Bowen's Devils of Dover Series (A Duke in the Night: Book 1)
Devils of Dover (Book One: A Duke in the Night)
Stars: Definitely ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (smart heroine; hot hero; we get out of London—hello Dover; self-made man; lots of waltzing)
Heat rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (see the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section.)
So, Kelly Bowen came early in my romance novel journey. Note, I first borrowed it from the library, finished it in 3 days, returned it, then purchased my own copy. That’s a hint right there that it’s a damned good book. I didn’t even borrow the other two in the series—went straight to the store and purchased them.
So the Devils of Dover series is about the Hayward family, with the first book being about the eldest child, Clara Hayward, and August Faulkner, Duke of Holloway. First things first. The guy on the cover is hot as sin and matched Kelly Bowen’s description. That’s definitely a plus. I have decided to start adding a Cover Rating (though I do know that some editions have different covers). This cover gets an A-: the guy is hot AND matches the author’s description; the colors (blue, stark white shirt) are interesting and work with the mysterious/conflicted storyline. Only points off are because the heroine isn’t in the pic, but since this book title highlights the Duke, it only gets a tiny point off, bringing the cover rating from A to A- (you know, when you were in school, the minus didn’t mean a thing. You just saw that magical, amazing AAAAAAAAAA).
So, first things first; I’ve told you to read the dedications. This one is dedicated to the strong women in the author’s life, and that did two things for me: (1) made me think about and appreciate the strong women in my life, and (2) let me know that the heroine and possibly other characters in the book are going to be strong, badassed women. Oh yeah; I’m down. To Themyscira, we go! (Off topic, I met Lynda Carter a few years ago at an event and she’s awesome. I watched Wonder Woman religiously when I was younger, had Wonder Woman Underoos, and dressed up as her for Halloween.)
The book starts out in 1819, recounting the first time our H, August, and h, Clara, meet. Clara is having her Season, but it’s not going well. Clara is pretty and her father is richer than Croesus and everyone loves him, but nobody is interested in her because of “the single flaw that illustrious lords could simply not tolerate in a potential wife: an education and an intelligence greater than their own” (page 1). Okay, I love her automatically—as a proud nerdy girl, this speaks to me. When I was a kid, I didn’t play “Mommy” with my dolls; I played school.
Anyway, our tale starts with a dance and a dare, which changed August’s life. His cronies dared him to ask her to dance, so he did. But when he went over to shame the poor girl, he found out she had strength and a will of iron, and she was up to the challenge. So, here’s the thing. That was a hella dick move and made me dislike August A LOT, though he was relatively young at the time, and clearly influenced by some asshole friends. Dump the lot of them. Bullying ain’t cute. And he’s got a worthy opponent. He thought she would be embarrassed, as he escorted her to the floor, “leading her in a sweeping, reckless waltz that should have wilted a wallflower into a blushing mess. But Clara Hayward had only matched him step for step, never once looking away. And by the time the waltz had concluded . . . every damn guest was staring at them, and August was experiencing a horrifying shortness of breath that had nothing to do with their exertions” (2). He is smitten and Clara is cool as a cucumber. And they never spoke afterward, though he never forgot the wallflower who blew his mind that night.
In the intervening years, she became headmistress of the Haverhall School for Young Ladies, and August inherited a dukedom. So what brings Clara back on his radar? He purchased that finishing school to tear it down and use the property for townhouses. He thought Clara’s brother Harland, the current Baron Strathmore, owned it. But no, it’s Clara. And clearly they’re on ANOTHER collision course.
We meet August’s sister, Anne. She thanks him for yet ANOTHER dress and piece of jewelry. You can tell she’s not a dress/jewelry kind of girl, and is just pretending because she knows her brother meant well in giving it to her. He reminds her that she needs to get married so she can be taken care of and never need anything. You can really tell that Anne isn’t hot and bothered about heading to the altar. He tries to explain to her that it’s in her best interest, and she says something that elicits an interesting reaction from him:
“ ‘I am quite capable of taking care of myself. I did it for years, if you recall.’
Old guilt needled, and August shoved it aside.” (7).
Hm, something is up. We’ve learned that his inheritance of the duchy was unplanned (apparently EVERYONE possible in line for the dukedom died from spotted fever while on holiday; August and his sister Anne weren’t there so they survived). Clearly, they didn’t always live the life they do now.
Anne tries to show him the ideas she has for one of his hotels, and whoo boy, he acts like an asshole. She has excellent suggestions for making the hotel better and more efficient, and he basically poohpoohs them all and treats her like an idiot woman. He keeps telling her she doesn’t need to concern herself with it, even though she clearly enjoys it. Big brother is not listening.
