Utterly boring! Let's start off with Hawk. A rake who doesn't want his sister's reputation compromised. Yet, he has no issue with plotting constantly compromise Loretta. Then there's Loretta, a complete ninny. And very self-righteous and downright annoying. How she took to Farley and wanted to keep him. When he was just a rude ingrate. Paxton and Adele, featherbrained idiots. Paxton constantly smiling and never being serious for more than 30 seconds. Adele, a spoiled brat who felt everyone should cater every last one of her needs. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen, something, anything significant. But the plot never seemed to pick up. I skimmed through pages only to find more of the same. Just plain awful.. This is my honest opinion and I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for my opinion.

A great second book of the series. A slow seduction... I loved how the book developed in storyline and character development. This Historical Romance is a 2 for 1. Two couples get together in this book in two different ways. Who says one is better than the other? This is a must read! And can be read as a standalone if you haven't read the first book. Both are page turners.

To The Duke, With Love by Amelia Grey reminded me why I love historical/regency romance.

There's just something about the balls and gowns, dukes and duchesses, society and all that, it makes me wish I've been born then... I think what I found most interesting about this book was that for once, there weren't balls for the heroine to attend. Imagine that!

I enjoyed the banter between Loretta and Hawk from the moment they first meet. Sparks fly, yet I didn't think it was love at first sight as they're just intrigued by what they see.

Hawk is the perfect (alpha) gentleman. Once he sets his mind on winning Loretta, he doesn't waver. Even when he shares with his friends the challenge she presents, he's always thinking of how not to lose her when he's only just found her. I loved that. He sort of reminds me of Sebastian, the Duke of St Ives, one of my favorite heroes of all time.

I liked that Loretta isn't the naive type of heroine. She's no damsel in distress, and has learned to live within the means her uncle provides as part of her punishment for not marrying the man of his choosing. She's also not quick to fall for the duke. She knows he can get her out of her misery but she refuses to do that because that would be too easy, and she wants true love. I was totally digging her reasons.

However, I did find Paxton, her brother, and Hawk's sister annoying and unreal. Hawk's sister was too childish for a young woman who's 18 years old, and therefore the arrangement between her and Paxton didn't seem right to me. Thank goodness his sister was in few scenes, else I'm not sure I would've been able to read the book.

All in all, this was a good book that I might read again.

This was an enjoyable read that I read a couple weeks ago and honestly not much of it stuck with me which makes it harder to review. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. The attraction was a little too instant for me and while I know arranged marriages aren't too unusual back then it still rankled me a little especially when we meet Hawk's sister and she was so willing to put her entire future in Hawk's hands. She's the sort of females in these books that irritate me when they find little need to think for themselves and rather rely completely on the men in their lives. The conflict over Loretta's vow never to marry was resolved just a little too easily for my tastes especially since such a big deal was made of it. It was one of those moments where I felt like "That's it?! All that bemoaning and hand wringing and then it's solved just like that?".

Other than that the story itself moved along nicely and was a pleasant read but not one I would rush to go read again.

The Rakes of St. James continues with the Duke of Hawksthorn or Hawk trying to protect his little sister by betrothing her to Paxton Quick, younger brother of Loretta Quick, before the season. He is hoping an engagement will protect her from whomever it is that seeks revenge against the three rakes. Apparently, he has been watching the gentlemen around London for some time looking for the one that will be a good match for his sister, Adele. My first thought was – would Adele be amenable to an arranged match? Apparently so, as you find out deeper into the book.

Hawk goes to Mammoth House in the country to make the offer of his sister in marriage to Paxton. Instead of Paxton, he comes upon Loretta, Paxton’s sister. He quickly realizes he has come up against a young lady who is so adamantly against arranged marriages, she walked out of the church to keep from taking part of her own arranged marriage. While she is convincing him this is not a good idea because she wants her brother to marry for love, he is falling in love with her and her strong personality. But, keep in mind she walked out on marriage once already.

Loretta does not live at Mammoth House because she wants to live there. She was banished there by her uncle and guardian after refusing the arranged marriage he planned for her. That evening a street urchin knocks at their back door for food during an ice storm. Loretta is so taken with the little boy, Farley, that she wants to make him part of her household. Through out the book Hawk warns her against this telling her Farley will not change. She believes he is wrong.

There are several strong characters in the book, among them Paxton, who always appears to be kind of happy go lucky. But, when push comes to shove he proves to be as strong as Hawk himself. All together these characters weave together to make a really good romance.

Ms. Grey is great about making her romantic books realistic in so many ways leaving you feeling the book ended better than you would have thought. She brings in the other rakes of St. James to help keep you in touch with them. I am already looking forward to Rath’s story. Since he does not have younger siblings as Griffin and Hawk, his story should be as different as the first two.

