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Difficult Dukes #1
A Duke in Shining Armor
Not all dukes are created equal. Most are upstanding members of Society. And then there’s the trio known as Their Dis-Graces.
Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, will never win prizes for virtue. But even he draws the line at running off with his best friend’s bride. All ’s trying to do is recapture the slightly inebriated Lady Olympia Hightower and return her to her intended bridegroom.
For reasons that elude her, bookish, bespectacled Olympia is supposed to marry a gorgeous rake of a duke. The ton is flabbergasted. Her family’s ecstatic. And Olympia? S’s climbing out of a window, bent on a getaway. But tall, dark, and exasperating Ripley is hot on her trail, determined to bring her back to his friend. For once, the world-famous hellion is trying to do the honorable thing.
So why does Olympia have to make it so deliciously difficult for him . . . ?
Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, will never win prizes for virtue. But even he draws the line at running off with his best friend’s bride. All ’s trying to do is recapture the slightly inebriated Lady Olympia Hightower and return her to her intended bridegroom.
For reasons that elude her, bookish, bespectacled Olympia is supposed to marry a gorgeous rake of a duke. The ton is flabbergasted. Her family’s ecstatic. And Olympia? S’s climbing out of a window, bent on a getaway. But tall, dark, and exasperating Ripley is hot on her trail, determined to bring her back to his friend. For once, the world-famous hellion is trying to do the honorable thing.
So why does Olympia have to make it so deliciously difficult for him . . . ?
388 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 28, 2017
760 people are currently reading
4,512 people want to read
About the author
Loretta Chase
51books3,596followersLoretta Lynda Chekani was born in 1949, of Albanian ancestry. For her, the trouble started when she learned to write in first grade. Before then, she had been making up her own stories but now she knew how to write them down to share. In her teenage years, she continue to write letters, keep a journal, write poetry and even attempt the Great American Novel (still unfinished). She attended New England public schools, before she went off to college and earned an English degree from Clark University.
After graduation, she worked a variety of jobs at Clark including a part-time teaching post. She was also moonlighting as a video scriptwriter. It was there that she met a video producer who inspired her to write novels and marry him. Under her married name, Loretta Chase, has been publishing historical romance novels since 1987. Her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA.
After graduation, she worked a variety of jobs at Clark including a part-time teaching post. She was also moonlighting as a video scriptwriter. It was there that she met a video producer who inspired her to write novels and marry him. Under her married name, Loretta Chase, has been publishing historical romance novels since 1987. Her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA.
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January 4, 2022loretta, i love you but this is so fcking boring. dnf @ 60%
June 26, 2022
I really liked this one, but not quite as much as I did the 2nd book in the series Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, which I actually read 1st. Because I'm badass like that and don't bother with pesky things like the correct order.
And since this is a romance, you can get away with that and not affect the enjoyment level of the individual stories much, if any at all.
Ok. So Olympia gets pressured by her well-meaning (but broke) family into accepting the offer of marriage from Ashmont, a Duke with a bad reputation as a drunken idiot, best known for ridiculous pranks.
In her family's defense, he really seems to think Olympia is amazing.
However, on the day of the wedding, Olympia imbibes a bit too much brandy, decides the thought of spending the rest of her life with a grown man who has the self-control of a drunk toddler isn't for her, hurls herself out a window, and goes full-on Runaway Bride. Fortunately, Hugh (Ashmont's best friend) sees her tipsy take-off and chases after her to save the day.
So, of course, after hanging out with the adorable Olympia on a comically prolonged road trip, he secretly falls in love with her and she, naturally, secretly falls right back in love with him.
Complications arise.
Mostly, just that she's still technically engaged to his childhood BFF, and Crazy Ashmont probably won't take the news that Hugh has snaked his girl out from underneath him very well.
But lots of romance-y things happen and Hugh decides that it's a clear case of Hoes before Bros.
And luckily, the boys manage to solve their problems maturely.
Pistols at Dawn!
But hey, this is a romance, so don't worry too much about someone dying from a bullet wound.
I haven't really been seeking out stories by Loretta Chase, but the two books in this series are making me sit up and take notice of this author.
Recommended!
And since this is a romance, you can get away with that and not affect the enjoyment level of the individual stories much, if any at all.
Ok. So Olympia gets pressured by her well-meaning (but broke) family into accepting the offer of marriage from Ashmont, a Duke with a bad reputation as a drunken idiot, best known for ridiculous pranks.
In her family's defense, he really seems to think Olympia is amazing.
However, on the day of the wedding, Olympia imbibes a bit too much brandy, decides the thought of spending the rest of her life with a grown man who has the self-control of a drunk toddler isn't for her, hurls herself out a window, and goes full-on Runaway Bride. Fortunately, Hugh (Ashmont's best friend) sees her tipsy take-off and chases after her to save the day.
So, of course, after hanging out with the adorable Olympia on a comically prolonged road trip, he secretly falls in love with her and she, naturally, secretly falls right back in love with him.
Complications arise.
Mostly, just that she's still technically engaged to his childhood BFF, and Crazy Ashmont probably won't take the news that Hugh has snaked his girl out from underneath him very well.
But lots of romance-y things happen and Hugh decides that it's a clear case of Hoes before Bros.
And luckily, the boys manage to solve their problems maturely.
Pistols at Dawn!
But hey, this is a romance, so don't worry too much about someone dying from a bullet wound.
I haven't really been seeking out stories by Loretta Chase, but the two books in this series are making me sit up and take notice of this author.
Recommended!
December 3, 2017
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Olympia is dangerously close to being on the shelf but when she serendipitously catches the attention of a duke, she has a chance to help her large family from financial ruin.
The Duke of Ripley is doing all he can to help his bestfriend not flub up his wedding but he should have been paying attention to the bride. When he sees her make a run for it, he chases her.
They're not meant to be together but they also wouldn't have it any other way.
He was trying desperately to find a way out of whatever it was he'd got himself into.
The first in a new series, A Duke in Shining Armor introduces us to the three Dis-Graces, dukes who have a bit of a tainted reputation because of the antics they have gotten up to over the years. The Duke of Ashmont has the face of angel but a bit of a drinking problem. Through some reverse psychology his uncle gets him to really pay attention to Olympia and offer for her. Just returned from a trip on the continent our hero, the Duke of Ripley, has come across Olympia at balls and such but tried to keep his attention of her to the peripheral as he wasn't ready to grow up yet. This latent attraction becomes the source of his problem.
This is a road romance that from page one hits the ground running and doesn't let up into well into the second half of the book. Ripley and Olympia have a bit of madcap adventures as they constantly spout wit back and forth. It gave them some spark but the duration and focus of it, came at the expense of some depth. Their dialogue had a tendency to come off as them talking at each other instead of with and I had a hard time getting to know them.
He'd said things and looked at her in ways other men didn't, and the combination had started to make her think she wasn't altogether the young woman she'd always believed she was. She knew rakes were dangerous but she hadn't understood how subtle the danger could be. Her ideas about a great many subjects were threatening revolution.
Along with their dialogue lacking exploring other emotions for most of the book, the vast majority (I think the last 5% goes a week into the future) takes place within 4 days, the first 50% of the story is the first day. I will say, even with this time frame, it doesn't feel like insta-love, which is a credit to the author's writing. The author has Ripley admit to himself a couple times that he always noticed Olympia and liked her personality and Olympia remembering having a pining moment over Ripley dancing with someone else but we don't get the scenes of a solid emotional growing between beginning attraction that I personally look for and enjoy.
"What are you doing?" he said.
"I'm being unsubtle," she said.
With the hero and heroine busy being witty and flitting around, I never gained a strong grasp of who they were. Olympia was probably the stronger of the two with her large family driving her to marriage and feeling like she didn't belong because she was voted the most boring debutante years in a row, which felt brought up more than enough. Her love of books and categorizing books is discussed but I would have liked some family interaction scenes or if she had friends; scenes that help show more personality and different nuances of a character. Ripley is given a very vague bad past with an ill father and though he has scenes with his friends, the Duke of Ashmont who's bride he's accidentally stealing and his brother-in-law the Duke of Blackwood, we're not shown how they became friends or what really binds them together. I was left with a lot of questions regarding Ripley and who he was.
Ripley was a disgrace and had been for years, but this had to be the worst thing he'd done in his life.
Yet it seemed to him the best thing he'd ever done.
The last 15% or so was more of what I was looking for, Ripley and Olympia seemed to talk with each other more and I began to feel their emotional connection, but it would have been great to have that start more towards the middle of the book. They also start to hit the sheets more but I frankly could have done with more of the platonic growing together at the time. Ashmont definitely doesn't shine here but as I'm sure he'll get the chance to be a hero of his own book, his redemption will interesting. The other friend Blackwood and his wife (Ripley's sister) seemingly have a secret frosty relationship that raises a lot of questions. With all the dukes running around, even I started to get fatigued but it's still a hard title to say no to. In a very small side story that managed to kind of steal the show for me, Ripley’s aunt seems to have a very interesting hurt and angry past with Ashmont’s uncle. The emotion and tension could be cut with a knife whenever the two were in a room and I’m greatly looking forward to seeing what comes of them.
With a bit too much wit and one-upping sarcasm for its own good and short time duration, this didn't start providing enough emotional building blocks for me until closer at the end. This author's writing is always engaging though and if you're in the mood for a quick paced witty back and forth, this definitely would provide.
Olympia is dangerously close to being on the shelf but when she serendipitously catches the attention of a duke, she has a chance to help her large family from financial ruin.
The Duke of Ripley is doing all he can to help his bestfriend not flub up his wedding but he should have been paying attention to the bride. When he sees her make a run for it, he chases her.
They're not meant to be together but they also wouldn't have it any other way.
He was trying desperately to find a way out of whatever it was he'd got himself into.
The first in a new series, A Duke in Shining Armor introduces us to the three Dis-Graces, dukes who have a bit of a tainted reputation because of the antics they have gotten up to over the years. The Duke of Ashmont has the face of angel but a bit of a drinking problem. Through some reverse psychology his uncle gets him to really pay attention to Olympia and offer for her. Just returned from a trip on the continent our hero, the Duke of Ripley, has come across Olympia at balls and such but tried to keep his attention of her to the peripheral as he wasn't ready to grow up yet. This latent attraction becomes the source of his problem.
This is a road romance that from page one hits the ground running and doesn't let up into well into the second half of the book. Ripley and Olympia have a bit of madcap adventures as they constantly spout wit back and forth. It gave them some spark but the duration and focus of it, came at the expense of some depth. Their dialogue had a tendency to come off as them talking at each other instead of with and I had a hard time getting to know them.
He'd said things and looked at her in ways other men didn't, and the combination had started to make her think she wasn't altogether the young woman she'd always believed she was. She knew rakes were dangerous but she hadn't understood how subtle the danger could be. Her ideas about a great many subjects were threatening revolution.
Along with their dialogue lacking exploring other emotions for most of the book, the vast majority (I think the last 5% goes a week into the future) takes place within 4 days, the first 50% of the story is the first day. I will say, even with this time frame, it doesn't feel like insta-love, which is a credit to the author's writing. The author has Ripley admit to himself a couple times that he always noticed Olympia and liked her personality and Olympia remembering having a pining moment over Ripley dancing with someone else but we don't get the scenes of a solid emotional growing between beginning attraction that I personally look for and enjoy.
"What are you doing?" he said.
"I'm being unsubtle," she said.
With the hero and heroine busy being witty and flitting around, I never gained a strong grasp of who they were. Olympia was probably the stronger of the two with her large family driving her to marriage and feeling like she didn't belong because she was voted the most boring debutante years in a row, which felt brought up more than enough. Her love of books and categorizing books is discussed but I would have liked some family interaction scenes or if she had friends; scenes that help show more personality and different nuances of a character. Ripley is given a very vague bad past with an ill father and though he has scenes with his friends, the Duke of Ashmont who's bride he's accidentally stealing and his brother-in-law the Duke of Blackwood, we're not shown how they became friends or what really binds them together. I was left with a lot of questions regarding Ripley and who he was.
Ripley was a disgrace and had been for years, but this had to be the worst thing he'd done in his life.
Yet it seemed to him the best thing he'd ever done.
The last 15% or so was more of what I was looking for, Ripley and Olympia seemed to talk with each other more and I began to feel their emotional connection, but it would have been great to have that start more towards the middle of the book. They also start to hit the sheets more but I frankly could have done with more of the platonic growing together at the time. Ashmont definitely doesn't shine here but as I'm sure he'll get the chance to be a hero of his own book, his redemption will interesting. The other friend Blackwood and his wife (Ripley's sister) seemingly have a secret frosty relationship that raises a lot of questions. With all the dukes running around, even I started to get fatigued but it's still a hard title to say no to. In a very small side story that managed to kind of steal the show for me, Ripley’s aunt seems to have a very interesting hurt and angry past with Ashmont’s uncle. The emotion and tension could be cut with a knife whenever the two were in a room and I’m greatly looking forward to seeing what comes of them.
With a bit too much wit and one-upping sarcasm for its own good and short time duration, this didn't start providing enough emotional building blocks for me until closer at the end. This author's writing is always engaging though and if you're in the mood for a quick paced witty back and forth, this definitely would provide.
May 27, 2019
Runaway bride alert!
Olivia, a bookish Regency lady who wears spectacles, gets a surprise proposal from the handsome Duke of Ashmont and agrees to marry him. Everyone is thrilled ... except Olivia. She's sure Ashmont doesn't really care about her. The morning of her wedding, her courage bolstered by some alcohol, she climbs out of a window before the ceremony and takes off for ... who knows where? Not Olivia, that's for sure.
Ashmont's close friend, the Duke of Ripley, sees her and takes off after her, with the plan of protecting her from harm and persuading her to come back and marry Ashmont. As one thing after another goes wrong, Ripley and Olivia start to connect. But clearly it's impossible to pursue a relationship between them, especially in Regency society. Clearly. Of course.
Loretta Chase is usually a great choice if you’re looking for a well-written historical romance with interesting characters, humorous dialogue, and a large helping of steaminess, but this one just didn’t do it for me. The first half follows Olivia's and Ripley's misadventures around town. For whatever reason I found it incredibly tedious.
The second half - though much more interesting - involves (sort of a spoiler but, c’mon, could anyone really be surprised?) But what’s a couple to do when they’re out in a rainstorm, but luckily there’s an empty cottage nearby (there always is) where they can take shelter from the storm?