She also provides a detailed mockup of a new tavern sign, and though he admits that the sign would be scads better than what was already up there, he dismisses it. You can tell she’s kind of happy when his man of business, Mr. Duncan Down, interrupts and she can roll out of there. Duncan makes note that August is trying to squeeze the life out of his quills, yet lavishes presents on Anne. August says that nothing is too good for Anne. This is more than just big brother devoted to little sis—this smacks of compensation.
Well, Duncan has some info on the new property—Clara’s brother is the current Baron Strathmore, a doctor who was a battlefield surgeon during the Waterloo campaign. Their father was rich AF, but also loved to spend money on an extravagant lifestyle, so now, they’re damned near penniless, with loans coming due. They have a few ships that they are betting the farm on—if they can come back from the Americas with cargo they can sell, maybe the Haywards can stay above water. No wonder Clara has to sell her beloved school. And how does August react to this? He wants the shipping company, too, and plans to convince the Baron to sell. (Dude, you’re hot AF, but you really don’t seem like a nice person.) So yeah, he needs to insinuate himself in a situation where he can meet the Baron, and he also wants to see Clara after all these years. Well . . . Duncan knows everything, and tells him that the Baron and his sisters visit the museum regularly, and boom, he’s skedaddling over there, though he tells himself he’s just taking a stately saunter. Please . . .
Clara’s at the museum and she’s in pain. She’s sold the school that means everything to her. They had no idea that their parents were so poor until it was too late. So she’s sitting in the museum, staring at a sculpture, and she hears an unmistakable voice behind her—August Faulkner. Clearly she hasn’t forgotten him or that dance either. Alas, she can only imagine ONE reason why he’s found her: his sister Anne applied to the very special (and very unconventional) Haverhall summer session. August is playing cool; he’s asking her questions about the sculpture, and she’s got butterflies in her stomach. But, ah, Clara is always in control of her emotions, and replies coolly, though she’s noted that he’s even more amazingly gorgeous than he was as a 21-year old. They banter about the sculpture awkwardly, and then August goes for the jugular:
“ ‘I owe you an apology, Miss Hayward. One that comes years too later, but one that I hope you’ll accept.’
If Holloway had suddenly turned into a unicorn, Clara wouldn’t have been more shocked. She managed to close her mouth, realizing belatedly that it had fallen open. ‘Whatever for?’
‘I need to apologize for my actions the night we danced,’ he said gravely. ‘My initial intentions were deplorable, and we both know it. I am no longer that person . . .’ “
So that was nice, but I am still not convinced. Because we know, Constant Reader, that he has some secrets he’s not sharing—the fact that he has purchased her school and plans to tear it down and develop it, and he wants her brother’s shipping company. So those words ring hollow (no pun intended), though Clara appears to be taking them seriously (nooooooooooo, cue my best Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown impression, “you in danger, girl”). Though, she does ask if he’s dying, in case he’s trying to put his affairs in order (and right previous wrongs). Then he mentions her brother and she starts to get suspicious . . . ahhhhh, now she gets it; it’s about Lady Anne, right? He’s testing her since his sister will be under her tutelage. She grows cold and snarky (go, girl) and he moves fast to kiss her hand, causing sparks. She reminds herself it is all part of some kind of test, though he is being utterly charming. He asks to call on her the next day and now she is confused—doesn’t he know the summer session starts the next day? She’s more confused when, after she “reminds” him of this fact, he asks where she’s going. Um, Dover? This is awkward, and it only gets worse when her escort to the museum, Mr. Mathias Stilton shows up, while August is still holding her hand. I loathed Stilton from the first mention. First of all, the way he dresses sounds horrendous. He reminds me of Professor Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. August and Gilderoy, I mean Stilton, are glaring daggers at each other—“this particular visit had become an exhibit itself of antagonistic undercurrents” (33)—and Clara is more confused. What a confusing day this has been. Clara is pretty neutral about Stilton; she thought he might have some interest in her sister, Rose (that’s our artist), but that never came to fruition. So they allow him to escort them when their brother isn’t available. It’s clear that Stilton and August hate each other. Stilton says he’s called for the carriage and things start to come together for August—he realizes Stilton is their escort, and something changes:
“A strange sort of thrill twisted uninvited through Clara’s body. It was almost as if the duke were . . . not jealous, exactly, because absolutely no logic that existed would support that reaction. Territorial, perhaps, was the better word. As if Holloway had some sort of stake in how and with whom she might spend her time.” (33)
Btw, he’s jealous. He’s totally jealous.
But Clara is not going to see that, really. She just thinks it’s about his sister going to the school, and she nopes out of there, with Stilton, who basically does a no need to worry your pretty little head when she asks him why he and August were playing a rousing round of Who Has a Bigger Dick.
