This was the first time I’ve ever read this author & it won’t be the last! I absolutely LOVED this book!! The story, the characters, the emotion, & the forbidden love! It was just perfect! Leela is our lovely unique heroine determined to love her life for herself and no one else. But one night stuck in a country inn Leela meets Hunt....they have a steamy passionate night thinking it was going to be just that one time. Little did they know they were fixing to meet at Leela’s stepchildren’s home. Hunt is our sexy Duke who loves order and rules. When he meets Leela he didn’t except all the fire found within him! These two are more than surprised when they meet and discover Hunt is engaged to Victoria, Leela’s stepdaughter and best friend! I seriously loved watching these two try to fight the pull between them & the feeling that start to come! These two both had to overcome their personal struggles in order to finally get to their HEA! Leela is a great female character and how she’s different in so many ways! This book was just amazing!! I can’t recommend this book enough! Read it!! I’m so ready for the second book:)

I was excited to read Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy, because I read her very first book and I loved it. Honestly I had high hopes. Don't get me wrong it was pretty good read. I really like the beginning of the story, because we had so much sexual tension between Hunt and Leela. Both of them trying to fight their feelings. Hunt trying to marry Lady Victoria, which happens to be Leela's step-daughter. However, they are more friends than step-mother and step-daughter.
The pacing of the story was going great for the first half of the story. However, the pacing slows down when a certain event happens. I felt that the latter half of the story felt like filler. I actually put the story down for sometime. I felt myself trying to finish the story. I wanted to scream at Hunt, there is a reason for Leela to turn you down you dolt.

Overall, it was a pretty good story, but to me it felt like it was starting drag. I'm intrigued by other characters story. Hunt was a dolt at times. Leela was a strong heroine. I liked that she didn't simper when things didn't go her way, but made them happen. It's a pretty good start to a new series.

Copy provided by Avon

Rating:
3 1/5 Stars

My very first Diana Quincy! I'd seen some authors giving this book some early praise and was definitely intrigued by the fact that it was an OwnVoices romance, so I decided to take advantage of my review copy! This book was tropetastic, from the only-one-bed-at-the-inn situation early on to the forbidden romance element, and I enjoyed the fact that the heroine, Leela, was independent, passionate and defiant. My main quibble was with Hunt, honestly, and that there seemed to be a lot of indecisiveness with him as a character; a lot of his angst was wrapped up in repetitiveness on-page and he didn't feel as emotionally mature to me as Leela did, which subtracted from my ability to more wholly enjoy the story. When your characters end up having the same bleak-moment conversations at least three separate times at the end of the book before the HEA, it starts to get a little tedious. But overall, I would give another romance by this author a shot.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

dy Delilah Chambers father was an English Marquess, her mother the daughter of an Arab cotton merchant. As her father wished, she married a much older man at the age of seventeen, making her a Countess. She was widowed after nine years. Elliot Townsend, Duke of Huntington inherited his title after his irresponsible, scandalous brother died. He is determined to be everything that is proper. They meet one rainy night at an inn and have a one-night-stand. The next day discovering that he is almost betrothed to her step-daughter. Leela has never fit in to the world of the Ton. Her ethnicity and mother's lowly family making her an outsider. She travels the world and has written a best-selling book. Elliot continues to court her step-daughter while he and Leela fall more in love. This storyline works itself out. He can't think of her as anything but a mistress, anything more would be a scandal. Leela is a strong, independent, nuanced character. Determined to have a wonderful life without him if that's what will be. She thinks she is barren and is fine with not having children. Elliot is a pompous jerk who wants his safe life with her on the side. They plan to have an affair for a decade until he has to marry and produce an heir. Of course he has an epiphany and everything works out. I was actually disappointed with the typical ending. Surprise, surprise, she has a child and they expect many more. I was hoping for once when the woman states she is traveling the world and is happy with the prospect of not having children the epilogue won't end with Oh, now she can be happy, she has a baby. I gave four stars for the character of Leela and her journey.

DNF

Just a heads up that this heroine is apparently half-Arab. I quit after the opening chapter which made much of her dark skin in a way I’m not comfortable with. But I will stress that this is a personal opinion. Apparently this is #ownvoices, and it even has a star from Publisher's Weekly which praised this aspect. If you're looking for a deep dive into racial injustice, maybe this will be for you. I wanted something fluffy, so this was distinctly not it.

Quotes from the ARC's opening chapter:
"What are you?" The innkeeper flushed as he stared after the man. "A blackamoor?"
"She's Persian," one of the old soldiers cried out. "No, Arabian, that's it."
One of his companions guffawed. "As if you's know the difference, you old drunk."
"I 'eard that kind of guttural talk in Egypt," the old soldier insisted, "when we fought against the frogs in Alexandria in '01."
"They got camels there, don't they?" another of the companions inquired.
The innkeeper scowled at the woman. "We do not accommodate heathens."