2.5 stars.
Olivia, a bookish Regency lady who wears spectacles, gets a surprise proposal from the handsome Duke of Ashmont and agrees to marry him. Everyone is thrilled ... except Olivia. She's sure Ashmont doesn't really care about her. The morning of her wedding, her courage bolstered by some alcohol, she climbs out of a window before the ceremony and takes off for ... who knows where? Not Olivia, that's for sure.
Ashmont's close friend, the Duke of Ripley, sees her and takes off after her, with the plan of protecting her from harm and persuading her to come back and marry Ashmont. As one thing after another goes wrong, Ripley and Olivia start to connect. But clearly it's impossible to pursue a relationship between them, especially in Regency society. Clearly. Of course.
Loretta Chase is usually a great choice if you’re looking for a well-written historical romance with interesting characters, humorous dialogue, and a large helping of steaminess, but this one just didn’t do it for me. The first half follows Olivia's and Ripley's misadventures around town. For whatever reason I found it incredibly tedious.
The second half - though much more interesting - involves (sort of a spoiler but, c’mon, could anyone really be surprised?) But what’s a couple to do when they’re out in a rainstorm, but luckily there’s an empty cottage nearby (there always is) where they can take shelter from the storm?
2.5 stars.
December 18, 2017
I've given this an A at AAR.
A new book from Loretta Chase is always cause for celebration, and her latest,ADuke in Shining Armor, gets her new Difficult Dukes trilogy off to a start worthy of much festivity. On the face of it, it’s the very simple story of two people falling in love with the ‘wrong� (right) person and having to decide what they are willing to risk to be together; but this is Loretta Chase and in her hands, ‘simple� encompasses fully-rounded characters with real emotional depth, lots and lots of wonderful, witty dialogue, a beautifully developed romance and a good helping of sharp-eyed social observation.
Lady Olympia Hightower, only daughter of the Earl of Gonerby, has spent the majority of her seven London Seasons sitting on the sidelines with the wallflowers and dowagers. S’s practical, sensible, not the least bit dashing and not the sort of young lady men notice. In fact, her one claim to fame is that she has been votedMost Boring Girl of the Seasonfor seven years in a row. So the last thing she expects is to receive a marriage proposal from the gorgeously handsome but dissolute Duke of Ashmont, referred to as ‘His Grace with the Angel Face� by his closest friends and fellow Dis-Graces, the Duke of Blackwood and the Duke of Ripley. With financially irresponsible parents and six brothers to be provided for Olympia knows what must be done. Ashmont is well-heeled � if not especially well-behaved � so she accepts his proposal and preparations for the wedding go on apace.
Hugh Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, has literally just returned from a year spent abroad, so is surprised, on the eve of the wedding, to be pressed into service as groomsman. He does his job well; Ashmont arrives on time the next morning (albeit a little worse for wear from the previous night’s carouse and subsequent fight) and now all that is wanted is the blushing bride � of whom there is no sign. Worried that the longer the wait, the drunker and more aggressive Ashmont will become, Ripley tries to find her � only to come upon her when s’s half-way out the library window declaring her intention to take a breath of air in Kensington Gardens. In her wedding dress. In the rain. It’s obvious Olympia has been crying and he can also smell the strong whiff of brandy about her � but before he can stop her, s’s out of the window and running away. Ripley tells himself he shouldn’t be the one to hare off in pursuit � s’s not his fiancée after all � but Ashmont put him in charge of ensuring the wedding goes smoothly, and it can’t do that without a bride. After a brief hesitation, he follows her and the pair embarks upon the journey if not quite from hell, then one in which pretty much everything that can go wrong � does.
Ripley tries to persuade Olympia to return for the ceremony, but when it becomes clear she has no intention of doing so, he agrees to escort her to her aunt’s home in Twickenham. Ever the optimist, Ripley tells himself that a few hours shouldn’t make too much difference. Olympia’s disappearance will be dismissed as yet another of the ridiculous pranks he and his friends are known for; they’ll all have a laugh, Olympia will have sobered up and the wedding will go ahead � merely a few hours later than advertised. Following a cramped hackney ride, a disastrous boat trip on the Thames, a heated altercation with a ruffian about a dog and an accident that leaves Ripley almost unable to walk, the couple arrives, only to discover that Aunt Delia is from home. So instead, Ripley takes Olympia to the home of his favourite aunt, the widowed Lady Charles Ancaster. By this time, of course, his and Olympia’s absence will have been widely noted, his two best friends are likely hard on their heels and Ashmont will no doubt be thinking the worst.
And, for Ripley, things are worse. How on earth he managed to overlook the quick-witted, sometimes acerbic, self-deprecating and utterly captivating young woman now travelling with him is beyond him. Olympia is lovely, clever, funny, more than able to hold her own in their battle of wits � and Ripley is well and truly smitten. But s’s not his and can’t be � Ashmont is his friend and Olympia is his intended bride. And while s’s perfect duchess material Ripley becomes increasingly certain she shouldn’t become Ashmont’s duchess. Yet how can he possibly contemplate stooping so low as to steal her out from under his friend’s nose? He’s a scoundrel and a reprobate with a reputation as black as pitch � but ’s nonetheless a gentleman and no matter what debaucheries he may have indulged in in the past, this is one line he cannot � will not � cross. But oh, how he wants to.
While Ripley learns that Olympia has always been seriously underappreciated and that even her own view of herself � as nothing more than practical, proper and boring � is very skewed, Olympia is discovering the real Ripley, charming, kind, witty, perceptive and increasingly � and unnervingly � attractive. Good, boring, practical girls like her aren’t attracted to rakes, but it’s impossible for her to deny that’s exactly what s’s feeling. S’s surprised when Ripley describes her as ‘dashing� and ‘exciting� or being too clever and lively for the company she keeps, and tries to tell him s’s none of those things � but he won’t have it.
“Bolting from your wedding� Climbing over the wall. Falling out of the boat. Whatever else one might say about you � and I’m not sure what to say, frankly � boring isn’t on the list.�
One of the great things about road-trip romances is that they require the hero and heroine to be in close proximity for almost all the story and Ms. Chase really makes the most of this. The couple have many delightful, awkward, often very funny conversations en route, during which Ripley demonstrates much good-natured wit and perspicacity (and a surprising love of romance novels!), while Olympia tries to maintain a kind of poker-faced indifference and fails spectacularly in the face of Ripley’s adorably relentless optimism. I normally find relationships that develop over short time-spans to be unsatisfying, but that’s not the case here, as the author manages to imbue a romance that develops over just three days with the same depth of understanding and connection as one that evolves over a longer period of time. In fact, as Olympia herself says later in the book:
“It’s dawned on me that you and I have spent more time together than most couples do before they’re wed. And so we must know each other rather better than most.�
Given the restrictions placed upon interactions between unmarried men and women at this time, I’m fairly sure s’s right!
The thorny issue of male honour is the biggest road-block on the path to the HEA, something most heroines see as ridiculous and pig-headed � and I suspect many modern readers will agree with that assessment. But really, it’s more than that. Ripley is genuinely fond of Ashmont; they grew up together and he doesn’t want to hurt his friend, but he also knows that Ashmont will make Olympia unhappy, and he can’t bear the thought of the woman he loves being miserable. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, but ultimately, is prepared to stand up and fight for what he wants; and his determination to do the right thing is admirable.
A Duke in Shining Armor is a thoroughly entertaining, low-angst read that’s bursting at the seams with humour, warmth and intelligence. The focus is squarely on Ripley and Olympia and their growing relationship, and there is a nicely drawn cast of secondary characters, including the other two Dis-Graces, Blackwood � who appears to be estranged from his wife (Ripley’s sister) � and Ashmont, who manages to be immature, hot-headed and strangely endearing all at once. I’m looking forward to both their stories in future books and also to learning more of Ripley’s Aunt Julia, who, it seems, has an unhappy love story in her past.
If you love character-driven romances, a charming, sexy hero with a cracking sense of humour and a heroine who can keep up with him every step of the way, A Duke in Shining Armor is sure to delight.
A new book from Loretta Chase is always cause for celebration, and her latest,ADuke in Shining Armor, gets her new Difficult Dukes trilogy off to a start worthy of much festivity. On the face of it, it’s the very simple story of two people falling in love with the ‘wrong� (right) person and having to decide what they are willing to risk to be together; but this is Loretta Chase and in her hands, ‘simple� encompasses fully-rounded characters with real emotional depth, lots and lots of wonderful, witty dialogue, a beautifully developed romance and a good helping of sharp-eyed social observation.
Lady Olympia Hightower, only daughter of the Earl of Gonerby, has spent the majority of her seven London Seasons sitting on the sidelines with the wallflowers and dowagers. S’s practical, sensible, not the least bit dashing and not the sort of young lady men notice. In fact, her one claim to fame is that she has been votedMost Boring Girl of the Seasonfor seven years in a row. So the last thing she expects is to receive a marriage proposal from the gorgeously handsome but dissolute Duke of Ashmont, referred to as ‘His Grace with the Angel Face� by his closest friends and fellow Dis-Graces, the Duke of Blackwood and the Duke of Ripley. With financially irresponsible parents and six brothers to be provided for Olympia knows what must be done. Ashmont is well-heeled � if not especially well-behaved � so she accepts his proposal and preparations for the wedding go on apace.
Hugh Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, has literally just returned from a year spent abroad, so is surprised, on the eve of the wedding, to be pressed into service as groomsman. He does his job well; Ashmont arrives on time the next morning (albeit a little worse for wear from the previous night’s carouse and subsequent fight) and now all that is wanted is the blushing bride � of whom there is no sign. Worried that the longer the wait, the drunker and more aggressive Ashmont will become, Ripley tries to find her � only to come upon her when s’s half-way out the library window declaring her intention to take a breath of air in Kensington Gardens. In her wedding dress. In the rain. It’s obvious Olympia has been crying and he can also smell the strong whiff of brandy about her � but before he can stop her, s’s out of the window and running away. Ripley tells himself he shouldn’t be the one to hare off in pursuit � s’s not his fiancée after all � but Ashmont put him in charge of ensuring the wedding goes smoothly, and it can’t do that without a bride. After a brief hesitation, he follows her and the pair embarks upon the journey if not quite from hell, then one in which pretty much everything that can go wrong � does.
Ripley tries to persuade Olympia to return for the ceremony, but when it becomes clear she has no intention of doing so, he agrees to escort her to her aunt’s home in Twickenham. Ever the optimist, Ripley tells himself that a few hours shouldn’t make too much difference. Olympia’s disappearance will be dismissed as yet another of the ridiculous pranks he and his friends are known for; they’ll all have a laugh, Olympia will have sobered up and the wedding will go ahead � merely a few hours later than advertised. Following a cramped hackney ride, a disastrous boat trip on the Thames, a heated altercation with a ruffian about a dog and an accident that leaves Ripley almost unable to walk, the couple arrives, only to discover that Aunt Delia is from home. So instead, Ripley takes Olympia to the home of his favourite aunt, the widowed Lady Charles Ancaster. By this time, of course, his and Olympia’s absence will have been widely noted, his two best friends are likely hard on their heels and Ashmont will no doubt be thinking the worst.
And, for Ripley, things are worse. How on earth he managed to overlook the quick-witted, sometimes acerbic, self-deprecating and utterly captivating young woman now travelling with him is beyond him. Olympia is lovely, clever, funny, more than able to hold her own in their battle of wits � and Ripley is well and truly smitten. But s’s not his and can’t be � Ashmont is his friend and Olympia is his intended bride. And while s’s perfect duchess material Ripley becomes increasingly certain she shouldn’t become Ashmont’s duchess. Yet how can he possibly contemplate stooping so low as to steal her out from under his friend’s nose? He’s a scoundrel and a reprobate with a reputation as black as pitch � but ’s nonetheless a gentleman and no matter what debaucheries he may have indulged in in the past, this is one line he cannot � will not � cross. But oh, how he wants to.
While Ripley learns that Olympia has always been seriously underappreciated and that even her own view of herself � as nothing more than practical, proper and boring � is very skewed, Olympia is discovering the real Ripley, charming, kind, witty, perceptive and increasingly � and unnervingly � attractive. Good, boring, practical girls like her aren’t attracted to rakes, but it’s impossible for her to deny that’s exactly what s’s feeling. S’s surprised when Ripley describes her as ‘dashing� and ‘exciting� or being too clever and lively for the company she keeps, and tries to tell him s’s none of those things � but he won’t have it.
“Bolting from your wedding� Climbing over the wall. Falling out of the boat. Whatever else one might say about you � and I’m not sure what to say, frankly � boring isn’t on the list.�
One of the great things about road-trip romances is that they require the hero and heroine to be in close proximity for almost all the story and Ms. Chase really makes the most of this. The couple have many delightful, awkward, often very funny conversations en route, during which Ripley demonstrates much good-natured wit and perspicacity (and a surprising love of romance novels!), while Olympia tries to maintain a kind of poker-faced indifference and fails spectacularly in the face of Ripley’s adorably relentless optimism. I normally find relationships that develop over short time-spans to be unsatisfying, but that’s not the case here, as the author manages to imbue a romance that develops over just three days with the same depth of understanding and connection as one that evolves over a longer period of time. In fact, as Olympia herself says later in the book:
“It’s dawned on me that you and I have spent more time together than most couples do before they’re wed. And so we must know each other rather better than most.�
Given the restrictions placed upon interactions between unmarried men and women at this time, I’m fairly sure s’s right!
The thorny issue of male honour is the biggest road-block on the path to the HEA, something most heroines see as ridiculous and pig-headed � and I suspect many modern readers will agree with that assessment. But really, it’s more than that. Ripley is genuinely fond of Ashmont; they grew up together and he doesn’t want to hurt his friend, but he also knows that Ashmont will make Olympia unhappy, and he can’t bear the thought of the woman he loves being miserable. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, but ultimately, is prepared to stand up and fight for what he wants; and his determination to do the right thing is admirable.
A Duke in Shining Armor is a thoroughly entertaining, low-angst read that’s bursting at the seams with humour, warmth and intelligence. The focus is squarely on Ripley and Olympia and their growing relationship, and there is a nicely drawn cast of secondary characters, including the other two Dis-Graces, Blackwood � who appears to be estranged from his wife (Ripley’s sister) � and Ashmont, who manages to be immature, hot-headed and strangely endearing all at once. I’m looking forward to both their stories in future books and also to learning more of Ripley’s Aunt Julia, who, it seems, has an unhappy love story in her past.