So now it’s two days later, and August is mooning about Clara, though he would never admit it. He thinks she’s gorgeous. He is drawn to her intelligence and “she now radiated a rare confidence that was characteristic of those who had truly embraced their individuality and found pleasure and happiness within it. In a man it was admirable. In a woman he found it indecently seductive” (36). He’d tried to turn on the charm when they were in the museum, but THAT didn’t happen. To be honest, she’d outwardly treated him like some mildly amusing bug (though we know that she was totally losing her shit inside). She was totally in control of the encounter. Then he tried to woo her with his patented panty dropping “chivalrous kiss and the not-so-chivalrous look he had bestowed . . . things he had taken great pains to perfect over the years” and . . . it went over like a lead balloon. My girl was not impressed. In fact, she looked at him the way he figures she would “look while reading a treatise on the Isoptera of England.” (Yeah, I had to look that up. That means termite, lol.) Worse, that mild interest turned into a look of awkward disappointment.
We do learn why Stilton loathes him—he bought his family’s lace factory. The thing is, he wasn’t unfair to Stilton—he hooked him up financially and dealt with Stilton constantly stalking him asking for more money or a partnership (which is the reason he started buying things anonymously).
Finally, he shakes himself, because he was trying to get Strathmore Shipping, not Clara. So he needed to head to Dover. You know that August-with-a-plan is the best August, so he won’t let Duncan get a word in edgewise when he comes into tell him some big news—Anne has scarpered off to Clara’s school. And, he learns that she FORGED his signature on bank drafts to pay for the school (damn, girl, you gangsta). August is completely and utterly confused as to why she would want to go to this school as he has offered her all of the typically female education opportunities. (AUGUST, WAKE UP. All of the stuff that you think is attractive in Clara is not the typical female education—catch a clue that other girls, including you SISTER, might be interested in other things. Even Duncan tries to explain it, and August is still totally clueless. So much duh.) Well, luckily, Duncan knows where the summer session is being held (the Earl of Rivers’ estate, Avondale—the Earl is important to the second book, so keep an eye on everything that pertains to him) and, of course Duncan knows the Earl. So guess who is heading to Dover? And riding, so he can get there ASAP.
He’s thinking the whole time—that’s dangerous—and wondering why Clara’s brother is still working as a physician (WTF, dude, maybe to HELP people?) and trying to justify the sketchy crap he’s about to do by saying that if he takes away the shipping company, Strathmore will be able to spend more time being a doctor, and everyone would be happy. Oh yeah, sure, okay (cue the Jennifer Lawrence GIF—I told you I use that one every day).
So now we learn about the soldiers that are shooting at children, trying to stop thieves and smugglers. August sees they’re pursuing a kid and rides in to save the day, getting his poor horse shot in the process (flesh wound, poor horsie will survive). But August remembers having a life like the kid’s—we get another quick flash that August’s previous life was tough—so he steps in to save the kid, Jonas (who was stealing food to feed his starving family) and spirit him away. He gives Jonas money and tells him to come to the Silver Swan if he ever needs anything. The kid also cracks on the tavern’s ugly sign, and he listens more to this random child than his own sister. (Insert mad face emoji, maybe even the one with the cursing banner.) Anyway, he and the poor horse start limping toward Avondale.
Just in time to scare TF outta Clara. “The voice had come from behind her, and if she didn’t know better, she might say it sounded suspiciously like the Duke of Holloway’s. Which, of course, was impossible” (55). Nope, SURPRISE! She turns around and there he be, looking hot as hell though he’s grimy and dressed way down. He doesn’t even beat around the bush: “I had hoped to have a conversation with my sister.” Uh oh. And Clara is smart and has just figured out that Anne might not have asked to go to school and might have found a creative way to get the funds (the answer is yes and yes). And, oh snap, he thinks Clara put sis up to it. Clara’s not getting thrown under the bus and makes it clear that she, too, was clueless about Anne’s machinations, and August throws down one of those not-really-an-apology-apologies. He says another one of those things that makes me go hmmm, because clearly, his past life has hardened him to the man he is now:
“ ‘Perhaps I should get you to teach a class to my stewards on negotiation.’
‘I didn’t realize we were negotiating,’ she replied warily.
‘Everything in life is a negotiation, Miss Hayward.’ ” (60)
That’s sad. And she has real reason to be wary. She follows up by explaining how much the school means to her, particularly as a continuation of her parents’ legacy. I hope August is listening.
Maybe he is, because “somehow he was drawing her into this . . . banter that she had no business participating in. And it was exhilarating.” And for a second, she allows herself to banter back, which she has tried hard not to do with him. “Something shifted in his eyes. Something hot and possessive. Something that made her knees weaken and an ache settle low in her belly and her breasts. ‘There she is,’ he murmured almost inaudibly . . . ‘The girl who once waltzed with me’ ” (64). Clara hates that she is deeply affected by his words, and fights for control. She wants him BUT she also recognizes that, however much she wants to taste this intoxicating man, all she has is her reputation, and an affair with a duke is not the way to preserve that. More’s the pity.
