Nash, the Duke of Malvern, is sleeping when his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Malvern, tries to wake him. Finding him sleeping without a nightshirt, she is shocked and insists that he get up, dress, and join her immediately. Since he has not seen her in 10 years, he figures she is there on an important matter. She informs him that his cousin and heir, John Davies, is a mean and evil man just like Nash’s father who beat his mother and made her run away. Thus the dowager pleads for him to marry and not let this man inherit.

Lady Ana Maria Dutton lives in the Duke of Hasford’s house. Her father and stepmother recently died in a carriage accident, Her stepmother had treated her like a servant and even made her live in a room in the attic. After being mistreated by the woman for 20 years, she is now expected to become a lady and she doesn’t know how.

Nash and Ana Marie have been friends for a long time. When he sees her being accosted by a man, he steps in and takes over. That’s when he decides to give her lessons in self defense. This means they are spending more time together. While Nash is attracted to her, he doesn’t have the ability to express his feelings toward her. She is not interested in any other men but enjoys being with Nash. Can they wake up and realize that they would be good together?

This book is an OK read. It was difficult to get into as I wasn’t very familiar with the characters. I read the first book of this series, “Never Kiss a Duke” and was confused and disappointed in that book. There needs to be more “reminders” written into each book in a series so readers can remember who the characters are. Reading a book should be smooth without wasting time trying to figure out who is who.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book for the most part but I feel like it could have been faster or more exciting.
Nash has to get married so his violent cousin will not take over the dukedom at the behest of his grandmother. Nash has learned to use his fist to protect those who are weaker from bullies. Thats why Nash insists on teaching Ana Maria how to protect herself.
Ana Maria was treated like a scullary maid by her stepmother but now she is being introduced into society. Ana Maria has known Nash since she was a child and understands his silence and grunts.
I liked their relationship but Ana Maria's obsession with fabrics was dull and there wasn't a lot of learning to fight. I guess I wanted more action but a good book for the most part.

This book was a struggle for me. From the blurb, it sounded like my catnip. A growly Duke who doesn't speak much and a Lady who was raised as a servant who is finally learning her own worth... hell, yeah. Only, no.

Nash has vowed never to seek love because he doesn't ever want to be the kind of man his father was, a violent brute who hurt everyone around him. Daddy Dearest convinced Nash from a young age they were cut from the same cloth--and, indeed, Nash does have the tendency to lash out and throw a punch, so it doesn't seem like such a leap that he could one day hurt people he cared for. So he keeps himself distant from everyone, save for a couple of friends.

Ana Marie is half sister to one of those friends. Raised sort like a Cinderella by her stepmother, only since the woman's death has she been free to be the lady she truly is. And she likes Nash, all big and grumpy as he is. Of course, other men of the ton only want her for her dowry, but Nash sees her as a real woman, and that makes him something special.

All that would be fine, except the book was tedious. Ana Maria's great joy is in decorating and fabrics... and don't get me wrong, I have no issue with women who like girly things. It was just so boring reading over and over about fabric and decorating. At the same time, I grew impatient with the flimsy reasons our H/h couldn't be together. Clearly, neither of them had the slightest interest in being with anyone else. They are totally hot for each other. But (*clutches pearls*) Nash can't open up ... which, HELLO, is the main theme of his character. And he was afraid of himself. Rinse and repeat. And repeat and repeat.

I skimmed a lot.

And the ending was terribly abrupt.

It wasn't the worst, but definitely not great for me. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Giddy, joyful and colorful!

Nash, the “dangerous” Duke of Malvern, silent behemoth from a young boy, fearful of his father and then fearful of becoming like his father, takes his duties seriously. Against his better wishes and at his grandmother's urging Nash decides he needs an heir.
Ana Maria, glass half full, determined young woman, in true Cinderella fashion finds herself having to learn to be a lady, and not a servant.
When her behavior has her half-brother deciding that lessons in self defense are needed, and that Nash is the very man, that's when both Nash and Ana's lives become slightly unhinged and way more interesting.
A fun read that had me laughing and exclaiming. In fact I'm going back to read the first in this series.

