I will definitely be going back to read book one of this series but I have to say, having missed that one didn't take away any enjoyment in reading this book before the first one. With that said, there is reference to things that happened in book one as the main characters there are linked to these main characters so I do want to go back to read what happens.

The characters are well developed and the story itself, pulled me in on the first page. I couldn't put this one down and kept turning the pages to see what was going to happen next with Cassandra and Ashmont.

If you're looking for a historical romance that not only has a fun story but interesting characters and of course, the romancy bits, grab this one. I love Loretta Chase's books and this is a great add to her list of books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I can not stop cheering for this newest by Loretta Chase. I love the title, Ten Things I Hate About the Duke! Its perfect for the woman who has absolutely no intention of giving this disgraceful duke the time of day. Oh, but her love for her sister and the binding of society and family say otherwise. How is she to live with it when she cannot abide him., at all? To use a modern phrase, "Let's make a deal" and so goes the start of collaboration and schooling of the duke! I can't stop cheering for the author, the book, the cover, the heroine, and yes, maybe even the duke.

Lucius and Cassandra! Oh my heart! They were fantastic! While this started a little slow, it picked up and I could not put it down :) The push and pull between Lucius and Cassandra was fantastic. Lucius had some ground to make up for from the first book, and quite honestly the beginning of this one which takes place almost immediately after the first book. Have no fear though, you can easily read this on it's own.

I really hope we get to see Alice and Blackwood up close. I also hope we get to see more of Aunt Julia and Uncle Frederick. There is definitely a story there!!!

I want to say first most that Loretta Chase is one of my favorite authors and I love her books and writing style. But for Ten Things I hate About the Duke, I just could not immerse myself in the story like I do with her other books. I thought the story would be more lively but I found that it was bit tedious to see how the heroine Cassandra kept herself aloof and how it affected her family. And the hero, Duke of Ashmont who literally was begging her to marry him every chapter. I had enough with his begging and her disdain on her life and how she couldn't do anything that I picked up the book a few times and had to put it away again since I just could not finish it.

I finally did read it all and they do get their happy ending but it took way too long to there for them. I did not read the other books in the series so cannot comment on the other characters in the series. Overall it was an average read for me and not very memorable.

The Duke of Ashmont has been living a dissipated life of pleasure, and it's starting to catch up with him. His fiancée jilted him, his best friend nearly killed him in a duel, and now he's facing the ire of Cassandra, Prophet of Doom.

Cassandra remembers Ashmont as the boy who watched the stars with her when she was ten. But he's grown into a notorious rakehell, and she has no patience for his drunken antics. After he causes a carriage accident that nearly kills her tiger, she insists he help her with some of the tiger's duties.

Feeling guilty and unrooted, Ashmont complies. Gradually, they reach a fragile peace—until scandal threatens to destroy their happiness.

I love Taming of the Shrew stories, and this is among the best I've read. It's smart, funny, outrageous, emotional, and a little steamy. Don't miss it!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

I've loved historical romances forever and with the rise of the Bridgerton series on Netflix, I think it's time for historical romance novels to hit mainstream! I love Loretta Chase and her novels and I definitely see this for fans of Bridgerton and Julia Quinn. Cassandra is a heroine who I love to root for and the Duke of Ashmont is the perfect mix of rake and respectability. Watching him try to convince her of his honorable intentions was fun and romantic. Highly Recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc copy. I really disliked the male lead for much of the book, as he is a selfish hedonistic brat. However, he must of had a cathartic moment, which I don't think the reader sees, because he suddenly stops drinking and wants to change. Was it the runaway bride? Or the the beginning scene? I think it must have been something even bigger.
I liked this 2nd book better than the first in the in set.

Really enjoyed this one! I loved the banter between Cassandra and Ashmont and the relationship between them was really built up with their interactions. I know sometimes harsher female characters can turn people off from a story, but I liked how many walls Ashmont had to tear down for Cassandra to make her fall in love and trust him,

Wish it was a little steamier, but still really enjoyed the romance between them,

3 stars

I really enjoyed Ten Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase, which was my first book by this author, if you can believe it. The novel really delivered with an interesting plotline and unique, exciting characters. Give me a repentant rake and an opinionated, strong woman and I'm a happy camper! How can you go wrong with a Taming of the Shrew retelling?

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke is a bit of a convoluted, long-feeling story, but I really got into it as I went along. I hadn't read the first in the series, A Duke in Shining Armor, but I didn't need it to follow the plot at all.

Some of the best parts of the story were the side characters. I really liked how they felt like more than plot devices and got their own stories as well. It felt extremely well-conceived. Also, Ashmont got to be fully shown in his drunken, screw-up self, and I love it when a male MC has to crawl his way up from the bottom. It's the best when authors make them work for their redemption, and the female MC didn't cut him any slack. At all. Yaaaassssss.