Oh, quickly, we find out a little more about brother Harland’s late wife—she sounds like a colossal pain in the ass. The marriage was awful, clearly. Pretty sure we will learn more in the 3rd book.
Oh, hell, Anne shows up, wondering why on earth August is there and probably bracing herself for a fraternal tongue lashing to rival the Battle of Waterloo. He’s playing cool and, luckily, is calm enough to recognize that Anne is finally genuinely happy for once. And it’s because she’s at the school. “There was an instant, blinding animation on Anne’s face that August hasn’t seen in . . . well, forever . . . Nothing he had ever given her—no gown or slippers or jewels—had come close to eliciting such a reaction” (71). He takes note of that, but just when it seems like he’s getting it through his thick skull, he drops the ball again. He tells Clara that though this is nice, there are “right choices” that Anne must make to be happy (at least this is his belief). He’s extolling the virtue of a place in society and marriage when he realizes that he’s basically bashing Clara and who she is. He really is slamming Clara without realizing it, but that’s definitely not his intention. They go back to the dance on a dare, and he says sincerely that he wished he had seen her for who she was before that. Nice sentiment, Clara thinks, but if that were the case, what would have been different?
“ ‘I wish I had asked you to dance again.’
She was silent for a long minute, a gut-wrenching, electrifying mix of desire and longing flitting across her usually unreadable features.
Her fingers tightened on his. ‘I wish you had too,’ she said, and August felt the breath leave his lungs.” (75)
I wish he had, as well, but then we wouldn’t have a lovely book to read!
Anyway, he bullies her into accepting a dinner date (though the siblings are invited because, c’mon, we know that he wants the shipping company so he wants to sidle up with Harland/Baron Strathmore). And though he wants to kiss her and hear her laugh, he’s laser focused on his outcome—money. Yes, he feels a little guilty, but August has no problem with moving past his guilt in pursuit of dollar signs. Ugh.
Sister Rose, who is a pistol, lemme tell you, accosts big sis in the library and says, “Was that the Duke of Doxies I saw you speaking to in the driveway last night?” Well, if you were confused about Rose’s feelings for August, this clears it up. Rose ain’t happy to hear that August is staying at the Avondale dower house. (Quick aside: holy crap, I want a dower house. That’s where I would make all guests stay, since I am an introvert and get sick of being around people damned fast. That needs to be at thing again.) Clara rebuffs her—the Duke has been a perfect gentleman but Rose scoffs, that ain’t what she’s heard. Where you getting your info, sis?
“ ‘The ladies who have graced my old London studio. Not that anyone was complaining,’ [Rose] said. ‘On the contrary, his rumored lack of . . . gentlemanly habits between the sheets was being extolled.’ She let her hands drop and ran her fingers over the stitched braid along the back of the chair. ‘Discussed at great . . . length.’ ” (85)
Oh no, she didn’t just make a dick size joke, did she? I like Rose. (Rose has also been through some stuff, including a fiancé who did her wrong and then got killed at Waterloo, so you can’t even hate him the way you would like. Rats.) Lol, there’s a funny part when their brother comes in and learns August is there and his first response is: Is he dying? When he finds out he isn’t, Harland is relieved, “So he doesn’t need me to save him. Good. That’s one less thing for me to do. I don’t need or want to know anything else.” (This man works too hard.) Though NOBODY is happy that August is there to stay, though Harland reveals that his background is impressive—August is self-made and his father was in debtor’s prison; Harland attended him while in medical training. Hm, there’s something mysterious about Harland as well—he keeps having to dash away to handle things that he won’t explain to his sisters.
Clara is teaching, and she loves it. She sits the young ladies on the grass, something many have never done—oh no, they’re used to scads of servants making things comfortable—and has them introduce themselves. But no titles! Here they’re just Anne and Lydia, Amelia, and Phoebe, etc. And Clara wants them to answer a question, one that was on the application. They share their answers, things like “hotelier” (for Anne) and “barrister” and “physician” for others. Finally, Clara shares her answer, “Professor . . . that’s what I would be if I were a man” (100). This part is written extremely well, and really makes me appreciate what my sisters sacrificed in the past to get me where I am today. Oh, but the mood is lightened when you find out that August has been prowling the grounds, purportedly to look things over for the Earl, but clearly to make secret cow eyes at Clara. He sees the women in the field, and is crawling on his hands and knees like an utter idiot, trying to get a glimpse of what they’re doing, when he runs into the Earl’s elderly sisters, Ladies Tabitha and Theodosia, who are OG. These old girls are comfortable with themselves, quick on the uptake, and 100% not impressed by the duke. They look for fossils and other specimens on the beach, and that’s far more interesting than dukes, thank you very much!