A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I'm a huge historical romance lover, and I always want to love Megan Frampton's books, but Tall, Duke, and Dangerous, again, just didn't do it for me.

I had a lot of issues with the characters and the set up for the story, and it took me over a month to finish reading it. That's a looooong time.

I jumped into the series at book #2, so maybe that's where a little bit of my confusion comes from, but I had a lot of trouble right off the bat. I flat-out didn't get Ana Maria's background and how that actually would have played out in high society. It just didn't compute for me. Why didn't her father or sibling intervene? How on earth could she be treated like a servant and yet know how to behave or be welcomed into society? Ana Maria wasn't young... why didn't she ask her brother for money or to help her? I'm so confused.

Nash was growly and had a temper, and while I like a grumpy, feisty hero, I just didn't click with him. I didn't quite understand him as a character, and I thought the romance felt rushed and underwhelming.

The overall plot was slow, but the ending felt rushed. I had a hard time staying engaged at all. I nearly gave this book 1-star, but I reserve that for books that I truly hate, and I didn't feel strongly enough about this book to justify that. But I didn't enjoy it.

An underwhelming historical romance that I don't think really hit the mark, I'm afraid.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

ARC received for review

I speed read most of it cause it was boring and at times their relationship was ridiculous.

Tall, Duke and Dangerous by Megan Frampton is the 2nd book in the A Hazards of Duke series, and it has one of the most taciturn heroes in my romance novel reading history, Nash, the Duke of Malvern.

Nash definitely suffers from the rampant Romancelandia condition of Dramatic Duke Syndrome. His father was awful, an abusive man who made Nash into a reclusive and ill-tempered person who would rather fight than talk.

As a result, Nash isn’t in a hurry to marry. However, when his grandmother arrives on his doorstep to make sure that Nash understands that if he doesn’t marry and sire an heir, the dukedom will pass to a man as bad as his father.

So Nash decides to marry, just not to anyone that makes him feel too much. This means he refuses to consider marrying Ana Maria, the sister of his best friend. He’s known Ana Maria for most of his life, but doesn’t want to burden her.

Of course, he is deeply attracted to Ana Maria, and she is the one person who can understand all of his different grunts and growls - which are his preferred method of communication.

Ana Maria has deep feelings for Nash, but is for the first time in her life free of her stepmother’s clutches. The stepmother kept Ana Maria hidden away as a servant. FYI, the background of this is told in book 1, Never Kiss a Duke.
Ana Maria is blossoming on her own, in London, finding her passion for decorating. She is making friends and taking her place in society. However, she is used to traveling on her own and finds that things have changed.

Because he worries about Ana Maria, Nash offers to teach her self defense techniques that she can use to protect herself. Those sessions become so much more than self defense though, especially since Ana Maria is interested in exploring Nash.

Nash has a great deal to figure out in order to overcome his past and win Ana Maria’s hand. He can’t grunt his way to a HEA. And this leads to my favorite part of Tall, Duke and Dangerous (which I won’t go into detail about).

Nash’s taciturn ways cause problems between Nash and Ana Maria, and Nash realizes that Ana Maria needs more from him. And Nash rises to the occasion. He goes out of his way to practice skills that he needs to win Ana Maria.

I love a growly and grunty hero; I can’t resist them at all - and Nash is one of the best. I could not put Tall, Duke and Dangerous down while I was reading it. I highly recommend Megan Frampton’s Tall, Duke and Dangerous.

This was a very sweet HEA . Lady Anna Marie and the Duke, Nash have known each other since children. She was treated as a servant in her own home by her step mother, who is now deceased. He was abused physically and emotionally by his father and abandoned by his mother.
These two come together and come into their own and help heal each other.
My criticism of this book is that it was very superficial. There was no in depth discussion of the problems either one of them faced. It was mentioned these things happened, but not what happened. All the story would say is they talked about it. You lose the impact of the character there.
So for that reason 3 1/2 stars rounded up.
I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

Nash grew up with a brut of a father. Determined to never force his brutality on a wife, like his father did, he has decided to never marry. But that all changes when his grandmother tells him that the man who is his heir is just like his father. Determined to make sure that the staff and tenants don't have to put up with another monster, Nash has decided to marry. He just needs to find a woman that he has no feels for, so that he can control his emotions. That turns out to be easier said than done.

