neither Alex or Patience knew of its strength.

I enjoyed this book so much , the I am looking forward to purchase more books from Callie Hutton.

Normally I really enjoy historical romances but this one was not for me.  I had quite a few issues with it.

I thought the story was fine but I found it a bit repetitive.  The characters went over the same thoughts over and over again.  The romance didn't work for me at all.  The characters kiss in the very first chapter then there is a slow build to a relationship.  That didn't suit my taste.  I prefer it the other way round.  But most my issues came from the characters.  She constantly talks about hoe she it always being bullied and she won't stand for it any more but she does every time.  He is an idiot who things she is some silly twit and refuses to communicate with her in any way.  It is no wonder that most the time she wanted nothing to do with him.

DNF I will try again in the future (Have kept in my GoodReads to be read list)

I'm a big fan of Callie Hutton; I love her Marriage Mart Mayhem series like crazy.  I enjoy her the Lords and Ladies in Love series as well.  Unfortunately "Denying the Duke" took a lot of time for me to get into it.  I don't know if it was the books fault or my own but by the end I did enjoy it.  However I felt as though I had to push my way through to the point where I was "all in".  When I first started reading romance Historical were my go-to genre but somewhere along the line I became very selective.  I have a very short list of "go to" Historical authors and Callie Hutton is one of them.  Her books have solid storylines, endearing characters, and wonderfully humorous elements.  I'm not certain what caused me to take so long to warm up.
I believe part of the problem is so many "villains".  I use the term loosely since I'm referring to the Heroine's parents, the hero's family, and a true villain.  The initial love story, where the main characters fell in love at sixteen and eighteen is fabulous.  What tears them apart is a solid conflict.  The reasoning for it comes so late and is wasted in it's lack of development.  It is frustrating to me because it's such a waste; but perhaps that's the point.  The hero has three best friends and they're delightfully fabulous and better get their own stories.  Alex and Patience are extremely likable characters but they do a lot of hemming and hawing once they are reunited.  Which I think is what turned me off for so long.  Unfortunately I feel they finally get it together near the end of the book when it's almost too late.

Again, not a fan of novels with leads who have “seen the real world” and changed, usually due to negative events. However, this novel struck a chord with me. I have known my husband all my life and fell in love with him long before we dated. However, we both had a lot of growing up to do. Had we tried a relationship before we did, I don’t think we would still be together. There is a time and place for everything and I certainly felt that in accordance with this novel. 

I think because of that, I felt more forgiving of all the little things that annoyed me in this novel, whether it was something eye-rolling worthy that someone said or did or something that was just cliché or annoying. 

Overall, I enjoyed this novel especially because I felt more connected to it than others. I could understand the character’s motivations and actions even if I didn’t agree with how they handled them. Definitely a touching second chance romance.

Four years ago, Alex, a second son, quickly fell for Lady Patience at a house party. Unbeknownst to either of them was that she was to be betrothed to his brother, the heir. Alex left his family’s estate for the military the night of the announcement and only returned when the title passed to him. and joined the military.
Patience believed Alex would come back for her until years passed by. She still managed to avoid marriage but suffered for it. She was no longer the same girl Alex returns to but he was not the same boy either. Can what they once had be found or will they make it into something better? 
From the first chapter I thought I would be enraptured by this story. While it was good the detail of what each person was feeling didn't carry through to the main part of the story. I never felt Alex really empathized with what Patience endured. Yes, he was mad at her father but did he realize her treatment lasted 4 years? Was he proud of her for fighting for them when he just left?
I'm glad they matured but they still needed to capture back a bit of their youthful love.

Title: Denying the Duke
Author: Callie Hutton
Series: Lords and Ladies in Love #3
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pub Date: July 10, 2017 
Pages: 238
My Copy: Courtesy of NetGalley and Entangled Publishing 

Book Summary:

Four years ago, Alex, a second son, had planned a life together with Lady Patience. However, when Patience was betrothed to his brother, the heir, Alex left his family's estate and joined the military.

Alex returns to assume the title Duke of Bedford when his brother unexpectedly dies. He is unprepared for both his new responsibilities and the reunion with Patience. The horrors of war are a heavy burden, and when he learns that Patience never married his brother, he is stunned.

Patience withstood the bullying of her fiancé and her father for four long years. She refuses to marry Alex just because he's the duke, especially if he no longer loves her. How would that be better than what she has already endured? Promises made in their youth are not enough to overcome the changes life has wrought for them but love can grow and transform, if only Patience could believe that.

Book Review:

	A very interesting romance that has you immediately hooked from the start. What starts off as something so sweet and tender as young love becomes complicated when forces beyond their control happen and learn that they will not be able to keep promises made to one another.

	I like how we start off in the past when both of our main characters, Alex and Patience are young. They both enjoy each other’s companies when Patience’s family visits his family’s estate. The problem is that Alex is the second son, and therefore doesn’t inherit anything. So he is going to have to make his own way in life. Patience and him have a very sweet and tender friendship that develops into a romance, but it’s ruined in a way that neither of them can see coming. 

	You get to learn that there are other things that are at play. Deals are made between between the two families and instead of Patience getting engaged to Alex, she gets engaged to Cyrus the older brother. Cyrus is going to the be the next Duke and she will be a Duchess. She cares nothing for Cyrus and is not nice at all. So when she tries to get out of it, her mother tells her to just accept it. We learn that Patience’s father is a very nasty piece of work and a bully. He lays his hands on his wife and makes sure that Patience knows his intentions. So when the announcement is made, Alex is so upset and Patience looks stunned and he notices that she is as pale as a ghost. Alex leaves and gets his grandparents to purchase him admittance into the army.