Clara joins them, and immediately, she and August are bickering. It’s his fault, though, because he says every possible wrong thing. And since something about Clara makes him blurt out honest truths, he admits that he saw Anne laughing, something he hasn’t seen in a long time. Clara tests him; he has always thought things should be one certain way, and she makes him reconsider it. He doesn’t like that, while at the same time, craves being with her and talking to her about these uncomfortable things.
Let me tell you, I genuinely enjoy their interaction. Sure, I want to get to the romance part, but I love how they test each other. They are both very strong willed people, and KB wields her dialogue skillfully. For instance, this is understood by every woman who has tried to have a conversation with a man:
“She cleared her throat. ‘Your Grace, I’ve been thinking about our last conversation, and I believe I should apol—’
‘Yes, I’ve been thinking a great deal about our last conversation as well,’ he said, leading her down the steps into the early-evening light.
‘It wasn’t my place to—’
‘Please let me finish,’ he said, and Clara made a funny noise in her throat. He looked at her quizzically. ‘What?’
‘You will not offer me the same courtesy? You haven’t let me finish a sentence yet,’ she murmured.” (120)
Alas, I will give my man a pass here, because he’s trying to tell her that she doesn’t need to apologize. Which is true. And he notes that he recognizes he hasn’t been listening to his sister, and he’d like to thank Clara for making him realize that.
Boom. That’s like catnip, fellas. Apologize when you need to, admit when you’re wrong, and women will appreciate you. “ ’Don’t ever stop asking me difficult questions,’ Holloway said. ‘Don’t ever stop making me accountable for my actions.’ ” Even though he has nefarious intentions (Strathmore Shipping), I know he’s sincere; he’s been this way since that dance. But, whoo boy, he takes it further and, well, see for yourself:
“ ‘I should have kissed you,’ he said suddenly.
‘I beg your pardon?’ Her eyes flew back to his.
‘That night when we waltzed.’ He held her gaze. ‘I wanted to kiss you then. I want to kiss you now.’ ” (122)
And he does. And holy mackerel, what a kiss. Clara gives as good as she gets, which I also love. (Lemme tell you from the perspective of a 50-year old woman—TAKE THE REINS, GIRLS. You’ll thank yourselves later.) She opens her mouth and deepens the kiss and boom, he nearly ruins the moment by being a jackass. He’s floored that he’s not the first man to kiss her, jumping apart like she did something wrong. Dear God, August, get over yourself, man. Oh, but Clara is a badass. She throws it right back in his face—has he ever been kissed before? Of course. But, he cannot let it go, and asks her who kissed her before him and whether she loved him. (WTF, dude?) Clara logically responds in turn, and he has to admit his hypocrisy. He pretends to joke, asking if kissing was part of her non-standard education, but she knows he’s not joking. She reminds him that women of the time, including her mother, were taught very little about basic biology and sexual health and yes, she has a midwife who comes to the school to talk to the women about women’s health. She’s waiting for him to be deeply offended and cart Anne back home, but instead, he’s actually relieved. Since his mother is dead, he is glad he’s dodged the bullet of having to explain such things to Anne. She’s floored, and offers up her Christian name to him.
Okay, I’m just letting you know that whenever he says her name, I totally hear it in the voice of the 11th Doctor speaking to Clara Oswald on Doctor Who. (I love Doctor Who; I may have mentioned it before. 10 is my Doctor, though I adore 9 as well. K grew up on the original series, so 4 is his Doctor. I love anything that David Tennant does. That may be too much info. That squirrel is busy.)
Anyway, the kissing has not stopped and I. Am. Here. For. It. Clara admits she’s not the woman society wants her to be. But that’s not what August wants. “ ’I don’t want the woman you’re supposed to be,’ he said, his voice low. ‘I never have. I want the woman you are, and everything that encompasses. I wanted her ten years ago, and I want her now . . . a woman who knows her own mind. A woman who can make a man lose his. Make him do reckless things’ ” (131). And reckless is about to happen, because, soon, he’s got her up on the edge of the wall, she’s got her legs wrapped around him, and he’s kissing her like a man who knows how, till she can’t breathe or think. And it’s amazing. She can hear her heart thundering in her ears, except that’s not what she hears. It’s soldiers on horseback, and now they are both crouching behind the wall until they’re gone. He wants to know if they’re cool after that frankly erotic kissing session. He doesn’t want things to be awkward, but she is concerned he’s regretting what they did. No chance; he grabs her and lays lips on her again. Yeah, naw, my man ain’t got any regrets. She is concerned though—she can’t be the duke’s mistress and a headmistress, and won’t endanger that with a temporary tryst.
