Diana Quincy always writes winners as far as I'm concerned, and the first in her newest series was no exception. I'll never not love the conceit of "I hate you so much I want to kiss you, oh no why are you so distracting, wait I can't stop kissing you what does this MEAN" — is there a specific trope for this? Anyway, Raya and Strickland were clearly obsessed with each other even when they believed they couldn't stand each other, and I really enjoyed that they evolved to a more emotional place by the time Raya started debating over whether to leave. Her independence + him perpetually being down bad for her = just an overall good time.

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

This was a great adult historical romance novel, with good characters and plot!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

I love Diana Quincy and this book was so hot and fun!! I look forward to reading others in this series.

Buckle the seatbelts around your hearts and get emotionally ready for this rollicking romp of fun and feelings, this captivating historical romance that masterfully blends steamy passion with undeniable charm. In “The Duke Gets Desperate,” Diana Quincy delivers a delightful tale of two adversaries turned passionate lovers that will check every block on your list of must-have romance tropes.

At the heart of the story is our fearless heroine, Raya, a woman ahead of her time with her sharp wit and unwavering determination. Raya is not your typical damsel in distress; she's a force to be reckoned with, challenging societal norms and carving her own path in a world dictated by propriety. Her fiery spirit will mesmerize any reader, making her a protagonist worth cheering for.

Opposite Raya stands the irresistible Duke of Strickland, a dashing hero whose roguish charm and undeniable allure will leave readers swooning. Despite their initial animosity, the chemistry between the two leads sizzles from their first encounter, igniting a fiery passion that refuses to be extinguished.

What truly sets this novel apart is its impeccable pacing and authentic dialogue. The story unfolds at just the right tempo, keeping readers eagerly turning pages as they root for the star-crossed lovers to overcome every obstacle in their path. The banter between Raya and Strick crackles with wit and humor, making their interactions a joy to experience.

But it's not just the sparks flying between the main characters that make this book a standout. Quincy’s prose is nothing short of masterful, resulting in an utterly charming historical romance that will leave you cheering out loud for Raya and Strick’s happily ever after. With its strong female lead, dashing hero, expertly-crafted writing, and spot-on pacing, this novel is a must-read for fans of the genre. Don’t miss it.

Yorkshire, 1886. As if it were not bad enough to inherit an impoverished estate, Anthony Carey, Duke of Strickland, is stunned to learn that his stepmother has bequeathed his beloved family castle to her American cousin. His resentment is slow to fade, but Raya Darwish turns out to be a beautiful Arab-American woman, and their mutual physical attraction is immediate. Since she is also an astute businesswoman, she is just what the estate needs to recover, he grows to recognize, but can they get past their distrust of each other?

Though it is never really in doubt, misunderstandings and personal issues delay the happy outcome, as does the mystery surrounding the stepmother’s death and thefts from the castle. Strick and Raya gradually learn to appreciate one another’s abilities, but the pattern of increasingly passionate encounters, followed by retreat into suspicion of each other’s motives, does become repetitive. There is valuable insight, however, into the causes for the economic decline of great estates in England during the 19th century, and Raya’s solution of opening the castle and selling refreshments and souvenirs to a paying public anticipates what became a widespread trend.
HNR Issue 105 (August 2023)
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-duke-gets-desperate-sirens-in-silk-1/

The Duke Gets Desperate is a steamy country-set historical romance that provides a lovely level of diversity to what would be a well loved trope. Quincy beautifully blends Arab traditions and everyday life into the outline of a historical romance. Quincy's tone is elegant and thoughtful, beautifully blending cultures with the understanding and care of what it was like in this time period. If you love Tessa Dare's Romancing the Duke, I think you will find a nice layer of familiarity in the story, while delighting in the way Quincy is able to use her background to create a beautiful, bold and smart heroine who is an Arab-American to carry this story.