If you love character-driven romances, a charming, sexy hero with a cracking sense of humour and a heroine who can keep up with him every step of the way, A Duke in Shining Armor is sure to delight.
April 27, 2019
This was 2.5 stars because, well, Loretta Chase. And she can write, no doubt about that.
But I was a bit underwhelmed by this story.
I have a number of gripes, but probably my biggest was the incredible immaturity and downright shallow idiocy of the three dukes in it, and I am including our purported hero. They have lived (and one of them was still living) a life of empty drunkenness, debauchery and high school pranks. I don't really care if they had a miserable childhood. They were powerful, wealthy and attractive. There is no excuse for being a f***wit, wallowing in self-indulgent hedonism and planning things like a dinner party where only stutterers are invited so they can fall about laughing. Really? Am I still in boarding school? Is it fun to ruin other people's balls and parties? To get vomiting drunk every night? Maybe when you are 16. These guys are apparently 29!
I am over these boring rakes. I want to read about grown-up men who give a damn, have an intellect and purpose, and can have a mature and meaningful relationship with a woman. Sure, they can have hang-ups. Be traumatised. Whatever. What turns them into heroes is their ability to rise above that.
So we have Olympia, a terrific heroine with a great sense of humour and keen intelligence. Yet she falls in love with a spoilt brat, Ripley. Why she would want to have anything to do with any of these guys is beyond me. Great sex- awesome. Until the novelty wears off. And please don't give me the "she will be the one to save him and turn him into the man he is meant to be" shite. That is not her job. That is his job.
My second big gripe was that bloody duel. Just another example of these blokes' stupid, infantile attitude to life.
And don't get me started on Olympia's fiancé- a bigger, DUMBER douche would be hard to find. I hope he doesn't become the "hero" in another book. Frankly, sub-normal intelligence coupled with alcoholism does not make him a good prospect for marriage :) LC had a similar hero in . (I didn't like his promiscuous, illegitimate baby-making, female-sharing arse, either.)
I just didn't feel the young men in this book were grown-ups. And that is why I am so disappointed.
But I was a bit underwhelmed by this story.
I have a number of gripes, but probably my biggest was the incredible immaturity and downright shallow idiocy of the three dukes in it, and I am including our purported hero. They have lived (and one of them was still living) a life of empty drunkenness, debauchery and high school pranks. I don't really care if they had a miserable childhood. They were powerful, wealthy and attractive. There is no excuse for being a f***wit, wallowing in self-indulgent hedonism and planning things like a dinner party where only stutterers are invited so they can fall about laughing. Really? Am I still in boarding school? Is it fun to ruin other people's balls and parties? To get vomiting drunk every night? Maybe when you are 16. These guys are apparently 29!
I am over these boring rakes. I want to read about grown-up men who give a damn, have an intellect and purpose, and can have a mature and meaningful relationship with a woman. Sure, they can have hang-ups. Be traumatised. Whatever. What turns them into heroes is their ability to rise above that.
So we have Olympia, a terrific heroine with a great sense of humour and keen intelligence. Yet she falls in love with a spoilt brat, Ripley. Why she would want to have anything to do with any of these guys is beyond me. Great sex- awesome. Until the novelty wears off. And please don't give me the "she will be the one to save him and turn him into the man he is meant to be" shite. That is not her job. That is his job.
My second big gripe was that bloody duel. Just another example of these blokes' stupid, infantile attitude to life.
And don't get me started on Olympia's fiancé- a bigger, DUMBER douche would be hard to find. I hope he doesn't become the "hero" in another book. Frankly, sub-normal intelligence coupled with alcoholism does not make him a good prospect for marriage :) LC had a similar hero in . (I didn't like his promiscuous, illegitimate baby-making, female-sharing arse, either.)
I just didn't feel the young men in this book were grown-ups. And that is why I am so disappointed.
July 26, 2020
Oh, no. Sad. If there's one HR author I count on to give me a reliably good read, it's Loretta Chase. Well, there's also Meredith Duran (at least I hope she'll write again), Cecilia Grant (where in the world is she anyway?), Jayne Fresina, Sherry Thomas, and possibly Courtney Milan, but we're talking Chase right now, author of LORD OF SCOUNDRELS, THE HELLION, and many more HRs that I find immensely readable.
So, anyway, this new book is first in a series about three badly-behaved young and handsome, rather libertine dukes, known as Their Dis-Graces. In their late 20s, they behave so immaturely that they are not welcome at most social events in the Upper Ten Thousand. Just from the get-go I yawn at this premise. How many times has this been done to death already? And, of course, they all have Daddy Issues, it is hinted at, which have caused them to be the way they are, so we are not required to blame them for their behavior. They womanize, drink too much, get into brawls over nothing, and even have dueling down to a science since they fight so many. Yawn again.
Hugh Ancaster, Duke of Ripley, is recently back from abroad to attend the wedding of good friend and fellow Dis-Grace, Lucius Beckingham, Duke of Ashmont, to Lady Olympia Hightower. Olympia, voted seven times running as Most Boring Girl of the Season, is a failure on the Marriage Mart, and has been pressured by her family to accept Ashmont's unexpected, almost out-of-the-blue marriage proposal. The Hightower family has too many children and not enough money, thanks to a father who has been financially careless, and the influx of ducal funds would be most welcome.
It's not very clear why Ashmont wants to marry Olympia, other than that she is "kind" and not unattractive, in spite of her spectacles, and, unfortunately, he is vague enough in his attentions to her and so often inebriated that, on the day of the wedding, she finds herself in emotional turmoil and inebriated herself. So off she goes escaping out the window before the ceremony is to begin.
Ripley, Ashmont's best man who's in charge of making sure things go smoothly on this day, sets out after her to bring her back, but what ensues is what you'd expect. Some funny "road-trippy" stuff, witty banter, sexual attraction, and the inevitable fall into love.
This is a cute story and it has some really lovely romantic moments once the couple have established that they are in love. I was convinced that it was True Love by the end of the story and there were some warm and fuzzy moments to enjoy, mostly to be found at 75% onward. What failed to convince me was the actual "why" they fell in love. That felt contrived and seemed to happen just because they were in each other's company. It was tiring to read about the state of Ripley's "breeding organs" when in Olympia's vicinity. I'm not 16 anymore. I like a bit more substance to my romances.
Oh, well. I guess cute is okay, but this isn't one of Chase's best stories. Here's hoping for better stories for the two remaining Dis-Graces. I'm especially hopeful for the story of Blackwood and his wife Alice, Ripley's sister. Their marriage doesn't appear to be running smoothly in this book and we must have an HEA for them down the road.
So, anyway, this new book is first in a series about three badly-behaved young and handsome, rather libertine dukes, known as Their Dis-Graces. In their late 20s, they behave so immaturely that they are not welcome at most social events in the Upper Ten Thousand. Just from the get-go I yawn at this premise. How many times has this been done to death already? And, of course, they all have Daddy Issues, it is hinted at, which have caused them to be the way they are, so we are not required to blame them for their behavior. They womanize, drink too much, get into brawls over nothing, and even have dueling down to a science since they fight so many. Yawn again.
Hugh Ancaster, Duke of Ripley, is recently back from abroad to attend the wedding of good friend and fellow Dis-Grace, Lucius Beckingham, Duke of Ashmont, to Lady Olympia Hightower. Olympia, voted seven times running as Most Boring Girl of the Season, is a failure on the Marriage Mart, and has been pressured by her family to accept Ashmont's unexpected, almost out-of-the-blue marriage proposal. The Hightower family has too many children and not enough money, thanks to a father who has been financially careless, and the influx of ducal funds would be most welcome.
It's not very clear why Ashmont wants to marry Olympia, other than that she is "kind" and not unattractive, in spite of her spectacles, and, unfortunately, he is vague enough in his attentions to her and so often inebriated that, on the day of the wedding, she finds herself in emotional turmoil and inebriated herself. So off she goes escaping out the window before the ceremony is to begin.
Ripley, Ashmont's best man who's in charge of making sure things go smoothly on this day, sets out after her to bring her back, but what ensues is what you'd expect. Some funny "road-trippy" stuff, witty banter, sexual attraction, and the inevitable fall into love.
This is a cute story and it has some really lovely romantic moments once the couple have established that they are in love. I was convinced that it was True Love by the end of the story and there were some warm and fuzzy moments to enjoy, mostly to be found at 75% onward. What failed to convince me was the actual "why" they fell in love. That felt contrived and seemed to happen just because they were in each other's company. It was tiring to read about the state of Ripley's "breeding organs" when in Olympia's vicinity. I'm not 16 anymore. I like a bit more substance to my romances.
Oh, well. I guess cute is okay, but this isn't one of Chase's best stories. Here's hoping for better stories for the two remaining Dis-Graces. I'm especially hopeful for the story of Blackwood and his wife Alice, Ripley's sister. Their marriage doesn't appear to be running smoothly in this book and we must have an HEA for them down the road.
May 26, 2024
A+ for narration, A for content. Foregone conclusion :)
Was there any likelihood that this, the latest release from the phenomenal author/narrator team of Loretta Chase and Kate Reading, was going to get anything other than top marks? Nah. It’s fabulous, in terms of both narration and content. InA Duke in Shining Armor, book one in her newDifficult Dukesseries, Ms. Chase presents listeners with a wonderfully realised, character-driven road-trip romance that’s full of the insight, warmth, humour and sparkling dialogue that is so characteristic of her stories. Add Kate Reading’s outstanding narration to the mix, and you’ve got just over eleven hours of unequivocal audiobook joy to look forward to. I promise.
Lady Olympia Hightower is the only female child of the Earl and Countess of Gonerby and is, at the age of twenty-six, rather firmly on the shelf. The only thing she has achieved during the course of her seven London Seasons is to be named “Most Boring Girl of the Season� each year, so the proposal of marriage from the young, wealthy and utterly gorgeous Duke of Ashmont comes completely out of the blue. Ashmont is one of three disreputable gentlemen known as “Their Disgraces� thanks to their reputations for drunken carousing, high-stakes gaming, fighting-duels and inveterate womanising (the others being their Graces of Blackwood and Ripley), and will most likely make a terrible husband, but Olympia knows her duty. Instead of carefully planning how best to support their six sons after the earl’s demise, her impractical parents have lavished money upon kitting her out each season, pinning their hopes on her making an auspicious marriage and providing for her brothers that way. S’s a practical, no-nonsense sort of girl, so she accepts Ashmont’s proposal.
Hugh Ancaster, the Duke of Ripley, has � literally � just returned to England after a year spent abroad, and is most surprised when Ashmont not only tells him ’s getting married, but asks Ripley to stand up with him at the wedding. He’s also rather surprised at the rather tender, effusive way in which Ashmont speaks of his betrothed; almost as if he actuallylikesher � but regardless, Ripley does his job and gets Ashmont to the wedding only a little worse for wear after the previous night’s drunken carouse� and subsequent fight. All is set. The room is full of family and friends, the parson is ready, Ripley has the money for the license and all the other bits and pieces that have to be paid for, and all that’s missing is the bride. Seeing Ashmont become more impatient by the second � ’s not known for his even temper � and worried he’ll also become more inebriated by the second and therefore likely to become aggressive, Ripley agrees to go to look for the soon-to-be-Duchess of Ashmont, and finds her � slightly tipsy and half-way out a window declaring her intention of taking some air in Kensington Gardens. In her wedding dress. In the rain.
Not quite knowing what to do to calm a slightly drunk, slightly weepy bride who seems set on escaping, Ripley does the only thing he can in order to fulfil his promise to Ashmont that he will make sure things go smoothly. A wedding can’t go smoothly or any way at all without a bride � so he follows her. When he is unable to persuade her to return to the wedding, he agrees to escort her to her Aunt Delia’s house in Twickenham, confident that Olympia’s disappearance will simply be regarded as one of the pranks he and his friends are so fond of.
The road-trip that ensues is one of those in which pretty much everything that can do wrong does go wrong. After a cramped hackney ride, a dunking in the Thames and a heated altercation with a ruffian over his mistreatment of a dog, the pair arrives in Twickenham to discover that Aunt Delia is away and not expected to return for weeks. With returning home no longer an option at this point and in full expectation that Ashmont and Blackwood are in pursuit, Ripley opts to take Olympia to the home of favourite aunt, the widowed Lady Charles Ancaster.
The thing I love so much about road-trip stories � especially in historical romance � is that they afford time for the protagonists to spend quality time together getting to know each other; as Olympia says later in the novel, over the three days she and Ripley spend travelling and then at his aunt’s they spend more time together than many couples do throughout an entire courtship. Ms. Chase makes the most of this closeness, and the couple shares many entertaining, funny and sometimes awkward conversations, during the course of which Ripley displays a great deal of thoughtfulness, insight and wit � and a surprising love of romance novels! � and Olympia tries to maintain a kind of pragmatic distance, but fails spectacularly in the face of her companion’s adorably relentless, good-natured cheer.
Olympia and Ripley are superbly wrought, well-rounded and engaging characters whose insecurities are realistic and whose flaws add richness and depth to their personalities. I loved the way in which Ripley comes to realise that Olympia has been overlooked and underappreciated all her life � even by him! � and to feel anger on her behalf. He can’t understand why this lovely, witty, intelligent and utterly captivating young woman could ever have been thought boring, and learns that Olympia’s view of herself has been seriously skewed as a result of the perceptions of others. For her part, Olympia comes to see that the Ripley beneath the terrible reputation is charming, funny, perceptive and unnervingly attractive. Proper, boring girls like her aren’t attracted to rakes, yet the more time she spends in Ripley’s company, the harder it is for her to deny that’s exactly what s’s feeling.
The biggest roadblock in the way of the path to true love is the issue of male honour, something which often seems ridiculous to heroines (and possibly to the modern listener!). But it’s more than that. Ripley knows instinctively that while Olympia is excellent duchess material, she shouldn’t beAshmont’s duchess; he wouldn’t truly appreciate her for the wonderful woman she is, and he’d end up making her miserable. But Ashmont is one of his best and oldest friends; they practically grew up together and the last thing Ripley wants to do is hurt him. But how can he allow the woman he loves to marry a man so completely wrong for her when Ripley knows’sso completely right?