This story was interesting, but not the best of this author. Still, I liked the H and h, and liked them together, I suspect there is another book or two to come in the series for the siblings of this couple, and to reserve the story of how the young waif from this story ends. This story just didn’t seem quite as dynamic as some of the others I’ve read of the author. Still a fun regency romance.

I couldn't get through this and decided to throw in the towel pretty early; was skimming by the time I got to 25% and stopped even trying not long after. Pretty quickly after starting, I had a feeling this wasn't going to be the book for me. I put it aside for Mary Balogh's Someone to Hold , which I proceeded to read cover to cover, and it reminded me again that there are too many books, too little time, and I wasn't going to waste any on a book that I couldn't get into.

What put me on alert immediately was the insta-lust that takes place between the hero and heroine. I'll admit it's hard for me to like that in HRs period, but it has been known to happen. The reason it didn't work here is the same reason why it normally doesn't work, and that's because it caused way too much eye-rolling and was SO over-the-top!


Loretta walks in, Sloane turns around, and BOOM , he's immediately struck: "She looked pure, sweet, and completely untouched by masculine hands. [what does that even mean?? what did he expect, handprints?] A sudden, deep rush of desire flamed through him, and the rhythm of his heartbeat changed." Puh-leaze. And of course, let's not forget to mention his on-fire loins—"Had she been his mistress he would have forgotten all about the growl of hunger in his stomach and fed the raging appetite in his loins." Better keep that thing on a leash, buddy.

Our heroine isn't much better: she's "quite simply shaking in her slippers" from when she first sees him, and not from fear or nervousness, but "because the moment she saw him, something changed inside her and she still wasn't sure what to make of the new, startling, and unexplained feelings that had swept over her at the sight of him. [I get desire and I get instant attraction, but all the "first sight" lightning strikings are too much for me!] She wasn't out of breath, yet she was breathless. She wasn't dizzy, yet she felt light-headed. She wasn't hungry, yet looking at him caused a ravenous appetite to rise up within her." Someone give the woman a meal (and enough with the constant sexual hunger).

Mind you, all of this is in the first 10% of the book, within only a few hours of meeting each other. And pretty much nothing has happened, except some back-and-forth banter that felt very forced, and lots and lots of dirty thinking. There were definitely some interesting possibilities and I had been excited by the summary—I love cast-out heroines and was looking forward to seeing how she would navigate everything, plus a good "enemies"-to-lover (even if not really outright enemies) plot can be the best when done well!

Other than both the leading characters' over-the-top-ness, the hero was arrogant and domineering, the heroine got on my nerves, her "vow" that she has to stick to is silly, etc. Seems to have pretty stellar ratings thus far though, so I'm glad others enjoyed it more than I did.


This review is of an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Some changes and/or edits may be made to the final published version.

To the Duke, With Love was another excellent historical romance by Ms. Grey. Solid romance with heat.

Hawk Sloane is a Duke who, due to the death of his parents, became responsible for his young sister Adele. Now it's time for Adele's first season, and as a result of a prank Hawk took part in when he was younger, he fears some members of society will take revenge on him by hurting Adele. Hawk decides the best way to prevent that from happening is to get Adele engaged before the start of the season, and he has searched for the "perfect" match for her. He has decided that Paxton Quick is the one, and so he sets off to approach Paxton about said marriage. What he didn't anticipate is finding Paxton has an older sister, Loretta, who has been banished to the country three years earlier when she refused to marry the man her Uncle arranged for her to marry. Loretta is determined that her brother will never be forced into a marriage based on anything but love, and she butts heads with Hawk over the marriage. While locked in this battle these two find themselves attracted to each other and they have to find a way to have a happily ever after for all concerned. What ensues is an enjoyable romance novel.

I received an ARC for my honest opinion.

Hawk comes to Loretta's family to match his sister with Loretta's brother to protect her since people might ruin her seeking revenge on Hawk. Loretta refused to marry years earlier so is away from society and vowed to never marry. She wants her brother to marry for love and is not keen on the idea of an engagement between the siblings. There is immediate attraction between Hawk and Loretta which struck me much more as infatuation and lust instead of love. I would have preferred a slower build up to their relationship. I also thought her vow to never vow extreme. I enjoyed the book overall, thank you.

This is a lovely written book. I liked the romance between Hawk and Loretta. He knew he wanted her and helped her to realize they could be together. His sister and her brother just added to story. I liked the personalities of the characters.

I have to commend Loretta for staying true to the vow that she felt that she made to never marry and stay pure. Lord knows most would have given in to Hawks advancements. However I thought that the book was a little too tame because of this. I did enjoy it though and will refer it to my friends.

This was the first book I have read from Ms. Grey and I truly enjoyed the novel. I have had issues in the past with books the jump into mad passionate sex in the first chapter, so I was very pleased that this one didn’t! The story had a good story line …the characters were believable …and I liked the second story plot of Farley thrown in. I would look forward to reading more from this author and search out her work!