After living as a servant under her stepmother's watch, Anna Maria is finally able to live the life she always should have had as the daughter of a duke. Having never had the restrictions that other ladies did growing up, Anna Maria visits areas of town that are a little more dangerous. She ends up getting herself into a little bit of trouble, which if given enough time, she knows she could have gotten out of. But her brother's best friend steps in to help. Then he ends up offering to help her learn to defend herself.

While they are supposed to meet up to talk about defending oneself, the attraction between the two becomes too much to deny. Will Nash be willing to give up his wish of marrying someone he has no feelings for, so that he can finally get his HEA?

I absolutely adored Nash and Anna Maria's story!! I think because of both of their histories, they were better at understanding each other. Others just wouldn't have understood everything that they had gone through. I loved the way that Anna Maria stood up to Nash. I think her not being afraid of him, help him to overcome his fear that he would be just like his father. He father would have lashed out at someone doing the same and Nash did not.

This was a great addition to the hazards of Dukes series and I can't wait for the next one, A Wicked Bargain for the Duke. It stars Anna Maria's cousin, Thaddeus.

This was not the Megan Frampton I am used to reading. She did a great job of explaining why Nash did not want to marry someone he cared about. He seemed to want a marriage of convenience to get an heir and move on with his life. That is where I struggled with Nash’s character. Too much time was spent on him being negative; on the reasons not to consider Ana Marie. Not enough of the book was spent on developing their romance. Okay, so Ana Marie loves Nash, has always loved Nash and refuses to give up. Even her brothers think she should move on. There is a good amount of heat and, you know.

There is validity to Nash’s reasons, but it seemed to take too long to get there. And, even with all the facts of the good things he does for others, he still needed the women in his life to convince him he is not like his father.

I still love Megan Frampton and think this might be an ‘off’ book. I loved the first book in the series and looking forward to future books! I will not post this review as I do not like to ‘diss’ anyone.

I really enjoyed this historical romance. Both Nash and Ana Maria were interesting characters with atypical backgrounds. The romance between them seemed a bit stilted, but Nash’s history of abuse may have made that purposeful. There wasn’t any major angst, but there were different events - fabric shopping for example, that made this book both fun and fulfilling.

Nash has kept himself apart from others because he thought he was like his abusive father. He’s quiet, but protective of those he cares about. He just usually protects them by punching someone. Ana María came from an emotionally abusive background, more of a Cinderella story since her stepmother treated her as an unpaid servant. She’s finally free and ready to make her own choices in life.

It did bother me that Nash’s grandmother and mother waited so long to get in touch with him. That his mother waited to see if he was worthy after she left him with an abusive father really made me mad. I get that she wouldn’t actually get to take a duke’s heir, but really? No one protected him as a child and then wait years after the father dies??

I did love how Ana Maria was with Nash, she understood him and pushed him to be the best man he could be. She was always there for him.

3 1/2 stars rounded up. This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it and would definitely read more from her. Even though this was the second in a series, I don't feel I missed out on anything. I do want to go back and read the first one though! I am a sucker for friends to lovers as it reminds me of my own HEA. The characters were well plotted and interesting. recommend and cant wait to read more!

I enjoyed this friends to lovers story. Nash and Ana Maria have known each other since children and both were treated miserably by one of their parents. After their abusive parents death, Nash tries to aid his father’s by-blows and Ana Maria is acknowledged as lady that she is. This is a great story of how they eventually acknowledge the love they feel for each other. This is a story that is well written and worth reading. I would highly recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

Ana Maria’s stepmother forced her into servitude (picture Cinderella). Now that her stepmother is deceased, Ana Maria is forced to step into her role in society, which is not something she is comfortable with. Nash has sworn to never marry, because his father was a horrible, abusive human being and he refuses to carry on the family line. Once his grandmother demands he marry, Nash begins to look for someone he could have a tepid, friendly marriage with. Ana Maria has hidden her feelings for Nash, but as they begin to spend more time together, the two of them struggle to avoid how they feel about each other.