They make their way to the tavern, and meet the stableboy, who is actually a girl. August is distracted because, again, Clara is shocking him by doing exactly opposite what every other woman has done. They’ve all wanted more—every mistress he’s had has pushed for marriage or money or material things. Not Clara. “Clara Hayward seemed to want less. And now that he’d kissed her, that was simply unacceptable. She had shaken him to his toes. Just the thought of her mouth on his, the memory of how her thighs had wrapped around his waist, had him hard and restless all over again” (137). But there’s also a different hardness in him—he’s still the ruthless tycoon. “He had never experienced such a feeling before, and he didn’t like it. It reeked of weakness. Flawed ambition.” For the love of all that’s holy, August, stop. You are about to royally screw up. Just STOP (in the name of love, collaborate and listen, Hammertime, whatever). Nope; he hardens himself, and reverts to duke mode. Clara realizes that he owns the tavern—uh oh, that’s where Anne has been working. Yikes. However, he starts to explain how the girl (Miss Baker) and her brothers came to work for him, and she softens a bit—he really does try to help others. Oh, and she, too, cracks on that horrible sign. Man, everyone hates that sign.
Her brother is already there, and we just know something big is going to happen. Things are moving too smoothly. (He, too, has something to say about the sign. I am deeply disappointed that KB didn’t feature that sign on the cover. I really want to see it.) And . . . here it comes; August asks if Harland wants a partner in the shipping company. And Harland fires back, he already has two, Clara and Rose. August is trying to be charming, but is mucking it all up beyond repair. Harland notes that Walter Merrill used to own the Silver Swan . . . until August bought it. So . . . thinks August, I paid him for it. Not good enough, says Harland, that tavern had been in the family for 6 generations. Oh, and did he offer a partnership to Merrill—nope. But Merrill’s not around to share his side, because he was killed by soldiers while smuggling brandy. August is trying to hold his own, but Clara puts on helluva kibosh on the whole thing, telling him the company is NOT for sale, and she now sees that this is why August came to Dover—not for Anne and worse, not for her. He’s been asking about her brother since the start. And she feels dirty because she kissed him and liked it, and wanted to do other things that she would have liked as well. As soon as her brother excuses himself (he’s been called away to another mysterious errand), the gloves come off: “Did you think that if you could get me into your bed, I would put a favorable word in my brother’s ear?” (153) He says that what happened between them had nothing to do with that, but she doesn’t believe him. Finally, she asks if the company was the reason he came to Dover—he admits it was one of them. Yeah, she’s DONE.
He's learned that “the usual rules did not seem to apply when it came to Clara Hayward” and he’s miserable because he is poised to lose her. And then, Mathias Stilton shows up in Dover. WTF. And August refuses to let him see her alone (they aren’t even alone! Harland is there!) so he stands in the library doorway and stares broodingly, throwing in a sarcastic word or two. Okay, so I 100% see this being what inspired the cover art. Lmao, Clara starts drinking, thinking, “bloody hell, but she’d had it with men” (same, girl, same). LAWDHAMMERCY, Stilton wants to take her driving—her—though she’s never indicated any interest in the man. She declines, he tries to change her mind, August steps in, and our stubborn girl changes her mind and decides, yes, she’d like to go driving with Gilderoy, sorry, Stilton. Okay, so I understand you’re irritated that August went full Mansplainer, but girl, you do not want to hang out with Stilton. There’s a reason he is named STILTON (note: I actually like the taste of Stilton cheese, but it is hella funky). August is acting jealous, Clara admits to herself that she’s acting shrewish, and Harland is being a smartass and making me fall in love with him, too:
“Don’t mistake me, Your Grace. If I thought a man was a danger of either of my sisters, I would cut off his balls and nail them to his front door. As a battlefield surgeon, I’m handy with a knife like that, you see.” (165)
August’s reaction: good. She throws back that drink (girl, you are a bigger man than me; I would be coughing and gagging like a sick dragon), and when she opens her eyes, August is standing right in front of her, “his eyes like blue fire.” (I will admit, I am a sucker for blue eyes; my guy has the prettiest blue eyes ever 💙.) He lets her know they WILL continue their conversation—it’s a promise.
So he’s out in the fields when Miss Baker comes to find him. Soldiers are in the tavern, tearing it to bits. Now, remember, nobody knows the duke owns the joint. And these soldiers seem to relish terrorizing the townsfolk. When he gets there, he sees Clara and Anne, and though she’s usually irritated when he steps in, she knows that soldiers ain’t gonna eff with a duke. They’re there because Jonas ran in because August TOLD him to seek out the tavern if he needed help. So now the soldiers are tearing it apart looking for contraband. He throws the king’s name around, soldier haul tail, and he can finally ask why Anne is there, dressed like a scullery maid. Oops. Now, he has learned the real deal about Haverhall’s summer session.
