I couldn't get through this and decided to throw in the towel pretty early; was skimming by the time I got to 25% and stopped even trying not long after. Pretty quickly after starting, I had a feeling this wasn't going to be the book for me. I put it aside for Mary Balogh's Someone to Hold , which I proceeded to read cover to cover, and it reminded me again that there are too many books, too little time, and I wasn't going to waste any on a book that I couldn't get into.

What put me on alert immediately was the insta-lust that takes place between the hero and heroine. I'll admit it's hard for me to like that in HRs period, but it has been known to happen. The reason it didn't work here is the same reason why it normally doesn't work, and that's because it caused way too much eye-rolling and was SO over-the-top!


Loretta walks in, Sloane turns around, and BOOM , he's immediately struck: "She looked pure, sweet, and completely untouched by masculine hands. [what does that even mean?? what did he expect, handprints?] A sudden, deep rush of desire flamed through him, and the rhythm of his heartbeat changed." Puh-leaze. And of course, let's not forget to mention his on-fire loins—"Had she been his mistress he would have forgotten all about the growl of hunger in his stomach and fed the raging appetite in his loins." Better keep that thing on a leash, buddy.

Our heroine isn't much better: she's "quite simply shaking in her slippers" from when she first sees him, and not from fear or nervousness, but "because the moment she saw him, something changed inside her and she still wasn't sure what to make of the new, startling, and unexplained feelings that had swept over her at the sight of him. [I get desire and I get instant attraction, but all the "first sight" lightning strikings are too much for me!] She wasn't out of breath, yet she was breathless. She wasn't dizzy, yet she felt light-headed. She wasn't hungry, yet looking at him caused a ravenous appetite to rise up within her." Someone give the woman a meal (and enough with the constant sexual hunger).

Mind you, all of this is in the first 10% of the book, within only a few hours of meeting each other. And pretty much nothing has happened, except some back-and-forth banter that felt very forced, and lots and lots of dirty thinking. There were definitely some interesting possibilities and I had been excited by the summary—I love cast-out heroines and was looking forward to seeing how she would navigate everything, plus a good "enemies"-to-lover (even if not really outright enemies) plot can be the best when done well!

Other than both the leading characters' over-the-top-ness, the hero was arrogant and domineering, the heroine got on my nerves, her "vow" that she has to stick to is silly, etc. Seems to have pretty stellar ratings thus far though, so I'm glad others enjoyed it more than I did.


This review is of an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Some changes and/or edits may be made to the final published version.

To the Duke, With Love was another excellent historical romance by Ms. Grey. Solid romance with heat.

Hawk Sloane is a Duke who, due to the death of his parents, became responsible for his young sister Adele. Now it's time for Adele's first season, and as a result of a prank Hawk took part in when he was younger, he fears some members of society will take revenge on him by hurting Adele. Hawk decides the best way to prevent that from happening is to get Adele engaged before the start of the season, and he has searched for the "perfect" match for her. He has decided that Paxton Quick is the one, and so he sets off to approach Paxton about said marriage. What he didn't anticipate is finding Paxton has an older sister, Loretta, who has been banished to the country three years earlier when she refused to marry the man her Uncle arranged for her to marry. Loretta is determined that her brother will never be forced into a marriage based on anything but love, and she butts heads with Hawk over the marriage. While locked in this battle these two find themselves attracted to each other and they have to find a way to have a happily ever after for all concerned. What ensues is an enjoyable romance novel.

I received an ARC for my honest opinion.

Hawk comes to Loretta's family to match his sister with Loretta's brother to protect her since people might ruin her seeking revenge on Hawk. Loretta refused to marry years earlier so is away from society and vowed to never marry. She wants her brother to marry for love and is not keen on the idea of an engagement between the siblings. There is immediate attraction between Hawk and Loretta which struck me much more as infatuation and lust instead of love. I would have preferred a slower build up to their relationship. I also thought her vow to never vow extreme. I enjoyed the book overall, thank you.

This is a lovely written book. I liked the romance between Hawk and Loretta. He knew he wanted her and helped her to realize they could be together. His sister and her brother just added to story. I liked the personalities of the characters.

