A book about a woman blacksmith could have been interesting. A book about a thief that’s almost hanged and then saved by said female blacksmith could have been even more interesting. But despite starting with what could be interesting characters in a unique situation, the story is pretty blah. Almost the first third of the book is devoted to Gwen’s rescue of Kellan, with a distinct lack of chemistry between the pair. There’s very little of the book devoted to Gwen’s skill at the forge, it seems to serve mainly as a way to incorporate competition with dullard sons that want Gwen to serve as a breeding mare for big, strapping boys. There’s an uninteresting sexual attraction between the pair, with little actual romance, and the “conflict” that causes Gwen to have doubt that Kellan has turned over a new leaf (in less than three weeks) is a dud that lasts a matter of a few pages. I wanted more out of this based on the plot, but just found the story lacking. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sophie Jordan is an author that I have enjoyed in the past, so I was happy to receive an ARC of her newest entry in the Duke Hunt series. (The opinions expressed here are my own.) I very much enjoyed this read. Like the other Duke Hunt books, it felt like a quick read despite being full length. It was kind of nice to not have an aristocrat as one or both of the MCs, and I loved how Gwen was entirely her own woman. I admit that Kellan having the choice between a hanging or a wedding was farfetched even for this genre, but I love a good engagement/marriage of convenience so I was willing to overlook it. Gwen is definitely not the typical heroine - a commoner, a blacksmith, close to 6 feet tall. Kellan as an admitted con man fraudster is a fun hero and I enjoyed that he managed to let Gwen be who was while also taking steps to protect her. A decent amount of steam - who doesn't enjoy a touch of voyeurism? - and just a nice ride to the HEA. 4 stars.

Personally, Sophie Jordan is just an author who I will read no matter what. Her books are always a quick read but fulfilling and have all the makings of a cozy read.

This is the sequel to The Duke Gets Ravished which, worth the read also. You don’t have to have read that one to read this one. The characters make an appearance from previous books, which I love.

I love that the MC is a strong woman in a career dominated by men.

I read an early copy so I’m not sure if things will be added or changed but as if, definitely a 4.5 star read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Sophie Jordan’s The Scoundrel Falls Hard was such a fun read that ticks major boxes for me:

🔨 An unconventional pairing.
Gwen Cully’s a blacksmith & Kellan Fox’s a conman whose con has been discovered & who takes refuge in her smithy.

🔨 She saves him.

🔨 Sizzling 🔥.
Honestly Sophie Jordan writes such great 🔥 scenes. The build-up between the ever-resourceful, determined not to fall Gwen & Kellan, the charming rogue finding redemption in a quieter life, is superb & then when they finally fall 👀, let’s just say they aren’t the only ones to see 🥵 🔥 .

🔨 A standout heroine.
She’s 28, nearly 6 feet tall, often wears pants, & is solely responsible for her home & livelihood until she gets some help from the friendly conman next door (he doesn’t actually live next door).

I flew through the pages of this one.

Sophie Jordan brings it on the emotional front too & by the ending my little heart was going pitter patter at how settled the couple is & how Kellan has found a home with his Viking love that’s far more satisfying than the rootless life he had before.

This was a good time!

4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 08/23.

CWs: Previous death of Kellan’s mother & Gwen’s family. Kellan & his father ran a con scheme together. Kellan’s father betrayed him. Kellan is almost hanged by Gwen’s village. Gwen is repeatedly harassed & bullied into marriage although that person is unsuccessful. Other women in Gwen’s village try to call her femininity into question.

[ID: an ebook rests on an open pink hardback on a blue crocheted blanket sitting on top of a white quilt. Three flowers are at the top left of the book: a yellow & pink zinnia & a pink rose of sharon bloom.]

Marriage of convenience and only one bed? check and check. These are two of my favorite tropes and when they are in the same story it's even better! Mwah chefs kiss!

Gwen and Kellen had one of the most unique first meetings I've ever read, and I love how they are forced into an engagement. / marriage.