August is still waiting to talk to Clara about that kiss, but it hasn’t happened, so he get the cockamamie idea to bust into one of her classes. He does just that and pushes his way in to a painting session with a naked Lady Theodosia (as Venus of Urbino), who is not at all fazed at being caught in the altogether by a duke (hell, the old girl suggests he could model as well—I wanna be her when I grow up). He, however, is mortified, as he should be. I am not one to preach patience to anyone, but even I wouldn’t do that. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes! 🏆
Random interjection: Venus of Urbino is also featured in another of my favorite books—Grace Callaway’s Regarding the Duke. You’ll be getting some Grace Callaway reviews soon. Her books are fire.
Clara has a way of making him lose his bearings. She asks him what he finds most attractive about her and he has trouble answering, so she flips it and tells him what she finds most attractive about him. And the first two things she says have to do with the way he loves Anne and the way he will defend the vulnerable. And he’s shook. All other women have wanted him for his looks, his title, and his wealth. But not Clara. She doesn’t want to give up her independence to be his duchess. And this moves him to recount what he finds attractive in her, but he ends with a twist: “those are the things that leave me humbled” (188). They’re both excited (hell, Constant reader, I am excited, too) and he admits that he doesn’t want a temporary tryst—he’s been thinking about that since she said it. They were standing in the hallway, but they are scandalously close and clearly beyond excited.
But, oh, there’s a tiny flash of conscience, because he’s still the reason she’s losing Haverhall school. But does it stop him? No. (For the love of God, August. You’ll never get what you really want if you keep lying to her. Lying=bad. It’s that simple. Sigh.)
There is so much between them, but there are also so many issues. She’s trying to teach him to listen to his sister and trust her, but he won’t. There’s a reason, though. See, when his father went to debtor’s prison, young Anne went with him, and she lived that hell for 5 years. It’s actually where she learned how to feed and take care of large numbers of people, which she uses in her hotel training. August is spending his life trying to make it up to her, because he felt he let her down. And he also wants to protect her, almost obsessively. Hm, Clara, now that you know why he’s being a dick, can you look past it? What she doesn’t know is that August has sent for Duncan, who shows up with a tavern sign August commissioned from her sketch. Duncan also provides info on Stilton, who August wanted investigated and starts thinking that Stilton bumped off his wife. Yeah, told you he was a POS. Anne comes in and engages in some mild flirting with Duncan (keep an eye on those two, August, jus sayin) and is totally blown away when she sees he used her sketch to make a sign—she doesn’t know that it took three people, one who was like 11 years old, to convince him her idea had merit. Le sigh. But . . . she mentions that Clara has gone riding with Stinky Cheese Man (SCM) and August’s Spidey sense kicks in. This can’t be good.
And it’s not. See, SCM doesn’t know they’ve lost the fortune, and he’s a gold digger who wants her money. He plans to force her to marry him. When she tells him hell-to-the-no, he insults her “it’s not like you’re going to get a better offer” and “no one else wants you,” which she knows is bullshit since she has a hot duke panting over her. Oh, and speaking of that hot duke:
“ ‘You’ve teased me for long enough,’ Stilton said, and his voice had a coldness that Clara had never heard before. ‘Years I’ve catered to you and your oddities. I’m done waiting. You will marry me. I’ll make sure of it.’
‘She can’t marry a corpse.’ It came from behind Stilton. Stilton’s head jerked up, and his hands loosened in Clara’s hair enough for her to jerk herself away. She staggered back a few steps, out of his reach, her breath coming in harsh gasps.
The Duke of Holloway was standing just behind Stilton, his hands loose at his sides, his body perfectly still. But it was his expression that sent chills shuddering through her. His eyes were feral, his expression black, and there was a dark, barely leashed promise of violence rolling off his body in palpable waves.”
Oh mercy. August is ready to kill the guy. He actually WANTS to kill him. He absolutely would have killed him if Clara didn’t tell him not to. He sends him away, and SCM blurts out several threats. And all Clara can do is be grateful and invite him to dinner with the students. And surprisingly, he understands how major that is. Squeeeeeeeee.
He escorts her to her room, and turns a corner and runs smack into one of his former mistresses, who has been posing for a portrait with Rose. Rose apologizes for Lady Shelley being seen in dishabille, but Lady Shelley says, “His Grace has seen me in far less than a robe.” Rose already called him the Duke of Doxies. This will just reinforce that. Once they’re gone, he goes in and shamelessly snoops through the students’ work. Clara comes to the studio, and sees him looking at Lady Shelley’s portrait. It’s clear they had some sort of relationship (though maybe Rose went straight to her sister to tell her what she witnessed), and Clara asks if he loved her—he didn’t. He admits that he made Anne’s sign. And he asks her to dance, right there, in the studio. Yeah, you know the deal, Constant Reader. Head down to Sex-and-Spoilers.