The romance in this novel is the sensual center of this story, and is really lovely supported by the heroine and hero's growth through this piece. This story because one in which these two people learn to work with each other, trust each other, take risks with each other and ultimately learn to fight for each other and ask for what they want. Their love is a journey of learning how to rebuild and how to make something thrive. Quincy uses their physical relationship not only to show their growing trust, but also to highlight our heroine's independence and a beautiful layer of consent that she is able to build with the hero.

The Duke Gets Desperate is sure to charm any lover of historical romance and I would very much recommend Diana Quincy if you have not had the opportunity to check her out.

This was enjoyable, and I would be interested in the upcoming series. I think the author did a relatively good job on the cultural stuff

While this wasn't a favorite, it has some unique elements and I'm definitely interested in continuing the series! Most of all I loved the Arab rep and the crumbling castle setting, as well as the love-to-hate-you tension between our leads.

Diana Quincy's "The Duke Gets Desperate" proves to be a delightful and clever entry into the realm of historical romance. Serving as the inaugural installment in the Sirens in Silk series, it unveils a rich tapestry of characters and an engaging storyline. Raya Ali, an Arab-American heiress, takes center stage, inheriting a dilapidated castle in the English countryside. Her steadfast resolve to revive the castle's former grandeur hits a snag when she realizes she isn't the sole claimant to the property. I love the interaction between Raya and Anthony.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Duke of Strickland has inherited his father’s title, but after his father’s death, he leaves his much younger wife the manor house and Strickland only gets the surrounding land.

When his stepmother dies, Strickland is denied once again, with his stepmother bequeathing the family home to her American relative. Then and there, Strickland vows to get his ancestral home back. What he doesn’t account for is the gorgeous, feisty Arab-American woman who has inherited the house and how she will change his life.

I really enjoyed this and very much enjoyed Quincy’s spicy scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review. As a lover of period romances, I was thrilled to be able to review this book. The Duke Gets Desperate is a witty romance that follows an Arab American woman who inherits a castle in the English countryside. It was refreshing to read a historical romance with a woc protagonist, it's a rare treat and I believe that it was done incredibly well. This was my first read of a book by Quincy and I can't wait to dive into more of her work. I can think of a handful of patrons who are going to adore this funny, steamy novel.

Set in Victorian England, Anthony Carey, the Duke of Strickland, can't believe he lost his castle...again. His Arab-American step-mother leaves the castle to her distant Arab-American cousin on her death instead of to him. A death surrounded by mysterious circumstances. Raya Darwish only came for a visit, but finds out that she's inherited a castle. A financially poor one at that. Very business savvy, Raya makes plans for the castle to support itself and the people in the village. Her biggest obstacle is Strick. At first he's resistant to the changes, but soon realizes she makes a lot of sense. Strick's obsession with archeology brings another interesting element to the story. His missing objects combined with the dowager's mysterious death, gives the book a gothic touch. He and Raya maybe from different cultures but their passion explodes early in the book with explicit sex to the point of being erotic. No objections here.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Raya inherits a castle that should belong to the Duke of Strickland. She brings the cash strapped castle into the black with a great business sense and falls in love with the Duke in the process. This was a fun story with an interesting premise. Both characters ran hot and cold numerous times which became a little tedious for me.

Diana Quincy’s latest and beginning of a new series is an overall enjoyable read. I liked the characters, and the plot worked pretty well. My main critique is really just a comparison to the author’s previous work. It’s just that I really enjoyed Quincy’s Clandestine Affairs series, and this one didn’t work at the same level for me as that series. This one didn’t feel as unique as that series, either, despite having a Palestinian heroine.

This book was pretty contained. They basically stayed on the ducal estate, which was due to an inheritance quagmire, that left the heroine, Raya, with the castle, and the Duke with the land. It has an enemies to lovers flair. Due to the seclusion, there was less about culture. There was one part of a favorite meal that gets replicated and certainly some about the heroine and her aunt’s reaction to English culture, but again it felt more contained.

I thought the romance was convincing, and I liked the plans to make the estate profitable. I thought mystery component ok. I would recommend this book to those that like ducal romances with some different cultural aspects intwined.

<I>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. Views are my own.