When Gwen claims that she loves Kellen before the whole town to save his life, she has no idea it will lead to an engagement. Kellen doesn't plan on hanging around, especially after the people of the town almost lynch him, but for some reason, he is drawn to Gwen, and when she proposes a marriage of convenience Kellen decides that this could be perfect. I love how he defends Gwen from some of the people, even though she insists that she can handle it... Seeing them grow from strangers to friends, to lovers, to being in love, was pretty sweet... It also didn't hurt that they have some great sexual tension, which leads to a very steamy scene in an alley.

I love that this was a very low angst book, sweet, and steamy, Other than a few moments throughout the book, it's just Kellen and Gwen slowly falling in love.

I really loved this book, and can't wait to see what Sophie Jordan comes out with next!

I really didn't like the violence between the two lead characters. It was very disturbing. I didn't like the characters very much and I couldn't believe their developing romance.

Rated 3.5 Stars

The Scoundrel Falls Hard has one of the most unconventional meetings between the hero and heroine I’ve ever read. I liked that the heroine, Gwen saved the hero. I loved that she was a blacksmith, strong and that the hero saw her differently to how everyone else saw her, that the things that made her her were a turn on for him rather than a turn off. Even though it was far fetched for the most part it was still an entertaining read.

I love different POVs when it comes to historical romance, and that’s what drew me to this story.

This one was a pretty okay read. While I didn’t really endear myself to the characters as much as I had hoped, the plot was comforting and lovely. Overall, it fell a little flat but kept me engaged enough to finish.

Thank you netgalley for the advance copy.

Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager via NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was kind of a letdown with some sparkling moments (hello forest time). The beginning was strong and fast-paced, but the middle felt very first-five-minutes-of-The-Princess-Bride, only instead of “Farm Boy,” the heroine could have addressed the hero as “Thief.” We hardly got any of Kellan’s (the hero) POV and I desperately would have liked to have seen his inner transformation and character arc as more sweeping than it actually is. As far as Gwen (the heroine), I was all ready to root for a lady blacksmith, but we hardly see her at the forge! I would have loved a scene of the two of them working together on a dagger or something.

I’m a sucker for forced proximity and marriage of convenience, but I believe the yearning and repressed sexual feelings could have been further emphasized. The payoff simply wasn’t there for me.

I LOVED this one! I think this is my favorite Sophie Jordan book and one of my favorite historicals of the year! This was a nice change in that it focused on two non-aristocrats, though in the same world as the other books in this series. This fake relationship was set up in a unique way and the whole plot was something new and refreshing in a genre that (though I love it) can get a bit repetitive, plot-wise. I loved the characters and the story, so fun!

This book should be in your beach tote this summer for an exciting adventure. This is Gwen and Kellan’s story that starts off with Kellan being in a sticky situation. How will he get out of it?

What happens where your profess your undying love for a scoundrel you've never met in order to save his life? Gwen Culley is about to find out! The third book in the Duke Hunt Series was an enjoyable addition, though not my favorite book so far it was still a fun read!

This was the first book I've read from this author and definitely not the last! My attention was grabbed from the beginning and held on until the very end. I will definitely be checking out the previous books in this series!

The Scoundrel Falls Hard by Sophie Jordan is book 3 of the Duke Hunt series. In this third installment we find Gwen, the village blacksmith getting herself in quite a pickle as she pledges her love for Kellan Fox, the scoundrel who has been pretending to be the Duke of Penning’s heir in front of the angry mob ready to hang him after he had taken shelter in her shop.

The villagers are skeptical of this declaration, especially when the scoundrel himself profess that they are indeed in love. Due to the real Duke stepping in and choosing the final decision, a marriage between the two fake lovebirds is to occur. They both wisely agree that a marriage is indeed what they both need, Kellan so he can keep his head, and Gwen so she can waylay a most disgusting suitor and perhaps get her family’s business back to prosperity from that same nasty rival. A marriage in name only might have sounded easy enough but, life and chemistry tend to throw curve balls when a marriage is to last a whole year.

Kellan finds out that there’s more to like in this life of walking an honest path and Gwen discovers that being strong and not particularly ultra-feminine does not mean that she can’t light a fire under a certain male living with her day in and day out. The sparks fly, lessons are learned, and life choices reassessed in this historical romance. I found it quite delightful and inspiring for the non-perfect and not so girly girls like me that we also have a chance at true love. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! My review was given on the ARC copy received from the Publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion, happy reading!

