I found this to be a book I did not want to put down . WOW it was very different than the ones she usually puts out . It is about one man Alexander Sylvester Bracken, Duke of Bedford and the disgrace and horror he has had to endure before he was set free from the people who captured him. He is now on a mission to set a friend free but he has to take the man’s daughter Hestia with him. Hestia believes he is a good man even with his past What happens ?
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.

Alexander Sylvester Bracken, Duke of Bedford, is a man tormented by his past and is constantly struggling to maintain control over his desires. Years ago, he was captured by a Turkish pirate, Murad, who held him prisoner for years and used opium to manipulate Alex to his will. After his rescue at the hands of the Earl of Pembroke, Alex was left battling an addiction to the opium that had been forced on him. Then, Alex had rescued Lady Hestia, the Earl of Pembroke's daughter, who had been captured by the same pirate when she was sixteen and earned her heart for it. Now, several years later, the Earl of Pembroke and his daughter are again in danger and Hestia approaches Alex for his help. Hestia still loves Alex, but he has promised her father to leave her alone. Can Alex resist her and overcome his past, as they try to save the Earl of Pembroke?

I enjoyed this book, as there was a lot going on in the plot, and the author made it easy to feel the heat and attraction between the two main characters. The only thing I think that would have made the story better is if there were flashbacks to Alex's captivity, as we are told repeatedly how bad it was, but the reader has little emotional connection to it.

I received a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF-I got turned off on the first page. A little build up and subtlety please.

Do not judge Addicted to the Duke by its cover. Why you ask? Well because the cover doesn’t do this book any justice. While it is nice to look at, and who doesn’t like a bare-chested man who is in the process of ripping his shirt off, I do think that the cover should have included Hestia. Normally, I am like “No women on the cover” but Hestia earned a spot in my heart because of everything that she went through and how she loved Alex unconditionally. Actually, thinking about it, maybe Hestia should have been featured instead of Alex. Just saying…


I loved, loved, loved the note that the author included before the prologue. It explained so much about Alex and his dependency on laudanum and opium. It also explained how addiction wasn’t even given a name until 1909. Which is a full 102 years after Alex’s experiences. I thought it was very helpful that she included that because, like Bronwen said in the note, no one understood that opium and laudanum were addictive. So everything that was written about Alex, the view people had on those substances and how widespread they were was historically accurate. And I can’t tell you how much I love it when an author does their research and gets it right in the book!!

Alex was so tortured by his years of captivity by Murad, a self-titled Sultan, and pirate, that he felt he couldn’t be loved or love anyone. The author never lets the reader know what exactly Alex experienced at the hands of Murad but she drops enough hints that I thought I knew what happened and I felt awful for him. No wonder he had nightmares, 7 years after the fact. He suffered from PTSD (not that it was even recognized back then) and extreme self-loathing. The only person who accepted him, scars and all, was Hestia but he wrote it off as hero-worship and figured that if she knew the truth that she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. Which wasn’t the case. I cried, ugly cried, during his flashbacks and when he finally told Hestia about his addiction and what happened with Murad.

Hestia was so completely opposite of what Regency era women were supposed to be and it was a breath of fresh air. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself, her interactions with Murad and Alex definitely showed that. She didn’t let the fact that her father warned Alex off of seeing her (citing his addiction to opium and laudanum but there was another reason and it was really awful) scare her off. She loved Alex completely and she was able to take everything that had happened to him, process it and not let it cloud her love of him. Even his relationship with Tulay (read the book to find out who she was). She was perfect for him.

The sex scenes and there were a few, were hot. The only thing I didn’t like was when Alex and Hestia had sex for the first time. Alex was drugged when they had sex and thought it was a dream. Now, I understand totally where Hestia was coming from. I mean, the man of her dreams was kissing her and feeling her up. But she should have stopped. She knew he was drugged. But she went ahead and gave him her virginity anyway. Which didn’t sit right with me when I read it. Other than that first scene, everything else was burning!!

I liked how all the plotlines got resolved at the end of the book. I cheered when Alex, Hestia, and Murad had it out at the end of the book and honestly, Murad got what was coming to him. The only thing that even left a bad taste in my mouth was how Hestia’s father treated Alex. I was pretty ticked off about it and loved that Alex finally stood up for himself. The epilogue, though, was my favorite part of the book. I was in tears reading it and all I have to say is “Yes!!” (read the book if you want to find out what made me have that reaction)

How many stars will I give Addicted to the Duke: 4

Why: Loved the storyline and the characters. All were vividly written. The only thing that turned me off was that one sex scene.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and violence. Also drug use

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

I think I've read all of Bronwen Evan's books and found all of them a good read, this one touches on a few subjects, prisoner, forced addiction, rescue to name a few.

