This is another sensual book in the Untouchables with the ‘Dukes of’ series.  Lionel thinks he has wounded another man in a duel of honor.  Instead the Viscount dies from his injuries. Truly a man of honor, Lionel visits the viscount’s widow and assures her he will help her in every way possible should she ever need it.  Eight months later, Emmaline’s parents are ‘selling’ her off to a man twenty years her senior.  And, not a very good man.  

She contacts Lionel and tells him to meet her at a ball.  Once there, she tells him that he must marry her in order to prevent her marriage to the other man.  He owes her.  So, they begin an extremely difficult marriage of convenience, especially since she hates him and cannot even stand looking at him.  But, she is able to get away from her really tacky parents who do not seem to even care for her or care about her feelings, wants or desires.  Her lonely childhood is mentioned several times.  Marriage to a man she  hates is preferable to the one her parents planned.

Lionel on the other hand, has a picture of his father in his office that he views frequently as the man he most admires.  Lionel’s first duel was to avenge his father’s death caused by another.  Lionel was raised by his parents in a very on hands style of parenting, seeing the love his parents had for each other and for him.  It was a very different childhood from Emmaline’s.  He truly is a kind man of honor and lives with the demons from the deaths he caused.

Emmaline’s first husband was an unscrupulous guy.  They had eloped to Gretna Green with Emmaline believing she loved him.  As their brief time together went on, he had quit coming to her bed and many times, she did not know where he was or what he was doing.  Upon his death, she found out he had a lot of debt that she could not pay.  Lionel paid some of that debt to clear it for her.  

This sweet story of Emmaline’s growing heart and Lionel’s generosity showed they were coming to care for each other, although it took a long time for Emmaline to let go of her hard feelings for Lionel and to forgive him.  Their HEA is a bit rough, but their sensual journey turns out to be a charming one.

I feel like I say this after finishing every book in this series, but this book’s couple is my absolute favorite of all of them. Somehow it’s true every time, and even more so with Emmaline and Lionel. They start as enemies–at least Emmaline believes Lionel is her enemy, and she gets through months of her life by plotting how she’ll get even with him–but end up as the best of friends and lovers, as the family that both of them have longed for for so long. How Ms. Burke gets us (and them, of course!) from enemies to lovers makes for an absolutely delicious story that I didn’t want to put down for even a second.

I was so afraid that this would be the last book in the series–silly, I know, since she has other books, many of which I’ve read (and the remainder are waiting in my TBR) but they’re not this series. Because, this series…. No worries, though, because her note at the end tells us that The Duke of Ice is coming next, though not when…

Patience, I know. But it’s hard. Did I mention how much I love this series?

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I received a copy from the publishers in via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

'The Duke of Danger' by Darcy Burke is Book Six in "The Untouchables" series. I haven't read any of the series up to now but this book can be read as a standalone.
Lionel Maitland, the Marquess of Axbridge has fought three duels, killing two men. He has earned the nickname 'The Duke of Danger.' He is a man driven by honour and the deaths way heavy on him. The last duel with Geoffrey Townsend has left Axbridge stricken with guilt.
Lady Emmaline Townsend is overrun with debt thanks to her deceased husband. Her parents are quick to arrange a second marriage to get their disappointing daughter off their hands. With no other options, Emmaline reaches out to her husbands killer to help her. Axbridge agrees to a marriage of convenience to assuage his guilt.
Can these two overcome their shared past and build a life together or will the sins of the past come back to haunt them?
This was an enjoyable read but not one of Darcy Burke's better offerings. There were so many avenues that Ms Burke touched on that would have led this book away from the typical historical romance. Axbridge's mental health issues are only briefly mentioned then forgotten about, the story would have been far more interesting if Ms Burke expanded on this. There is also the orphanage. I felt there could have been more there that would have added to the story.

Lionel Maitland, the Marquess of Axbridge, is a tortured man after being involved in 3 duels where two men died. He never meant to fatally wound either man, but that doesn't matter because the truth is two deaths occurred and are a stain on his conscience. When he finds himself railroaded into marrying the widow of his latest victim, Emmaline Townsend, he prepares himself for a lifetime of hatred from the widow. He accepts her strict conditions for a marriage of convenience only because he believes he deserves to be punished for his actions.

This story is a bit on the dark side where both the hero and heroine are flawed, almost beyond redemption. Lionel is honorable to a fault, but he continues to treat Emmaline with kindness and respect. Emmaline is harder to like in this story until details of her life are slowly revealed by the author. Ms. Burke knows how to weave a story that keeps the reader turning pages until the end. I enjoyed this story and can definitely be read as a stand alone book.

I really liked this entertaining historical read.  The story is fast-paced with plenty of suspense and drama.  I liked both Emmaline and Lionel and they had great chemistry.  Lionel has killed two men, both in duels, and the second was Emmaline’s husband, now she need him to save her from a bad marriage.  Will Emmaline be able to set aside her hate for Lionel and find a way to care for him?  Will Lionel ever get over his guilty for killing?  Great addition to the Untouchables Series.

This is another easy and enjoyable Regency read from the Untouchables series, even if it does stretch the point of credulity a little too far in some places to accommodate the plot. It’s also a fairly unusual romance in that our heroine marries the man who killed her husband – something about which she really wasn’t happy at the time.