	So then we are fast forwarded to a few years later. His father has died and how he learns that his brother has died, which makes him the duke. This is a position that he never thought that he would never inherit. He also wonders about why Cyrus and Patience never had any children. This is something that he never thought would occur. So of course, when he sees his mother and Patience again, things are different. He is a man that has seen the worst of humanity because of his time during war. These things definitely have left him scarred.

	Things transpire and we learn that Cyrus and Patience never got married. Alex also learns that Lord Loverly has escaped. Lord Loverly is a traitor and very dangerous. Alex is the one who captured him. He finds out more information about the kind of relationship that Cyrus and Patience had or lack of one. Now everybody who tried to stop them when they were younger are pushing them together. We also learn that Patience’s father is in serious debt. The only reason he hasn’t been put in debtors prison is because of their relationship with the Duke of Bedford. So of course he gets very physically abusive and Alex sees something that he shouldn’t seen and tells Patience’s father that he will not lay his hands on any women while he is in his home.

	Of course, Alex and Patience start courting one another and nothing goes right. Mistakes get made. Feelings get hurt. Botched Proposals. We also find that their engagement gets shortened because of Alex’s duties with Parliment. He really finds that Patience is the kind of woman who wants a man to want her. Not to mention the engagement is one that they don’t get to spend a lot of time with one another. So when they get married, the marriage and honey moon is something of a rocky start. Of course then things get fun and they fight. Other things happen. Lord Loverly causes problems as well. He captures her and then Alex with the help of his friends manage to rescue her. Lord Loverly is someone that Alex kills unfortunately because the man is very dangerous and vile.

	I like that the couple gets the happily ever after in this book after Patience tells him some very good news. Really like this ending in a way that I wasn’t expecting. 

	This was a good solid historical.

Rating:

4.5 Hearts

Denying the Duke is the third novel in the Lords and Ladies in Love Series. I might have enjoyed the book, but not as much as the first in the series. I would have loved the book if mainly Alex knew one world. Communication. I do not understand why he didn't want to talk to Patience about his enemy and the threat he was posing to her. If he had taken the time to explain that she was in danger and she needed at least a guard, I would have been a happy lady. It would have shown that he trusted her and he respected her as a person. Alex was not a favorite person of mine and for me, he kinda ruined the book. The book would have gotten a higher rating if it wasn't for him. Patience was ok as a character. She didn't blow my mind, but she was decent for a heroine.

Second chance at your first love has a long hard road to travel through betrayal, deceit, pain, and conflicting emotions and hesitations. Alex was just a second son that fell in love with the wrong lady. She becomes promised to his older brother. The brother that will received the title. Unwilling to stick around and just accept what was to be he went out in the world to make something of himself and forget. He never dreamed that he would have to come back home to become duke or to find that his one love was never married and wanted nothing to do with him. Tired of being told what to do and how to do it, Patience wants to have nothing to do with the man that destroyed her world with one simple act. Even with her heart longing to be near him she refuses to just give in to his return. 

This was a beautiful read in a second chance romance that was a road wore down by life, abuse, pain, sights seen and unseen. Alex and Patience have to overcome more than just the past they have an enemy out there looking to take away their possible happiness. 

A historical romance that brings you to why you read romance. There was pain, sorrow, betrayal, deceit, romance, growth and more.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35429922-denying-the-duke?from_search=true

I really enjoyed this book it was a super addition to the series.I really liked Patience and Alex they were great characters he could be a little over the top at times but i did like him.A great would recommend.

Denying the Duke is the story of Alex and Patience. Alex is the second son of the Duke of Bedford. The first time he sees Patience he is drawn to her. They end up making a plan to be together but when Patience is betrothed to his brother, Alex can't take it. He leaves to join the military. Four years have gone by and Alex returns when his brother dies. He doesn't want to assume the Dukedom and is shocked when he learns that Patience never married his brother. War has changed him and Patience refuses to marry him now because she wants him to love her. 

I really enjoyed this book. I was yelling at Alex and Patience for their logic at times. I was impressed that Patience was able to stand her ground and not marry Alex's brother. That's one thing that bugs me in historical romances is the arranged marriages. I know it's how the times are and I'm super glad I didn't live during those times! Overall I thought this book was a good read and I hope to read more in this series.

Second chances can be very hard won, Patience and Alex need to work through past anger and hurt, to arrive at their well deserved happy ending. Love this author.
I received an ARC copy of this book from netgalley.

A young lady gets betrothed to the wrong brother!

I'm teetering on indecision with this book. I wanted to love it. A second chance story is right up my alley. I was even on board with the way our pair was put together and ripped apart since I knew they'd reconcile in the end. But after Alex and Patience reconnected, it almost felt like the author tried to force a story on them, if that makes any sense.

I also thought the lack of communication between Patience and Alex was odd considering their past. It should have been the two of them against everyone else. I found Patience's sudden withdrawal from Alex as being confusing and an unnecessary addition. She didn't really give him a fair chance. And Alex hiding the threat from her was odd. Then Patience getting angry when the threat was eliminated. Huh? In all, this book tested my patience. Pun intended.

I can't say that it was all bad. I thought the couple had really good chemistry when they actually spent time together. The villains were cruel. The kind you want to hate. I enjoyed the love scenes, even though they were sparse. With all of the other stuff going on, it was a miracle our couple got to spend any time together at all. But when they did, it was fabulous.

In closing...
I think this was a case of too-much-plot, but I'm willing to give this author another shot. Three stars!

Full review on blog: https://uptildawnbookblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/review-denying-duke-by-callie-hutton.html