The Scoundrel Falls Hard is the third book in The Duke Hunt series by Sophie Jordan. These books can be read as stand alone, but they include characters introduced in other books in the series, so they are best enjoyed when read altogether. In this case, the main character Gwen, was introduced in the 1st book – The Duke Goes Down: The Duke Hunt. I was intrigued by the synopsis, as it included some of my favorite tropes: a wallflower, and the reformed rake. I was also interested to see this strong, independent character get her happy ever after.

The characters met in an unconventional way. The sort of meet cute you can expect from a country village where the story involves the local blacksmith, a competing blacksmith looking to poach her business and her personhood, and a con artist with a heart of gold. However, despite their obvious and strong chemistry, in my personal opinion the author took entirely too long to get these characters in bed together. I mean, they were ready to get it on practically within the first several chapters, but their will-they-won’t-they dragged on for entirely too long. Is there such a thing as book edging? Asking for a friend…

By the time the characters got in the bed, the book was practically over and then there was the big misunderstanding and the story resolved as it ended. ☹️

I waited a while and I read the book again, thinking maybe it was me. I had in fact read this ARC while I was waiting for my copy of the 2nd book (The Rake Gets Ravished – The Duke Hunt #2) that I had on hold at the library. So I read that, and then I went back and read The Scoundrel Falls Hard again, and it’s a good read, but I honestly wanted more sex. Kellan’s character did in fact fall really hard for Gwen, and he fought the good fight to overcome her hangups so they could get their happy ending. They had such good chemistry that every time it was cut short, I was just a little annoyed, comically so. Overall recommend, and a good entry to Sophie Jordan’s The Duke Hunt series.

The Scoundrel Falls Hard (The Duke Hunt 3) is available for pre-order from Amazon and other retailers. Release date: August 23, 2022.

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

Yes! Another amazing book in the Duke Hunt series. Here we go:
Gwen Cully (I’ve been waiting for this one—I love Gwen!) is the village blacksmith. She’s spent her entire life living in the twilight gray between womanhood and men’s work, having learned the smithing trade from her father and uncle growing up. She’s talented and has been able to make a living until her uncle grew ill and she had to spend more of her time caring for him and less at the forge. It was the perfect opportunity for another family of smiths to waltz into town and begin taking her clients. With the unfortunate passing of her uncle, however, she is ready to start building her business up again. But can she? Or as her boorish rival and his neanderthal sons—who like to stare at her openly like they own her--taken all of her work (Seriously, dudes are gross. They drool and fight over who she ‘belongs to’. Then the father makes some very inappropriate overtures. It adds to the high-stakes feeling)?
Kellan Fox has been posing as the Duke’s son for a few months, causing the ladies of Stanhope to be all aflutter at his rakish good looks. Although he is the son of the ‘Duke’, the ‘Duke’ is his conman father (a true POS). One day, Kellan wakes up not only to the knowledge that the real Duke is on his way to take over his seat, but also that his father has left and absconded with some of the royal jewels, leaving Kellan to take the fall (See?). In his escape from a ragtag mob of villagers, he finds his way into hiding in Gwen’s smithy and begs her not to tell them he’s there. Although she tries, the villagers eventually drag him out (rudely trespassing in her space, btw). Gwen, seeing a mob of people who would rather met out punishment than true justice, yells the one thing no one is expecting—not even her. “I LOVE HIM!”
It has the desired affect and after a little bit of role playing, she is able to spare him—for now. However, the true duke has caught on and insists that he cannot wait for them to marry. Now Gwen’s reputation—and Kellan’s life—are on the line. They make a pact to marry for one year, just long enough to keep most of Gwen’s reputation intact and for the heat to be off of Kellan (yeah, ‘cuz that always works).
What Gwen and Kellan didn’t expect (really? You’re both hotties) was the sparks that would fly between them and the molten-metal heat that would sear them with every glance and touch. As Gwen’s defenses fall and Kellan’s true face begins to show through his mask, their declarations of love begin to seem less and less faked. However, can Gwen really trust Kellan? And can Kellan trust himself?
This one was tasty. They’re all really tasty, but this one felt especially so as it’s one of those almost enemies to lovers/one bed/found family/good boy raised bad/bad boy goes good romances. There’s a lot of depth to it. I really like the Duke Hunt series, and Gwen’s story is definitely high up there for me. She lives much differently than other women of her time, and she meets those challenges head-on. Plus, Kellan is totally into her Amazonian vibe and he’s also freakishly tall and handsome himself. And the spice is (3.5 fire emojis).
I would recommend the entire Duke Hunt series to anyone who loves a somewhat spicy historical romance. It’s honestly so great and I love me some Sophie Jordan!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sophie Jordan, and Avon and Harper Voyager (I love you guys!) for allowing me to have an advanced copy in exchange for this honest and fair review.

