Genre: historical romance
London, 1859

Jane Delaney is in a financial bind. Her mother is up to her ears in gambling debt and lying about it, and Jane is being blackmailed for something else. At a rather scandalous party, Jane slips into the library of the Duke of Roxby’s house and attempts to steal a book of great value. The duke catches her in the act, but instead of calling the police offers a very different proposition: marriage. Christopher, Duke of Roxby, suffers from face blindness as an after-effect of a serious concussion from a fall he took the previous year. In all this time, he’s been able to recognize only one person’s face, Jane’s, and when he asks her to marry him, it’s partially because he needs someone he thinks he can trust to help him determine who might be trying to kill him. In exchange, he’ll help pay off her mother’s debt and save her grandfather’s bookstore. It’s a proposition a spinster with a ruined reputation can’t possibly turn down.

I’d been itching for a marriage of convenience recently, and was happy to pick this up. I loved so many elements of the story, even if overall it was a “like not love” situation for me. The face blindness was fascinating to read in a historical context, having read Hello Stranger by Katherine Center earlier this summer as well, and I found myself comparing the way the face blind main characters adapt to their circumstances. Christopher has built up a persona of aloofness and scandal in order to give himself a shield when he can’t recognize someone. But in order to figure out who is trying to kill him, he’ll need more than his usual crutches.

Jane fits neatly into Christopher’s life and needs, but also maintains her own very strong sense of self. It’s one thing I love about reading slightly older women in historicals, that they tend to know more about themselves entering their relationships. She’s determined to solve her own problems, even when that gets her into rough waters.

While fun, this had a little more telling than showing, and the relationship conflict didn’t feel strong enough to warrant the turmoil it caused. The external conflict was well done, though, and even when I’d guess whodunit, I was delighted at the results.

This is the third book in Bennett’s Byronic series, but the first that I read, and I didn’t think I was missing anything from Jane and Christopher’s relationship, though I did miss out on parts of the deep friendship between Jane and the heroines of books one and two.

Thank you to @sourcebookscasa and NetGalley for an eARC for review. Tall Duke and Scandalous and its marvelous punny title are out 8/8/23.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book, and this is my freely given opinion.

I really enjoyed this book-loving themed series, and am sad to see it end (if it is ending?). This is the story about the third and last member of the original book club, Jane Delaney. She suffered heartbreak years prior when, after a disfiguring dog cart accident, her fiance, who was driving, abandoned her, not being able to cope with her facial injuries and subsequent scar. She is still a beautiful, intelligent, loving woman, but she has learned that many people cannot see and value her beyond her scar, including her own mother. She finds solace and comfort in her friends, their book club, and the book store they have it in, Delaney's, run by her grandfather. Unfortunately, her beloved home away from home, the book store, is in danger of being lost to her family. Her mother inherited half of it when Jane's father passed away, and she lost her half in a wager when she became addicted to gambling at an exclusive for ladies only gambling hell. Add to that, Jane herself is being blackmailed as someone has gained her private journals during a break in and discovered her secret plans to start publishing instructional booklets for women on how to protect themselves from being hurt/used/maltreated by men, such as she was.

Jane is desperate to do what she can to wipe out her mother's debt and save the bookstore. To this end, she infiltrates a riotous orgy at the notorious Duke of Roxby's in order to obtain some saleable gossip. Once inside, she finds rare antique books in the library, and thinking she is alone, tries to abscond with one to save the store. But of course she is caught red-handed, by the Duke himself, Christopher Marsden.

Christopher is intrigued by the bold woman he caught lifting her skirts to hide her ill-gotten treasure, and arranges for her to come to his home again to discuss her thievery and why. When they meet again, Christopher offers Jane an irresistible offer. It turns out he has been the target of murder attempts but is stymied in his investigations into who is seeking his death because of a disability that developed after a head injury after one of the attempts. He developed facial agnosia - the inability to recognize/remember faces. He also realizes this is a serious social set back and could undermine his ability to run his duchy and take on his role in parliament as well as he could be perceived as incompetent. As such he has coped by abstaining from social events and setting up a persona of a rake. But in Jane, he has found an invaluable ally - because hers is the only face that he can remember for some reason. He proposes - literally. Because with Jane at his side, he can have an ally he can recognize and remember, and she could help him hide and cope with his inability to recognize faces. Jane agrees, as this would help allay some of her problems and offers her a future of a home of her own, and possibly a family, something she had given up on.