After a bit of back and forth, the innkeeper suggests she whore out to one of the white men for a place to sleep.
"Maybe she learned some tricks in her master's harem," one man called out amidst guffaws of approval.


They keep doing this, and the hero, who is watching is getting annoyed.
"I got a room yer can share, sweet'eart." A man sitting with the old soldier separated from the crowd and sauntered up to the woman. A huge scar ran down the left side of his face, a jagged line dissecting one ruddy cheek. "'Ow about we go up now and yer ride me like yer people ride a camel in the desert?"
"I got a bigger . . . chamber." Another man, this one small and ragged, stood up, gyrating his bony hips indecently. "Come with me and I'll take yer on the ride of yer life."


Then the woman holds a curved dagger to the scarred man's throat, because she gets, understandably, sick of this shit.
"I'll teach yer some manners, yer barbarian bitch."


Then the hero rescues her by pulling a gun and claiming that she's his. For some reason, she allows this?!?!?! He thinks she's super hot.
She was extraordinary. Enormous almond eyes the color of black tea regarded him with unfettered scorn. Golden honey skin drew tight across a proud forehead and razor-cut cheekbones. She was so striking he almost forgot to notice that her curved blade was now pointed directly at him."


He thinks she should be grateful for his assistance.
"I certainly do not mean to show appreciation by accompanying you to your bedchamber." Her smoky voice slid along his nerves like silk. Hunt had never before encountered anyone like her. He admired her fierceness, the way she wielded that strange dagger like a conquering female samurai.
"Besides," she added. "I did not require assistance. I had the matter well in hand."
"Oh?" She really was magnificent. "Was your plan to stab every man here?"
"You may be certain that if I had intended to kill you, or anyone, with my janbiya, you wouldn't have known it until well after my dagger was buried deep inside your chest."
"A bloodthirsty woman. I quite admire that."


So when I say this made me uncomfortable, I mean that absolutely everything about her introduction was intended to other and exoticize her, while playing on violent stereotypes. The italicization of the non-English words is taken from the text. While I would love more diversity in historical romance, I never liked even the Italian or Spanish heroines went written in this same sort of style where the author clearly wanted an exotic, unique, special heroine, rather than to do a realistic portrayal of a person of a different background.

Also, based on the scene, she clearly has dark skin (though later on she's described as tawny, which is not that dark...), but that is a pale white woman on the cover. 😑

These two things make me think the rep in this isn’t going to be great, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for ownvoices reviewers, who probably didn’t know to try this, since it’s not marketed that aspect at all.

I was really looking forward to reading this book given the blurb and the diverse heroine. The book starts off great, but after a while, I kind of wanted the heroine to dump the hero and find someone better.

The heroine was this amazing, talented, resilient woman who was starting to embrace her life. But other than great sex, I really didn’t see what the hero had to offer her. We are told that they have this amazing rapport, but they barely talk. All of their interactions are around sex, talking about sex or thinking about sex. He didn’t share any of her interests and they wanted completely different lives. I was also disappointed by the epilogue.

I did like the writing and am interested to see what the author will do with the next book in the series.

I absolutely loved Her Night With the Duke! It was unlike anything I have read recently. Very steamy with a well plotted hero and heroine. The story has fun, romance, love, and of course, a HEA. Highly recommend! I cant wait to read more by this author!

Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy is the First book in the Clandestine Affairs Series. This is the story of Elliot 'Hunt' Townsend, Duke of Huntington and Delilah 'Leela' Chambers. Hunt thinks he is ready to settle down which leads him to travel to meet the women he beleives might be the women for him. On the trip he ends up saving a women who was about to be attacked and the sparks start between the two. Leela is half Arab and white so even though her father married for love her mother who is full Arab was never excepted by society. When her parents pass away for security she marries a very much older man, but now in her present day she is a widower heading towards the family home to help her step-daughter who is to meet the man she to marry. Leela and Hunt had planned on it being a one hot encounter that leads no where but they soon find that they are heading to the same place and person. Can these two now pretend that the night never happened or will their feelings become to much to hide? Enjoyed their story.

This was a wonderful romance that felt like a swashbuckling adventure. Delilah was an amazing heroine, strong, determined and with a point of view as a woman of color that you don't usually see in these types of historical romances. Well done!

