Ten Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase is a delightful read! Cassandra Pomfret is outspoken and determined, two things that make her thoroughly unmarriageable. When a series of mishaps ends up with her being thrown together with the Duke of Ashmont, one of London's most disgraceful dukes, she wants nothing to do with him or his disreputable habits. Ashmont, however, sets out to woo the prickly Cassandra and win her heart.

Somehow this is the first of Loretta Chase's books I've read, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The story started off a little slowly, with lots of references to other characters and events (this is the second book in a series) and so I was a little thrown off, but quickly caught up and was able to greatly enjoy the book.

It's often said in historical romance that "reformed rakes make the best husbands", but I haven't seen many books tackle the reformation quite as head-on as this one does. From Ashmont's point of view we see him striving to overcome his ingrained habits to be a better person, and to be the person Cassandra needs him to be. We (and Cassandra) see him doing the work to turn himself around, and so the happy-ever-after is especially gratifying.

I would definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to reading the book preceding this, as well as the next one when it is available.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for my honest feedback.

NOTE: This review will be published on all social media platforms the week before publication.

I think this is one of the best books I have read this summer. It was written in such a refreshing view. The heroine,who is a confirmed spinster aged 25 years,is one of the founders of a society that supports the lower class and poor. While they offer charity and succor to the poor, she actually questions the members of Parliment who try to write and pass bills that will keep the lower class downtrodden, not to mention the lack of women's rights. The heroine makes men cry. The hero is a childhood friend. He had defended her against a bully and spent one night looking at the constellations and telling her the stories of the stars. Nevermind that she describes him as an 'Adonis' as a child who grew up to be 'Apollo' with golden beauty no man should have. Yeah. She, on the other hand, is tall, but not bounteous, red-headed and no man wants her. The hero doesn't meet up with her at an inn where he caused her to be in a horrible carriage accident. And he doesn't do all that he can to help her. Needless to say the hero is a gentleman and the heroine refuses his attempts at courting. This was such a funny romance. I laughed out loud and my family looked at me like I was crazy. I couldn't believe how fast and smooth this book was to read, with one scene flowing into the next with no stops. The characters were all supporting the cast and made sense in the book. I liked that so much of the story was written in the hero's mind, as he corrected himself. He had such likely ideas and she helped him become the man she expected him to grow up to be. What a great book! I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

Well, in the beginning, I just couldn't like Cassandra, our main character. She seemed a bit full of herself and cold. Happily, the more I got to know her, the more I liked her. Ashmont is a Duke who has never grown up...but it's time. I never write a spoiler, so I won't tell you what happens. I will say that the character development is great. As I turned each page I got to know our players better. The supporting cast is wonderful, especially Hyacinth and Keeffe. Good story!

I loved this story. Though I recommend reading the previous book in the series, this story can be read as a stand alone. After reading the previous book, I wasn't sure how Ashmont could be redeemed but I'm happy to say that I was convinced. Cassandra was a strong heroine who wouldn't accept less than she deserved.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke (Difficult Dukes, #2)
by Loretta Chase

GR bookshelves: to-read, 20-08, 4-5-stars, bad-boy-good-girl, beautiful-cover, enemies-to-lovers, fairytale-trope, fake-relationship, favorite-characters, mutual-pining, netgalley, opposites-attract, romance-1800-1850, romance-regency, slow-burn, virgin, wild-childhood-redeemed, 2020-best

4.5

This would be a higher grade if there were more romance (the kissy kissy cuddly kind) in this novel! I did enjoy it - but there's so much happening before the principal characters eventually confess their love for each other, we don't get enough of them as a romantic “stars in their eyes” couple. I know, I know, you're whispering "falling in love IS romantic, Em" - and you're right! I know it, too! I just want people (people = every couple in the romance novels I read) to acknowledge their love for each other and then to spend more than one chapter enjoying/show boating their "Happily Ever After." And NOT just in swoony epilogues (which I love, too, by the way. Definitely keep those!)

(Side note for the sexy times worriers out there: There are quite a few sexy shenanigan moments in this story because the Duke of Ashmont is SEXY AND HOT AND TOTALLY IN LUST WITH CASSANDRA. They’re awesome!).

Anyway, moving on. EVERYONE ON EARTH (read: me) has been waiting for the second book in the Difficult Dukes series. A Duke in Shining Armor was fabulous (the audio was maybe even better), and I couldn't wait for Ms. Chase to spend more time with our jilted, naughty, wild and flawed Duke of Ashmont (one of Ripley's mischievous/scandalous besties). Friends, family, sort of aunts...well, they're exhausted by his antics and perfectly willing to tell him so. Fortunately, Ashton’s Come to Jesus moment happens hard on the heels/hours after a duel disaster with Ripley (who "stole" his fiance Lady Olympia Hightower).