Gwen Cully is working in her failing blacksmith shop when a strange man barges into her shop attempting to hide from the villagers. The villagers were angry, frothing at the mouth wanting to kill the man, because, he had deceived everyone. Gwen tries to reason with the man-whose name is Kellan Fox, who pretended to be the Duke of Penning’s eligible heir. When the villagers finally get to Kellan, Gwen has no choice to admit something outrageous, so she says that she loves him. Gwen doesn’t want to see the guy hanged just because he is a robber. Finally, the true Duke of Penning, intervenes and tells him he must marry Gwen for a year. So, Kellan moves into Gwen’s home and works with her as an assistant to her. Gwen’s blacksmith shop is finally being saved. As Gwen gets to know Kellan, she falls for him, but he is crook, once a criminal always a thief.
This is a rollicking enjoyable historical romance! There are many differences that make it untraditional because the heroine’s job is not something a woman usually does. The book really doesn’t feel like a historical even though it is supposed to be, even though the time the novel is written in isn’t really listed. Luckily, the writing is top-notch, the scenes are intricately written, and the characters are easily imagined. The language doesn’t appear to fit the time period too. Everyone spoke like in contemporary modern times. Gwen the independent feisty heroine despite her profession is a charming woman. She seems uncouth and unrefined but, in truth is quite graceful and knows how to be a lady; she just figures it is easier to hide it. Kellan the handsome charismatic hero is hard to resist as well. No wonder everyone believed that he was the duke’s heir. He knew how to play the role so effortlessly that how could you not believe him? Still, the book was a pleasant easy read and yes it was entertaining too!

I enjoyed this book very much.
Spoiler alert.
This was such an unusual take on common subject, a marriage of convenience. But it wasn't convenient at all. The heroine is the town's blacksmith. Her father and uncle taught her the trade after her mother passed away. Since then, her father and uncle also passed away. She is a young lady running her own forge in town, but another blacksmith and his two sons have moved in and they are trying to force her to marry one of the sons. But she refuses to be manipulated. It is not that one if the sons loves her. They just want her forge and for her to be their drudge. The hero is a con man, who with his father was pretending to be the son of a duke, his father was pretending to be the actual duke. He has many of the young ladies if the town after him. Then the real duke shows up, his father takes off and he is left behind to survive at will. He runs into and hides in her forge, bringing a mob with him. They want to hang him, and after trying to reason with the mob, the heroine saves his life by pretending to love him. The hero pretends to love her. The village forces them to marry after the banns are read. And from there, a courtship progresses.
I truly enjoyed this story. The heroine is so unusual, and a fierce Viking Goddess. The hero actually comes around and works in the forge. This is a story about redemption and perceptions.
I liked the age gap, I liked the settings, I liked the characters, except for his father and the other blacksmith. I actually have feelings about how the characters were. This was a great story, well written and in an unusual setting: the village blacksmith's forge.
I give it 5 stars and recommend it.

For some reason I forgot to read the first two books in the series but I had to dive into this book! I love Jordan and I'm so glad she's still writing. I liked this book a lot. I loved the characters and I want them to win. I hope in the near future we find out what the next series will be.

I was fortunate enough to get an arc of this book, and it was a good quick read romance. I enjoyed the plot, especially with the lady blacksmith(that was a first for me). It was a definite enjoyable marriage of convenience, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the book didn't fall into too much of the details of high class society, like a lot of books tend to get lost in. The ending kind of threw me for a loop, but overall, it was an enjoyable read. The romance was nicely paced, though the climax was a bit premature. I liked the mc for not being inherently 'girly', but at the same time not throwing it in your face that she's 'not like other girls'.