I would like to thank Ms. Grey, the publishers and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved Hawk and Loretta's story. It was so real that you felt a part of the book. I enjoyed every part of the book and felt like I was right there with the characters. A book not to miss.

This book started a bit slow but thank goodness it picked up a bit towards the middle.. The story revolves around the Duke of Hawksthorn who is looking to arrange a marriage for his sister.. He picks the brother of Loretta Quick, who was banished by her Uncle when she refused to marry the man her Uncle chose for her.. The story takes off from the moment Hawk makes his way to the residence of both Loretta and Paxton.. Hawk explains the situation to Loretta who on the other hand is determined that her brother marry only for love.. I just love how the siblings interact with each other.. I found it so sweet and cute..
Overall, this was a light and enjoyable read that has no cheating, drama or complicated situations...

ARC was provided by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Ms. Amelia Grey.. Thank you so much!

Sloane “Hawk” Knox, The Duke of Hawksthorn has enemies. People he thinks might ruin his young sister, Adele, to get their revenge. His solution? Arrange an engagement to the best candidate before the season begins.

Miss Loretta Quick fled from her own arranged marriage and won’t let her younger brother marry for anything but love. When Hawk arrives on her doorstep on the verge of a winter storm when her brother isn’t even in residence, she reluctantly lets him stay to explain his proposition. One thing that throws the whole night into utter chaos is the arrival of a sick beggar boy at Loretta’s kitchen door. Hawk doesn’t trust the boy but his pull toward Loretta has him giving in to her wishes to help the boy.

Hawk and Loretta eventually agree to let Adele meet with Paxton Quick to see if they might like each other enough for marriage. What starts as a mission to wed their siblings quickly turns into a game of desire for Hawk and Loretta.

I though Hawk and Loretta were both too stubborn to see any side other than their own in the beginning. As the time they spend together grows longer, the fiery passion erupts to a point where Hawk will fight family and friends to find a way to be with Loretta. The addition of the beggar boy to the story was an interesting twist I didn’t anticipate, but rather enjoyed the obstacles he presents. The twists and turns toward love are not easy, Grey makes the journey a worthwhile one. Hawk and Loretta are feisty and have a passion that explodes when the two join forces. They became one of my favorite historical romance couples as the novel ended in an unexpected perfection.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

To the Duke, with Love


Ms. Amelia Grey has given us another entertaining and enjoyable story. “To the Duke, with Love” has all the elements of a typical Regency romance, however, Ms. Grey has also included a storyline regarding the lost or abandoned children of the period.
In “To the Duke, with Love”, the hero is confident, good looking, rich and loving. The heroine is smart, beautiful, and strong-minded. The secondary characters are well written and add an enjoyable layer to the overall plot.
I was a little disappointed with how quickly the H/h became enthralled with each other. While I did enjoy how these two matched wits, I prefer an attraction that develops slowly and is a bit more intricate.
On the other hand, Ms. Grey wrote a pleasurable romance without scheming ex-girlfriends, unhappy relatives, or any mix-ups that could easily be explained if one of the characters would just speak up.
If you enjoy a nice paced, uncomplicated regency romance with a touch of realism, I would definitely recommend this novel.

I like this author and series both. The tension between the two main characters was well written and made me like them even more. Can't wait for the next one.

I really enjoyed this book, the story about Miss Loretta Quick and the Duke of Hawsthorn. After refusing to go through with an arranged marriage Loretta has been socially outcast by her Uncle and lives a lonely existence at his hunting lodge. She is happy with her decision and content with her life, until Sloane Knox, the Duke of Hawksthorn, arrives on her doorstep one dark and rainy night. He wishes to propose a match between his sister and her brother, who have never met. Having a very low opinion of arranged marriages Loretta objects to his proposal and the sparks fly between them from the beginning, the evidence of their own attraction to each other only adding to the electricity around their interactions. What I loved about this novel though was the story beyond the romance. I appreciated the effort by the author to tackle some of the more undesirable elements of Regency society through the character of the orphan boy Farley which I found to be a plausible theme in this well written book. The other characters added depth to the plot and a suitable ending was crafted for all of them. This is the second story in the Rakes of St James series, but can be read as a standalone book quite easily as I had not read the first. I will be seeking out the first and I will definitely read more by this author.

This is the first I've read from Amelia Grey even though it's the second book in this series. The set up for the series seems to be that 3 dukes, when they were younger were foolish and sent anonymous love letters toying with the debutantes of that season. Years later those three men are now concerned with the come outs for their younger sisters and worried about the repercussions of their younger actions. In this book we have Hawk who is hoping to make a match for his sister before the season begins. He finds the perfect candidate for his sister and when he goes to speak with the man about his proposition, he instead comes upon the sister, Loretta. The couple have an interesting chemistry as Loretta is set upon dissuading her brother from the arranged match with Hawk's sister. It was an enjoyable and easy read without too much drama. It was fun to see the dialogue between the two as they come together. I would be interested in reading more from Amelia Grey.