Ashmont, drunk and sad over nearly killing his best friend Ripley, is biding his time over cocktails with his second at one of his favorite pubs. The owners are used to his hijinks, fond of his coin, and tolerant of his behavior. But as usual, the day doesn't quite go to plan. When chaos erupts at the pub, Ashmont steps outside to shoot his pistol and put an end to the hijinks, and inadvertently sends a carriage and its riders careening through the street. Horrified, he runs to help and watches the carriage tip over. He’s relieved when the redhead who was holding the reins sits up, and then the woman next to her stirs and also appears unharmed. He’s considering what to do next when the vaguely familiar woman stands up, begins insulting him and hits him with her hat, knocking him off his feet.

Still drunk and now dazed and a little bit afraid, he gets up and follows her to the man lying motionless near a tree. Ashton immediately recognizes him. It's Tom Keeffe, a once successful jockey who survived a terrible accident that ended his career, and Ashton is a fan. They exchange greetings as Cassandra (the redhead who seems vaguely familiar to Ashmont) fumes, until she finally silences the pair. Ashton, confused about why the woman is with Keeffe and uncertain what to do next (he doesn't want to make her mad) staggers and then passes out. Oops. Friends, it’s been a LONG and DRUNKEN day. He comes to after the redhead dumps a bucket of water on his face and tells him to get up and make himself and his money useful. #badass

Cassandra Pomfret, sometimes referred to as Medusa or deGriffith’s Gorgon or Cassandra Prophet of Doom, is intelligent and opinionated. She's also, much to her father’s chagrin, unafraid to share her opinions, and when Ten Things I Hate About the Duke (WOW THAT IS A LONG TITLE!) begins, her plain speaking has gotten her into bigger trouble than usual. Trouble with The Family. Exasperated by her behavior and unwilling to tolerate it any longer, her father issues an ultimatum he hopes will force her to change: Hyacinth, her beautiful, beloved younger sister - the belle of the season - cannot marry until Cassandra does. She also can't attend any of the events of the season. The ultimatum saddens and infuriates Cassandra who decides to get away from London and reassess how to move forward - without hurting Hyacinth (who is remarkably kind about the whole thing. From start to finish she's lovely!).

Cassandra is enroute to the home of her former governess, accompanied by her maid and companion and friend Tom Keeffe,

He’d taught her to ride and drive. He’d been with her from the time she was a troublesome girl of fourteen and he a crippled ex-jockey of six and twenty. For nearly twelve years she’d relied on his wisdom, and not only about horses.

when disaster strikes. A group of men pour out of the Green Man onto the street, and then a buffoon shoots his pistol into the air, sending her horses into a frenzy.

Cassandra is cataloging her injuries and trying to sit up when she recognizes the man crouched next to her asking if she's okay. It's the beautiful, angel faced Duke of Ashmont, the man she loved as a young girl until he proved unworthy of her affections. The same idiot who just fought a duel with his best friend after his fiancee jilted him. Well. Shit.

Oh friends! This whole scene is a hot mess of Ashmont trying and failing to fix the GIGANTIC mess he’s made, and Cassandra awesomely putting him in his place. I loved her, I loved him, I loved sweet Tom Keeffe - who quickly does some romantic mental matchmaking, and I loved how the carriage disaster sets these two on a path together. Ashmont is no dummy (he just acts like one in public All the Time). He’s a sexy badass who keeps making bad decisions, but has finally realized that drinking and shenanigans are ruining his life. He’s also just met the one woman who gives as good as she gets. Fortunately he has an uncle (and his only living relative) to help him out of his various messes, but this time - instead of fixing everything - he gives Ashmont advice...and Ashmont follows it.

Unfortunately for Cassandra, a single woman involved in a carriage accident (while minimally chaperoned), plus an infamous drunken duke, plus an injured former jockey, plus a missing maid, plus an overnight visit in a small village at a local inn famed for the exploits of the three dukes who love to visit, equals a disaster in the making. Fortunately the drunken duke is super rich and keeps the rumors quiet, but then he just can’t stay away. And then the real nightmare begins.

ASHMONT DECIDES HE WANTS HER. TO BE HIS WIFE. AND HE’S SEXY AND HOT AND NICE AND KIND AND TRYING TO BE BETTER. FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And lucky for readers, the only person who thinks Ashton’s interest in Cassandra is a disaster, is CASSANDRA! (well, her dad, too). Ashton is IN LOVE. And Cassandra used to love Ashton. AND it is a battle of wits, and sexy smirks, and good smelling cologne and smart, clever repartee, and chemistry and...friends, this novel is so much fun.

