I love Marlena and Rath as a couple! Her quick witted remarks had me laughing a lot! Enjoyed this book immensely! Love, passion and laughs in this book!

This is the third in a series. I have read the first two books and enjoyed them very much.

In the past, three young rakish dukes had a brilliant idea for a prank. They wrote notes to twelve young ladies who have just had their come out into society. Each note said they were a secret admirer of the young lady and she should secretly meet her admirer. It became common knowledge that every young lady took the note seriously. It became a scandal and it changed the lives of the twelve young ladies and the three dukes were looked upon as thoughtless cads.

In this book, the last of the three dukes, Rath, the Duke of Rathburne, has become the guardian to Marlena Fast. She was only 12 the last time he saw her. She handed him a frog.

Now when he meets her again, she has become a beautiful and bright young woman. He is immediately smitten.

Marlena has a secret. For three years she has been writing a gossip column about the dukes and their families. Some of the things she wrote were very angry and mean. When she meets Rath, the other two dukes, as well as their wives and sisters, she finds they are very nice people. Regrets begin for Marlena.

When she started writing, she thought she was doing it for a good reason. Now, she is not so certain that she chose the correct way to make her point.

Rath is charming and personable. He feels that the prank was a terrible mistake, but he believes there was no permanent damage done to anyone. His life has not changed much.

Marlena is intelligent and lovely. She is shocked to find that Rath will be her guardian. Dealing with him on a regular basis will not be easy. She has so much to hide.

I loved the first two books in this series. This book can easily be read as a stand alone. But a reader would enjoy the stories even more by reading the first two books in the series.

Rath and Marlena are interesting characters. Both of them have flaws in their character. But, over all, I liked both of them. In fact, I liked nearly all the characters in the book. A couple of them were prime examples of why women have been looked at as second class human beings.

The plot is interesting. Rath's new perspective on life and people shows he is perfectly capable of learning from mistakes. He becomes a more thoughtful and considerate man. His growth is encouraging as well as entertaining. I liked him. Marlena was devoted and very loyal to friends. I admired her sense of responsibility.

I had a very small issue with the book. At times things seemed to slow down. Most of the time events moved forward at a good pace. But, every now and then, I felt that things became weighed down by too many descriptions.

Ms Grey is a very talented author. She spins a tale that is absolutely enthralling. The love and affection between Marlena and Rath grows as they get to know one another. The secondary characters give a texture to the story. Everything works well together.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

I love historical romance and this book was really cute. It reminded me a bit of the scandal sheets in the Bridgerton series - which was such a fun concept even if it felt similar here. I liked the Duke and Marlena and appreciated the kind of woman she is. If this is a genre you typically enjoy, this would be a fun one to add to your list :)

This is book three of the trilogy. This story ended it great. I love all the details the couples have going on. I enjoyed all the secrets being found out and more trickery to end things right. Another well written book to add to your collection. Must read!

I enjoyed this guardian/ward story, but didn't love it. It's the 3rd book in a series, but can be read as a standalone without feeling lost.

There’s no doubt that the hero and heroine in this story belong together. I did not read the previous two books in this series, but it’s not hard to get up to speed with the backstory here.

The Duke of Rathburne (Rath) and his two cohorts (Griff and Hawk) made a thoughtless wager a while back involving a dozen women. They didn’t foresee that these women would be tainted by scandal because of their actions. Unfairly, the three dukes never suffered personal repercussions. The men are remorseful and have tried to make amends in the years since this occurred. Griffin and Hawk are now happily wed, while Rath still enjoys his freedom as an unmarried rake.

However, negative consequences from their boyish prank continue to be felt, as Marlena Fast clearly sees. Her dear friend, Victoria Portington, is one of those ladies and, as a result, is unhappily married to a man she never would have considered otherwise. Living next door, Marlena witnesses Victoria’s daily misery.

Starting three years ago, Marlena decided something must be done to publicly reprimand the careless dukes. She took up her pen and became “Miss Honora Truth,” author of a popular gossip sheet that centers on these rakes to keep reminding the public of their previous misdeeds. She also masterminded the spread of an untrue rumor suggesting that the dukes’ sisters might be targeted for revenge when they made their own come-out. In her devotion to her cause, Marlena has never stopped to consider the consequences of her own actions on people she’d never met.