I have to commend Loretta for staying true to the vow that she felt that she made to never marry and stay pure. Lord knows most would have given in to Hawks advancements. However I thought that the book was a little too tame because of this. I did enjoy it though and will refer it to my friends.

This was the first book I have read from Ms. Grey and I truly enjoyed the novel. I have had issues in the past with books the jump into mad passionate sex in the first chapter, so I was very pleased that this one didn’t! The story had a good story line …the characters were believable …and I liked the second story plot of Farley thrown in. I would look forward to reading more from this author and search out her work!

I would like to thank Ms. Grey, the publishers and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved Hawk and Loretta's story. It was so real that you felt a part of the book. I enjoyed every part of the book and felt like I was right there with the characters. A book not to miss.

This book started a bit slow but thank goodness it picked up a bit towards the middle.. The story revolves around the Duke of Hawksthorn who is looking to arrange a marriage for his sister.. He picks the brother of Loretta Quick, who was banished by her Uncle when she refused to marry the man her Uncle chose for her.. The story takes off from the moment Hawk makes his way to the residence of both Loretta and Paxton.. Hawk explains the situation to Loretta who on the other hand is determined that her brother marry only for love.. I just love how the siblings interact with each other.. I found it so sweet and cute..
Overall, this was a light and enjoyable read that has no cheating, drama or complicated situations...

ARC was provided by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Ms. Amelia Grey.. Thank you so much!

Sloane “Hawk” Knox, The Duke of Hawksthorn has enemies. People he thinks might ruin his young sister, Adele, to get their revenge. His solution? Arrange an engagement to the best candidate before the season begins.

Miss Loretta Quick fled from her own arranged marriage and won’t let her younger brother marry for anything but love. When Hawk arrives on her doorstep on the verge of a winter storm when her brother isn’t even in residence, she reluctantly lets him stay to explain his proposition. One thing that throws the whole night into utter chaos is the arrival of a sick beggar boy at Loretta’s kitchen door. Hawk doesn’t trust the boy but his pull toward Loretta has him giving in to her wishes to help the boy.

Hawk and Loretta eventually agree to let Adele meet with Paxton Quick to see if they might like each other enough for marriage. What starts as a mission to wed their siblings quickly turns into a game of desire for Hawk and Loretta.

I though Hawk and Loretta were both too stubborn to see any side other than their own in the beginning. As the time they spend together grows longer, the fiery passion erupts to a point where Hawk will fight family and friends to find a way to be with Loretta. The addition of the beggar boy to the story was an interesting twist I didn’t anticipate, but rather enjoyed the obstacles he presents. The twists and turns toward love are not easy, Grey makes the journey a worthwhile one. Hawk and Loretta are feisty and have a passion that explodes when the two join forces. They became one of my favorite historical romance couples as the novel ended in an unexpected perfection.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

To the Duke, with Love


Ms. Amelia Grey has given us another entertaining and enjoyable story. “To the Duke, with Love” has all the elements of a typical Regency romance, however, Ms. Grey has also included a storyline regarding the lost or abandoned children of the period.
In “To the Duke, with Love”, the hero is confident, good looking, rich and loving. The heroine is smart, beautiful, and strong-minded. The secondary characters are well written and add an enjoyable layer to the overall plot.
I was a little disappointed with how quickly the H/h became enthralled with each other. While I did enjoy how these two matched wits, I prefer an attraction that develops slowly and is a bit more intricate.
On the other hand, Ms. Grey wrote a pleasurable romance without scheming ex-girlfriends, unhappy relatives, or any mix-ups that could easily be explained if one of the characters would just speak up.
If you enjoy a nice paced, uncomplicated regency romance with a touch of realism, I would definitely recommend this novel.

I like this author and series both. The tension between the two main characters was well written and made me like them even more. Can't wait for the next one.

