I always like a bad boy and to see him get his comeuppance and this story is just that! Very emotional and a great attraction- I truly enjoyed this story.

Nearing thirty, the Duke of Rathburne is finally ready to make amends for the wager that caused him and his best friends such scandal—but taking on a ward who needs a husband is a feat he’s not sure he can manage. The last he saw of Miss Marlena Fast, she was a spirited little ruffian, not the sort of bride most bachelors on the marriage mart sought. But one glance at the lovely lady she has become is enough to convince him otherwise.
This was a decent story. The characters were likable enough. However, it was long-winded and slow-moving. I did finish it but it was a little rough to.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Marlena is exactly what the Duke needs even if it takes him awhile to realize that. I loved how Marlena didn't give up on him. This was a great addition to the Rakes of St. James.

It's All About the Duke is another in the Rakes of St. James series and is a predictable Regency novel. Is the Duke good enough for the young Miss Marlena Fast? More importantly, is she good enough for him? The novel continues as you think it will...enjoyable, yet predictable to the end.

The story of the Rakes of St. James wraps up nicely in this book. Secrets are divulged that tie up loose ends concerning the scandal sheet that is woven through all the books in the series. The possible exposure and the actual exposing the truth of the scandal sheet and the person behind it cause many problems with the hero and heroine of the story.

Rath is the last of the rakes to be single. Looking to undo the effects of the scandalous events of his past, he agrees to take on the ward of a friend of his father’s. Their attraction is almost instantaneous and the chemistry they have sizzles. One weird thing to me about the book is that the author paired a ward and her keeper. I would have preferred they not be in that type of situation. Marlena is a strong character and doesn’t automatically yield to Rath, though. She’s independent and has a loving heart. Anxiety abounds with Marlena, however, when she learns that she has become the ward of one of the Rakes of St. James. As the story moves along, secrets become harder to keep and threaten to destroy relationships if they are revealed.

I enjoy Amelia Grey's writing style and her historical romances are some of my favorites. Her characters in It’s All About the Duke are well written and her world building is realistic. The book is descriptive, and I was able to visualize the characters, scenery, and events as they played out. The dialogue between all characters was smooth, interesting, and enjoyable. The banter between Rath and Marlena is entertaining, and I loved every scene.

I love the way Ms. Grey can write the emotions of the characters in such a way that the reader feels them. I want to be able to feel the anguish as if I'm the person upset; I want to cry if that's what the scene calls for; I want to laugh at the silliness of the antics that are written on the page. All the books I’ve read by Amelia Grey fulfill the emotional content. This novel has a fantastic plot, excellent characters, a great story, and is full of superbly written scenes with emotional content, and believability.

Never did the "rake" think he would fall for his ward but boy did he. She does what is necessary to help her siblings survive, their life has not been easy. Enter, a duke who is finally listening to their needs but doubts her sincerity due to some misleading and false accusations. Can he see past the twisted lines and finally become a "better" man or will he doubt and miss his chance.

Mmmmhmmmm it sure is All About the Duke. I really enjoyed this book. Of course she's never written a book that I didn't enjoy. The characters aren't just likable, they're actually people I would be friends with. Probably why it's so easy to enjoy their story.

Amelia Grey writes an awesome historical romance. I enjoyed the characters. Their romance was captivating. I would read more books from this author.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book which I received
through Netgalley. I really liked this story

It's All About the Duke by Amelia Grey
Series: Rakes of St. James #3

5 Stars - This book had everything I love in a historical romance; lots of flirting and stolen glances, perfect chemistry, a dashing rake, and scenes in a ballroom (which I find surprisingly doesn’t happen as often in recently published historicals, well not the ones I have been reading anyway) and of course a happily ever after. I loved how straightforward both Marlena and Rath were. There were no misleads or misunderstandings. Both characters were witty and I couldn’t wait to see them on the page together. Also, I love Lady Vera and hope she gets her own story.