As this story begins, Rath has accepted the request from an ailing family friend to assume guardianship of Miss Marlena Fast. Mr. Olingworth is just too ill to properly introduce her into society himself. I do enjoy the irony of Marlena becoming Rath’s ward. When Rath shows up at her home, Marlena at first is certain he must have learned that she’s Honora Truth.

However, she’s also disturbingly attracted to him, and he is to her. This is a romance trope that I really dislike. I can understand recognizing how attractive someone is on first sight. I have trouble believing that a man with a lot of experience bedding women feels a tangibly stronger attraction beyond anything he’s ever felt to this woman before he even talks to her. With all of Marlena’s ingrained dislike for the Duke of Rathburne, I don’t find her reaction to him credible, either. Their mutual spark is supposed to be a sign of “true love,” but to me it just signals true lust.

The storyline where Rath is trying to behave like a gentleman with Marlena when all he wants to do is get her into bed is one I’ve read befrore, but Marlena’s secret identity as the scandal sheet authoress puts an interesting spin on things. I love Eugenia, Victoria’s sister, who keeps popping over to see Marlena at inopportune times. Both sisters contribute to keeping Marlena’s secret, and she gives all the money she receives for its publication to help support them, since Mr. Portington is terrible with household finances.

The characters are all great. Marlena lives with her cousin Justine, who’s irritating in a humorous way, always reminiscing about her supposed smash in society when she made her debut. Lady Vera, Griff’s sister, enters the story to help Marlena shop for appropriate clothing. Mr. Portington turns out to be exceedingly eccentric rather than intentionally cruel. Griff and Hawk are amiable friends to Rath.

The two biggest problems with this book, though, are too much introspection and too much repetition. Dialogue is interrupted by paragraphs describing all the thoughts going through a character’s head before he or she responds, much of which is old news. I read multiple times about how Marlena developed courage because she was raised alongside five male cousins. I also got tired of reading how Rath just couldn’t be the gentleman his father wanted him to be and knows the old man was disappointed in him when he died. These and other repeated bits of information made the story feel long and draggy, even though the story itself was pretty good.

Rated MA. Sex before marriage.

It's All About The Duke is the final book in the Rakes Of St. James trilogy by Amelia Grey.

The third notorious Rake found redemption in this very lovely romance. I loved Rath and Marlena. They were absolutely perfect for each other and I was completely entertained by their charming banter and palpable chemistry. There was also may colorful situations that happened with some of the secondary characters. It helped liven up the story every time someone swooned or acted outrageously. The best part was how the mystery thread was revealed and had me cheering for true love to prevail. In the end it happened the only way possible.

Amelia Grey seamlessly ends The Rakes Of St. James with It's All About The Duke. It was a wonderfully rich book that I didn't want to put down.

I stepped away from this one because there felt like there was someone missing with Rath and Marlena. I was hoping a little time away would help. It didn't.

I didn't feel any chemistry between Rath and Marlena. Yes, they had their banter, but those conversations didn't leave me feeling like they had a romance in the making. Then there was who Marlena was and what that meant to the Rakes of St. James. I would have thought the build-up to that revelation would have been more angsty and that it wouldn't have been just Rath that discovered the secret.

In the end, I was left feeling underwhelmed by this last installment in an otherwise enjoyable series.

This book was way too slow for me. There were so many ideas that we encounter in many other books - the ward and guardian romance, the heroine writing gossip columns for money etc. But what was actually tiring was the writing itself. It felt like I was still stuck in the first scene when I was already a few chapters in.
Overall, I finished the book but I was disappointed with it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. Amelia Gray is a new to me author and the blurb sounded like a really fun historical. Sadly, this did not prove to be the case. I found it overly long and difficult to finish. It wasn't helped by the fact that I am so tired of books with heroines who write for scandal sheets.

Loved #3 of this trilogy. Rath is a reformed take. He made mistakes and hurt people, but he has changed. Marlena has lost her famkly and is living with her ditzy aunt ( who i couldn't stand.) She's a crusader, and not intimidated by much. She also has a heart of gold. Don't want to spoil this delightful tale, it's a wonderful read and you'll be cheering for a HEA for more than one couple.