It’s a good thing I liked Lionel, because the idea that even a peer could kill two men in a duel (including another peer) and just hang out in Dublin for a year each time without getting in any kind of difficulty was a bit of a stretch. Duelling was illegal and although people tended to look the other way over such things (unless the police heard, then they would break it up), not so much when people died and especially not when peers were involved. So that was the first issue I had, but I ignored it because Lionel somehow won me over with his high sense of honour and inability not to kill his duelling opponents.

I quite like Emmaline too, even if she was a tad impulsive when it came to marriage. She just jumps right in, taking no prisoners. The problem is I liked Lionel so much that I ended up annoyed with Emmaline at the way she treats him – even though she has every right to be a little mean since he killed her husband and all.

And that’s the joy of this book. It somehow managed to make the sensible seem ridiculous and the ridiculous seem normal. It’s been less than a year since Emmaline’s husband died, but she not only gets married again, it's to Lionel – and this is all fine. It’s not really, and a little more time passing might have helped, but somehow the story sweeps you in and along, past some orphans, into a murky plot of extortion, around something about an old mistress and into seduction and love and drama.

It’s daft but enjoyable, and the way Lionel treats Emmaline is all rather lovely. He’s supportive and generous and ridiculously decent, if a little heavy on the guilt-wallowing. Emmaline turns into a good match for him too, once the old stuff is swept away and she can see him for who he is.

However, even with all the crazy stuff that I managed to ignore, I do think the romantic rival bit was pretty weak and the ending was too far-fetched even for me to swallow. [Firstly, the seconds should have played a greater part in trying to resolve the issue, and secondly, the challenger does not get to pick the weapon, the time or the location, that was for the challenged party to decide and the seconds to arrange. As for someone keeping a pair of duelling pistols hanging around, fully loaded – no. She should have just borrowed West’s and forgotten to give it back. (hide spoiler)]

So in all this was fun and far-fetched, but certainly an original take on an antagonistic romance. If you think about any of it too deeply it really doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, so if you can content yourself without doing that, you’ll get a rather enjoyable Regency with an unusual plot. If, however, you’re not in the mood to suspend your disbelief because historical accuracy is more your thing, this will likely leave you screaming and unable to finish. I landed somewhere in the middle and although I did enjoy it, the ending sadly pushed things a little too far for me.

Darcy Burke is an amazing storyteller. I always aenjoy her books. Emmalone and Lionel's story had twists and turns and was fantastic!

Lionel Maitland, Marquess of Axbridge, is known as the Duke of Danger for killing two of his dueling opponents. He’s tortured by guilt and he wants to help anyway he can so when Lady Emmaline Townsend approaches him with a proposition how can he refuse. Widowed and destitute, Lady Emmaline Townsend must marry the man of her parents choosing, a man she detests, but is that her only option. Lionel and Emmaline strike a devil’s bargain and both agree to a marriage of convenience and that’s where the story really takes off.  They are attracted to each other, their passions simmering waiting to be unleased. Lionel is known to be a man of honor so why did he kill her husband in a duel? Will her dead husband’s transgressions come between them when they’re unwitting pawns in an ugly conspiracy set in motion by a dangerous man?  Lionel and Emmaline romance is a great story that is as passionate as it is heartbreaking as they try to find the HEA they both so richly desire and deserve.
This is my honest opinions after I voluntarily read a copy of this book that was provided to me with no requirements for a review.

It was so touching and at the same time frustrating story. I can feel the pain and guilt and love while reading.
Another marvelous writing from Darcy. Absolutely love her work.

The Duke of Danger by Darcy Burke
The Untouchables #

Lionel has dueled thrice and twice have his opponents died. As a man of honor he feels the deaths as a weight that lingers and presses down. He offers to help Emmaline when her husband succumbs to his wound but she sends him away only to call him back suddenly. Not wanting to marry the man her parents want to marry her off to she coerces Lionel into a marriage of convenience that will not provide Lionel with heirs. But, as with all good romances like this…love grows slowly between the two and a HEA is achieved. 

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC – This is my honest review. 

4 Stars

This has to be one of my favorite of the Duke series. I loved Lionel. Loved this book. Great story and romance.

This is a fair and honest review in return for being allowed this ARC.  Darcy Burke is one of my "go to" reads because her stories are always so well written and great characters.  This one is part of a series and of course, I have them all.  You should too,

It all started with a kitten named Jade. The progression of the emotions from anger and despair to acceptance and love is written in a very believable way that really makes this story so wonderful. Okay, so I did not like Emmaline through about half of the book but as the story progresses her demeanor changes and you see her in a different light. Lionel on the other hand was so easy to like from the beginning. He is so distraught, you ache for him. It was lovely watching their changes and seeing how they really needed each other.

If only people knew what it does to Lionel every time he duels. He is a man of honor, and he tries to do the honorable thing. So when the Widow of the last man he dueled asked him to marry her for convenience only, he felt honor bound to grant her wish. It's the little things that he does and the things that people tell her about him that make her doubt the things she believed about him. The story pretty much is just Lionel and Emmaline, with just glances of their friends. The Duke of Danger is a very enjoyable book to read.