I think this was a great addition to the series and I would happily recommend.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

~Paragraphs and Petticoats~

About the Book

Nearing thirty, the Duke of Rathburne is finally ready to make amends for the wager that caused him and his best friends such scandal—but taking on a ward who needs a husband is a feat he’s not sure he can manage. The last he saw of Miss Marlena Fast, she was a spirited little ruffian, not the sort of bride most bachelors on the marriage mart sought. But one glance at the lovely lady she has become is enough to convince him otherwise…

Orphaned young and shuffled from family to family, Marlena counts on her fierce independence and quick wits to keep herself content. Being the responsibility of a notoriously wicked duke who upended so many lives is an unexpected challenge when she realizes he arouses her decidedly feminine desires. Marlena must be careful. She has her own scandalous secret to protect. If he finds out, will it shatter her chances of a happily-ever-after with the notorious rake?

My Review

This was an interesting read in that I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the premise of the story. I mean nothing in the scandal sheets that Marlena wrote was particularly scandalous and Rath was all too ready and easy to fall head over hills with his presumed ward. I mean sure, It's All About the Duke is considered a historical romance, but fell short of my expectations on both the romance and the historical components. The conflicts were flimsy at best, even borderline lame and even the supporting characters had weak story lines where I felt absolutely nothing for any of them. With this being the third book of a series, I do not feel compelled to read the other, or maybe I should, because just maybe they were a lot better than the last installment.

I digress. I can only give 2-stars and recommend that you skip and read It's All about the Duke.

I wanted to like this book but it was super slow in some areas and I found myself skipping over paragraphs. It was not as good as the other books in the series. I did like the spunk in Marlena.

It’s All About the Duke by Amelia Grey

Book three in The Rakes of St. James Trilogy

2 stars

The Duke of Rathburne and his friends have a dark past and find themselves the targets of the scandal sheet of Miss Honora Truth. Years ago, he and his two friends made a bet and twelve young ladies of the Season were sent letters from secret admirers. The dukes got away without much reprimand, but the ladies felt some burn. Rathburne has recently acquired a ward to watch over for the upcoming Season, Miss Marlena Fast. Miss Fast isn’t all what she seems. In fact, she’s Miss Honora Truth and all those sheets she has written are starting to catch up to her now that she is the company of the Duke of Rathburne. The premise for this is fun. It’s your typical story of a rake with high societal standards falling in love with a younger woman who doesn’t have any sway in London society (which if I must confess, is one of my favorite historical romance tropes). I’m a sucker for a good tension-filled romance of the “we mustn’t, but I can’t help myself” variety. However, this was lackluster. I didn’t really buy the romance between Rath and Marlena. I wasn’t even held in suspense by what would happen when Rath found out who Marlena truly was. It was just a plotline thrown in to add some suspense to this rather dry romantic narrative that had all the passion of a raisin. Also, Grey does an excellent job at writing the most cringe inducing lines.
“He was a feast of handsome, desirous male for her eyes.”
There are so many things wrong with this sentence. For starters, “feast for her eyes” is a great example of objectification from the female point of view. It is also just a weird phrase that needs to die. But thrown in handsome and desirous and we have this weird double adjective phrase that doesn’t flow well at all and just proves that these two words are not sexy when put together. I wasn’t aware that I was reading an ACOTAR novel because there’s the illustrious word male gazing up at me awkwardly. Our heroine refers to Rath later as “his male glory”. I think you get the point, Grey’s writing ability can be a little cliché and pairing that up with an uninteresting romance creates a lackluster romance in the historical genre.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 2

Marlena isn’t a bad heroine. She is kind of interesting. She’s lived this double life as a regular young lady and a scandal sheet writer. That’s an interesting combination, but of course, she has to be different from all the other girls of the town. She has to have dirt on her nose, prefer to be in the garden, and read botany books. I don’t mind her being represented as different from all the other girls of the ton, but let’s be real, this type of portrayal sets up the narrative that being like other girls in the ton and to enjoy balls, gossip, tea parties, or anything else means that you are a bubble head (see further down for example). Outside of her attributes of uniqueness, she was your run of the mill heroine.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 2

Rath has his moments. He definitely was much more interesting at the beginning of this novel, but as the story went out the tension between him and Marlena fizzled out and I lost interest in his narrative. I can’t really tell you anything about who Rath is because all he is described as is a rake. No interests and hobbies outside of that.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 2