Anyway, we are back. They have their dinner party, and Clara is spending the time thinking about how August just rocked her world, sexually and in every other way. “ . . . what she felt—the unrelenting longing, the constant desire—this was something that she hadn’t been truly prepared for” (244). But before they can enjoy the dinner, they realize that Anne and Phoebe are missing. And SCM was the last one seen with them. Oh, and SCM had a gun. August is off to rescue his sister, and Harland says he’s coming, too, “in case you don’t kill him right the first time.” But they don’t count on the fact that Anne and Phoebe are tough women, and they rescue themselves. This is major, and I love it! He apologizes for not saving the day, but Anne is finally sick of that song—“I grew up in a prison”! So they finally get their dinner, and he’s so happy to be with the fun, raucous group, and most importantly, Clara.
Oh, but did you think it was going to be as easy as this? Oh no, because there’s still Haverhall to deal with, and you know Clara isn’t going to take that well . . . August abandons London for a little while longer in Dover, and they are blissfully happy, but they have to go back to London, and things will be different. Oh my, they will.
I really want you to read the book, so, as always, I will cruelly abandon you here, Constant Reader. But believe me, there will be a reckoning over Haverhall.
-----------------------------
Now, let’s head to the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section. Don’t read if you’re easily offended. Don’t read if you don’t want it spoiled. I warned you.
Reminder, don’t continue if you don’t want to hear about sex and/or you don’t want to hear about the ending. Second reminder: these are primarily HEAs, which means H (Hero) and h (heroine) are getting together before the last page. Don’t act like you never saw it . . . coming. (Orgasm jokes are actually pretty easy to come up with, lol. And that last pun was NOT intended.)
Sex
There are some great kissing scenes. Not every author does that well, and just glosses over them, but KB rocks stuff like that. Reading about kissing can be incredibly erotic. The actual consummation occurs about ¾ of the way through the book, when they get it on in the art studio. KB sets the scene so well. You can feel the tension in the room and how much they want each other:
“This time he was afraid only that he wouldn’t make this last the way he wanted it to. That he wouldn’t be able to make good on his promise to her that he would take his time, learning what made her whimper and writhe with pleasure.
Because holy hell, he wanted her. Wanted her so badly that he ached everywhere. His skin felt two sizes too small, and his c*ck throbbed. The need to take her then, right there, on the floor in the middle of the damn studio, was pounding through him, making him dizzy with want.” (232)
KB does a masterful job with this scene. It’s tasteful, yet erotic. August ain’t afraid of going down (kudos, Your Grace) or to use his fingers to get his lady there. Clara is also not afraid to get on her knees for her man and the description is detailed. Clara isn’t a virgin (c’mon, we knew my girl wasn’t; she’s too independent to not grab what she wants), and that’s sometimes refreshing in romance novels. We all remember how awkward 99% of first times are, so it’s good to have characters with some experience. Especially when August says things like “I want you to come for me . . . I need you to come right now.” Your wish is my command, Your Grace. By the way, KB adds an interesting sexual wrinkle that I’ve not seen in many other romance novels to this scene; Clara assists at the finish. That part added a star!
They’re happy (seriously, when you read the whole scene, you’ll be happy, too!). “He shook his head, wondering what he was doing. This was usually the part where he got up, set his clothing to rights, and left. Instead he found himself lounging naked on a settee in an art studio with a woman who had just shaken his world to its very foundations, and he was asking her about happiness.” (240)
There’s a second scene about 25 pages later, and Clara came prepared (Lord, contraceptive practices of that time sound painful and uncomfortable. Who knows what infusion she soaked the sponge in, but that has got to sting like if you poured Sea Breeze on your lady bits. Yes, I know of which I speak. Please don’t ask how; just believe me when I say it’s not anything you want to try.)
Some spoiler-y things
There is definitely something between Anne and Duncan. Good for them. We don’t learn much in this book, but the dialogue about it is hilarious:
“ ‘Is he a good man?’
‘The best,’ August groaned, and Clara laughed softly.” (265)
Rose has totally changed how she feels about August—my man has redeemed himself in the eyes of little sister and that means a ton because you will never find a more jaded, cynical person (cannot wait to share book 2 with you). “Your duke is not like the others.” (300)
The next books
The next books cover the other Hayward siblings. Yep, even Harland gets his HEA. Whoop!
More from Kelly Bowen
Jump into her Season for Scandal series. I may like that one even better! 💝 She always has badassed strong heroines and hot men, and I’m loving it.
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