I was really looking forward to this book after hearing Diana Quincy talk about it on a panel because I’m not sure I’ve ever read a historical with an Arabic heroine (and definitely not an own voices one), but unfortunately I didn’t love this one. I thought the premise had some interesting potential, but it’s a really hit-or-miss setup for me, and I didn’t care for the execution of this one. I personally hate it when one of the protagonists thinks they’re in love with another person or is about to marry another person for a good chunk of the book, and this one carried the betrothal along a lot further than I would have liked. And then once it was resolved, Leela and Hunt kept coming up with reasons not to be together that just annoyed me.

I also didn’t think Hunt was that great of a hero? He just said and did a few things that I thought were rather unkind, like thinking about how difficult it was to talk to Victoria, Leela’s stepdaughter and Hunt’s intended, because of her painful shyness. He quickly corrects his thinking, but I just didn’t need it in the first place. And he was shocked that Leela’s father didn’t just make her mother his mistress instead of marrying her. Sure, it’s probably an accurate reaction at that point in history, but I just expect more from heroes than that. Also, I’m very over the whole having-a-mistress, men-have-sexual-appetites thing. This book isn’t unique in doing it, I just really noticed it when the hero commented on the second page of the book that he wished he was between his mistress’ thighs. Like, can we not reimagine our expectations of men?

That said, as underwhelmed as I was by the book as a whole, I really loved seeing Leela connect with her mother’s heritage and secure her own independent future and live her life unabashedly (also, the evil stepson? Really? He was a bit much). And I am definitely intrigued by Hunt’s friend, Grif, and Leela’s brother, Brandon, who was mysteriously missing for most of the book. But mostly this book wasn’t for me.

My first by this author and will not be my last. A tale about one night of passion with no strings attached becomes quite complicated the next day when Delilah and Elliot arrive at the same house party. Quincy takes us on a ride full of tension, scandal, forbidden love, annoying siblings, and of course love.

Delilah is a strong woman who knows what she wants and refuses to settle. She was never welcomed by her step son and feels like an outsider in the ton due to parentage, so she will live by her own rules. Elliot does not fit into those rules but are they worth breaking?

Her Night with the Duke is a stressful but ultimately satisfying romance about how one night of passion enflames a world of trouble for a beautiful widow and a rake who is accidentally courting her stepdaughter.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy.

Delilah, Lady Devon is a strong character who knows what she wants to do with her life. The Duke of Huntington has also laid out the plans for his future. They meet in a chance encounter and indulge in a night of passion. Even though they go their separate ways the next day, they can’t stop thinking about each other. They cross paths again and those well laid plans don’t hold the same appeal—more so for Hunt than for Delilah.

I thought it interesting that Hunt who was more adverse to risking his reputation was the one willing to follow his heart. On the other hand, Delilah was set in her plans and unwilling to compromise, despite her feelings when it came to Hunt.

Overall, this was an entertaining story and a nice start to the series.

A situation where I read a book short bursts over a few days and that at least somewhat affecting my enjoyment of it. The book checked a lot of boxes for me. The premise is delicious and forbidden and the chemistry between Leela and Hunt is steamy as all get out. Leela is a smart, worldly, and independent young widow, and the setting is diverse and interesting because of her biracial roots.

But. The Duke of Huntington Elliot Townsend is a stuffy, boring aristocrat. And remains so for way too long in the book. And for all of Leela’s amazingness, he’s just kinda there. He’s supposedly supportive, but also really judgy and snobby. He does eventually come to his senses, but his devotion to her felt unconvincing to me. They do fight for each other, but also somehow seem very meh about it. Maybe it’s because it was appropriate for the time, but their love didn’t really come through for me. Maybe it was just me though, because their dynamic just irked me most of the time.

I loved this book. So steamy and the chemistry is off the charts. If you're looking for a great historical, this is a page-turner.

Her Night with the Duke is the first book in Diana Quincy's Clandestine Affairs series. If this volume is any indication, it's going to be a fantastic series! I've read one previous book by Ms. Quincy and I loved it. I'm glad to know it wasn't a fluke; this is definitely an author to follow.

Lady Delilah "Leela" Chambers is stranded at an inn one dark and stormy night. There was no room at the inn. (Sorry, I'll stop with the cliches now.) When some disreputable patrons begin to harrass her, she is aided by an extremely handsome gentleman. The two are beyond attracted to each other, and they spend an unbelievably steamy night together. When she awakens in the morning, he is gone. The next day at her deceased husband's estate she meets the Duke of Huntington, who is going to wed her beloved stepdaughter - and it's the same man Leela spent that passionate night with. AWKWARD! They try to stay apart, but cannot fight their feelings for each other. How can this end in anything but heartache?