As Jane and Christopher embark on their marriage of convenience, they learn to trust and depend on each other, and out of that, love and passion develop. But Jane is still keeping secrets from Christopher despite promising honesty, because she is still being blackmailed, and is afraid he would not support her endeavours. This, and the continued mystery of who is trying to target Christopher, and now Jane as well, puts a lot of drama and stress on their new and tenuous romance.

A highly enjoyable story with drama and intrigue. I quite enjoyed the dynamic of Jane and Christopher and their growing relationship, and like that her face is one that he always will see - and it is not because of her scar. He is vulnerable but is willing to confess his vulnerability to her, with literally trusting her with his life. Despite being handsome, rich, and high ranking, he has been boxed in by his facial amnesia. Because of his relationship with Jane, he also opens up and develops trust and new relationships with others too, whereas he was hiding so much prior. I enjoyed seeing the growth of the characters in their relationship together, and loved how the epilogue brought it all together in such a touching way.

4.5 stars out of 5

When Miss Jane Delaney’s grandfather's beloved bookstore is in unexpected financial jeopardy, she has to find a way to save it. Christopher Marsden, Duke of Roxby, is trying to catch a killer. The problem is, he's acquired a rare affliction where he can no longer recognize faces…he can’t tell who’s after him or why. However, when Christopher catches Jane poised to steal a priceless book from his library, he can tell her apart from the rest. He offers her an outrageous proposal: the money she needs in exchange for a marriage of convenience and her help in catching his would-be killer.

This is the third book in the Byronic Book Club series. Certain events and character crossovers make me suggest reading this series in order.

I thought this book might bring more twists and turns; it was enjoyable but I thought it was a bit too predictable. I did like Jane and Christopher’s relationship though. I like that they married early in the story, there was plenty of steam, and they had realistic conversations about their feelings as secrets unraveled. I feel like I don’t see enough “I understand, I can forgive you, but I’m hurt and I need time” type talks and I really appreciated those here. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Tropes: Class Difference, Working Heroine, Marriage of Convenience

Steam: 5

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

*Received a copy for review.*
This series has been so good.
This book takes several tropish elements gives them a new spin.
Jane has accepted that the foolish actions of a man she thought she loved has ruined her life plans. People see her scar and turn away. Her mothers gambling has landed her in a precarious position that leads her to contemplate criminal activity.
Christopher, Duke of Roxbury, is in a complicated situation. He’s pretty sure someone is trying to kill him. When he catches a would be thief in his library, he makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
I loved the mysteries, the complications. the sexiness, and the twists on familiar themes.

“Tall, Duke, and Scandalous” by Amy Rose Bennett is the third and seemingly final book in The Byronic Book Club series and I thought this was the best of the trio.

I liked the way Jane Delaney was portrayed, her history, and her development as a character.
I thought Christopher Marsden, the Duke of Roxby was an intriguing character perhaps a little under-developed.

I’ve read a lot of stories with secrets and blackmail as plot devices, so I was slightly annoyed this was used again by Bennett especially when these same tropes were used in the earlier books.

For some reason, the first two entries in this series rubbed me the wrong way. They were well-written, and I went into each novel completely engaged with the ideas and plots, but eventually things began to unravel a bit. This is not to say the books were bad, I think it comes down to personal preferences, and the first two ultimately fell a bit flat for me.

If you loved the first two books in this series, I think Jane’s tale will be a highly satisfying end to the three friends’ stories.

I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and the publisher, but the review is my own. 3.5/5

I would like to thank netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable end to the trilogy.

I've loved each book in the Byronic Book Club and this addition was no different.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this book was the characters. I absolutely adored and rooted for Jane. She was resourceful, clever and very likeable. Christopher was the epitome of stern brunch daddy energy. He was grumpy but also worshipped the heroine? Yes please! The romance is magnificent too. I couldn't get enough of their banter (entertaining and fiery). Plus the dirty talk? When the Duke said, "wrap those legs around me, I'm about to make you mine"?!? I mean.....*needs fan pronto*.

The plot is a bit predicable but entertaining.

Read this, you'll thank me later.