I absolutely adored this book in print, and couldn’t wait to listen to the audio version (I read it some months ago, so it was a wonderful way to refresh my memory). I knew Kate Reading would do justice to this tender, funny, sexy love story, and I was right to think that, because her performance is utterly sublime. Her characterisations of the entire cast are spot on and she does an especially good job with Ripley, perfectly capturing his insouciant charm, his wit and his wicked sense of humour. Their other “Disgraces� are nicely portrayed, too; while Ashmont is not the right man for Olympia and ’s certainly got some growing up to do, there’s something ridiculously endearing about him that bodes well for his own story when it comes. Olympia’s practicality and non-nonsense outlook is perfectly and expertly conveyed; and as always, her performance of the dialogue between the two is a thing of beauty. But my absolute, favourite part of Ms. Reading’s performance overall has got to be her portrayal of Tipsy! Olympia near the beginning of the book. She doesn’t go over the top so as to be unintelligible, but puts a little slur into her voice which is just enough to conjure the image of a young woman wearing a meringue of a white wedding dress swaying slightly on her feet and looking a bit the worse for wear.
If you’re a fan of the author’s, chances are you’ve already pre-ordered the audio ofA Duke in Shining Armoranyway, but if you haven’t, I hope I’ve said enough to convince you that you need this audiobook in your life! Loretta Chase and Kate Reading are an author/narrator team to be reckoned with; Ms. Chase is a doyenne of historical romance par excellence, and Ms. Reading’s way with the deadpan put-down is second to none.
Treat yourself. Go on. You know you want to.
Was there any likelihood that this, the latest release from the phenomenal author/narrator team of Loretta Chase and Kate Reading, was going to get anything other than top marks? Nah. It’s fabulous, in terms of both narration and content. InA Duke in Shining Armor, book one in her newDifficult Dukesseries, Ms. Chase presents listeners with a wonderfully realised, character-driven road-trip romance that’s full of the insight, warmth, humour and sparkling dialogue that is so characteristic of her stories. Add Kate Reading’s outstanding narration to the mix, and you’ve got just over eleven hours of unequivocal audiobook joy to look forward to. I promise.
Lady Olympia Hightower is the only female child of the Earl and Countess of Gonerby and is, at the age of twenty-six, rather firmly on the shelf. The only thing she has achieved during the course of her seven London Seasons is to be named “Most Boring Girl of the Season� each year, so the proposal of marriage from the young, wealthy and utterly gorgeous Duke of Ashmont comes completely out of the blue. Ashmont is one of three disreputable gentlemen known as “Their Disgraces� thanks to their reputations for drunken carousing, high-stakes gaming, fighting-duels and inveterate womanising (the others being their Graces of Blackwood and Ripley), and will most likely make a terrible husband, but Olympia knows her duty. Instead of carefully planning how best to support their six sons after the earl’s demise, her impractical parents have lavished money upon kitting her out each season, pinning their hopes on her making an auspicious marriage and providing for her brothers that way. S’s a practical, no-nonsense sort of girl, so she accepts Ashmont’s proposal.
Hugh Ancaster, the Duke of Ripley, has � literally � just returned to England after a year spent abroad, and is most surprised when Ashmont not only tells him ’s getting married, but asks Ripley to stand up with him at the wedding. He’s also rather surprised at the rather tender, effusive way in which Ashmont speaks of his betrothed; almost as if he actuallylikesher � but regardless, Ripley does his job and gets Ashmont to the wedding only a little worse for wear after the previous night’s drunken carouse� and subsequent fight. All is set. The room is full of family and friends, the parson is ready, Ripley has the money for the license and all the other bits and pieces that have to be paid for, and all that’s missing is the bride. Seeing Ashmont become more impatient by the second � ’s not known for his even temper � and worried he’ll also become more inebriated by the second and therefore likely to become aggressive, Ripley agrees to go to look for the soon-to-be-Duchess of Ashmont, and finds her � slightly tipsy and half-way out a window declaring her intention of taking some air in Kensington Gardens. In her wedding dress. In the rain.
Not quite knowing what to do to calm a slightly drunk, slightly weepy bride who seems set on escaping, Ripley does the only thing he can in order to fulfil his promise to Ashmont that he will make sure things go smoothly. A wedding can’t go smoothly or any way at all without a bride � so he follows her. When he is unable to persuade her to return to the wedding, he agrees to escort her to her Aunt Delia’s house in Twickenham, confident that Olympia’s disappearance will simply be regarded as one of the pranks he and his friends are so fond of.
The road-trip that ensues is one of those in which pretty much everything that can do wrong does go wrong. After a cramped hackney ride, a dunking in the Thames and a heated altercation with a ruffian over his mistreatment of a dog, the pair arrives in Twickenham to discover that Aunt Delia is away and not expected to return for weeks. With returning home no longer an option at this point and in full expectation that Ashmont and Blackwood are in pursuit, Ripley opts to take Olympia to the home of favourite aunt, the widowed Lady Charles Ancaster.
The thing I love so much about road-trip stories � especially in historical romance � is that they afford time for the protagonists to spend quality time together getting to know each other; as Olympia says later in the novel, over the three days she and Ripley spend travelling and then at his aunt’s they spend more time together than many couples do throughout an entire courtship. Ms. Chase makes the most of this closeness, and the couple shares many entertaining, funny and sometimes awkward conversations, during the course of which Ripley displays a great deal of thoughtfulness, insight and wit � and a surprising love of romance novels! � and Olympia tries to maintain a kind of pragmatic distance, but fails spectacularly in the face of her companion’s adorably relentless, good-natured cheer.
Olympia and Ripley are superbly wrought, well-rounded and engaging characters whose insecurities are realistic and whose flaws add richness and depth to their personalities. I loved the way in which Ripley comes to realise that Olympia has been overlooked and underappreciated all her life � even by him! � and to feel anger on her behalf. He can’t understand why this lovely, witty, intelligent and utterly captivating young woman could ever have been thought boring, and learns that Olympia’s view of herself has been seriously skewed as a result of the perceptions of others. For her part, Olympia comes to see that the Ripley beneath the terrible reputation is charming, funny, perceptive and unnervingly attractive. Proper, boring girls like her aren’t attracted to rakes, yet the more time she spends in Ripley’s company, the harder it is for her to deny that’s exactly what s’s feeling.
The biggest roadblock in the way of the path to true love is the issue of male honour, something which often seems ridiculous to heroines (and possibly to the modern listener!). But it’s more than that. Ripley knows instinctively that while Olympia is excellent duchess material, she shouldn’t beAshmont’s duchess; he wouldn’t truly appreciate her for the wonderful woman she is, and he’d end up making her miserable. But Ashmont is one of his best and oldest friends; they practically grew up together and the last thing Ripley wants to do is hurt him. But how can he allow the woman he loves to marry a man so completely wrong for her when Ripley knows’sso completely right?
I absolutely adored this book in print, and couldn’t wait to listen to the audio version (I read it some months ago, so it was a wonderful way to refresh my memory). I knew Kate Reading would do justice to this tender, funny, sexy love story, and I was right to think that, because her performance is utterly sublime. Her characterisations of the entire cast are spot on and she does an especially good job with Ripley, perfectly capturing his insouciant charm, his wit and his wicked sense of humour. Their other “Disgraces� are nicely portrayed, too; while Ashmont is not the right man for Olympia and ’s certainly got some growing up to do, there’s something ridiculously endearing about him that bodes well for his own story when it comes. Olympia’s practicality and non-nonsense outlook is perfectly and expertly conveyed; and as always, her performance of the dialogue between the two is a thing of beauty. But my absolute, favourite part of Ms. Reading’s performance overall has got to be her portrayal of Tipsy! Olympia near the beginning of the book. She doesn’t go over the top so as to be unintelligible, but puts a little slur into her voice which is just enough to conjure the image of a young woman wearing a meringue of a white wedding dress swaying slightly on her feet and looking a bit the worse for wear.
If you’re a fan of the author’s, chances are you’ve already pre-ordered the audio ofA Duke in Shining Armoranyway, but if you haven’t, I hope I’ve said enough to convince you that you need this audiobook in your life! Loretta Chase and Kate Reading are an author/narrator team to be reckoned with; Ms. Chase is a doyenne of historical romance par excellence, and Ms. Reading’s way with the deadpan put-down is second to none.
Treat yourself. Go on. You know you want to.
December 3, 2017
2/5; 2 stars; C
I liked many aspects of this books but not enough to wipe away the vague sense of disappointment that an experienced author could be satisfied to allow this to go to print in this condition. I just had the feeling that I was looking at a jigsaw puzzle that has quite a few of the pieces jammed in crooked because someone was in a hurry. The general picture is there but there are a lot of ragged edges.
I liked Olympia’s escape, her humor, her lack of missishness. I did not like repeated references to ‘it’s good to be a duke�, uncontrolled breeding organs, the idea that it is even remotely attractive to have a bunch of rich, spoiled men running around creating havoc for years on end no matter what their rank might be, a plethora of half baked characters. Overall, a bit of a mess.
I liked many aspects of this books but not enough to wipe away the vague sense of disappointment that an experienced author could be satisfied to allow this to go to print in this condition. I just had the feeling that I was looking at a jigsaw puzzle that has quite a few of the pieces jammed in crooked because someone was in a hurry. The general picture is there but there are a lot of ragged edges.
I liked Olympia’s escape, her humor, her lack of missishness. I did not like repeated references to ‘it’s good to be a duke�, uncontrolled breeding organs, the idea that it is even remotely attractive to have a bunch of rich, spoiled men running around creating havoc for years on end no matter what their rank might be, a plethora of half baked characters. Overall, a bit of a mess.
August 29, 2023
2.5
Yes, it was charming (as promised) and I do love a heroine in spectacles but sssssooooo dragged out. By chapter 7, I was in high skimming mode. Never a good sign when there are 10-11 more chapters to go.
However, there were some really funny and clever moments between our runaway bride and knight “not so much� in shining armor so I’ll definitely revisit this author (I hear the next one in this series is the fave of some GR readers!)
Yes, it was charming (as promised) and I do love a heroine in spectacles but sssssooooo dragged out. By chapter 7, I was in high skimming mode. Never a good sign when there are 10-11 more chapters to go.
However, there were some really funny and clever moments between our runaway bride and knight “not so much� in shining armor so I’ll definitely revisit this author (I hear the next one in this series is the fave of some GR readers!)
March 23, 2018
3.5 stars
A Duke of Shining Armor is a book that has me in a knot, and I curse GR for not giving us the option of rating with half stars. I am still undecided whilst writing this review. We’ll see.
Olympia has to marry the Duke of Ashmont. Her family is not facing imminent financial ruin but it’s just a matter of time. She does have six brothers after all. On the day of her wedding, she finds herself nervous; gloomily expecting a rather unhappy future and with the help of strong spirits, the decision is made: She’ll run away. Not sure where, not sure how, but she can’t marry the Duke of Ashmont.
In comes the Hugh Ancaster, Duke of Ripley, one of Ashmont’s best friends and charged � by Ashmont himself, no less - to make sure that this wedding happens. Ashmont has a bit of a drinking problem and doesn’t trust himself to be sober enough to look after any possible complications. So, Ripley enters the library and finds a runaway bride hanging half out of the window. Trying to persuade Olympia to see reason, he follows her, but to no avail. And so begins a road romance between a rather determined Olympia and a reluctant Ripley. I say reluctant because every hour that passes will make it more difficult to avoid scandal; for himself, Ashmont and obviously Olympia.
Funny banter and witty repartees are a trademark of Miss Chase’s novels, and she shows her talent here once again. But I’ve had problems. Whilst reading A Duke of Shining Armor two other books constantly kept popping up in my head that highlighted those problems. I know it’s not fair to compare one book with another in a review, but hey, I can’t help what other book pops up in my head when I'm reading.
A road romance that concludes within four days, with the couple deeply in love and determined to marry is difficult to pull off. It needs to put all the elements of a romance in a short timeframe and make it believable: the past of the protagonists, the present, the character growth and, of course, the shifting feelings of the couple for each other. There were moments in A Duke of Shining Armor where I wanted to hit the pause button, which is also why it took me a little longer to finish the book. The constant witty banter was indeed funny but � ultimately � too much, too repetitive; to a point where I found it difficult to relate to Olympia and Ripley. And here comes A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare in. I’ll admit that I’m biased because it’s one of my favourite TD books. But it has a similar sort of express delivery style road romance. But unlike with Olympia and Ripley, the two protagonists of AWtbW are given a time-out from all the banter and there were a lot of moments where they could truly discover each other.
In both cases, suspending one’s disbelief is necessary, but I believe that the romance in A Duke of Shining Armor was done less expertly with too much emphasis given on Olympia’s and Ripley’s constant banter. Yes, Ripley comes to realise that Olympia has always been underestimated, by himself, too. And he's enchanted by her spirit but it wasn't enough for me. Simply put: I didn’t buy their romance. Not fully.
The second problem, and by now I have a slight suspicion that it will sadly always remain a problem, is Lord of Scoundrels. On reread it didn’t hold up to the hype it had created when it was first published, which is also why I didn’t give it a full 5-star rating here. But sometimes I think, I’ll always be looking for the kind of magic that LoS created back then, whenever I read a new book by Miss Chase. I know a lot of people read it and wondered what the whole fuss was about. But when LoS came out, we were still deep in Bodice-Ripper-Land of the 80’s, and a heroine like Jessica Trent with her sort of confidence was unheard of. I’ll readily admit that it is deeply unfair of me to compare LC’s books to that particular book, though I can’t help it and it is my, and my problem alone. But I also remain steadfast in my opinion that LoS � along with some of Connie Brockway’s books � opened the doors for authors like Julia Quinn and her immensely popular Bridgerton-series.
Anyway, back to A Duke of Shining Armor. Once back in London, Olympia and Ripley have to face the outfall of their disappearance and decision to marry. We have already seen enough of Ashmont and the third of his Dis-Graces, the Duke of Blackwood, to understand that these are proper rakes, and for once, I’m thankful for it. I always complain about supposed rakes whose biggest vice seems to be to shag their way through society, but, of course, always with widows. God forbid, we make a hero totally unlikeable by truly showing him as a debauched and unfeeling person. Now, with these three it’s not so much about debauching debutantes, but rather heavy drinking and playing pranks that are not truly funny. I don’t really have a problem with that, as it seems to be more historically accurate to me. Think about it, what are rich, titled men with a dozen of servants and stewards to look after their needs and responsibilities, to do with their time, when having an actual job was unthinkable, unless they’re dumb enough to gamble their wealth away? Obviously, they could do more � go into politics, become philanthropists, etc. - but Miss Chase chose to give her young dukes lives that look meaningless to us now.