This book was such a delightful romance read. I love all the detail the author puts into her stories and how she weaves the tension between the two characters. Romance magic.

A fantastic read that takes on a different angle and perception of the genre.

We so rarely get to see Arab representation, especially like this in a historical, so this was such a fun read, I wish that we had more insight into her background and her family!

The Duke Gets Desperate is a charming and witty historical romance novel by Diana Quincy. It is the first book in the Sirens in Silk series, and it introduces a diverse cast of characters and a captivating plot. The story follows Raya Ali, an Arab-American woman who inherits a run-down castle in the English countryside. Raya is determined to restore the castle to its former glory, but she soon discovers that she is not the only one with a claim to the property.

Anthony St. Clair, the Duke of Ramsbottom, believes that the castle belongs to him, and he is not willing to give it up without a fight. Raya and Anthony are initially at odds, but they are soon drawn to each other despite their differences. As Raya and Anthony work together to restore the castle, they also fall in love. But their relationship is not without its challenges. They must face opposition from their families and society, as well as the secrets that they both keep.

Diana Quincy does a wonderful job of developing her characters and their relationships. Raya and Anthony are both complex and likeable characters, and their journey from enemies to lovers is both heartwarming and steamy.

Quincy also does a great job of creating a vivid and immersive historical setting. The reader can feel the atmosphere of the English countryside and the social and cultural norms of the Victorian era.

Overall, The Duke Gets Desperate is a well-written and engaging romance novel. It is a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️| 4 Flames 🔥🔥🔥🔥

📚Disclosure: I received a review copy of this #book from Avon and Harper Voyager publishing via #Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, comments, and interpretations of the story are my own and bias free. I did not receive any money in exchange for this review. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review. Reviews are cross-posted to social media, goodreads, and blog. 🦄
@avonbooks @HarperCollins
⭐️When possible reviews are cross-posted on the following:
✔️Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/jaime-loves-romance
✔️Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2577266404
✔️IG https://www.instagram.com/alphabookclub/
✔️Twitter @alpha_book_club
#Bookreview #MustRead #ReviewbyJaime #RomanceBooks
🦄

Quincy’s books are always so intriguing! I love that she always has a character of Arabian origin and I love all the little Arabian tidbits she weaves into her stories, like food, traditions and the like. In this book the Duke was a veritable grump, maybe justifiably so, but he was also very rude to the heroine and I didn’t particularly like him for most of the book. But I liked that he fell very hard for the heroine and did everything he could to keep her, while at the same time respecting her true nature. He was willing to change his views, and that’s what’s really important to me. This book has humor, a touch of angst and a bit of mystery. The cultural conflict between the American and the English values and lifestyles was gorgeously depicted and quite funny to read!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Anthony, Duke of Strickland, is shocked to learn his father left the family castle to his stepmother rather than him meaning upon her death it was given to her niece, Raya Darwish. Arab-American Raya is not sure what to make of the crumbling castle and the grumpy Duke with his Saxon treasures. Raya hatches a plan to make the estate profitable by charging visitors to tourists. Anthony is not thrilled, but his hands are tied. As they spend more and more time together, Raya and Anthony fall for one another and Anthony sees a new way to get his estate back.

I love that Diana centers Arab heroines in her books as the community is greatly underrepresented in romances in general but especially historical romance. The best parts of the book are the descriptions of Raya’s culture and experiences as an Arab in both the United States and England. I liked that it referenced the difficulties she faced, but her culture did not become a source of conflict in the story. I really liked both Raya and Anthony. They had great chemistry but good heavens the miscommunication troupe was strongly present in the entire book. I wish there had been more conversations between the pair so that their relationship would blossom into something more than attraction-based. I enjoyed the side characters and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

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

Arab-American Raya ends up "inheriting" a castle out from under the proper Duke of Strickland, but it turns out she's a marketing and business whiz, and she and Strick reach a lustful detente -- until Strick decides that really the best course of action would be to marry her. Loved the business smart Raya; Strick was pretty generic; the reasons for the "should we/should we not" were....murky. Easy read, with a mild plot twist.