Justine is Marlena’s cousin and companion. She is the prime example of women who enjoy the Season being portrayed as bubble heads. She constantly going on about being the “diamond of the Season” and creates a lot of false narratives in her head. She fits into this trope of being a typical woman obsessed with the Season and I was kind of getting annoyed with her character and lack of depth. Then there’s, Veronica and Eugenia, who are the reason that Marlena started the scandal sheet and are her best friends. I really like Eugenia and her storyline was interesting. Veronica and her husband’s storyline was weird, but it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve read or even a real hinderance to this novel.


Character Scale: 2

Overall, It’s All About the Duke isn’t a horrible historical romance novel, but it’s definitely not the best one out there. I’m sure this one will be a favorite for a lot of people. I just wasn’t one of them. I will also not be reading the previous novels in this trilogy because I have no interest in the characters.


Plotastic Scale: 2

Cover Thoughts: I want that green dress.

Thank you, Netgalley and St.Martin’s Paperbacks, for providing me with a novel in exchange for an honest review.

As always the first thing I have to do is thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing us with a copy of this book so that we could bring you this review.

Oh how sweet it is to finally have the last of the Rakes of St. James find love. Not only does he find love, but he finds it with the last person he would have ever thought possible to find it with. The same person who he was supposed to help find a husband. His ward. I loved how Marlena was a strong woman. Having had to spend most of her life after her parents died with different people taking care of her she grows up to being strong and taking care of not only herself but her friends as well. The other thing I loved about this book is that we finally find out who Ms Horna Truth is and her motivation behind what she writes. This to me has been the best of the Rakes of St. James books.

I gave this book 5 kisses...

Happy Reading... Adri

Rath is a reformed rake trying to become the gentleman his father wanted him to be. Rath's ward Marlena is an orphan with an empathetic heart and bold personality. Marlena is the secret author of gossip column Scandal sheet which discuss about Rath and his 2 friends. As Rath gets to understand his ward, he finds himself attracted to her personality.

This book is a keeper. Eagerly awaiting Ms. Grey’s next stories

I lovely story. Reunited in adulthood. The Duke of Rathbourne is expecting a ruffian of a girl and is pleasantly surprised. He has to fight to win Marlena around

So Marlena is an independent miss who finds herself the ward of the Duke of Rathburne. Good tale as these two find some common ground for the future.

Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

This is an engrossing, romantic, amusing and interesting story. Rath was once a selfish rake, but has been doing his best to change. He is still not the gentleman that his father wanted him to be, but he is an honorable, kind and caring person inside. Marlena is an orphan who has a huge heart, and a bold and determined personality. She has been taking Rath, and his friends, to task for three years through a gossip page. After she meets him, then a few others she has written about, she realizes that he is not a monster, and innocent people may have been injured because her gossip. It doesn't help her guilt that she finds herself liking him, and falling for him. Rath has also found himself attracted to his new ward, a fact he is not comfortable with, but can't help pursuing. But the closer he tries to get, the harder she fights to stay away, she knows that he would never forgive her for what she's done. There are some fascinating and entertaining characters, and some very amusing scenes. It is a book that should be added to your TBR list today.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

Marlena never thought she would come face to face with one of the Notorious Rakes of St. James. He had been a hot topic of debate after the secret admirer fiasco. She initially thought he was there to lead her to a fate that was certainly undesirable. He brought new that he was her new Guardian. She tries to dent the chemistry between them but he may try everything that notorious rakes are known for. Definitely a must read and I love the interactions between them.

The Duke of Rathburne (the last Rake of St. James to be unwed) finds its time to make amends to Miss Marlena Fast, one of several women ruined by him and his fellow rakes in the debs’ first season. Rathburne has sort of been bequeathed the guardianship of Marlene, and part of his job is to help her find a husband. Orphaned early, and so long on her own, Marlena does not want the interference of the rakish guardian. She, of course, has no say in the manner. And in the way of many Regency romances, much ado about the season and the ton get in the way of the blooming romance between the Duke and Marlena.