I loved this story so much! I loved the girls' reactions when the Duke shows up and Marlena's chaperon is hilarious. It was fun to see the 3rd Duke find his Duchess.

Grey's conclusion to her Rakes of St. James series was everything I had hoped it would be. This time around it's Rath's turn to make amends for his past pranks, and to find love in the process. When he ends up has guardian to Marlena Fast, an young woman with her own secrets and her opinions about what she wants of her life. For these two to follow their passions and be with one another Marlena must trust Rath with her secrets and Rath has to let go of the past. Definitely one of my favorites by Amelia Grey.

An overall entertaining story. It starts off pretty slow but got more fast paced and interesting.

In a weak moment, Rath, the Duke of Rathburne, agrees to take over guardianship of a woman that he met when she was a young girl. When he goes to meet her for the first time, he is taken by how beautiful she has become. But she is his ward and he shouldn't be having those feelings, right?
Marlena has been content with her life. Her guardian has pretty much let her be. She enjoys her life and is in no hurry to marry. She is close friends with her neighbors.
When Rath shows up at her door, she is shocked. She has a big secret that involves Rath and his friends. Is he there because he found out?
Rath informs Marlena that she is to have her season so she can find a husband. Marlena has other things on her mind, like keeping her secret and protecting her neighbors.
Its a great story filled with lots of twists and turns. Can the Rake resist his feelings for his ward? Can Marlena handle her secret without it becoming a big scandal?
This book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. I'm going to go back and read the others.

*I got this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I like Grey's writing and I liked Marlana, the heroine of the book who needs to marry. Also the Duke or Rathburn was a likeable character. Marlana became is ward after an old uncle asked him to. It's a nice storyline, well written, a classical lovestory.

I really enjoyed this story, it isn't your typical historical romance. The story line of Marlena becoming Rath's ward is definitely interesting, and not a big shock that they ended up falling in love. Loved the chemistry between these two.

I enjoyed this story though I thought the main female character a bit too good - but just a bit. Liked the plot and of course the Happy Ending!

Amelia brought this trilogy to a wonderful end. Seeing a rake like Rath find that he really was a gentleman with the right woman in Marlena showed that there is always good. It took Rath realizing he was in love and willing to listen and do anything to win Marlena's love that makes you remember putting yourself out there can bring you happiness. I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This book started slowly and gradually gained my interest. Reader, be warned, there were so many typographical and grammatical errors that they became distracting and I found myself reading some sentences several times, attempting to ascertain the author's intended meaning.

I did not realize that the book was actually the third in a trio of books about the Rakes of St. James. The main characters, Marlena and Rath, were mainly likable people but each of them committed stupid and unbelievable acts during the course of the story. Marlena's aunt, Justine, provided some comic relief in the book. A little dog named Tut also shared scenes with the couple throughout the book. I liked the dog and enjoyed his part in the story. A cast of secondary characters completed the book.

In regards to the romance, it all happened just too fast for my liking, rendering parts of the story unbelievable. During the course of their relationship, Marlena committed several acts that were just way too OTT for any young miss to have committed. Her intimacy with the Duke felt forced, as he never verbalized his feelings for her, yet she was willing to completely abandon her future to him. At times, I just wanted to shout, "NO!" It made absolutely no sense that she encouraged him to compromise her, all the while knowing the unhappy fate that Veronica, her neighbor, suffered, merely by appearing at a meeting with a "secret admirer" that did not actually exist. She ran headfirst into intimacy with no cares about its possible consequences that only she would suffer. When Rath proposed to her, she refused him! What? Who does that? Yes, yes, all of her reasons were detailed, but the premise of her "one night" with him was ridiculous. I would have rather they married, and then all of her truths were exposed, allowing the reader the opportunity to view the manner in which they faced the situation as a wedded couple.

The story about the secret admirer letters was interesting and I may read the first two books in the series to learn more about them. The characters in those books played a role in the final book and their stories were hinted at, but not explored, in any great detail. I would recommend an editor for the book. I would read the other books and would recommend the author to others.