When Lady Alexandra was at the L’Ecole de Chardonne the headmaster punished and raped her leaving her forever scarred but Alexandra managed to fight back. Luckily her friends the Red Rogues knew her secret and the horrible crime of what the headmaster had done. Ten years later Alexandra has left the school and her old life becoming Dr. Alexandra Lane. When Alexandra arrives at Devonshire she spies a wild horse and attempts to tame him. The horse belongs to none other than Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne. Piers is fascinated by Alexandra even though she doesn’t know yet who he is. Unfortunately Piers is betrothed to Alexandra’s best friend Francesca but in a twist of fate becomes Alexandra’s husband. As Alexandra and Piers get to know each other the past and secrets that plague their lives could also destroy them in the end.
This emotional heartfelt regency romance will definitely cause a roller coaster of feelings from the very beginning! Sure the story starts off a little distastefully with a rape and might make some turn away from it because of the content. The author really knows how to tell a wonderful story no matter what happens! Still how the strong courageous Alexandra faces trial and tribulation with her determination will make anyone smile. She truly is a heroine that is worth rooting for and one that is easy to like. Piers the harsh overbearing hero at first isn’t bad but how he deals with Alexandra’s situation could have been better. At times you really want to shake some sense into him but really can’t blame his overprotective jealous nature. This is definitely a good book and one worth reading!

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days is a book about trauma, and how processing trauma can be a lifelong undertaking. Alexandra has secrets that she is desperate not to reveal. But someone knows about her past and is blackmailing her; in the meantime her family has become destitute, leaving her unable to pay. To save herself and her friends, who share her secrets, she decides to marry the Duke of Redmayne who is very rich but also quite scary. This book deals with hard, serious trauma in a very sensitive way. And while Redmayne is possessive and fierce in the way of many historical romance dukes, he is also kind and understanding. Once he understands what Alexandra has been through he is amazing. I really like how their relationship developed. Often in romance there's a lot of chemistry but not a lot of getting to know each other. While the course of this book isn't that long, Byrne repeatedly writes that the two characters talk and laugh and really enjoy each other's company. I really liked that. I also loved Alexandra - an archaeologist with a PhD - and her two best friends. They had a wonderful friendship, and she was brave and smart and caring. This book has quite the melodramatic plot, and I tore through it to find out what would happen. I wasn't crazy about the epilogue, but I'm definitely interested in the next book, as well as Byrne's back catalog. Recommended!

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

It all starts at L’Ecole de Chardonne, a school for girls were Alexandra Lane meets Francesca Cavendish and Cecelia Teague, all three aristocrats with flaming red hair who become inseparable friends. The goal of all three, at almost seventeen, is to graduate and leave L’Ecole de Chardonne and pursue a University degree, but evil is within men with power and Alexandra is forced to save herself. In one moment, her life is changed forever and with her two other friends, they are forced to bear a secret that would destroy them if it ever comes to light.

Years later, after exploring the world and earning her doctor in archaeology, Alexandra receives an invitation to her friend Francesca’s wedding. This is the first sign of danger, the women swear to not marry, but with the invitation came a note asking for her help signed by Francesca. As Alexandra arrives to Devonshire station and waits for her friend Cecelia to arrive, she saves a woman and her child from a rampage of horses and in the process meets who she believes to be the stablemaster of Castle Redmayne. A spark ignites in both of them, but Alexandra’s fear of men makes her flee to her friend’s safety.

The next day after reuniting with Francesca and learning the reason for her sudden wedding, Alexandra meets Francesca’s future husband, the man she tough to be a stablemaster, but instead is Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne. In a turn of events, Alexandra ends up marrying Piers instead.

I liked How to Love a Duke in Ten Days, it was a good story to take your mind off of things and was interesting to find out who was the mystery blackmailer. I liked Alexandra and Piers, their first meeting was a little bit cliché, but it still gave the reader a good shocking moment you didn’t see coming. Alexandra’s character shows a woman that has tried to move from the events of her teenage years and got an education in a time were it was frowned up. She has a problem, well many problems, but she does her best to find a way to resolve them.

The other characters that I liked were the other Red Rouges, Francesca and Cecilia, who by their own means are characters that I would like to know more about or see them have their own adventure. Both of them have secrets that were revealed to the other two and would be a good plot story to follow, at the same time, smart women that would change the mind of any person they meet.

The story had some funny scenes and interactions among different characters that give the reader a good laugh. It made me laugh. I did find Piers family interesting, but I felt that the author was building up the importance of the ancestry more and how they came to be, and at the end it was just forgotten.

Like any other romance genre story, there are enemies or villains in the shadows, but the majority were easy to spot since the beginning and others were truly a surprise.

The end of the story gives us an idea of what to expect next with the rest of the red Rouges and who might be the men they end up with.