What really didn’t sit well with me, however, is when Ashmont challenges Ripley to a dual. It’s clear that Ripley genuinely sees Ashmont as a friend, but � apart from being in love with Olympia himself � he also knows that Ashmont would have married her for the wrong reasons. So here we are, a dual that actually may end up deadly and, once over, they laugh. And they laugh when Olympia comes running, thinking the worst: that Ripley is dead or at least seriously wounded. There was this underlying tone of ‘Oh well, women! They’ll never understand us.� Again, it may be historically accurate, but I can’t say I was overly enthusiastic of how off-handedly Olympia’s worries were waved away. Considering how much Ripley felt morally guilty for his feelings for Olympia in regards to his friend, Ashmont, I would have expected him to be a tad more aware of what he was about to lose. That he writes her a letter beforehand doesn’t negate that particular, and rather unpleasant, show of camaraderie.
All that said, I have this strange feeling that Ashmont’s and Blackwood’s (who is married to Ripley’s sister but who seem to have marital problems) will be much more interesting.
A Duke of Shining Armor has its strong and weak moments, and this is where I would love to give this book a proper 3.5-star rating. Neither 3 nor 4 stars would truly reflect my feelings. It would put the book on the shelf with other books that truly deserve a 3 or 4-star rating.
Oh well!
A Duke of Shining Armor is a book that has me in a knot, and I curse GR for not giving us the option of rating with half stars. I am still undecided whilst writing this review. We’ll see.
Olympia has to marry the Duke of Ashmont. Her family is not facing imminent financial ruin but it’s just a matter of time. She does have six brothers after all. On the day of her wedding, she finds herself nervous; gloomily expecting a rather unhappy future and with the help of strong spirits, the decision is made: She’ll run away. Not sure where, not sure how, but she can’t marry the Duke of Ashmont.
In comes the Hugh Ancaster, Duke of Ripley, one of Ashmont’s best friends and charged � by Ashmont himself, no less - to make sure that this wedding happens. Ashmont has a bit of a drinking problem and doesn’t trust himself to be sober enough to look after any possible complications. So, Ripley enters the library and finds a runaway bride hanging half out of the window. Trying to persuade Olympia to see reason, he follows her, but to no avail. And so begins a road romance between a rather determined Olympia and a reluctant Ripley. I say reluctant because every hour that passes will make it more difficult to avoid scandal; for himself, Ashmont and obviously Olympia.
Funny banter and witty repartees are a trademark of Miss Chase’s novels, and she shows her talent here once again. But I’ve had problems. Whilst reading A Duke of Shining Armor two other books constantly kept popping up in my head that highlighted those problems. I know it’s not fair to compare one book with another in a review, but hey, I can’t help what other book pops up in my head when I'm reading.
A road romance that concludes within four days, with the couple deeply in love and determined to marry is difficult to pull off. It needs to put all the elements of a romance in a short timeframe and make it believable: the past of the protagonists, the present, the character growth and, of course, the shifting feelings of the couple for each other. There were moments in A Duke of Shining Armor where I wanted to hit the pause button, which is also why it took me a little longer to finish the book. The constant witty banter was indeed funny but � ultimately � too much, too repetitive; to a point where I found it difficult to relate to Olympia and Ripley. And here comes A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare in. I’ll admit that I’m biased because it’s one of my favourite TD books. But it has a similar sort of express delivery style road romance. But unlike with Olympia and Ripley, the two protagonists of AWtbW are given a time-out from all the banter and there were a lot of moments where they could truly discover each other.
In both cases, suspending one’s disbelief is necessary, but I believe that the romance in A Duke of Shining Armor was done less expertly with too much emphasis given on Olympia’s and Ripley’s constant banter. Yes, Ripley comes to realise that Olympia has always been underestimated, by himself, too. And he's enchanted by her spirit but it wasn't enough for me. Simply put: I didn’t buy their romance. Not fully.
The second problem, and by now I have a slight suspicion that it will sadly always remain a problem, is Lord of Scoundrels. On reread it didn’t hold up to the hype it had created when it was first published, which is also why I didn’t give it a full 5-star rating here. But sometimes I think, I’ll always be looking for the kind of magic that LoS created back then, whenever I read a new book by Miss Chase. I know a lot of people read it and wondered what the whole fuss was about. But when LoS came out, we were still deep in Bodice-Ripper-Land of the 80’s, and a heroine like Jessica Trent with her sort of confidence was unheard of. I’ll readily admit that it is deeply unfair of me to compare LC’s books to that particular book, though I can’t help it and it is my, and my problem alone. But I also remain steadfast in my opinion that LoS � along with some of Connie Brockway’s books � opened the doors for authors like Julia Quinn and her immensely popular Bridgerton-series.
Anyway, back to A Duke of Shining Armor. Once back in London, Olympia and Ripley have to face the outfall of their disappearance and decision to marry. We have already seen enough of Ashmont and the third of his Dis-Graces, the Duke of Blackwood, to understand that these are proper rakes, and for once, I’m thankful for it. I always complain about supposed rakes whose biggest vice seems to be to shag their way through society, but, of course, always with widows. God forbid, we make a hero totally unlikeable by truly showing him as a debauched and unfeeling person. Now, with these three it’s not so much about debauching debutantes, but rather heavy drinking and playing pranks that are not truly funny. I don’t really have a problem with that, as it seems to be more historically accurate to me. Think about it, what are rich, titled men with a dozen of servants and stewards to look after their needs and responsibilities, to do with their time, when having an actual job was unthinkable, unless they’re dumb enough to gamble their wealth away? Obviously, they could do more � go into politics, become philanthropists, etc. - but Miss Chase chose to give her young dukes lives that look meaningless to us now.
What really didn’t sit well with me, however, is when Ashmont challenges Ripley to a dual. It’s clear that Ripley genuinely sees Ashmont as a friend, but � apart from being in love with Olympia himself � he also knows that Ashmont would have married her for the wrong reasons. So here we are, a dual that actually may end up deadly and, once over, they laugh. And they laugh when Olympia comes running, thinking the worst: that Ripley is dead or at least seriously wounded. There was this underlying tone of ‘Oh well, women! They’ll never understand us.� Again, it may be historically accurate, but I can’t say I was overly enthusiastic of how off-handedly Olympia’s worries were waved away. Considering how much Ripley felt morally guilty for his feelings for Olympia in regards to his friend, Ashmont, I would have expected him to be a tad more aware of what he was about to lose. That he writes her a letter beforehand doesn’t negate that particular, and rather unpleasant, show of camaraderie.
All that said, I have this strange feeling that Ashmont’s and Blackwood’s (who is married to Ripley’s sister but who seem to have marital problems) will be much more interesting.
A Duke of Shining Armor has its strong and weak moments, and this is where I would love to give this book a proper 3.5-star rating. Neither 3 nor 4 stars would truly reflect my feelings. It would put the book on the shelf with other books that truly deserve a 3 or 4-star rating.
Oh well!
September 11, 2021
2.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this one with the whole runaway bride plot going on, but then it quickly fell downhill for me. The middle and end just seemed to drag and not a whole lot really happened for a book that is almost 400 pages long. I also think the beginning was where it started to drag because I was 30% into the book and it was still the same day. I just wanted more from this and found it hard to believe that they fell in love in such a short amount of time. Maybe it was because I listened to the audiobook, but I didn't really connect with the couple and didn't really care for the story.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this one with the whole runaway bride plot going on, but then it quickly fell downhill for me. The middle and end just seemed to drag and not a whole lot really happened for a book that is almost 400 pages long. I also think the beginning was where it started to drag because I was 30% into the book and it was still the same day. I just wanted more from this and found it hard to believe that they fell in love in such a short amount of time. Maybe it was because I listened to the audiobook, but I didn't really connect with the couple and didn't really care for the story.
August 30, 2024
Reread August 2024
I enjoyed it the second time around even more than the first time, what with the sly barrage of gender observations, most of them true, the deliciously irreverent and very badly behaved main characters, with an able assist from the supporting cast, the melting romance, and the not-quite-bloodless resolution. The prose bubbles and skips and sparkles like a stream on a sunny day, which makes my heart very, very happy. A sampling:
On a good day, someone had said once, Ripley’s face resembled that of a wolf who’d been in too many fights. (Not only can the reader now picture exactly what he looks like, it’s a dangerous and very sexy description.)
”You kissed me!� she said, eyes very wide and possibly blue at the moment, though it was hard to be sure in the coach’s dim confines on a dim day.
“You kissed first,� he said.
“On the cheek!�
“On the cheek, on the lips. All the same to me. Female, kiss. Male, excited.�
She couldn’t get enough of the feelings and the closeness. She wanted and wanted and didn’t know what it was she wanted, beyond knowing she wanted him, and that the feeling, the wanting, was like starvation.
And while she took as much as she could, she felt a loss of things that covered her—her clothes, yes, but something more. For years and years, she’d hidden her dreams and wants, and bit by bit, other parts of herself. But from the moment she’d starting unbuttoning her dress, she—whoever she was—had come out of her hiding place. She’d emerged from the world she’d tried to make safe and painless and had only made small and boring. With him, it was impossible to live in so small a place. With him, she couldn’t play by the rules and didn’t want to.
I just can’t imagine these two with anyone else, which equals a perfect love story to me.
Original review:
Just perfect. Clever, funny, charming, briskly-paced, memorable from beginning to end. This just became my new favorite historical romance and, after having read only two books by Loretta Chase—neither of which is her most famous, Lord of Scoundrels—she has joined Lisa Kleypas as my
(co-)favorite HR author.
I enjoyed it the second time around even more than the first time, what with the sly barrage of gender observations, most of them true, the deliciously irreverent and very badly behaved main characters, with an able assist from the supporting cast, the melting romance, and the not-quite-bloodless resolution. The prose bubbles and skips and sparkles like a stream on a sunny day, which makes my heart very, very happy. A sampling:
On a good day, someone had said once, Ripley’s face resembled that of a wolf who’d been in too many fights. (Not only can the reader now picture exactly what he looks like, it’s a dangerous and very sexy description.)
”You kissed me!� she said, eyes very wide and possibly blue at the moment, though it was hard to be sure in the coach’s dim confines on a dim day.
“You kissed first,� he said.
“On the cheek!�
“On the cheek, on the lips. All the same to me. Female, kiss. Male, excited.�
She couldn’t get enough of the feelings and the closeness. She wanted and wanted and didn’t know what it was she wanted, beyond knowing she wanted him, and that the feeling, the wanting, was like starvation.
And while she took as much as she could, she felt a loss of things that covered her—her clothes, yes, but something more. For years and years, she’d hidden her dreams and wants, and bit by bit, other parts of herself. But from the moment she’d starting unbuttoning her dress, she—whoever she was—had come out of her hiding place. She’d emerged from the world she’d tried to make safe and painless and had only made small and boring. With him, it was impossible to live in so small a place. With him, she couldn’t play by the rules and didn’t want to.
I just can’t imagine these two with anyone else, which equals a perfect love story to me.
Original review:
Just perfect. Clever, funny, charming, briskly-paced, memorable from beginning to end. This just became my new favorite historical romance and, after having read only two books by Loretta Chase—neither of which is her most famous, Lord of Scoundrels—she has joined Lisa Kleypas as my
(co-)favorite HR author.
July 23, 2019
..
This historical romance features three rowdy Dukes. At age 30, one of these carousers had finally come to the alter. However, the bride-to-be experienced cold feet and narrowly escaped. Twists and turns changed the circumstances completely leaving the groom to be completely perplexed.
Book blurb:
Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, will never win prizes for virtue. But even he draws the line at running off with his best friend's bride. He's only trying to recapture the inebriated Lady Olympia Hightower and return her to her intended. For reasons that elude her, bookish Olympia is supposed to marry a gorgeous rake of a duke. The ton is flabbergasted. Her family's ecstatic. And Olympia is climbing out of a window, bent on a getaway. But tall, dark, and exasperating Ripley is hot on her trail . . .
This was a sensual and humorous book depicted during the Regency era. The escapades that occurred brought chuckles and smiles throughout the book, which iI appreciate most heartedly. The best man certainly found himself in quite a pickle as he did his best to protect the bride-to-be.
Amazon Review by Ann Elliott: "The three live in a drunken haze, brawling with anyone they meet and carousing with widows and married women--which leads to frequent duels. They are immature and arrogant, thriving on elaborate practical jokes which cause discomfort, embarrassment, and inconvenience for others."
I listened to the audible version via Hoopa and was pleasantly satisfied with the enunciation and projection of the presentation by kate Reading.
This is by NO means a clean book. However, it is not categorized as such either. So readers just need to beware if they wish to avoid sexually explicit scenes, to avoid this one. Those that enjoy this type of story might just get some enjoyment out of it. ;)
.
This historical romance features three rowdy Dukes. At age 30, one of these carousers had finally come to the alter. However, the bride-to-be experienced cold feet and narrowly escaped. Twists and turns changed the circumstances completely leaving the groom to be completely perplexed.
Book blurb:
Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, will never win prizes for virtue. But even he draws the line at running off with his best friend's bride. He's only trying to recapture the inebriated Lady Olympia Hightower and return her to her intended. For reasons that elude her, bookish Olympia is supposed to marry a gorgeous rake of a duke. The ton is flabbergasted. Her family's ecstatic. And Olympia is climbing out of a window, bent on a getaway. But tall, dark, and exasperating Ripley is hot on her trail . . .
This was a sensual and humorous book depicted during the Regency era. The escapades that occurred brought chuckles and smiles throughout the book, which iI appreciate most heartedly. The best man certainly found himself in quite a pickle as he did his best to protect the bride-to-be.
Amazon Review by Ann Elliott: "The three live in a drunken haze, brawling with anyone they meet and carousing with widows and married women--which leads to frequent duels. They are immature and arrogant, thriving on elaborate practical jokes which cause discomfort, embarrassment, and inconvenience for others."
I listened to the audible version via Hoopa and was pleasantly satisfied with the enunciation and projection of the presentation by kate Reading.
