Grace Callaway - The Duke Who Knew Too Much

A Stranger to Love
Alaric McLeod, Duke of Strathaven, is known as the Devil Duke for his wicked ways. Tormented by his past, Alaric knows better than to trust a woman yet finds himself ensnared by a spirited, virtuous virgin—who accuses him of a crime he didn’t commit. Is she his foe... or his salvation?
A Novice to Desire
Emma Kent is an independent country miss cast adrift in the ton. When a depraved encounter with an arrogant rake lands her in intrigue, Emma’s honor compels her to do the right thing. But desire challenges her quest for justice, and she must decide: can she trust her heart to discover the truth?
Bound by Passion and Peril
Alaric and Emma engage in a battle of wits and will. As their attraction flares, the true enemy stalks their every move. With danger looming, will they solve the mystery and find true love— before it’s too late?

Comment: I got interested in this book because of the different class type of trope this seemed to indicate. I'm always interested in seeing how authors present some of the tropes I liked the best and while this book wasn't the best for me, it wasn't that bad either...

In this story we meet Alaric, the duke of Strathaven, a man everyone agrees to be ruthless but clever, but that many don't know that he hides a childhood of pain and sadness. His first marriage failed but he is aware he must marry again to secure his dukedom, but he wasn't counting on miss Emma Kent. 

She is already in the shelf according to many and she much prefers her country life than this ballroom nonsense, but there are her younger sisters to consider and, after years of sacrifice and poverty, even though with a loving family, she hopes to give the example and help them find good husbands too. She and the duke butt heads from the start and Emma assumes wrong when faced with a scenario she couldn't understand. 

Due to her actions, the duke is looked upon as a possible murderer so he decides to show her how wrong she is. As these two spend more and more time together, both realize the other might be exactly who they need to be happy... but will Alaric's past and how he feels about it allow him to grasp happiness?

I can't really pinpoint why this book only felt like average to me. The elements are all there to make me think of the characters and of their decisions as something I tend to like to see develop in an historical romance, but somehow I was only mildly devoted to this book and when I had to put it down for some reason, although I kept thinking about one scene or one element here and there, it wasn't that difficult to do so. Usually this can be an indicator of how much one is eager or not.

I liked the premise, two people from different backgrounds, with very different childhood and young years, which helped to shape their views of their surroundings and of how others should see them. Alaric is a duke and has all the traits one often thinks of when the word "duke" is used, but he was one of those heroes whose past isn't a happy one and now that he is a grown up and manages to many important hings, he still can't let go of his childhood traumas to realize what was isn't what is and his behavior doesn't have to be dictated by that. Obviously, if all heroes were always this smart, sometimes we wouldn't have plots to last long enough....

Emma felt a little more interesting to me, it's true she is a very naive young woman regarding certain things but we are told she lived in the country and had to take over the family obligations so these tasks and responsibility might have given enough reason to wish better things for her younger siblings, which is understandable. I also liked her personality but I must say that using her innocence of what happens among more sexually experienced people as a way to prove how much "better" she is feels a little too convenient. For me, she could still be a good innocent person, but does she have to be that naive anyway? One can be innocent or good-hearted and not a mary sue...

Their romance had interesting scenes and situations but I feel some authors don't delay the sexual tension for long enough, or with enough patience to show case the longing well enough. It's always riveting to present a couple who view sex differently and how can they be a couple and feel happy with each others' preferences or by learning together how to be in sync at that level, but it feels as if these things happen so soon in a romance... I think I'd have preferred them to get to that point a bit later, after those feelings and reality could be a bit closer in time... this way it feels that what brought them together was lust and hat comes after is just because this has to be a romance.

As the plot moves along, as expected, both protagonists develop their relationship and we can see them interacting with secondary characters and develop those relationships too. I especially liked that we got to see Alaric become closer to his brother, which was something they weren't when the story begins. There is also another character that is part of Alaric's life that affected a lot of his experiences and that I felt wasn't developed as well as it could have been. I liked Emma's sisters and brothers and it seems as if the sisters will have books too, I just can't say if I feel like reading them right away or if at all.

There is also a sort of mystery being investigated, someone clearly is trying to kill the duke or harm him enough, and I did like this segment of the story... too bad we have way too many sex related stuff ongoing, perhaps a different focus might have elevated this story for me. The road to catch the culprit was interestingly done and I admit I didn't really think of obvious things until a certain moment, so this aspect wasn't too bad for me.

All in all, not bad like I said, but the overall sensation is that this might have been stronger.

Grade: 6/10