I really enjoyed this book, the story about Miss Loretta Quick and the Duke of Hawsthorn. After refusing to go through with an arranged marriage Loretta has been socially outcast by her Uncle and lives a lonely existence at his hunting lodge. She is happy with her decision and content with her life, until Sloane Knox, the Duke of Hawksthorn, arrives on her doorstep one dark and rainy night. He wishes to propose a match between his sister and her brother, who have never met. Having a very low opinion of arranged marriages Loretta objects to his proposal and the sparks fly between them from the beginning, the evidence of their own attraction to each other only adding to the electricity around their interactions. What I loved about this novel though was the story beyond the romance. I appreciated the effort by the author to tackle some of the more undesirable elements of Regency society through the character of the orphan boy Farley which I found to be a plausible theme in this well written book. The other characters added depth to the plot and a suitable ending was crafted for all of them. This is the second story in the Rakes of St James series, but can be read as a standalone book quite easily as I had not read the first. I will be seeking out the first and I will definitely read more by this author.

This is the first I've read from Amelia Grey even though it's the second book in this series. The set up for the series seems to be that 3 dukes, when they were younger were foolish and sent anonymous love letters toying with the debutantes of that season. Years later those three men are now concerned with the come outs for their younger sisters and worried about the repercussions of their younger actions. In this book we have Hawk who is hoping to make a match for his sister before the season begins. He finds the perfect candidate for his sister and when he goes to speak with the man about his proposition, he instead comes upon the sister, Loretta. The couple have an interesting chemistry as Loretta is set upon dissuading her brother from the arranged match with Hawk's sister. It was an enjoyable and easy read without too much drama. It was fun to see the dialogue between the two as they come together. I would be interested in reading more from Amelia Grey.

"Never send a young lady a secret admirer letter." ~ A Proper Gentleman's Guide to Wooing the Perfect Lady

Years ago, three friends came across this pearl of wisdom in "A Proper Gentleman's Guide to Wooing the Perfect Lady". Being just a little bit drunk at the time, they decided to put this piece of advice to the test to see what happened, betting who would get the most responses- with disastrous consequences for the ladies who received the letters and went out, unchaperoned, to meet their secret admirers - who never showed. Now, The Rakes of St. James are trying to bring out their own sisters, and a rumor is going around that someone wants revenge and intends to ruin the Rake's sisters in return.

Desperate to protect his sister from scandal, Sloane Know, the Duke of Hawthorne, is determined to secure a proposal for his sister before the season starts, hoping an engagement will protect her. And he has the perfect gentleman in mind. The only problem is the man's sister, Loretta Quick, who, after scandalizing society by refusing to marry the man her uncle had intended for her, has promised herself that she will make sure her brother marries for love and nothing less. Captivated by her frank manners and her refusal to back down, they quickly form an attachment that threatens to turn both their lives around in ways they never expected.

This was my first book by Amelia Grey, and it won't be my last. I loved that this book was very low on forced drama, which I cannot stand. There were no stupid big misunderstandings, no meddling relatives, nothing really but them standing in the way of their own happiness. I quite liked the way these two fought to best each other in arguments and got to really know each other. I also enjoyed the fact that the author decided to incorporate a kid who grew up on the streets of London, which was a nice change from the usual characters you meet in a historical romance.

A few little quibbles: The insta-lust (really, the hero's entire world changes in the first second he sees her, which is in the first pages of chapter 1, was a bit too much for my tastes (I would've preferred a gradually growing attachment), and the hero's realization that he was in love came a bit out of nowhere for me. But all in all, it did manage to convince me in the end.
Also, the heroine was a bit too naive for my tastes (she takes in a street urchin after he came begging to her house and basically collapsed from exhaustion before her, and is actually surprises that being nice to him doesn't magically heal behavior born of years of living on the streets), and her issues about vowing to never marry were resolved just a bit too easily for my tastes. I think another thing that might put some readers off is the way the hero wants to arrange a marriage for his sister. But really, once you meet the spoiled girl who is perfectly happy to not make a single decision for herself and thinks it's perfectly reasonable that her brother knows men better than she does, it does make sense in a way. I certainly never felt like the hero was patronizing her and I really felt that he was just trying to to as she asked and find her a nice man who would take care of her..

All in all, this was a nice, easy read. I guess for some readers this wouldn't be exciting enough, but I really enjoyed that it was a comfortable story about two nice people falling in love!