"I don't give a toss what you wear to our wedding. You can turn up in a potato sack for all I care. And you haven't seen demanding yet, you gorgeous, damnable wench," he mut-tered, pressing his hips against hers, crushing her skirts. "Or perhaps I should say 'witch,' because you do indeed have me transfixed and I'm utterly aching with the need to have you."
A very very very intense spicy regency romance book in the Byronic Club series !!!!! After book one and two I thought I couldn’t get better … I must have been mistaken because Lucy and Artemis’ story was great … but Jane and Christopher here … WOW !!! They were magnificent !!!!! He is the perfect hot, handsome and a bit demanding MMC with his dark past and trauma and endless love for her. And Jane … the spinster we all want to be especially if it means being so aware and accepting of our own bodies with its imperfections and unique traits !!! Her scar doesn’t define her and her past mistake doesn’t mean she’s not perfect for this horribly handsome duke who has a hard time remove the faces of those he knows and loves !!!! Their journey was one about learning to trust someone else and rely on them to help you during your darkest times. But also a story about passion, love and very very spicy times !!!! I loved every second of it !!!!
"Wrap those spectacular legs around me, love," he murmured. "I'm about to make you mine."
"There's something about you, Jane, that has brought me to life again. For the first time in a very long time, I have hope."

Jane loves her family connection to a bookstore but worries about her mothers gambling and debts. She is desperate and attempts to take a rare book from Christopher the Duke in order to sell it. He encounters her and thwarts her theft despite his deficit of being unable to recognize faces. However he knows her features perhaps due to her scar. Their lives become entangled and they marry while Jane helps to walk him through social circumstances due to his deficit. Someone is also trying to kill him and they are placed in danger while they try to determine the culprit.
An engaging story about two people doing the best they can to deal with each other and falling in love.
The third story in a series which just keeps getting better.

An emotionally entangling, romance lead tale to wallow in!

Bennett is a marvel, instantly hooking me in everytime with her well-deep, bursting with intrigue and enticingly multifaceted characters, where I can't wait to peel back, expose and saver each layer.
The wit, intellect and instinctual draw to like her scintillating partnerships, who are so heady with intense physical attraction and compatibility, from their first chemistry simmering meet, always pull me in... and I do love a dark, tome filled library to set the scene and enflame such stimulatingly delicious possibilities! Where as a result, I was quickly, compelled in want, to intimately get to know them and unravel their every secret, vulnerability and desire and Christopher and Jane didn't disappoint.
They had this depth of dazzling radiance, compassion and easy comradery were you want their marriage of convenience to gradually expose and entice stronger feelings, as you burn with curiosity and the tension they create, as you pray for them to reveal their secrets, soothe each others crippling insecurities and just plain enjoy beng apart of every second they share together.
Then when you add a mysterious threat to life, a splattering of secrets to crumble their fragile blossoming connection and intensify their vulnerabilities with a spot of blackmail, a disabilitating impediment and building, ever changing, heightened emotions, while encasing it all in a setting that so clearly comes to life in your mind's eye, then your onto a winner and I'm not just hooked but irredeemably entangled and invested in their fates.
An emotionally gripping, sensually titillating and enticingly intriguing romance that, despite the possibility of being read as a standalone, will round of a fabulous series for those who have loved each member of the Byronic Book Club unconditionally and will leave you smiling with a heartwarmingly statisfying epilogue were all three unconventional, highly intelligent, ladies come together with their sexy as sin, besotted, husbands as they promise to remain intertwined until the last.
Just about to settle down and indulge in book 1, the only one I have yet to have the pleasure of reading, an oversight I will be fixing immediately... can't wait... loved it!

Jane Helena Delaney believes she will never marry after her accident which leaves her with a scar. She loves her grandfather's book story and hopes to own and run it one day. But she has another secret desire also.

As a member of the Byronic Book Club, her friend gather to read and discuss all the heroes in the gothic novellas they read as well as gossip with each other.

Her mother has put up her half of the book store as collateral for a gambling debt. So as Jane is the responsible person she must find a way to settle the debt to save her beloved book store and not let her grandfather find out.

In a desperate moment she happens by the Duke of Rocky townhouse. As he is famous for his wild drunken parties, Jane hopes to glee some gossip to sell to earn some extra money. What she finds is a collection of rare expensive books. Just one would clear her of all her troubles. Thinking no one is around she hikes up her skirts and straps the book to her leg with her stockings.

Unbeknownst to her, Christopher Marsden, the Duke himself is there watching and stops her. He can cause more issues for her but he asks something totally out of her thinking. He agrees to meet with her the next day to go over his request.