Ana Maria is probably one of my favorite heroine’s of 2020. I loved her drive in wanting to become independent and finding a way to do so. She not only does she use her new status to promote her skills as an interior decorator, but she brainstorms ways that she can give back to others doing what she is good at. Nash is one hundred percent the grumpy hero I love to read, because deep down inside, he is a total softy. He wants to protect Ana Maria, but also realizes the importance of teaching her to protect herself (cue self defense lessons). One of my favorite tropes in romance is - I can’t be with her, but it makes me really jealous for her to be with someone else. If you like that, you will love this book!

Overall - ⭐⭐
Heat - 🔥🔥🔥

Tall, Duke and Dangerous is the second book in Megan Frampton’s Hazards of Duke’s series. I very much enjoyed the first in this series Never Kiss a Duke, but this second entry in the series was just not my cuppa tea. Which makes me angry because I like Frampton. I think she’s an excellent writer, a great follow on social media, and an all-around badass lady.

There’s a lot of chatter in other reviews about what didn’t work in this book, so I won’t spend too much time on the things that didn’t work that have already been repeated several times over. What I will say is this book is another example of why you don’t always have to pair side characters for their own book. Neither of the two main characters felt fully formed and their love story was not as well crafted as I’ve seen Frampton is capable of.

The book got stuck focusing on the reasons why “not” that I never really understood the reasons “why”. These two both had horribly broken childhoods and I wanted them to get their ultimate HEA’s I just don’t think they belong together. And I have to wonder if Frampton even likes them because she ended the book so abruptly that I am curious if she bored of these two just as I did.

I really enjoyed this story! A grumpy, ginormous duke and an adventurous woman, both trying to decide who they are while caught between two worlds they don't feel they fit in.

Ana Maria was a breath of fresh air. Her confidence and lack of caring for what others in society thought illustrated an innate confidence that one would think should've been lacking after the way she was raised. But despite being emotionally abused by her stepmother, she manages to literally shine in all of her beautiful gowns.

Nash was more than just emotionally abused by his late father, and sadly the affects still interfere with his life, shutting people out, brawling to release his emotions, and speaking mostly in inarticulate grunts. But he's also very protective of those he cares for and trying to right some of the wrongs his father had done while also fearing he was just like him.

I admired Ana Maria for taking charge of her life and making her own decisions. And I felt sad for Nash but was cheering him on as he made his way back to being the person he wanted to be. It was so very lucky that Ana Maria could interpret grunts and snarls so well.

The chemistry they had together was evident from the beginning, and moved along at a solid pace. There were some repetitive parts with Nash constantly worrying about his anger issues, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. I did wish there was an epilogue, as the ending felt rushed to me. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

I am a big fan of wounded heroes, and Nash fits the bill with his horrible childhood and fear of his own anger. Ana Maria is learning to live for herself and embrace her new social position after being treated like a servant by her literal evil stepmother. The two grew up together, so there’s a nice history between them. And they understand each other in ways no one else could.

I loved the mixture of ballroom scenes with less formal places. And I love that Ana Maria refuses to be a damsel in distress. She learns to believe in herself and what she deserves. They are really both wounded characters who grow throughout the romance in great ways. Now I want to read the rest of the series.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley in return for a fair review.

Another steamy, hot romance from Frampton! If you've read the first in this series, you will definitely want to pick up the second one. A great read from start to finish.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and although it is the second in a series, I had no problem following the connections between the characters. Both Nash and Ana Maria have abuse in their backgrounds to overcome, although his is more pronounced. Whether he can trust himself enough to realize that their path was always going to lead them together is the question, and I enjoyed the journey.

Whomp. Whomp. This was disappointing.

The low rating of this novel, currently 3.50, is completely justifiable. The characters were bland as hell and more forgettable than the side characters that probably had more personality than our duo ever could, the romance and the relationship which had no real chemistry or connection was laughable, the rags to riches Cinderella storyline wasn’t thoroughly thought out, writing was hast and that ending—ha!

Everything consider, this wasn’t good at all.