Look, the majority of this novel is a game of Cassandra trying to pretend she doesn’t want Ashton to prove his love to her, and Ashton slowly but surely figuring out the best way to do it. He quickly realizes Cassandra is good to everyone but herself, and he makes it his job to understand his prickly, brainy lady love. He reads Wollstonecraft, learns about issues that are important to her, and protects her from anyone and anything that aims to do her harm. Oh yeah, there are a couple of villains in this story, too! Ashmont and Cassandra are lovely together in every iteration - enemies, co-conspirators, friends, and eventually lovers, and it is a JOY to read yet another terrific Chase romance.

Readers expect the carriage disaster to prove the biggest impediment to love between Cassandra and Ashmont, but it's a nice misdirection from this brilliant author. It's the villains of this story that actually nudge the romance in the right (sexy times) direction and keep readers on their toes with their fingers crossed. Great chemistry, sparkling dialogue, well developed principal characters, and a lovely opposites attract pairing made my heart go BOOM. These two are meant for each other, and this book is a TREMENDOUS follow-up to the equally good A Duke in Shining Armor. Fans of the series will be very happy.

Terrific. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Can’t wait for the audio.

P.S. You want to know about Ripley and Olympia, and the Duke of Blackmoor and Alice, don't you? I wish we spent more time with them, but their cameos are all-to brief. We still don't know what's up with Alice!

Fresh from a jilting and a duel with one of his best friends, an inebriated Lucian, Duke of Ashmont, causes a carriage accident that injures Miss Cassandra Pomfret’s groom/friend. Being alone at an inn seeking medical attention could be interpreted as a compromising situation, so Ashmont asks Cassandra to be his replacement duchess. She is less than impressed, but he is unrelenting.

This is the second book in the Difficult Dukes series. It can be read alone, but it takes place right after the events of the first book. I really tried, but I simply could not connect with this book. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and, at the beginning, I felt like Ashmont was creating more of bond with Cassandra’s groom than with her! I didn’t find him engaging or humorous, and Cassandra felt equally flat and fickle. I didn’t see the love…the romance was lacking for me, both emotionally and physically.

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review. #TenThingsIHateAboutTheDuke #NetGalley

I started out this book not really liking the heroine. She seemed a little too vocal and out there for me to like and her father seemed very mean to her and her sister. But as I read the story more and got to know her more I fell in love with her and her duke.

Cassandra is a strong female who is all about female rights in a time where females had no real power. She is after making laws change and she has a secret womans group that does this.

The Duke is Ashton and as the story begins his fiancee has been stolen and wed by one of his closest friends. It was not a love match but she was his. The duke has a lot of growing up to do and he meets Cassandra on the same day as he causes a horrible accident.

He pretty much falls for her right away but she refuses his marriage offer many times over and he has to change and work hard to show her he is worth it. And he is worth it. He actually stole this whole book as he learns and changes and is there for Cassandra no matter what. I actually adored their relationship as they form a really strong trust and honest relationship.

This is a well written romance about two strong people who fall in love as they get to know each other.

Loretta Chase is a premiere romance novelist— she has her own distinctive writing style that no one can copy nor should they attempt to try. Wading into Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, heroine Cassandra is a loyal human with decided thoughts and purpose in her life and she won’t allow fickle riff raff gain-say her future plans or hurt the family she loves.
If you’ve ever met a Cassie in real life, you can attest to the sassy mouth and asserted opinions, and I felt that Chase captured the pitch and sass of Cassandra perfectly. I do feel that this book did take ideas and scenarios, side characters and mannerisms from Loretta Chase books from the past.
I found Ashmont fickle and harder to empathize with and like as he had just been left while drunk at the alter a week prior to the events of this book. He was very immature and unlike Cassandra, seemed to not know his exact place in his society nor his reckless life. (This book is the second in a series, and while you do not need to read the prior novel, I sometimes felt adrift in this book because I didn’t read the first one. It would have been a bit more helpful to know some things about the main characters of this novel from the first book.)
As is the case with many of the Loretta Chase books I have read, I thought the female main characters were awesome and no-nonsense, take no guff. And the male lead was deemed unworthy.
I also find it overly convenient that the heroine happened to be in love with the main male character since she was a little girl. That didn’t match Cassandra’s complex character and felt too spoon-fed of a romance trope.

I received an ARC from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was just the type of lovely feel good romance that I was looking for. Yes, it's a take on Taming the Shrew and it's not much for plot but very lovely banter. I love when the dukes are clueless and bumbling, as our hero is. I also enjoyed that while the heroine had pined for the duke in her younger days, she did not let him get away with anything and made him earn her. Another lovely turn for Loretta Chase.