This was an extremely fun premise, but it was the characters who made this a wonderful story. Leela was a dowager duchess who was both English and Arabic. That was a different touch for a historical romance. She wasn't your typical English rose; Leela had golden skin, dark eyes and beautifully wild hair, she had a knife and knew how to use it, and she traveled in Arabia and was a best-selling author of travel books. No, not the typical English miss! Hunt was totally different; he wanted things perfectly in order and wished for no scandal. His brother lived a dissipate lifestyle, and Hunt just wanted to run his duchy as best he could. Yet these people who were polar opposites were perfect for each other, though they didn't think there was any way things could work out happily for them. If you like your intimacy behind closed doors, move along. But if steamy encounters are your thing (with true feelings, though, just not the physical), you've picked up the right book! I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed that Hunt's friend Griff is the hero in the second book of this series.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Her Night with the Duke was certainly an entertaining story about love and passion. and while i did have some issues with it, i still had a great time reading it.

in Her Night with the Duke, leela and hunt engage in a heaty night before discovering that he is set to marry leela’s stepdaughter. complicated matters ensue, and a love story blossoms. though it took me a while to get into the story, i quickly grew quite fond of the main character, leela, for her bravery, shamelessness and intelligence. the same could not be said for hunt, who annoyed me many times with his decisions and way of thinking, though it was essential to the story.

i liked how the author challenged many issues, especially men’s power in work and in society in general, in the midst of a fun, engaging, drama-filled romance. the writing was simple and i found myself deeply engrossed in the story many times, especially in the middle.

however, i felt like the last 20% were quite a stretch. it felt quite unnecessary for me to add those many issues, and the story could have been a lot shorter, as i would have enjoyed it more. it felt as if the author had to reach a certain length for the book? i am not sure.

i also failed to be satisfied with the way some of the issues between the two main characters were handled, and therefore resolved. it felt as if all the blame was put on one character’s shoulder even if both had made mistakes. i wish it had gone differently.

in conclusion, Her Night with the Duke was a fun romance that i enjoyed even if it left me unsatisfied. i highly recommend it if you’re looking for something to read between other books and/or to ease your mind off the atrocity that is real life.

I have never read a book by Diana Quincy, but she is definitely now on my list of favorite historical romance authors. 4.5 stars! This book talks a lot about race and gender roles and societal expectations, but is subtle about it. It made me think but was also light hearted enough that I got all the warm fuzzies. It dragged a little for me towards the end but was very cute. I hope Delilah's brother gets a book because I need more of his snark in my life!

Stranded in an inn, Leela has a run in with some ruffians. A stranger ends up helping her dispatch them. Drawn to one another, they spend a reckless night together. Thinking to never see her one night stand again, Leela is shocked to learn that the man she was so drawn to is the man that is soon to propose to her step daughter.

Elliot can't believe that the woman that intrigued him so much, is now off limits to him. Try as they might, they can't seem to stay away from one another. While he thought he had the perfect mate for the dukedom all picked out, fate had other plans.

Can these two figure out a way to get their HEA without hurting anyone else?

I adored Leela and Elliot's story! Watching them trying to hold back their feelings was like torture to the soul! One couldn't help but root for them to be together again. And Leela's sneaky step daughter... :). This was a superb start to what I know will be an amazing series by Quincy!

Her Night with a Duke is a wonderful Regency book by Diana Quincy. It is the first book in her new series, Clandestine Affairs. There were many things to love about it, but the strongest element is that Quincy embraces her own heritage and invites the reader to learn and enjoy.

This is a classic one-night-of-passion story with some interesting twists. The heroine, Lady Delilah (Leela)Chambers, has an unusual past. Her father, the “Mad Marquess,” married her Arab mother for love, but the marriage and children were never accepted by society. After the death of her parents she married an older man in order to be taken care of. After being widowed she is returning to the family estate to assist her stepdaughter (who is only nine years younger than Leela). Elliot Townsend, Duke of Huntington, had decided it was time to marry and was traveling to meet with the girl he has chosen. Leela and Elliot were stranded overnight at an inn where they enjoyed an unforgettable one night stand. When they reached their destination it was, of course, revealed that her stepdaughter and his potential bride are one and the same.

So many things made Her Night with the Duke a winner. Leela was secretly the author of a very popular travelogue about Arabia. I loved watching her bargain to be fairly paid for her work. As Leela embraces her mother’s culture we readers are exposed to language, food, and social practices. Elliot was rigid and principled before the encounter at the inn. Quincy used emotional role reversal as Elliot struggled with his attraction to Leela. Elliot was the highly emotional, sometimes irrational one. And he did some of the best groveling ever. Finally, the book set us up nicely for the next book about Leela’s mysterious brother. A not-to-be-missed book with solid writing and fresh content.

ARC provided through Netgalley.