Christopher tells Jane all and then gives her the option but that no charges would be done either way. His secret is more damming than Jane's. He is hoping she will agree.

As things heat up and become more complicated will Jane agree or will she figure something else out? Will she have to reveal her secret or keep that to herself? Does Christopher's secret hurt her or him? Will they find that they are good together or not? Does she figure out how to pay off her mother's debt?

Find out all these answers in a very well though incoming story that will sweep you away to a world of suspense, intrigue, and family mischief. Visit with old friends and new as you traverse the theatre, Hyde Park, and the beloved bookstore. Get carried away on a journey that is exciting and whimsical

Jane and Christopher made a wonderful couple, although they frustrated me at times. I loved how self-aware and composed Jane was in the face of being blackmailed and in needing to cover her mother’s gambling debts. Then to find out that Jane wanted sex education for women just was the icing on the cake for me. I adored her character, and I loved Christopher’s too, but at a certain point I just wanted to yell at them to have a proper conversation. Everything resolved almost too neatly at the end, but it was a fitting ending to the series nonetheless.

Jane and Christopher were an evenly matched pair in matters of the heart. They were both scarred from their previous exploits in the art of love. When an opportunity presented itself before them, it reawakened feelings that were dormant for quite a while. I couldn’t put this book down until I reached the end. It held me captive within its steamy, hot, and sexy pages. It was delicious and very engaging.

I wanted to love this a lot more than I did. I didn't like all the having kids talk that occurred in the book which made me dislike it. I did like the main character though and I enjoyed that.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this. Jane is ok with the fact that she will never marry. When she meets the Duke he has a suggestion that may solve some of her problems. This was a quick read.

Oohhh this regency romance was absolutely perfect. It had me turning pages as fast as I could read them. I this was so good!! I couldn't put this down!
I just reviewed Tall, Duke, and Scandalous by Amy Rose Bennett. #NetGalley
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I had a really good time reading the previous installment in the Byronic Book Club series (Curled Up with an Earl) so I was very excited to read Tall, Duke, and Scandalous. And it knocked it out of the park! This story really hit all the right notes in terms of story, characters, and a very hot romance.

The set up of Jane feeling a little down, and deciding to be a bit bold to solve some of her problems was a great set up for the book. And it pays off after it gets her into some trouble and she meets the Duke. However, the Duke’s reasoning for the Marriage of Convenience was a bit flimsy. I think a bit more from his POV on why he wanted to marry Jane would have helped. I really loved Jane as a character. She was so rational, independent and caring, and it was so exciting to read a character in historical romance that owned their sexuality even though she wasn’t that experienced. The scenes between them were very sexy, and not at all cringey. It was also really great to see the previous characters interwoven in such an authentic way. I really bought the women’s friendship and it’s always nice to see a strong group of female friends.

My only downside was that the mystery part of the story was a bit unsurprising. I kind of knew who ‘did it’ the minute they were introduced in the story, and was surprised it took the characters as long as it did to suspect them. Though by the end I liked how the mystery unfolded.

Overall this was such a great read and I’d highly recommend it!

Read and reviewed this Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley.

I was extremely fortunate to receive an ARC of Tall Duke and Scandalous by the absolutely great Amy Rose Bennett via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This is the third book in the Byronic Book Club series and what a book it is! A story full of suspense, intrigue and mystery. Jane Delaney, a self-declared spinster is left behind at a party and then purposefully enters the home of Christopher Marsden, the Duke of Roxby, so that she can get the inside scoop about some of the debauchery that goes on ar his parties. Their meeting turns out to be a way more entertaining encounter and what ensues is a remarkable story about trust and fear, love and confidence.

Two broken heart’s determined not to love again. Jane and Christopher both have gone through having their love and trust shattered and fight against falling in love. Theirs is a marriage of convenience with benefits for each party and no need for emotions but who could resist these two? This book is extremely well done. The story has plenty of twists and both Jane and Christopher have a battle they must get through. But they have to figure out they are always better together. Beautiful love story with plenty of heat!

4/5 stars for me. Christopher and Jane’s story’s starts as a marriage of convenience, two people who are attracted to each other and need each other’s help.

I very much enjoined this book’s steamy scenes. These two have both been denying themselves for long and now that they no longer have to they go at it.

The only reason I knocked it down a star is I thought the fight at the 3/4 way was a bit contrived. Other then that I was throughly entertained.