A Taming of The Shrew Retelling? SIGN ME UP! The premise of the book alone enticed me and oh boy did I have such a fun time reading this! Our said “shrew” is Cassandra, who gets into an accident with her childhood crush turned biggest disappointment , aka said “tamer” Duke of Ashmont, Lucius. Lucius, fresh from being stood up at the aisle and having his best friend steal said fiance gets super drunk and causes a huge accident and is determined to make it up to the fiery lady. I absolutely loved Cassandra, she was hilarious and her take no BS attitude was great. She is not one to back down from a fight and will physically fight you, which I do say, I admire in a lady. But beneath the tough exterior, she is also caring and considerate, and honestly, even I fell for her. Ashmont on the other had, well, I really did not like him at first, BUT, he did grow on me, and by the end I can say that I really liked him. He’s funny, caring, and is willing to take responsibility and try and grow from his mistakes. The story was an absolute riot, and I found myself smiling and laughing throughout the entire time. I loved the fun banter between Cassandra and Ashmont, and getting to read between their alternating POVs was a nice touch! The story wraps up nicely and I can say as a lover of Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You, this hit the spot for me! I would definitely recommend it for all romance readers out there!

* Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 stars but rounded up. My first Loretta Chase novel and second in the "Difficult Duke" series. It easily stood alone but would probably benefit from reading in order. Cassandra fell in love with the Duke of Ashmont when they were children. Since then she has watched him grow into a man who loves pranks, drinking and women. When he is drunkenly the cause of a carriage crash and injury to her groomsman their paths cross again. Because Cassandra has been put in a compromising position. The solution is a pretend courtship that can eventually fade away. The Duke on the other hand doesn't intend for it to be pretend.

I really liked Cassandra. She was passionate about her woman and children's right causes. I also liked that she turned to her parents with honestly when needed. She trusted in her family and was confident of their love. She set the rules for the Duke. Lucious matched her and tried to understand her and you could see actual growth in his character. When things didn't go his way he didn't revert to his old ways.

Some parts of the book were uneven. I didn't find the Duke's prank as funny as it was probably meant to be. Lucious remembered her from childhood but didn't remember her from other meetings which seemed odd. I also wondered about Cassandra's aunt and the relationship and maneuverings with his uncle. If that is intended for another book fine, but otherwise it was all very vague. Some of these things might be cleared up when the book is finally published and not an ARC copy.

I enjoyed the author notes at the end explaining some of the locations, people, money, poetry and song that she included in the novel. I will gladly read the first book in the series and others by the author. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Loretta Chase writes romance that touch the readers. Cassandra and Ashmont are so very different, but are they really when they start to spend more time together. Both are outrageous, one for the betterment of people, the other just outrageous. When the two come together there are all kinds of reasons they should be together forever, if Ashmont can only convince Cassandra they are perfect for each other.

Loretta Chase knows how to write a reformed rake romance! I was not aware this was a second book when I requested, but it was very easy to get into this little world and its characters. Cassandra was a wonderful heroine, and I loved that she sought to use her unapologetic, headstrong and intelligent nature to help others, particularly the working class. I also enjoyed her relationship with her family, and that while the usual proper/strict, her parents did not explicitly punish (besides the "Taming of the Shrew" inspired plot-line) her for her views or disavow her charitable exploits. Ashmont definitely grew on me; his character development, particularly in regards to his relationship with Cassandra, was very well-written and had its humorous and swoony moments. He and Cassandra had great chemistry and fantastic banter, and I loved how adoring Ashmont was of Cassandra. Truly, so much fun to read.

Chase's prose can be a little dense and convoluted at times, but she is one of the most genuinely wonderful writers when it comes to (actually humorous) banter and a well-developed relationship. I hope Chase writes more books in this series!

Loretta Cgase does it again! This book was wonderfully crafted and brilliantly funny. I loved every moment of this novel. It had all the twists and turns of a great novel. Typically I am always asking for more when it comes to romance books, I usually want all the murder mayhem and mystery to go along with the high society love so characterized by historical romance. However, this time I didn't even need the extra bells and whistles. Ten Things I Hate About the Duke fulfilled a my wants without the drama of blood and angst. I wanted to fall into this story and grow right along with the wonderful transformations the characters were making together. It was perfectly crafted and I loved every page. I do wish there had been an epilogue with the couple several years later. There was so much emphasis on Lucian wanting a family that I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see him after he truly had one. Of course I was also intrigued to find out out if Cassandra's father ended up liking him and whether Hyacinth ended up with Morris. Those questions were the only strings I was left with once this novel was wrapped up in a well thought out bow. I look forward to the next from this wonderful author.

I recieved a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion.