I excitedly started The Scoundrel Falls Hard immediately after giving a stellar review to the previous book in the series. I was excited for Gwen's story as she is a female blacksmith and tradeswoman. Neither main character is gentry or upper crust. Gwen Cully is a third generation blacksmith and all that is left of her family. Handsome Kellan Fox seeks shelter in her shop when the towns people appear on his heals wanting to lynch him. Turns out he is a swindler like his father who has recently been posing as a local duke. To save him Gwen professes love for Fox. And the town backs down when the real Duke forgives Kellan as long as he marries Gwen.

The first twenty percent setting up the story is exciting and fun. But there is an immediate slowdown as the story counts down the days between the bans being posted and the actual marriage. Of course there is time for lusting and a stolen kiss or two but not much else. There aren't great conversations but they learn from observing each other. Gwen herself lacks confidence in attracting a man. But she likes that she can get more work done as Kellen works the garden or horses. That doesn't give them more time being together which forced marriages usually have. Things do eventually heat up but I personally don't care for voyeur scenes. Then quick as a whistle the story is over.

Overall the story is a quick read and I like that it is a historical fiction featuring common people. It is the third in The Duke Hunt series and can be read as a stand alone. I will always read any Sophie Jordan book but the pacing is isn't great and the romance is just okay. I did like Kellen but was hoping for something more for Gwen. As always Avon has the most amazing covers that will attract the eye. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Three stars! ***

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

Gwen has no family and a struggling blacksmith shop when one day a man runs into her shop to escape a mob after him for impersonating the son of a Duke. They end up having to marry because of course they do! This book contains two of my favorite, shameless tropes: marriage of convenience and "oh no, there's only one bed!".

This is the third book in Sophie Jordan's The Duke Hunt series. It can be read as a stand alone. At the time I'm writing this review, this is the only book of the series I have read and I didn't feel like I was missing anything because of it.

I can't remember the last time I read a historical romance where neither of the leads were nobility/directly connected to nobility. It was refreshing to read about normally working folk. Gwen is a great character. She's strong and independent. How many female blacksmith's have you read about before? Kellan, while a self proclaimed swindler, is likable and redeems himself quickly.

This is a quick read and because of that felt a bit rushed. There wasn't much deep conversation between Gwen and Kellan but I still enjoyed it! I may go back and read the first two books of this series when I have time.

I'm not sure what is going on with this series but I have been less than impressed. I enjoyed the author's Rogue Files series but her Duke Hunt series feels like it was written by a completely different person. I felt no emotion at all in this particular installment. Also, I feel like the characters had very little development and certainly not enough happened to make them all in love. Just overall a really disappointing read.

I liked the premise of this book a lot. The heroine is a blacksmith, the hero is a (reformed?) con man who she saves from certain death. It has a marriage of convenience plot, which I typically love. This book was a quick read and it was entertaining, but it left something to be desired. I think part of the issue was that the pacing seemed really off, and time in the book just passed so slowly with (in my opinion) not much happening. I expected the conflict to happen post-wedding, but basically the entire book takes place in a couple weeks. I wouldn't have minded so much if more was happening in that time, but certain parts were very repetitive. It felt like they had the "no intimacy" conversation way too many times considering how little time had passed. Not to mention that the book was basically over by the time anything steamy happened, and the "conflict" at the end was a) misunderstanding/lack of trust, which I don't love, and b) not really fully developed or resolved. Did I like this book? Sure. Will I read more Sophie Jordan? Almost definitely. Am I jumping up and recommending this one to every romance reader I know? Unlikely.

Well, this was a disappointment. I loved the first two in this series and dropped all things for my promised female blacksmith and it flopped.

Kellan Fox is a swindler. He impersonates people to steal from them and is generally a shady dude. Gwen is a badass blacksmith who takes care of herself. Why Gwen chooses to put her neck out to save Kellan was beyond my understanding. But hey, it’s the beginning of the book, I love marriage of convenience, forced proximity, bad boys becoming good, watching two people unwittingly fall in love. Let’s just roll with it, am I right?