If you are a fan of Kerrigan Byrne and her work, then I recommend you How to Love a Duke in Ten Days. In this story, a woman that has guarded herself all her life comes to the end of the road and she has to make the decision of marrying a man she just met or suffer the consequences of her secrets coming to light. Because, what’s best than having the Terror of Torcliff on your side.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days
By: Kerrigan Byrne
Rating 4 Stars ⭐️
Blurb: Famed and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for to herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.
Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.

This book starts with a jolt. I was not prepared for what happened to the h at the beginning of the story at school. It caught me off guard. I didn’t think it would go there but it did. I couldn’t connect with the h. I don’t particularly enjoy the beauty and the beast trope but it was well done. I am looking forward to reading the h’s two friends books!
Thank you to the publisher for providing the ARC.

If there’s one thing that makes me want to pick up a historical romance novel, it’s a good play on words in the title, so I couldn’t resist How to Love a Duke in Ten Days! It ended up not being at all what I thought, but I loved it regardless. There is some sensitive content, but it’s handled well, and sits within a very fun adventure!

Content warning: On page rape, and extensive discussion of it throughout the book.

I feel I should be very upfront about this, and I’m sorry if this is considered a spoiler, but it happens in the very first chapter and I feel it is more important that readers are protected. This is a book about the heroine, Alexandra, recovering from being raped as a teenager, and dealing with the fact that she killed her rapist in self-defense. The rape itself happens on page in the (long!) prologue of the book, then we jump ten years forward to see the life she has made for herself, and how falling in love helps her to heal and overcome her fear of men. The blurb does not make this clear, and had I not glanced at the dedication (“To every survivor. #metoo”) I would not have been in any way prepared for the detailed description in the prologue. This is not adequate warning. I’m lucky that I spotted the dedication, as Kindle books so often open straight to the beginning of the text, skipping the front material, and this was the only kind of content warning I got, since the ‘darkness in the past’ mentioned in the blurb is not specific in any way, and given the genre, is more likely to imply that she had been caught in a consensual sexual situation and “ruined”. Either way, it definitely implies that it would be in the backstory and not on the page. I wish that publishers would take more care of their readers with content warnings, especially in romance, where readers expect healthy, consensual sex scenes.

I want to be clear that I loved this book, and thought that once past the actual rape scene, Alexandra’s story is handled extremely respectfully. I just worry that if not highlighted, this scene could upset people. If it would be too much for you, but you would like to read the rest, you could skip the prologue without losing much other than some nice moments where Alexandra’s friends take care of her.

Moving on: I adored Alexandra. It’s brilliant to see a heroine who is so brave, and so determined to make things work in the ways she demands. She has a lot of fear, but is still a well-rounded and capable character who is a joy to read about. She’s an archaeologist, has been to university in Europe, and has a close group of female friends from school, who supported her in dealing with the aftermath – they literally helped her bury a body! She’s built a life for herself that she can be content with, and it’s only the fact that someone is blackmailing her that is stopping her being happy. I really loved her, and I thought she was a wonderful character for people to see as a survivor – her fears and triggers are really sensitively written, and you never get the sense that she is less because of her past.

The main part of the book begins with Alexandra on her way to her friend Francesca’s wedding to a duke known as ‘the Terror of Torcliff’, having received a note from Francesca that she feels herself to be in danger. Since Alexandra is smart and practical, and has such a close bond with her friends, it’s no surprise that she plots a course of action that kills two birds with one stone: she offers to marry the duke herself, thus saving Francesca from a loveless marriage, and gaining for herself the funds to continue to pay off her blackmailer. Her own fear of men in general and the marriage bed in particular is brushed aside in an instant for the sake of practicality – oh, I just loved how no-nonsense she was when it came to protecting those who had protected her! From there, the book is a whirlwind blend of adventure, mystery and romance that had me turning pages as fast as possible. There’s a lot packed in, but it’s tied together seamlessly, and it made me laugh in several places, even while it dealt with the heavier material. It’s a genuinely fun book – and how wonderful is that, to see that past trauma doesn’t deny these characters a fun story too?

Piers, the aforementioned ‘Terror’, is an extremely enjoyable hero. He’s scarred both physically and mentally, and while this leads to him having a reputation for being fearsome and domineering, as Alexandra gets to know him it’s clear that he is caring and patient. His reactions to Alexandra’s triggers are, for the most part, very understanding (obviously some tension is needed in the relationship, so there are places where he misinterprets things), and he does a fantastic job of making her feel safe and loved. The chemistry between the two characters is palpable, which is great to read as it makes the relationship believable, and allows so much growth on both their parts as they come to terms with their mental wounds. He is pretty much instantly smitten, and shows it in dozens of tiny, thoughtful gestures, and that’s my favourite kind of hero. He is possessive, but not aggressively “alpha”, and his protective nature perfectly matches Alexandra’s need to keep her loved ones safe. They’re a great team.

There are shades of Beauty and the Beast in the story, and also the archaeological hijinks and Alexandra’s personality reminded me of The Mummy (one of my favourite films). Despite the heavy subject matter, it manages to be a whole lot of fun – I enjoyed it so much! What needs to be handled sensitively is done brilliantly, and what needs to be a fun counterbalance to the darker stuff is a real romp.

Four out of five cats, and I’d consider upping that to five if an appropriate content warning was added!

I love this author and she is on my list of auto-buys. She has complex characters who are often not in the right place to fall in love. The beginning of the story was difficult to read but it made me believe the heroine was strong and resilient. Thank you for allowing me to review an advanced copy.

I enjoyed reading How To Love A Duke in Ten Days! If you are a fan of historical romances, and authors like Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypas you will enjoy this book. The characters are well developed and the storyline is engaging. It delivers the HEA we all crave in a good historical romance.

Let me start out by saying I don't usually read books like this because I usually find the genre to be... well a little cheesy. But when the publisher emailed me to offer me an eARC, I thought "oh, why not?" I was in a reading slump and I figured it would be a quick read.

I can't really say if I enjoyed this one or not. It was, as I expected, cheesy and sort of a brainless read (meaning you get through it without it having much of a plot besides the romance).

It was just an okay read for me. I'm not sure I'd continue reading the series and I probably should have just said no from the get-go. My apologies. It's just not my cup of tea.

Not my favorite by this author. I really had trouble getting into it, and a lot of trouble buying into the relationship.

A well-written novel but I found it disturbing to read. The prologue sets up the dark past of three girls about to graduate from boarding school. It includes descriptions of rape, a massacre including the second girl's parents, and the glimpse of abuse suffered by the third girl. If you're looking for a lighthearted read this isn't it. Otherwise, you might like the story of how a violent act follows a person throughout life.

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days is a sweeping regency novel which you will surely enjoy! The author, Kerrigan Byrne has a way with descriptive language...the settings, clothing and people come to life as you read and you can clearly picture them. The story is fun and a change from all the normal regency tropes. A very enjoyable read!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

In How to Love a Duke in Ten Days, Kerrigan Byrne writes an amazing tale of three best friends, sent off to boarding school, deciding to be their true selves, find themselves involved in protecting one of them when she get raped and then murders the assailant in self-defense. Once the three girls get rid of the body with a little help they return home to live their lives, after promising never to tell their secrets. Ten years later the girls are being brought together for one of them who is to be married. Of course, now the interesting stuff begins, the prospective is introduced, the bride is chosen and all hell breaks loose as one of them has been marked to be killed. Now there is an adventure of extreme interest as the groom and his chose bride marry quite quickly head off to their honeymoon and the groom is still trying to figure out what is going on with his bride and is she the target of the assignation. The intended bedding on the wedding night falls apart as the groom thinks the bride has been playing him for a fool and insists they wait ten days until he is sure. Things heat up as the bride, with her groom, get involved with an archeological dig that turns sour and things come to a head as the groom finds out what really is going on, who is the intended death target is and why and what the bride's secret is. The HEA concludes with the married couple at home several years later. I really liked this story and for me it was a very quick read. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy (digital file).

A fun thing has started happening, since I’ve had this blog up and running again – I’m starting to get approached by some PR people to do reviews for them! I’ve always been a mood reader, but luckily for everyone, the world kind of sucks right now and I’m in the mood for all the romance. So here I am! And this book is exactly what I needed – dark, but also fun!

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In How to Love a Duke in Ten Days, Lady Alexandra Lane was invited to attend the engagement of a mysterious – and supposedly terrible and cruel – duke. She thinks it’s to one of her friends, but in a twist of fate, she realizes that this duke could be the solution to her problems. You see, ten years previously, her world was changed forever, and she’s had to pay off a blackmailer in order to keep that darkness a secret from the world. And she’s out of money. But wedding a duke… that would change everything. It would fix everything, in fact.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Redmayne, Piers Gedrick Atherton, is seeking revenge, and for him, the first step is to get married. But he’s notoriously mean-spirited, so he knows finding a wife isn’t going to be easy. Until he meets Alexandra, that is, and she proposes marriage to him. But he can also see that something dark lies in her past, and once they start spending time together, he realizes he’d stop at nothing to keep her safe.