Super strong historical romance. I think it's beyond time for me to crack open my paperback of Lord of Scoundrels, don't you agree?

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed this a lot! It had a lot of banter between the main characters, and I really enjoyed their romance as well. If you're looking for a book with lots of sexy times this book definitely isn't it, but I felt it was very character driven and Cassandra really makes Ashmont work to gain her trust and hand in marriage. I liked that about her. She's tough but also really forgiving. I like her blunt nature, and it really was funny seeing her being so honest about everything and seeing everyone around her like freak out about it.

A match made in Bedlam: the Gorgon and the prankster.

Second in the Difficult Dukes series, this starts off about a week after the first in the series, A Duke in Shining Armor, ended. If you read the first, you'll remember Lucius, the Duke of Ashmont as the drunken jilted groom. Lucius did not recommend himself much and as this starts off, he continues with his drunken ways, causing a carriage accident that enmeshes our heroine. Lady Cassandra deGriffith has a reputation as a too opinionated woman and considered on the shelf. When a carriage accident caused by none other than the wastrel Duke of Ashmont and her childhood crush, has her groom and friend laid up with broken ribs, she is furious at him.

“I like a lively girl,” Ashmont said.

The first half of this felt a little slow and meandering but it comes together more in the second half as everything comes crashing together. The carriage accident causing Cassandra's friend to be laid up and her maid running away, sets up Lucius offering marriage to her to save her reputation and thus our marriage of convenience trope is born. Cassandra states and thinks the betrothal is fake and just for appearances sake but Lucius wants it to be real as by the second half, he's consciously enamored by Cassandra's backbone and wit and subconsciously in love with her.

She was a force to be reckoned with, and he was ready to reckon.

Cassandra for her part is extremely cautious about Lucius, she knew him in childhood as their circle of family and friends played together and had a childhood crush on him. Her childhood crush gets, well crushed, as they grow-up and Lucius becomes an obnoxious prankster and lush. Cassandra is scared to believe and trust in this “new” Lucius that is trying to act more mature and seems intrigued and attracted to her. Cassandra was mostly raised by her grandparents as her parents had eleven kids and seemed to want to focus on the boys more. This seemed an odd add-in as we never get scenes with Cassandra and her grandparents and there was some dancing around making her father a caring man for her but he didn't raise her? She has the added pressure to not cause drama because of her more feminist views and actions she takes in their favor have damaged her reputation and her father is trying to keep her in line by punishing Cassandra's younger sister, Hyacinth, by restricting what Hyacinth can do during her season. I'm team Cassandra, because how can you not be with this line: Coffee rooms, generally, were men’s domains. Cassandra usually observed such proprieties, because men became hysterical when women trespassed, and that was tedious. The word tedious is killer. So Cassandra is trying to protect her heart and not cross any lines, all while scandalous Lucius is saying he has mended his ways and truly wants her as a wife.

This was the one who’d spun herself dizzy, gazing at the stars. This was the little rebel who wouldn’t be bullied. This was she, all grown up.

Lucius grew up without a mother and his father definitely had a hand in creating the man who became one of the three 'Dis-Graces'. Again, for how much and important Lucius' uncle Frederick was, I was we could have gotten more scenes with the two together. I was not a fan, at all, of Lucius when the first book ended but I have to say, he did a pretty good job of redeeming himself in his own book. He pays attention to Casandra (her reads Wollstonecraft for her!) and begins to fall in love for who she is and he works to show her that. For people that are looking for more sex scenes, you only get one here, for others that want the depth of relationship to come from more tantalizing emotion bred from inner and mental connections, the second half delivers this with some sweet letter writing and other moments.

The way she’d looked at him. He’d thought he’d died and come to life at the same time.

Secondary characters from the first carry over and I find myself still strongly desiring Lucius' uncle Frederick and Julia's story and Lucius' friend Blackwood (another Dis-Grace) and his wife Alice clearly have some marriage angst that begs to be sorted out. I also really enjoyed the sense of time and place that the author managed to create, it helped make this feel like a solid historical instead of window dressed. This started off slow for me but with a hero that worked to bond with the heroine and managed to be dashing in Vauxhall and feel this while helping Cassandra stop a family from being evicted: They had nothing. He wanted to weep. She makes men cry, Morris had said. Maybe they ought to., well, how could you not soften towards him and cheer for him to sweep Cassandra off her feet.

“Because you’re you,” he said softly.

This Chase in full form - great dialogue, smart and witty couple, delicious take on Taming of the Shrew.

FINAL DECISION: Simply lovely romantic book. The hero and heroine move towards one another in this book without losing themselves. Wonderful read.