Amelia Grey has done it again in the second installment of The Rakes of St. James.

This book follows Hawk, the second of the three rakes. His sister is set to make her debut and he is determined to do everything in his power to prevent her from having to face the ton and the scandal that could come her way. His plan, to have her engaged before she attends the parties. He knows who he wants for her, however it isn't as easy as he hoped. The gentleman's sister is fighting him every step of the way. She doesn't want her brother to settle unless he is in love, doesn't want an arranged marriage and doesn't think the Duke's sister is good enough. The Duke and Loretta Quick are mutually attracted to each other and Loretta can hold her own with the Duke, but will it go anywhere?


Loretta's past has determined her future, can Hawk convince her to change her future and give in to his charms? Is he really ready to settle down and marry, no longer being a "rake"? Passion, wit and determination are alive in both of them. Will either of them claim the victory?

Sloane Knox, 'Hawk', Duke of Hawksthorne is on the hunt for a groom for his sister to avoid possible repercussions of an action he took a part in.
Adele Knox is perfectly content to let Hawk arrange he marriage.
Hawk believes he has found her perfect match, but when he travels to the home of Paxton Quick, he arrives during an ice storm to find him out and unaware of the message posted to him......but his lovely sister Loretta is in....and very tempting.
Aware of Loretta's back story, he still finds her irresistible and wants to know more, which happens easily because not only does his horse have a limp and need to be stabled, he helps her rescue a young very ill boy from the storm.
As they wait for her male servants' return with fresh horses, they get acquainted during the care of Farley.
Hawk falls hard for Loretta over the course of time spent arranging Paxton and Adele's betrothal and is determined to marry her, but there are obstacles he must overcome first.
This is a sweet heartwarming historical,centered on the two couples and their loving interaction with their siblings.
I requested and was granted an ARC copy to peruse.

What do you get if you cross a notorious rake and a scandalous lady?

You get an interesting historical romance filled with twists and turns. The story follows Hawk a Duke who in his youth with two other Dukes wrote 12 scandalous ladies in their first season requesting a secret meeting and signing it from a secret admirer. Each had four ladies too woo. All 12 ladies showed and where disgraced for a short period. Now the dukes are older and their sisters are due have their 1st season. So his sister Adele does not fall into the hands of a lord or other gentleman trying to get revenge for his mistake, he decides to arrange his sister marriage before the start of the season. He decides on a young man who is a relative of an Earl as a suitable choice. But he does not expect to encounter the scandalous sister Loretta instead. Loretta is not allowed into society due to not going though with an arrangement marriage by her uncle on the day of the wedding. So she is banished to the countryside which suits her fine until she meets Hawk. The story unfolds from here.

I am glad that this story not only shows the rich of the recency period but also the poor in London’s underbelly.

If you love historical romances give this a go. I will definitely picking up more novels by the author

To The Duke, With Love by Amelia Grey is an awesome historical romance. Ms Grey has delivered a well-written book filled with amazing characters. Loretta wants her brother to have a love match marriage, Hawk wants Loretta's brother for an arranged marriage with his sister. Loretta and Hawk's story is a tangle of unfortunate events surrounded by drama, humor, and sizzle. I loved reading this story and look forward to reading more from Amelia Grey soon. To The Duke, With Love is book 2 of The Rakes Of St. James Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.


I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book is the second in the series and while you don’t really need to read the first book to pick this up I feel like it might help with some of the background. The author does discuss the backstory enough in the book that you get an idea of what happened but if you aren’t going to be content with snippets you might want to read book #1.

This is your typical historical romance novel. The relationship between the two main characters starts pretty quickly. Usually books build to a realization that they both have feelings for one another whereas in this book the relationship is almost immediate and it’s almost a little confusing as to why these 2 are so infatuated with one another.

The book also lacks a suspenseful climax. In fact, the entire plot is a bit underwhelming. One of the reason I love reading historical romance novels is because they’re like grown up fairy tales and the plots can be as ridiculous as you want them to be but this one was just mundane. Overall, it wasn’t a bad book but it would be in my top 10 historical romance recommendations.