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3 Things I Loved
Alexandra. Oh, I loved her a lot. She’s pithy, and intelligent, and the story from her past is awful and heartbreaking. And it’s clearly left her with PTSD (although that was obviously not diagnosed at the time this book takes place), so she lives her life constantly on edge, but I kind of loved that too, because it was so real. And she has some kick-ass friends. Speaking of…
The friend trio. I kid you not, these three spunky women became friends in boarding school because they hated that men could do more than them and they all had red hair. I was giggling to myself at the reasoning, it’s so funny and awesome. I’m hoping there are more books to come with these three.
Redmayne. So he’s a real grump, but y’all know I love that in a hero. The only difference here is that Alexandra isn’t sunshine. She’s pragmatism. And that seems to be what works for him (and I love that!).
Dislikes/Problematic Content
All I’ve got here (aside from the usual historical romance complaints of everyone being white and heteronormative) is a trigger warning. There is sexual assault on the page in this book, and it’s right at the very beginning. And then the main character has anxiety and PTSD throughout the rest of the book from the assault and the aftermath. I’m not trying to give anything away here, but I think it’s important to note. Take care of yourselves.

Rating
A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything
Orange = Ugh, no thank you
Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
Green = This was good!
Blue = Oh my gosh, I loved this book!
Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart and EVERYONE should be reading it!
This was really well-written, and it was more of a slow burn than what I’ve been reading lately. But it was really good, and enlightening, and I really liked it (and hope there are more to come!). I’m giving How to Love a Duke in Ten Days a GREEN rating!

Thank you to the publisher (and publicist!) and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Happy reading!

I have loved Kerrigan Byrne's books since her first book. This book is no different. I will admit that the opening could be a huge trigger for some people, but it is a necessary part of the novel because it defines who Alex is.

This book is a powerful romance. I loved Alex and Piers and how they found their true love. I can't wait for the next books in this series!!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you!

I received an advanced copy of this book. This is the first book in a new series. In this one, we meet 3 best friends, the first of which is Alex. She has a secret, and she needs to make sure that it stays that way. When she finds out that one of her friends is to be married, but hates the man she is to be married to, she says that she will marry him instead. There is an instant attraction between she and Piers, but will their secrets and reputations get between them, or will they put the past behind them and let the future be what they both want? This is a great start to the series and a definite one not to be missed!

This story has it all - rape, murder, extortion, yet it is a rather sweet story of damaged people getting past their baggage. It is also the story of a wonderful friendship with three young ladies.

Lady Alexandra Lane delves deeply into her archaeological studies to deal with the pain of a sexual attack. In a complicated twist she becomes engaged, then married to Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Atherton, a large, rough man that is scarred inside and out. This unlikely pair forms a loving relationship and exorcises their demons in only ten days.

A well written story that was a pleasure to read.

ARC provided through Netgalley.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads after I finished reading it. Unfortunately I do not remember everything that happened when I read it so I can't say for sure what it was about it that I loved. Most likely the writing was amazing as I know that Kerrigan Byrne is one of my favorite authors. I have always enjoyed her characters, especially her strong take charge woman. So I have no doubt that this book was just as fantastic and was full of strong independent women and men who learn to love that kind of woman, even when they don't know that is exactly what they want.

Not Just About the Romance

This is the first book that I have read by Kerrigan Byrne. I am a huge fan of Regency, Victorian, and medieval romance. I find myself not quite knowing quite what to say about this book. It has gotten rave reviews on Amazon, and the author is in fact a very good writer as she can easily pull you into characters’ world and make you care about them. Her descriptions make you feel like you are right there.

But I do have one big problem with this book. The first scene is quite awful. The author or the publisher definitely should have put a trigger warning for this book. The first scene is a violent moment from the heroine’s past depicting physical assault, rape, and murder. Some detail is given, though not all—thankfully. Still, it is overwhelming and too much. Had I been given a warning about the physical assault and rape, I might not have bought this book. I just don’t like romances that feature rape (even if not detailed). To me, the scene and its aftermath were that bad.

The hero and heroine are actually interesting characters to follow. Given her past, the heroine has quite a character arc as she moves from distrust to trust, from fear to love. The hero starts as the dark and broody type, but of course, he has a gentle heart that he keeps well hidden. I absolutely adored the heroine’s best girlfriends, the Rogue Reds, without whom she may not have survived, mentally or physically, all that she had been through.

I wanted to like this so much more... but I just didn't. I admit, reading this on a long coach journey probably wasn't my best idea, but I work with what I can. I was interested in the story but it was Piers, he just didn't work for me. He had softer moments, sure, but I found him too gruff, too alpha, and so I slowly became less invested in the romance between him and Alexandra. That was sad because Alexandra went through a lot and I was invested in her getting her HEA and learning to move on from the insurmountable guilt she felt. She deserved her happiness.

The story was very good, and I understand why people like Kerrigan Byrne's writing, but this book came to me at the wrong time so I wasn't as invested as I hoped and character behaviour drove me out of the story instead of drawing me in. A tragedy when this was obviously a good book.

My review: Enchanting! The story of a woman who lost everything in her youth and a man who returned for war as something less. Together, the two are irresistible, formidable, and something special.