This is by NO means a clean book. However, it is not categorized as such either. So readers just need to beware if they wish to avoid sexually explicit scenes, to avoid this one. Those that enjoy this type of story might just get some enjoyment out of it. ;)
.
December 9, 2017
I'm having rotten luck with historical romances, that even my tried-and-tested authors have failed.
The two protagonists in are too busy being glib and wittily sarcastic to notice each other and properly fall in love. This book comes across as a road-trip chicklit romance - the kind of behaviour the heroine gets away with is horrifying. Plus , I never really got why the hero fell in love with her , other than the oft-mentioned state of his 'breeding organs' whenever she draws near.
The two protagonists in are too busy being glib and wittily sarcastic to notice each other and properly fall in love. This book comes across as a road-trip chicklit romance - the kind of behaviour the heroine gets away with is horrifying. Plus , I never really got why the hero fell in love with her , other than the oft-mentioned state of his 'breeding organs' whenever she draws near.
March 23, 2018
2.5 to 3 stars. Not Ms Chase's best IMO. Although there were some enjoyable aspects to the book, I just couldn't get over the fact that I didn't 'buy' the basic premise.
I liked:
The h. Olympia is a lone girl raised in a house with 6 rambunctious brothers. I could relate to that, having lived for years as the only female in a house full of men and boys (my husband and sons). I also liked that Olympia was a bit of a book nerd. But she didn't really know herself. Her real personality was overshadowed by her family's and society's expectations. It wasn't until after meeting Ripley, the H, that Olympia's true self began to emerge, and she could really be herself. She did the right thing in ditching the wedding to Ashmont, even if she didn't do it in a socially acceptable way.
I liked the games that Ripley and Olympia played together. This kind of fun and playfulness isn't often depicted in the HRs that I've read, and it was a sweet aspect of their relationship.
I didn't like:
The basic idea of Ripley and Olympia taking off together and falling in love in such a ridiculously short time. You could actually see the writer trying to convince us that yes, they were really in love, and yes, it was therefore fine for Ripley to steal his best friend's fiancee. The writing got a little repetitive at times on this, actually. But no. It didn't convince me, and I expected such a reputable author to have a lighter touch :/
I didn't really like the H, Ripley, or either of his two cronies, Their Dis-Graces, who will presumably pop up in the sequels. Ms Chase worked a little too hard to establish their rakish credentials, and to me they came across as immature idiots. Yet somehow in the space of a few days, Ripley had a change in personality and was suddenly mature and faithful. Hmmmm.
Ashmont's story also was confusing. Why did he want to marry Olympia in the first place, really? There were hints, but we never truly found out. And for the terms of this book, that was a little unsatisfying. We barely saw him and Olympia together either before or after, and that, for me, left a big hole in the story.
The other thing that was lacking for me was the real sense of connection between Ripley and Olympia. It all seemed a little too contrived and heavy-handed to me. Kinda like one of those rom-com movies that has a reasonable script, but there's no actual chemistry between the lead actors. It falls flat. And so did this book. And I think it was mainly down to the plot-line that overall was the biggest stumbling block for me.
I wanted to like this book. But, it was pretty forgettable. I'll happily reread , but I think this one will go quietly into the sunset......
I liked:
The h. Olympia is a lone girl raised in a house with 6 rambunctious brothers. I could relate to that, having lived for years as the only female in a house full of men and boys (my husband and sons). I also liked that Olympia was a bit of a book nerd. But she didn't really know herself. Her real personality was overshadowed by her family's and society's expectations. It wasn't until after meeting Ripley, the H, that Olympia's true self began to emerge, and she could really be herself. She did the right thing in ditching the wedding to Ashmont, even if she didn't do it in a socially acceptable way.
I liked the games that Ripley and Olympia played together. This kind of fun and playfulness isn't often depicted in the HRs that I've read, and it was a sweet aspect of their relationship.
I didn't like:
The basic idea of Ripley and Olympia taking off together and falling in love in such a ridiculously short time. You could actually see the writer trying to convince us that yes, they were really in love, and yes, it was therefore fine for Ripley to steal his best friend's fiancee. The writing got a little repetitive at times on this, actually. But no. It didn't convince me, and I expected such a reputable author to have a lighter touch :/
I didn't really like the H, Ripley, or either of his two cronies, Their Dis-Graces, who will presumably pop up in the sequels. Ms Chase worked a little too hard to establish their rakish credentials, and to me they came across as immature idiots. Yet somehow in the space of a few days, Ripley had a change in personality and was suddenly mature and faithful. Hmmmm.
Ashmont's story also was confusing. Why did he want to marry Olympia in the first place, really? There were hints, but we never truly found out. And for the terms of this book, that was a little unsatisfying. We barely saw him and Olympia together either before or after, and that, for me, left a big hole in the story.
The other thing that was lacking for me was the real sense of connection between Ripley and Olympia. It all seemed a little too contrived and heavy-handed to me. Kinda like one of those rom-com movies that has a reasonable script, but there's no actual chemistry between the lead actors. It falls flat. And so did this book. And I think it was mainly down to the plot-line that overall was the biggest stumbling block for me.
I wanted to like this book. But, it was pretty forgettable. I'll happily reread , but I think this one will go quietly into the sunset......
December 12, 2020
3.5 stars, rounding to four for the narration by Kate Reading, who never disappoints.
This book was weird. There are things I liked, things I disliked and things about it that I cannot make up my mind. What stands out to me is the story telling. It was unique, very in the moment, and it sometimes felt like a stream of consciousness. I thought that was interesting, but it didn’t help me connect to the characters.
This book was weird. There are things I liked, things I disliked and things about it that I cannot make up my mind. What stands out to me is the story telling. It was unique, very in the moment, and it sometimes felt like a stream of consciousness. I thought that was interesting, but it didn’t help me connect to the characters.
January 29, 2018
I had a really odd reaction to this story. On the one hand, three dukes of the same (marriageable) age all good friends and with the same (horrible) reputation strained credulity quite a lot (though I make allowances since I laughed out loud the first time I read "Their Dis-Graces", and yes, I'll admit to that even though it's terrible). I mean, there weren't that many Regency era dukes (A couple dozen, mostly older, though three would have been under 35 in 1833) so the title inflation of period romances is alive and well here. And that's only the start of this hand/quibble. Ripley is kind of a lost soul, a little unmoored from his life and has just returned from "foreign parts" and is examining how he fits into his world. Which is kind of odd for so high a title, particularly as he has explicitly managed his wealth well enough to be very well-off. I guess this boils down to the setting feeling unusually thin, even though the characters and background were richly portrayed.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the characters and background. Ripley and Olympia are outstanding and I fell in with both their conflict and journey of mutual discovery. Olympia's growing impatience with her own choices and desire to explore options previously unthinkable worked well even given her milieu and the social restrictions on unmarried women (those kinds of things often strike me as anachronistic and I think Chase did an excellent job making them fit, even though I found other aspects of the setting more problematic). Ripley (re)gaining confidence in his own future and coming to assert himself in things he finds that he does, in fact, care about was equally engaging. And the two of them bouncing off each other was absolutely outstanding. Chase does those character interactions very well, indeed, and I loved seeing them grow in understanding and emotional connection, even though the timing of the whole story was very tight (a few days, really).
So the relationship works and the conflict and resolution are well-earned and I was extremely interested with how things would turn out (and satisfied by the result). So the quibbles were strong enough to knock this down nearer three stars than it should have been, I'm rounding up to four because the things I really care about (the romance and characters) were just that engaging.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple explicit sex scenes, landing in the middle of my steam tolerance. Battling lust as a character motivation doesn't work for me terribly well and in this case, it served to disengage me mildly from Ripley. Yeah, he has a history of self-indulgence, but by the time came for things to step up to physical intimacy I felt he'd gone far enough to make an active choice. Having him still conflicted and feeling like he was just giving in to his baser self felt like a cop-out, even though it was only in his head.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the characters and background. Ripley and Olympia are outstanding and I fell in with both their conflict and journey of mutual discovery. Olympia's growing impatience with her own choices and desire to explore options previously unthinkable worked well even given her milieu and the social restrictions on unmarried women (those kinds of things often strike me as anachronistic and I think Chase did an excellent job making them fit, even though I found other aspects of the setting more problematic). Ripley (re)gaining confidence in his own future and coming to assert himself in things he finds that he does, in fact, care about was equally engaging. And the two of them bouncing off each other was absolutely outstanding. Chase does those character interactions very well, indeed, and I loved seeing them grow in understanding and emotional connection, even though the timing of the whole story was very tight (a few days, really).
So the relationship works and the conflict and resolution are well-earned and I was extremely interested with how things would turn out (and satisfied by the result). So the quibbles were strong enough to knock this down nearer three stars than it should have been, I'm rounding up to four because the things I really care about (the romance and characters) were just that engaging.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple explicit sex scenes, landing in the middle of my steam tolerance. Battling lust as a character motivation doesn't work for me terribly well and in this case, it served to disengage me mildly from Ripley. Yeah, he has a history of self-indulgence, but by the time came for things to step up to physical intimacy I felt he'd gone far enough to make an active choice. Having him still conflicted and feeling like he was just giving in to his baser self felt like a cop-out, even though it was only in his head.
November 30, 2020
DNF... sorry... :((((
September 29, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyed this one!
Runaway bride falls for the groom's best man! Priceless!!
Runaway bride falls for the groom's best man! Priceless!!
December 4, 2020
A Duke in Shining Armor, the first book in Loretta Chase’s new
Difficult Dukes
series, is simply delightful and filled with all the elements I love so much about her books � an entertaining story, sparkling wit and a captivating romance. The series features the Dukes of Ripley, Blackwood and Ashmont, commonly referred to as ‘Their Dis-Graces� because of their notorious, rakish behaviour. All three had suffered miserable childhoods but formed an enduring friendship whilst at Eton and the three have been inseparable ever since.
After attending his sister Alice’s marriage to Blackwood, Ripley had spent a year on the Continent and, on his return, he is shocked to discover that Ashmont is about to marry Lady Olympia Hightower. Furthermore, Ashmont is relying on him to ensure that everything goes without a hitch � not an easy job when the bride fails to make an appearance and Ashmont is imbibing too much, with the result that he would either �sink into a stupor and subside ungracefully to the floor' or �he’d pick a fight with someone.' When they go in search of Ashmont’s elusive bride, Ripley finds her climbing out of the library window in all her wedding finery. True to his promise to Ashmont, Ripley follows her out of the window, determined to bring her back.
Lady Olympia had not received a single offer of marriage in the past seven years of being out in society, and her only claim to fame was being voted the Most Boring Girl of Year for those years. Her parents are loving but, when it comes to money, they are not financially astute. Her father had wasted vast amounts of money on seasons for Olympia with the view to finding her a husband. Not once had he considered the adverse financial implications for his eldest son and heir, or his other five sons. So, when Olympia catches the eye of the Duke of Ashmont and he proposes, it is the answer to her prayers. He might be a notorious libertine, but he is also wealthy, handsome, charming and he seems to like her. It is only on the day of the wedding that doubts, fuelled by rather too much brandy, start to set in and she runs away with Ripley in hot pursuit.
At first, Ripley has every intention of persuading Olympia to return to her fiancé but soon finds himself falling in with her plans to go to her aunt’s. It’s a journey that will change their lives for ever.
I love a good road-trip romance especially when it involves assorted mishaps and misadventures along the way, including a dunk in the river, a runaway dog, a naked duke and more-than-friendly kisses in a post-chaise. The delightful banter between Ripley and Olympia is full of Ms. Chase’s trademark wit and humour which I love so much about her books.
He blinked. “Remarkable. You have a plan.�
“Yes. I only needed the mental stimulation of your stimulating company.�
“Any chance of stimulating you into telling me what, exactly, you’re running from?� he said. “Better yet, any chance of your changing your mind, like a good girl, and turning back? Any chance of something, oh, you know, bordering on reasonable?"
Although of short duration, the journey creates a sense of intimacy between Ripley and Olympia. They talk and get to know each other in a way that would not have happened in the normal course of things, given the constraints of society. Ripley discovers that Olympia is far from the boring person she believes herself to be. She is clever, spirited and funny, with a passion for rare books. Olympia discovers that beneath that rakish exterior (a lifestyle which had already begun to pall, according to his Aunt Julia) lies a man who is charming, kind, astute, witty and, most surprising of all, he reads romances!
I love the way in which Ms. Chase gradually builds the sexual tension between Ripley and Olympia, but both are determined not to succumb to temptation. Ripley’s sense of honour prevents him from stealing his best friend’s fiancée, however much he might believe that Ashton doesn’t deserve her. While Olympia doesn’t want to destroy the lifelong friendship between Ripley and Ashmont and neither does she want to hurt Ashmont. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and I was delighted to see Olympia throw away the rule book and be the one who takes the initiative. Poor Ripley doesn’t stand a chance!
There she was, the spirited general of a girl who’d mowed down a bully. There she was, in a lot of white underthings and a naughty corset, the most deliciously irresistible thing he’d ever seen.
Ripley never resisted temptation. He hardly knew how.
He couldn’t look away or run away or do the right thing. He’d never been a saint and he wasn’t about to start now, of all times.
She said, “Is this too subtle for you?�
“No,� he managed to choke out. “Dammit, Olympia.�
Two limping strides closed the space between them. Two more brought her up against the wall.
Sometimes the scenes are so vividly written that they conjured up all sorts of wonderful images in my mind. I think my favourite scene must be the one with the mechanical invalid chair which Ripley is reluctantly using after he sprains his ankle. It’s had me laughing out loud at Ripley’s antics.
It is obvious that Ashmont will not take kindly to his best friend running off with his fiancée and marrying her, and matters have to be settled in the time-honoured way. Luckily, this is a romance and therefore all ends happily.
With his excessive drinking and volatile temper, it seems Ashmont will have a difficult journey ahead before he attains his Happy Ever After. I am also intrigued by the reason for the obvious estrangement between Blackwood and his wife, and there is definitely some history between Ripley’s Aunt Julia and Ashmont’s Uncle Frederick that I am keen to learn more about.
MY VERDICT: This is a delightful story filled with fascinating characters, sparking wit, laugh-out-loud moments and a captivating romance. I am certainly looking forward to the other books in the series. Highly recommended.