THE STORY: Cassandra Pomfret has known the Duke of Ashmont since she was a child. He was once her hero, and she had dreams of them together. But Ashmont disappointed her for years. He barely paid any attention to her and instead has spent his life being idle and wild. Cassandra has built a life for herself doing things of purpose. This life, however, is threatened by her father who refuses to allow Cassandra's younger sister to have her season until Cassandra marries. Even that prospect, however, is put at risk by Ashmont's presence, which seems to bring potential scandal in its wake.

OPINION: I really loved this story because Ashmont had to fight so hard for Cassandra. In the process, he grows and changes and finds a higher purpose in his life. There are external factors which push and pull these two characters together and apart, but this book is primarily the interactions between Ashmont and Cassandra. Her deep disappointment in him and his continued attempts to move towards her. I love a redemption story and Chase does an amazing job of making Ashmont's journey a personal one.

Cassandra is a strong woman who is unwilling to place herself into the hands of Ashmont because she knows that heartache will be the only result -- even if he is a duke. Her determination to tell him his failings and then his determination to make changes in his life animate this story.

The story is more romance than sex, and I loved that. I ended the book feeling that these characters had made extraordinary moves towards one another in a warm way.

WORTH MENTIONING: The book has a loose connection with the storyline of Shakespeare's The Taming of Shrew.

CONNECTED BOOKS: TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT THE DUKE is the second book in the Difficult Dukes series. The romance here is self-contained, and it is not necessary to have read the first book. Because this book overlaps with and continues from the events in the first book, however, reading the books in order gives more insight into the characters and their motivations.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke is the second book in Loretta Chase’s Difficult Dukes series. The story picks up immediately following the duel from A Duke in Shining Armor. While this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading A Duke in Shining Armor first just so you can get the full picture. This is a VERY loose spin on Taming of the Shrew and is filled with lots of literary references. (We have a strong and opinionated heroine that wants nothing to do with the hero, and we have the hero helping his friend court the heroine’s sister.)
•••
Cassandra knew Ashmont as a child and for years she imagined herself in love with him, but he never quite became the man she knew and hoped he would be. She eventually gave up on him and went about her life. Now an outspoken, on-the-shelf debutante, Cassandra has spent most of her recent years abroad with her grandparents who are more indulgent (and encouraging) of her opinions and forthrightness. Now she’s back in London, trying to avoid marriage and unfortunately bringing her family and politically minded father the wrong kind of attention. So, her father issues an edict: her sweet and lovely sister can’t marry until she does.
The Duke of Ashmont is one of the Dis-graceful Dukes. He’s not welcome at most society parties anymore because people are afraid he’ll cause trouble (he smuggled a goat into Almack’s once). And now’s he’s recently been jilted at the altar and been dueling with one of his best friends.
Of course, at a time when Cassandra really doesn’t need any extra negative attention pointed her way, she finds herself caught up in one of Ashmont’s farces. A disgrace or not, it’s looking like the only way to save her (and her sister’s) reputation is to marry the man she hates.
•••
Ashmont is my favorite type of hero – a loveable, hilarious, good-natured rogue. And this time around, it’s Cassandra who does the taming. While this could have easily turned too mean-spirited, Loretta Chase deftly tempers Cassandra’s exasperation with Ashmont with humor and attraction. Cassandra tries to hate Ashmont and tries to resist his attentions, but she simply can’t. Her disapproving glare often fighting back a smile when he gets up to his various antics.
This was a quick and delightful read, filled with hilarious moments and undeniable chemistry between Ashmont and Cassandra. As expected for Loretta Chase, there is strong character development and growth for the main characters and dynamic secondary characters, especially Cassandra’s sister, their aunt and Ashmont’s uncle.
One thing that I am always impressed and delighted by in Loretta Chase’s novels is her dedication to historical details and accuracy, and I quite enjoyed her author’s note at the end that explained various details, mentions of real-life historical locations and events and any artistic license she took and why.
•••
ARC provided by publisher for an honest review.

I was a little lost as I started reading this book and I feel like I am missing things because I haven’t read the first book from this series. But after the first chapter, I was drawn into the story and really intrigued by the smart, sharp and brave heroine and a hero who despite all his advantages due to his rank and position kept making horrible choices. But once they meet each other, explosions happen, quite literally on the page and it sets Ashmont on the path to reformation. I loved how he read Mary Wollstonecraft to better understand Cassandra and the issues she is passionate about. Their romance is hot, sexy and romantic. The chemistry between them fairly burns through the pages of the book. This is book two in the Difficult Dukes series and I would recommend reading it as part of the series. I am going to get the first book as I cannot wait to read Ripley and Olympia's story.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Cassandra is determined never to marry, but her father has now told her that her dear sister can't marry until she does. After a run in with the Duke of Ashmont, her reputation is shattered. With nothing left to do to save her sister from following her to ruin, she has to marry the man.

Lucius has already lost one intended, so when things conspire to find another one, he will do everything in his power to keep her...especially since he is falling for Cassandra. Can he keep it together enough not to blow it?