Okay but two people don’t fall in love in this book. Kellan and Gwen do not share a single heart felt conversation with one another. There’s no, “How are you?” “Tell me anything about your life.” “Please help me understand who you are as a person so we can connect on an emotional level. Heck, any level!” This book is just two people who as lusty and attracted to each other. They’re forced together and immediately they’re fighting insane attraction. I’m sorry, if I had a man who could DIE FOR HIS CRIMES in my home I would need lots and lots of talking and soul searching and deep seeded connection in order to trust this guy. Kellan is a shady dude! At what point does Gwen decide to truly give him her trust?! What does he do to earn it?! How can she really believe that his doting is REAL?! How?!!!!

To me it wasn’t enough. The emotional component of the romance and of the action of falling in love did not happen. Oh there’s some steam in this book, but I was so emotionally detached from these characters, I didn’t care about it. Skim it, leave it, who cares. I neeeeeeed to feel characters falling in love and I just didn’t get that here.

The thing I love about Sophie Jordan is the quick pacing of her writing. I can read her books in a day and they’re usually pretty low drama and have good mature endings. This book didn’t have that. Drama. Stupid fight at the end. And not even a really satisfying love story to make me forget about all that.

Really sad about this one. I wish it had been better.

I received an ARC from the publisher, review is my own.

This ARC magically showed up on my birthday so I didn’t wait to start reading it. This is the third book in Sophie’s The Duke Hunt series. This book stands on its own, but the first two books do provide some background on our hero and heroine. I have been looking forward to Gwen’s story since she was first introduced in the series. She is the town’s blacksmith who finds herself alone trying to maintain her family business. She comes to the rescue of Kellan when the town turns on hime when it is revealed that his father has been deceiving them. The pair agree to wed and remain so for a year before going their separate ways, but they of course fall in love.

I really really like Gwen. I loved that not only did she have a trade, she has an unfeminine trade. She struck the perfect balance of strength and vulnerability. I also really liked Kellan. I liked seeing him get to relax into stability and grow into a dependable person. I really liked the dynamics of their relationship because she clearly was the person in charge which is so rare to find in a historical romance. I did struggle with the pacing of the book. The first 20% was very exciting to the point it kept me up past midnight on a work-night, then it slowed down significantly but still kept my interest. I also found the ending of the book to be abrupt, which was exacerbated because the epilogue started at 86% and the book as a whole ended at 88% on my kindle copy, which i was not prepared for. Overall I really liked the story and it did make me want to go back and read the first two books in the series. I will happily read whatever Sophie Jordan writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Imposter Kellan Fox hides in Gwen Cully's blacksmith shop, trying desperately to escape a village mob. Unable to stop the angry townspeople from attempting to hang him, Gwen stakes her own reputation by declaring she loves him. Choosing matrimony to save his neck is an easy choice for Kellan, but both see advantages to a short-term marriage of convenience. But Gwen doesn't trust Kellan easily, and it's hard to keep things platonic when their attraction burns as hot as a forge.

This is the third book in The Duke Hunt series. There is helpful information in the previous stories about the town and the neighboring dukedom, but this story can mostly stand alone. The heroine from the first book makes an appearance.

I absolutely loved Gwen! She is working as a village blacksmith, keeping her family’s business going despite losing her father and uncle and having to deal with a smarmy competitor setting up shop. She's strong and capable, but also vulnerable. She feels the sting of criticism that she's "manly" and different than other women. She loves herself, but doesn't realize how badly she needs someone to stand beside her...not as a champion, but as an equal, a helpmate. I connected to that completely!

After losing his mother, Kellan grew up running swindles with his father. This time, his father went too far and left him behind to face the consequences. Kellan needed to work on himself, and Gwen gave him that second chance. He tried to prove himself worthy and worked to gain Gwen's trust. I loved when she punched him and told him not to be a baby.

Tropes: Working Heroine, Anti-hero/Villainous Hero, Marriage of Convenience

Steam: 4 (four scenes, but two are short)

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