Difficult Dukes series so far (click on the book covers for more details):
This review was first published on Rakes and Rascals Blog:
After attending his sister Alice’s marriage to Blackwood, Ripley had spent a year on the Continent and, on his return, he is shocked to discover that Ashmont is about to marry Lady Olympia Hightower. Furthermore, Ashmont is relying on him to ensure that everything goes without a hitch � not an easy job when the bride fails to make an appearance and Ashmont is imbibing too much, with the result that he would either �sink into a stupor and subside ungracefully to the floor' or �he’d pick a fight with someone.' When they go in search of Ashmont’s elusive bride, Ripley finds her climbing out of the library window in all her wedding finery. True to his promise to Ashmont, Ripley follows her out of the window, determined to bring her back.
Lady Olympia had not received a single offer of marriage in the past seven years of being out in society, and her only claim to fame was being voted the Most Boring Girl of Year for those years. Her parents are loving but, when it comes to money, they are not financially astute. Her father had wasted vast amounts of money on seasons for Olympia with the view to finding her a husband. Not once had he considered the adverse financial implications for his eldest son and heir, or his other five sons. So, when Olympia catches the eye of the Duke of Ashmont and he proposes, it is the answer to her prayers. He might be a notorious libertine, but he is also wealthy, handsome, charming and he seems to like her. It is only on the day of the wedding that doubts, fuelled by rather too much brandy, start to set in and she runs away with Ripley in hot pursuit.
At first, Ripley has every intention of persuading Olympia to return to her fiancé but soon finds himself falling in with her plans to go to her aunt’s. It’s a journey that will change their lives for ever.
I love a good road-trip romance especially when it involves assorted mishaps and misadventures along the way, including a dunk in the river, a runaway dog, a naked duke and more-than-friendly kisses in a post-chaise. The delightful banter between Ripley and Olympia is full of Ms. Chase’s trademark wit and humour which I love so much about her books.
He blinked. “Remarkable. You have a plan.�
“Yes. I only needed the mental stimulation of your stimulating company.�
“Any chance of stimulating you into telling me what, exactly, you’re running from?� he said. “Better yet, any chance of your changing your mind, like a good girl, and turning back? Any chance of something, oh, you know, bordering on reasonable?"
Although of short duration, the journey creates a sense of intimacy between Ripley and Olympia. They talk and get to know each other in a way that would not have happened in the normal course of things, given the constraints of society. Ripley discovers that Olympia is far from the boring person she believes herself to be. She is clever, spirited and funny, with a passion for rare books. Olympia discovers that beneath that rakish exterior (a lifestyle which had already begun to pall, according to his Aunt Julia) lies a man who is charming, kind, astute, witty and, most surprising of all, he reads romances!
I love the way in which Ms. Chase gradually builds the sexual tension between Ripley and Olympia, but both are determined not to succumb to temptation. Ripley’s sense of honour prevents him from stealing his best friend’s fiancée, however much he might believe that Ashton doesn’t deserve her. While Olympia doesn’t want to destroy the lifelong friendship between Ripley and Ashmont and neither does she want to hurt Ashmont. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and I was delighted to see Olympia throw away the rule book and be the one who takes the initiative. Poor Ripley doesn’t stand a chance!
There she was, the spirited general of a girl who’d mowed down a bully. There she was, in a lot of white underthings and a naughty corset, the most deliciously irresistible thing he’d ever seen.
Ripley never resisted temptation. He hardly knew how.
He couldn’t look away or run away or do the right thing. He’d never been a saint and he wasn’t about to start now, of all times.
She said, “Is this too subtle for you?�
“No,� he managed to choke out. “Dammit, Olympia.�
Two limping strides closed the space between them. Two more brought her up against the wall.
Sometimes the scenes are so vividly written that they conjured up all sorts of wonderful images in my mind. I think my favourite scene must be the one with the mechanical invalid chair which Ripley is reluctantly using after he sprains his ankle. It’s had me laughing out loud at Ripley’s antics.
It is obvious that Ashmont will not take kindly to his best friend running off with his fiancée and marrying her, and matters have to be settled in the time-honoured way. Luckily, this is a romance and therefore all ends happily.
With his excessive drinking and volatile temper, it seems Ashmont will have a difficult journey ahead before he attains his Happy Ever After. I am also intrigued by the reason for the obvious estrangement between Blackwood and his wife, and there is definitely some history between Ripley’s Aunt Julia and Ashmont’s Uncle Frederick that I am keen to learn more about.
MY VERDICT: This is a delightful story filled with fascinating characters, sparking wit, laugh-out-loud moments and a captivating romance. I am certainly looking forward to the other books in the series. Highly recommended.
Difficult Dukes series so far (click on the book covers for more details):
This review was first published on Rakes and Rascals Blog:
June 8, 2022
If I could describe this book with a single word it would be FUN. I am sure this is not a book for everyone. Most people dislike when the couple spend most of their time on the road traveling or how fast everything was, but this was so funny that it was worth it. Nothing overly complicated. No mystery to be solved. No one trying to murder each other. Well... maybe some but what can you do when idiots get together?
Anyway, I loved how well the H and h were together. They had not only chemistry they had fun together, playing like children and talking like friends, being honest with each other. It was enlightening.
And as someone who have in the past to choose from two friends, I was soooo happy that she had the courage, even if it was in liquid form, to run away from her wedding. She definitely deserved better than her fiancé. And I thought it hilarious her answer to the guy she was supposed to have married in the epilogue. This heroine is a crack.
I don't know how her ex fiancé will grow up but he has a loooot to do to become a better person. I am looking forward to his book.
PS: the audiobook narration was phenomenal.
Anyway, I loved how well the H and h were together. They had not only chemistry they had fun together, playing like children and talking like friends, being honest with each other. It was enlightening.
And as someone who have in the past to choose from two friends, I was soooo happy that she had the courage, even if it was in liquid form, to run away from her wedding. She definitely deserved better than her fiancé. And I thought it hilarious her answer to the guy she was supposed to have married in the epilogue. This heroine is a crack.
I don't know how her ex fiancé will grow up but he has a loooot to do to become a better person. I am looking forward to his book.
PS: the audiobook narration was phenomenal.
July 21, 2017
So-so first half. Super second half. My initial reaction is that I couldn't love this quite as much as I wanted to. However, it is Loretta Chase, and that's never a bad thing.
I'll want to think about this for a while.
Also, she has set this up so that the two remaining dukes' stories should be very interesting.
I'll want to think about this for a while.
Also, she has set this up so that the two remaining dukes' stories should be very interesting.
March 28, 2025
Once again, I have Gloria to thank for recommending this book to me. It's the first time I've read a novel by Loretta Chase. While my last book took place in 1843, it seems like I'm moving back in time because this novel takes place in and around London in 1833. The amazing part is that the main part of the story covers only a few days - less than a week actually.
I tried so hard to put myself in Olympia Hightower's shoes and ask if I would do the same thing she did given the place and time in history. This is a woman who is the only daughter among seven children. Her father is an Earl and not very good with money. Olympia's intelligent, loves books and libraries, but is also known among her peers as being boring because she loves discussing her library cataloguing system. She's also practical and wants to do what's best for her family even if it's not what she wants personally. And that's not to marry a wealthy, irresponsible, immature, and often inebriated Duke Ashmont.
At the beginning of the book, the reader is introduced to "Their Dis-Graces" - three young Dukes who are well known in London for their mischievous antics and close friendship. One (MMC His Grace Ripley) has just returned from a year of traveling the Continent to find his best friend, Duke Ashmont, about to be married to Lady Olympia (the MFC). The Duke of Blackwood married Ripley's sister Alice a year prior - right before Ripley departed for his year long travels. (Blackwood's story is told in a later book I think.)
Ashmont has asked Ripley to make sure everything is in order for the nuptials - the rings, necessary money, and most importantly, to be sure the bridegroom arrives on time for said wedding. On the day of the ceremony, the bride, dressed in her formal wedding gown is thinking... and drinking tea laced with brandy... and then just brandy - a flask full of brandy. And decides to bolt. By the time the other family members and groom (who has also been drinking), notice the bride is quite late, Ripley goes looking for her. He finds her trying to escape through a stuck library window and she orders him to help her open said window. He does and off she goes. He follows her hoping to convince her to return to Kensington and marry his best friend.
The remainder of the story covers all of the adventures Ripley and Olympia go through while trying to contain their attraction to each other. He's trying desperately to salvage his friend's wedding and keep her from destroying her reputation. She doesn't want to marry Ashmont but she also doesn't want to disappoint her family knowing they need the Duke's wealth for her younger brothers' education. She feels like she's being married off for money and only to produce an heir for the Duke. Every time I read one of these books, I thank God I was born in the second half of the 20th century!
Moving on. Ripley doesn't think of himself as handsome, but she tells him he is. She doesn't think she's pretty or shapely but he tells her she is - even more so when she's wearing her glasses. He wants to honor his friendship with Ashmont but at the same time, he's desperately fighting to control his feelings for Olympia. She also likes Ripley because they have much in common. Her spirited nature makes him laugh and his gestures and kindness touch her in a way she hasn't felt before. Above all else, and despite how Ripley feels about Olympia, he knows that she is exactly what Ashmont needs. Someone who will keep him in line.
Back to my original question. Would I take the same actions Olympia did if I didn't want to marry one Duke and eventually fell in love with another? In only three days time? It's true that Olympia's ultimate strategy towards Ripley was quite risky. Personally, I would have taken a different route. But... I'm not the author. The direction Ms. Chase decided for her book was one that made a very interesting story. My only disappointment was not getting full closure on Lord Frederick (Ashmont's Uncle) and Lady Charles (Ripley's Aunt). Maybe their relationship will be continued in the next book?
🪁 - 4 star rating out of 5
🪁 - Square #31 (Book picked by a GR friend.)
🪁 - 20/100
I tried so hard to put myself in Olympia Hightower's shoes and ask if I would do the same thing she did given the place and time in history. This is a woman who is the only daughter among seven children. Her father is an Earl and not very good with money. Olympia's intelligent, loves books and libraries, but is also known among her peers as being boring because she loves discussing her library cataloguing system. She's also practical and wants to do what's best for her family even if it's not what she wants personally. And that's not to marry a wealthy, irresponsible, immature, and often inebriated Duke Ashmont.
At the beginning of the book, the reader is introduced to "Their Dis-Graces" - three young Dukes who are well known in London for their mischievous antics and close friendship. One (MMC His Grace Ripley) has just returned from a year of traveling the Continent to find his best friend, Duke Ashmont, about to be married to Lady Olympia (the MFC). The Duke of Blackwood married Ripley's sister Alice a year prior - right before Ripley departed for his year long travels. (Blackwood's story is told in a later book I think.)
Ashmont has asked Ripley to make sure everything is in order for the nuptials - the rings, necessary money, and most importantly, to be sure the bridegroom arrives on time for said wedding. On the day of the ceremony, the bride, dressed in her formal wedding gown is thinking... and drinking tea laced with brandy... and then just brandy - a flask full of brandy. And decides to bolt. By the time the other family members and groom (who has also been drinking), notice the bride is quite late, Ripley goes looking for her. He finds her trying to escape through a stuck library window and she orders him to help her open said window. He does and off she goes. He follows her hoping to convince her to return to Kensington and marry his best friend.
The remainder of the story covers all of the adventures Ripley and Olympia go through while trying to contain their attraction to each other. He's trying desperately to salvage his friend's wedding and keep her from destroying her reputation. She doesn't want to marry Ashmont but she also doesn't want to disappoint her family knowing they need the Duke's wealth for her younger brothers' education. She feels like she's being married off for money and only to produce an heir for the Duke. Every time I read one of these books, I thank God I was born in the second half of the 20th century!
Moving on. Ripley doesn't think of himself as handsome, but she tells him he is. She doesn't think she's pretty or shapely but he tells her she is - even more so when she's wearing her glasses. He wants to honor his friendship with Ashmont but at the same time, he's desperately fighting to control his feelings for Olympia. She also likes Ripley because they have much in common. Her spirited nature makes him laugh and his gestures and kindness touch her in a way she hasn't felt before. Above all else, and despite how Ripley feels about Olympia, he knows that she is exactly what Ashmont needs. Someone who will keep him in line.
Back to my original question. Would I take the same actions Olympia did if I didn't want to marry one Duke and eventually fell in love with another? In only three days time? It's true that Olympia's ultimate strategy towards Ripley was quite risky. Personally, I would have taken a different route. But... I'm not the author. The direction Ms. Chase decided for her book was one that made a very interesting story. My only disappointment was not getting full closure on Lord Frederick (Ashmont's Uncle) and Lady Charles (Ripley's Aunt). Maybe their relationship will be continued in the next book?
🪁 - 4 star rating out of 5
🪁 - Square #31 (Book picked by a GR friend.)
🪁 - 20/100
November 30, 2017
A new series by Loretta Chase that features naughty, naughty dukes. They are so naughty, the three dukes, who are also besties, are nicknamed, Their Dis-Graces.
Not all dukes are created equal. Most are upstanding members of Society. And then there’s the trio known as Their Dis-Graces.
They drink too much, go after women, and are all shocked when they start to settle down and get serious about getting married. The Duke of Ashmont is a member of this trio, and found himself smitten with Lady Olympia Hightower. Olympia is very bookish, almost a spinster and a wallflower at every ball.
For seven years, she’d been voted Most Boring Girl of the Season. In seven years, she’d received not a single offer. That was to say, she’d received no offer any young lady in her right mind, no matter how desperate, would accept or, as had happened in the case of an elderly suitor, would be allowed to accept.
Before I continue I should note that, the whole, “she’d been voted Most Boring Girl of the Season,� which is mentioned at least twice in the book, tends to feel more…modern. I discussed this with Janine, who review for Dear Author on twitter, who mentioned that it’s jarring and I have to agree. I remember a few other times as I was reading thinking something similar. If you are very strict with historical accuracy, this one might be a thorn in your side.
Why on earth Ashmont courted her, is still a mystery to her. Olympia isn’t in love with Ashmont, but she has six brothers, and thinks this is best for her and her family. But minutes before she is supposed to walk down the aisle, she is chugging brandy from a flask and then fleeing out a window. I guess Ashmont has to wait a book or two to truly find true love. It’s not that Ashmont is a horrible person � but he is like a present day frat boy. He drinks way too much. He gets into fights on the street.