I really enjoyed Cassandra and Lucius' story! Lucius was not hero material when we meet him in the previous story, but Chase did a great job of redeeming him in this one. I loved that he stepped up and did what he needed to do to help the disaster he created!! I can't wait to read what Chase has in store for the next book in the series!

Pairing: M/F
Orientation: straight
Identity: cisgender
Genre: historical romance

Loretta Chase was one of the first historical romance authors that I ever read. The first time I picked up one of her books I was in high school, and at the time I found it scandalous and so very sexy. Of course, my reading before this consisted mostly of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Dean Koontz, so even a hint of romance was enough to make my sixteen year old heart swoon. Soon, I was devouring all the historical romance I could find from Julie Garwood to Johanna Lindsey from Jude Deveraux to Brenda Joyce and Judith McNaught. But it was Chase that opened the door to reading about Dukes and their Duchesses, Highlanders and their fair maidens, and the Lords and Ladies of the Ton.

When the opportunity arose to read Loretta Chase's latest historical, Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, I was excited. And then about half way through, I remembered why I stopped reading most historical romance authors. I probably couldn't list ten things I hated about this book, but I'd be hard pressed to list ten things that I liked.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, is the story of Cassandra Pomfrey, an intellectual young woman who doesn't wish to marry and have her life dictated by a man, and Lucious Duke of Ashmont, a rake who causes scandal and mischief wherever he goes. So pretty much the same characters that appear in 89% of all historical romance novels, and usually I don't mind these stock characters except they weren't interesting. There was nothing about either character that was different than any number of other characters in other romance novels. These people for as different and rakish as they purported to be were in fact boring. There was a lot of telling not showing. And if there was a plot outside of just the two of them getting together, I failed to see it.

This was also a slow burn that never really got above tepid. I read a lot of romance novels, and this one just wasn't steamy or sexy. It was at best lukewarm. When we finally did get to the one and only sex scene all i could think of was that scene in Ten Things I Hate About You and how it read like the romance novel the principal was writing. Which might be what Chase was going for since it's pretty obvious she took inspiration from the film and you know Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.

I probably won't read another Loretta Chase book, but reading this book reminded me how much I actually enjoy historical romance novels. After twenty years of reading romance, I've ventured way outside of what Chase's audience is, but she was a great gateway to one of the greatest pleasures in my life.

Cassandra Pomfret is an outspoken young lady who has scared men away. She is six and twenty with no prospect of marriage. She twnds to do things without thinking of consequences or hiw it might affect her family.

Duke Ashmont is reckless young man who just got jilted by his fiancee. As Cassandra sneaks off to go to Putney Heath. This is where it all begins the adventures of Duke Ashmont and Cassandra Pomfret.

Ten Things I hate about The Duke was a great start from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. I really enjoyed this book. It had me guessing will they, or will they not get together.
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Duke by Loretta Chase. #TenThingsIHateAbouttheDuke #NetGalley
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I recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Loretta Chase is one of my favorite historical romance authors.

Duke Ashmont is a side character in A Duke in Shining Armor and I have wanted his HEA ever since. He was such a funny character. I honestly loved everything about him. Cassandra has no interest in getting married.. unfortunately Cassandra and Ashmont were caught in a compromising situation and now have to get married or at least pretend to be getting married.

I love a good fake relationship story and this one was so much fun. Ashmont and Cassandra were perfect for each other. They each complimented each other personalities so well.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy!

The second book in the Chase’s Difficult Dukes series has us seeing the man who almost married in book one. The Duke of Ashmont, drunk at his own wedding hardly blinked in the first book when his bride took off on him and then eventually married one of his best friends. He then duels with said friend and gets even drunker. This is, of course, when he meets his heroine. Of course it is!

Cassandra is an opinionated woman and does not keep her thoughts to herself. If she thinks your being an idiot, she doesn’t hesitate to tell you so. When she meets Ashmont he causes an accident which hurts on of her friends. The whole village is poised to see what happens with Ashmont and Cassandra, but money talks and Ashmont leaves without a trace.

The problem arises when Ashmont can’t get Cassandra out of his head. He decides to woo her but he needs to change his spots before he can even think about that, and he’s not sure it can be done.

The story was a good one. I didn’t like it quite as much as I liked book one in the series, probably because I didn’t like Ashmont and Cassandra as much as I liked Ripley and Olympia. Despite that I did like them and their independent thinking.

Cassandra was a bit brash about how she put things, but I really liked how she said what she meant and didn’t beat around the bush. I also liked Ashmont and his dedication to winning Cassandra. When the man put his mind to it, he was a force to be reckoned with.

I’m looking forward to book three in this series as we got a bit of a taste of it in this book. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another three years to get it.

Rating: 3.75/4 out of 5