I was captured (no pun intended) from the first page.

I received an advanced readers copy from Netgalley and I voluntarily leave my own honest opinion

Very slow going and hard to keep my attention. Alex was all alpha but not a man I would swoon about. Hestia is not very memorable.

No stranger to adventure, Ms. Evans knows how to thrill readers with her courageous heroes and tempting heroines. This time around she steps up her game and sets the action on the high seas. A wounded warrior battles his inner demons while fighting against the advances of a sexy siren on the quest for answers. As the mystery unfolds the seduction begins. Bronwen Evans doesn't do dull and Addicted to the Duke explains why.

Bronwen Evans has become one of my all-time favorite authors! The first page of "Addicted to the Duke" grabbed my attention and didn't let go until the end.
Alex, the duke in question, has lived a semi-charmed life with one exception - he was kept as an opium-eating/smoking prisoner for two years. Alex is sexy and charming and loved by the ladies, he uses all of this to hide his still partial addiction to opium. Alex believes his only redeeming act was to rescue Hestia from the clutches of the monster who enslaved him.
Hestia was taken by the man who imprisoned Alex, Murad, and was about to be raped at his hands in front of his men. Hestia's father asked Alex to save her, and he did. Hestia, only sixteen at the time, fell in love with Alex. Alex spent the next four years trying to discourage her attentions by being the most notorious rake he can be.
Hestia is a lovely heroine, smart, brave and knows what she wants. She also has a problem, her father is believed to be dead and her cousin may force her into marriage for her money. Hestia turns to the only man she can trust, Alex, and asks him to help her find her father - she doesn't believe he is dead. Hestia sets out on a sea voyage with Alex determined to tempt him into her arms.
Alex is a broken person, or so he believes, he was addicted to opium when in Murad's control and knows he participated in terrible acts with Murad and others. Alex doesn't talk about his time in captivity and believes that he is too broken for someone as lovely and filled with light like Hestia to love. He has denied his feelings for her for a long time, but being forced together on a ship may change his mind.
But Alex has an ulterior motive for helping Hestia, he wants to find and kill Murad. Will he risk his newfound love for Hestia for revenge?
Ms. Evans really tackles some issues in this book - rape, addiction, sexual abuse of a man, etc. and all done with dignity and grace. As a reader, I felt these characters pain and longing and it made them much more real to me. And of course, this book has some steamy love scenes that are a trademark of this author.
Highly recommended. I can't wait to read more books in the series, maybe Alex's friend Steven's story is next??? Can't wait to find out!

Passion, adventure, and high seas rescue from very cunning private, in this romance. A lovely historical romance, between two people who are destined to be with one another, despite their pasts.

Ms. Evans’ stories are a bit on the dark side. They definitely draw you in and make you feel vulnerable. This story is no exception. It deals with several adversities the hero Alex needs to overcome – addiction, revenge, insecurities about love. Heartbreaking. I like how it was not glossed over. It happened, he has to deal with it or spiral down to madness. Hestia is a great character. She is a strong women who does not give up. Love conquers all? Yes!

ADDICTED TO THE DUKE : An Imperfect Lords Novel by Bronwen Evans is a little dark it deals with addiction (opium) and also sexual slavery. Alexander and Hestia do get their HEA ...but have a journey to get there. Bronwen does a good job making you feel apart of the story and also leaves you with a mystery at the end ... which I'm sure will be Stephen's story.

Alex is a dark character, but I really like him. He was held captive by a pirate for two years and became addicted to opium. Hestia had to be rescued by Alex when she was 16. She was kidnapped and was being sold to the same pirate that held Alex captive. Now, four years later, she needs Alex's help once again. He has been avoiding her because he knows if he is near her, he would want to keep her for his own. Hestia has gotten word that her father is dead. She knows this isn't true, but his heir is trying to take over everything, including her. She must find her father and save her father's estate and herself. She and Alex come up with a plan. While searching for her father, Hestia and Alex find betrayal, heartache and love.

Addicted to the Duke⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ written by Bronwen Evans
(Imperfect Lords #1)

Lady Hestia Cary, the neglected daughter of the Earl of Pembroke, learns her father of is dead. It is her sinister distant cousin that informs her by returning with his body. Lady Hestia has her doubts this is her father as this cousin would be in line to be the next Earl of Pembroke.

Lady Hestia seeks the help of Alexander Bracken, Duke of Bedford.
Alex saved her four years earlier after she had been kidnapped by the Sultan Murad Bayezid. Ever since her rescue she has been in love with Alex. Alex, however, has his own demons that haunt his body and soul.
He had been held captive by this same Sultan for two years. Suffering at this mans hand. He became addicted to laudanum and suffered innumerable humiliations which he still can't get past.

Hestia certainly makes her feelings for Alex very clear but he has promised her father he will not entertain her attentions. It is when Alex begins to open up his memories and shares them with Hestia that he is able to lose the guilt he feels. This is quite an intriguing story many twist and turns keeping you turning the pages for more.

I did enjoy this book although a bit depressing at times but I look forward to continue reading this new series from Ms Evans.

He saved her from certain ruin and torment. From that day on, young lady Hestia Cary was in love and determined that someday the Duke of Bedford would be hers. Little did she know the torment and personal hell Alex had lived through and how it had scarred his very soul. Even her father would stand against any chance of them being together, not that the Duke had shown any interest in her… until the day both of their greatest nightmares has returned and even the closest of allies could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. When there is no one to trust, one must trust in one’s own heart and the hope for a future that has seemed unattainable.

Bronwen Evans’ ADDICTED TO THE DUKE is another journey back in time where ladies were to be treated as delicate creatures in the purist sense, yet one event, not of their own doing will cause the tongues of London to wag in scandal. Hestia has weathered the storm through her impeccable comportment, but the only man she wants is a scoundrel, an addict and a man with dark secrets that few know. The reality of the true Alex is buried beneath his reputation and to avoid his darkest nightmares to surface, that is just fine with him, until the one woman he cannot have needs him to step up to the plate and be the man he was always meant to be, a man who can overcome his past to fight for his heart and his future.

Truly a pleasant read, not too dark, not to angst-filled with characters that ring true and a plot that would do any Victorian tale proud. Quick, romantic and peppered with international intrigue.

I received an ARC edition from Loveswept in exchange for my honest review.

Series: Imperfect Lords - Book 1
Publisher: Loveswept (June 13, 2017)
Publication Date: June 13, 2017
Genre: Historical Romance
Print Length: 391 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

I always give honest reviews in return for ARCs and this holds true here. Bronwen Evans has such a flair for telling a story. Aside from a wonderfully written tale, this is also relevant in today's world with the addiction problems going on. It is such an insidious thing when something takes over your life but it can be turned around if you have the strength and support around you. Good read.

Alexander Bracken is the Duke of Bedford. When he was a younger man, he and a friend decided to fight Barbary pirates. That adventure ended with Alex being taken captive by Murad, a man who enjoys torture and degradation for anyone who comes near him. Alex became addicted to opium and there were other issues which made him feel as though he is not deserving of life. He is rescued from captivity by an Earl who believes that Alex is a damaged soul.
Alex is asked to go back to to Murad's Island to rescue 16 year old, Lady Hestia Carey. She is the daughter of the man who was Alex's savior.
Hestia is rescued and falls in love with Alex. It is made clear that Alex is never to consider becoming a part of Hestia's life.
He is a damaged soul.
When the Earl is reportedly killed, his heir, who happens to be a criminal, plans to take over any thing he can. Among his plans is the possibility of marrying Hestia or if that does not work out she could end up dead. She has a dowry that is a large amount of money. And money and power are important in life.
In order to find the missing Earl and to provide safety for Hestia, Alex sets sail to once and for all take care of Murad. Hestia is sailing with him because that is a way to keep her safe.
The theme of this book is addiction and how it can take over a life. For Alex it is opium, for Hestia it is Alex.
There was a time when opium was considered an everyday part of medicine. There was little knowledge of addiction or what it could do to a person's life. This story points out that opium was a powerful drug which could do a great deal of damage.
There is adventure in this story. The action is well written and the feeling of danger is at the forefront. The reader is given a sense of fear felt by Alex and Hestia when they are in jeopardy. The complete power of the pirates is evident in every bit of action which involves them. There is no fear because they feel they are omnipotent.
At times I was ready to slap both Alex and Hestia. He was willing to believe that he had no value to the world. But, in passing we are told he is taking care of his estate and his younger siblings. He is also admired by men who know him well and those same men respect him. Hestia dithers. I understand angst, but at times it seemed repetitious for me. She had overcome the scandal of being kidnapped by being strong. I wanted to see more of that power in her dealings with Alex.
Ms Evans is a very talented author. She creates atmosphere and character development beautifully. Her books are always well plotted and there is action.
This book seemed to be darker than her other books I have read. It is still a book that is quite well written and populated by characters who are always interesting to meet.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

Imperfection has never been so perfect in the character of Alex! And Hestia? Well, let's just say his goddess of hearth always reminds him that there is no place like home, and his home is in her arms. Their relationship, a love which both attracts and pushes away, keeps you turning the pages to get that happy ending. So much suspense with conflict beyond your imagination! Definitely putting Bronwen Evans on my must read list!

I've read other books by Ms. Evans and this book, though dark, is enjoyable. Dealing with the subject of addiction and the power to overcome it, is a timely issue, but in the Regency period, not much was known about the addictive properties of opium and laudanum. I could feel the struggle Alex, Duke of Bedford, was facing every day. Captured by a Turk during the war and held for 2 years, Alex was addicted to opium and Murad's sex slave. When he rescues sixteen-year-old Lady Hestia from the same evil Turk, she falls hard for him. Relationships become even more tangled because it was Hestia's father who had rescued Alex from Murad years earlier and when Alex returns Hestia unharmed to her father, he extracted a vow from Alex to never offer for his daughter.

This story is not the usual Regency romance. Most of the book takes place on the high seas where Alex and Hestia cannot hide from each other. I did get a little tired of Alex's internal dialogue about not being good enough for the innocent Hestia. Romance, redemption and vanquishing an enemy makes this story an very enjoyable read. It doesn't take place in the ballroom so many of the tons rules are not restricting the hero and heroine. There were a couple of excellent twists that caught me by surprise.

This was an entertaining adventure about a woman, Hestia, who has been in love with Alex for the past 4 years, ever since he saved her from Turkish Pirates. Alex has done everything he could, except marry someone else, to push Hestia away, going as far as to let her catch him with another woman in a very compromising way. He does not believe he deserves her due to the fact that he had been held captive by the same Turkish pirate, who kidnapped Hestia, for two years, having to do things he is ashamed of doing in order to survive. But when her father is presumed dead by a cousin in order to claim the title, Alex is the only man she can think to go to for help. He agrees to help her find her father and they set off for the Mediterranean to face both of their demons and their attraction for each other. Alex has ulterior motives for helping Hestia, he was to seek vengeance from the man who enslaved him, though he keeps that a secret from Hestia. He has every intention of fighting his desire for Hestia but being on a confining ship for weeks on end inevitably leads to passionate encounters. Hestia wants to win Alex, but she comes to realize she really doesn't know who Alex is and he refuses to enlighten her about himself and what he went through while enslaved. She sets out to prove to him that love can heal and the past does not have to control the future.

I enjoyed the story, it had highs and lows in the emotional turmoil category, though my one frustration was that as Hestia learned that Alex didn't truly care for her the way she thought he did (supposedly) she comes to the conclusion to step back only to wake the next day ready to fight for him again. It was like one minute her heart breaks at finding out he loved another woman (going as far as to call out the other woman's name in a drug induced state) and coming to realize he didn't love her and never did to back to being optimistic about her chances to win him. I would have loved for her to actually stick to the notion that he didn't love her, but rather was in love with another woman, and to let him come to realize he did and fight for her. She seemed to be the only one truly fighting for a relationship and the few moments when he realizes how much he cares for her, he doesn't act on it (when he thinks he is going to lose her to men from his ship who try to kidnap her). I wanted Alex to at some point fight for her, but she, in the end, rescues him from the Turkish pirates and is strong for the both of them, which is cool in a way, but I needed the two characters to be a bit more equal in the ability to fight for one another. I understand the demons Alex faced and I understand why he thought he was unworthy of her love, but he seemed to only show his passion and love for her while they were having sex. Afterward he kind of steps back into an aloof manner.

With this said, I did love the story and their adventure. The characters were strong and the plot was enjoyable. The conflict and villains were formidable but not over the top. There were surprises and twists along the way that did keep me turning the pages to the very end. The ending was great and the epilog gave me both the nice wrap-up to the story and teased me about what is to come next. I liked it.

A DNF for me. The story and language were just too overwrought and dramatic. Sorry! Thanks for the ARC.