True, Lucius Wilmot Beckingham, the sixth Duke of Ashmont, was a bit of an ass, and so immature he made nine-year-old Clarence look like King Solomon. And yet, it went without saying that His Grace would be unfaithful.
Great catch. Run, Olympia!
Without much in common between them, and not wanting to have to care for a drunk husband day in and day out, Olympia decides being ruined is for the better. But much to her dismay, Ashmont’s best friend, and another one of those, ‘Dis-Graces� sees her flee and follows her.
Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, we will just call him Ripley, sees tipsy Olympia run off, and decides to go collect her back for the wedding. But then he realizes how serious she is about leaving, and how drunk she is, and finds it all very amusing and decides to help her on her adventure. And it is an adventure � at first. They go by carriage and boat, eventually landing at Ripley’s sister’s house. All the while, Olympia realizes Ripley and her have so much in common, and she falls for him � but too cowardly to get word to Ashmont that she is ending the engagement. Tsk tsk, Olympia.
The first half of this book was so cute and fun, but it stalls out by the second half. After Olympia makes her escape, not much else happens. Ashmont and her brothers start to look for her, but it’s slow going. Olympia and Ripley, being in such close quarters, start a romance, but it lacked passion. Or maybe it was all too predictable. While Ripley has a bit of a sharp tongue and finds Olympia’s great escape to be amusing, I’m not sure I would classify him as too disgraceful. It seems his naughty antics happened more in the past and he turned respectable before this books starts.
Fun first half, flat second half. But I am interested to see who gets the next book.
Grade: C+
Not all dukes are created equal. Most are upstanding members of Society. And then there’s the trio known as Their Dis-Graces.
They drink too much, go after women, and are all shocked when they start to settle down and get serious about getting married. The Duke of Ashmont is a member of this trio, and found himself smitten with Lady Olympia Hightower. Olympia is very bookish, almost a spinster and a wallflower at every ball.
For seven years, she’d been voted Most Boring Girl of the Season. In seven years, she’d received not a single offer. That was to say, she’d received no offer any young lady in her right mind, no matter how desperate, would accept or, as had happened in the case of an elderly suitor, would be allowed to accept.
Before I continue I should note that, the whole, “she’d been voted Most Boring Girl of the Season,� which is mentioned at least twice in the book, tends to feel more…modern. I discussed this with Janine, who review for Dear Author on twitter, who mentioned that it’s jarring and I have to agree. I remember a few other times as I was reading thinking something similar. If you are very strict with historical accuracy, this one might be a thorn in your side.
Why on earth Ashmont courted her, is still a mystery to her. Olympia isn’t in love with Ashmont, but she has six brothers, and thinks this is best for her and her family. But minutes before she is supposed to walk down the aisle, she is chugging brandy from a flask and then fleeing out a window. I guess Ashmont has to wait a book or two to truly find true love. It’s not that Ashmont is a horrible person � but he is like a present day frat boy. He drinks way too much. He gets into fights on the street.
True, Lucius Wilmot Beckingham, the sixth Duke of Ashmont, was a bit of an ass, and so immature he made nine-year-old Clarence look like King Solomon. And yet, it went without saying that His Grace would be unfaithful.
Great catch. Run, Olympia!
Without much in common between them, and not wanting to have to care for a drunk husband day in and day out, Olympia decides being ruined is for the better. But much to her dismay, Ashmont’s best friend, and another one of those, ‘Dis-Graces� sees her flee and follows her.
Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, we will just call him Ripley, sees tipsy Olympia run off, and decides to go collect her back for the wedding. But then he realizes how serious she is about leaving, and how drunk she is, and finds it all very amusing and decides to help her on her adventure. And it is an adventure � at first. They go by carriage and boat, eventually landing at Ripley’s sister’s house. All the while, Olympia realizes Ripley and her have so much in common, and she falls for him � but too cowardly to get word to Ashmont that she is ending the engagement. Tsk tsk, Olympia.
The first half of this book was so cute and fun, but it stalls out by the second half. After Olympia makes her escape, not much else happens. Ashmont and her brothers start to look for her, but it’s slow going. Olympia and Ripley, being in such close quarters, start a romance, but it lacked passion. Or maybe it was all too predictable. While Ripley has a bit of a sharp tongue and finds Olympia’s great escape to be amusing, I’m not sure I would classify him as too disgraceful. It seems his naughty antics happened more in the past and he turned respectable before this books starts.
Fun first half, flat second half. But I am interested to see who gets the next book.
Grade: C+
August 28, 2021
(wallflower, rake, opposites attract, forced proximity, runaway bride)
“He kissed her in the way of a man who wants what he can’t have and has to have it anyway, the way of a man who knows only when ’s got it and needs to know nothing else. And with the first tase and feel of her mouth and the way her body felt, crushed to his, all the feelings that had been crashing this way and that, all wrong, turned right.�
Given A Duke in Shining Armor's mixed reviews, I started reading this with very few expectations but ended up utterly charmed. What a delightful and funny romance! It's the perfect thing to pick up if you're looking for a dashing tale of opposites attract, laugh-out-loud dialogue, brilliant secondary characters, and a plot that never lags.
Olympia Hightower: Olympia is the daughter of an earl and has six brothers. Her parents are financially irresponsible and as the practical, sensible daughter, she feels a strong sense of duty to marry well. Twenty-six years old and a bluestocking, Olympia has been voted Most Boring Girl of The Season for seven years. Her family is therefore overjoyed when she receives a proposal from the Duke of Ashmont. She feels an obligation to accept his proposal despite having several misgivings.
Hugh Ancaster: Hugh is the Duke of Ripley and twenty-nine years old. He's one of the trio of dukes known as The Dis-Graces, knicknamed so for being England's most notorious libertines. Ripley is a rake and huge practical joker; ’s also Ashmont's best friend. Ashmont has entrusted him with the task of supervising the day’s proceedings so that his wedding day goes off without a hitch. Ashmont needs someone to manage him because ’s either drunk, hungover, brawling or doing all three all the time.
On the day of her wedding, Olympia gets a bad case of bridal nerves just before she's supposed to walk down the aisle and has some brandy to calm herself down. She ends up drunk, panics, climbs out of a window and flees the venue. Meanwhile Ashmont and everyone else in church start getting restless at the delay. Ripley is sent to check on her, sees her fleeing and gives chase, wanting to get her back to the church as soon as possible. Thus begins a merry chase and a series of hilarious misadventures spanning several days.
The overall feel of the story is light-hearted, but passionate. The signature wit that we've come to expect from Loretta Chase's characters abounds. Olympia and Ripley have some exquisite exchanges and even their inner monologues are funny. But what makes the romance between Olympia and Ripley especially compelling is that this is a true case of opposites attract: bluestocking vs blockhead, wallflower vs rake, practical/sensible heroine vs frivolous hero. But when they finally do get together, it makes sense and their love scenes are steamy.
“This weeping female wasn’t like his sister or any of his mistresses or even his mother. This one belonged to a different species altogether. Among other things, she was Ashmont’s betrothed. Ashmont had never had one of those before. This being a brand-new category of Situation with Weeping Female, Ripley needed a moment to determine his course of action.�
The trickiest thing to pull off by far is getting the reader comfortable with Ripley’s relationship with his best friend's bride. But this is handled so deftly—particularly Ripley’s immense guilt about betraying his best friend—that one can't help but root for the couple.
“He kissed her in the way of a man who wants what he can’t have and has to have it anyway, the way of a man who knows only when ’s got it and needs to know nothing else. And with the first tase and feel of her mouth and the way her body felt, crushed to his, all the feelings that had been crashing this way and that, all wrong, turned right.�
Given A Duke in Shining Armor's mixed reviews, I started reading this with very few expectations but ended up utterly charmed. What a delightful and funny romance! It's the perfect thing to pick up if you're looking for a dashing tale of opposites attract, laugh-out-loud dialogue, brilliant secondary characters, and a plot that never lags.
Olympia Hightower: Olympia is the daughter of an earl and has six brothers. Her parents are financially irresponsible and as the practical, sensible daughter, she feels a strong sense of duty to marry well. Twenty-six years old and a bluestocking, Olympia has been voted Most Boring Girl of The Season for seven years. Her family is therefore overjoyed when she receives a proposal from the Duke of Ashmont. She feels an obligation to accept his proposal despite having several misgivings.
Hugh Ancaster: Hugh is the Duke of Ripley and twenty-nine years old. He's one of the trio of dukes known as The Dis-Graces, knicknamed so for being England's most notorious libertines. Ripley is a rake and huge practical joker; ’s also Ashmont's best friend. Ashmont has entrusted him with the task of supervising the day’s proceedings so that his wedding day goes off without a hitch. Ashmont needs someone to manage him because ’s either drunk, hungover, brawling or doing all three all the time.
On the day of her wedding, Olympia gets a bad case of bridal nerves just before she's supposed to walk down the aisle and has some brandy to calm herself down. She ends up drunk, panics, climbs out of a window and flees the venue. Meanwhile Ashmont and everyone else in church start getting restless at the delay. Ripley is sent to check on her, sees her fleeing and gives chase, wanting to get her back to the church as soon as possible. Thus begins a merry chase and a series of hilarious misadventures spanning several days.
The overall feel of the story is light-hearted, but passionate. The signature wit that we've come to expect from Loretta Chase's characters abounds. Olympia and Ripley have some exquisite exchanges and even their inner monologues are funny. But what makes the romance between Olympia and Ripley especially compelling is that this is a true case of opposites attract: bluestocking vs blockhead, wallflower vs rake, practical/sensible heroine vs frivolous hero. But when they finally do get together, it makes sense and their love scenes are steamy.
“This weeping female wasn’t like his sister or any of his mistresses or even his mother. This one belonged to a different species altogether. Among other things, she was Ashmont’s betrothed. Ashmont had never had one of those before. This being a brand-new category of Situation with Weeping Female, Ripley needed a moment to determine his course of action.�
The trickiest thing to pull off by far is getting the reader comfortable with Ripley’s relationship with his best friend's bride. But this is handled so deftly—particularly Ripley’s immense guilt about betraying his best friend—that one can't help but root for the couple.
December 13, 2020
"Almost" Read, actually. I got to about 68% and then skimmed thru. And still, I lost interest while skimming and just stopped all together.
The story started out fun enough. I absolutely loved the fun, witty, dry banter back and forth between the hero and heroine. But even that was not enough to carry the book for me after half-way thru.
At 68% of the book, about a whole 24 hours had actually passed in the story. The longest "day" of my life. Ok, so they were on the run from her wedding ceremony that she bolted from, he was the Best Man, and was keeping tabs on her/keeping her safe until the groom could catch up to them and redeem himself (somehow, he was a huge loser) in her eyes. I kept looking at the page counter thinking, "omg, is this close to the end or what?"... and thats not a good sign. I felt like a whole lot of nothing was happening. I am thinking this would have been better if it was a short story...
The only thing that I could recall (by the time that I stopped) was that I had read about the heroine having 6 brothers numerous times (and that was why she was so well-prepared for life), that the hero and his friends are huge immature drunk pranksters (I know, charming) and that the heroine was constantly reminding him and herself that she is so well-known for being boring. Any compliment she would get would confuse her, because... "she is just so boring, everybody knows this!". In today's day and age, we would call this 'fishing for compliments and it is annoying'.
Besides that, I really do not like the forbidden love trope, as it always feels like someone else is getting cheated on by our main couple. I am not thinking I will read the next story, the love story of the jilted groom from this book... as he is a huge drunken, wastrel. Not sexy at all...
The story started out fun enough. I absolutely loved the fun, witty, dry banter back and forth between the hero and heroine. But even that was not enough to carry the book for me after half-way thru.
At 68% of the book, about a whole 24 hours had actually passed in the story. The longest "day" of my life. Ok, so they were on the run from her wedding ceremony that she bolted from, he was the Best Man, and was keeping tabs on her/keeping her safe until the groom could catch up to them and redeem himself (somehow, he was a huge loser) in her eyes. I kept looking at the page counter thinking, "omg, is this close to the end or what?"... and thats not a good sign. I felt like a whole lot of nothing was happening. I am thinking this would have been better if it was a short story...
The only thing that I could recall (by the time that I stopped) was that I had read about the heroine having 6 brothers numerous times (and that was why she was so well-prepared for life), that the hero and his friends are huge immature drunk pranksters (I know, charming) and that the heroine was constantly reminding him and herself that she is so well-known for being boring. Any compliment she would get would confuse her, because... "she is just so boring, everybody knows this!". In today's day and age, we would call this 'fishing for compliments and it is annoying'.
Besides that, I really do not like the forbidden love trope, as it always feels like someone else is getting cheated on by our main couple. I am not thinking I will read the next story, the love story of the jilted groom from this book... as he is a huge drunken, wastrel. Not sexy at all...
September 22, 2018
Weird book. Olympia would have faced a lot more censure, aggressively so, for her behavior.
I am not sure why the groom was being blamed for being a normal man of his time. Or being told cheesy crap like he'd never be happy without her.
And the hero, Ripley, needed to stop acting like his d*ck was in charge of his decency.
Everyone's behavior was asinine.
To add sauce to the undercooked meat, this all apparently took place over four days. Get out of here with that ridiculous timeline!
People were also popping between London and the countryside at record speeds. One would swear travel was taking place by train. Smh. Still, it's read-through-able.
There's the germs of a much better book in here. Even a simple tweak like him leaving the country because of her and having her run from her wedding because of his return would have made this all so much more palatable.
Oh and perhaps something other than vague 'me tarzan, you jane' lust to account for their abominable actions after a mere four days together. As if that was supposed to have the reader invested in the idea of their supposed undying love.
I am not sure why the groom was being blamed for being a normal man of his time. Or being told cheesy crap like he'd never be happy without her.
And the hero, Ripley, needed to stop acting like his d*ck was in charge of his decency.
Everyone's behavior was asinine.
To add sauce to the undercooked meat, this all apparently took place over four days. Get out of here with that ridiculous timeline!
People were also popping between London and the countryside at record speeds. One would swear travel was taking place by train. Smh. Still, it's read-through-able.
There's the germs of a much better book in here. Even a simple tweak like him leaving the country because of her and having her run from her wedding because of his return would have made this all so much more palatable.
Oh and perhaps something other than vague 'me tarzan, you jane' lust to account for their abominable actions after a mere four days together. As if that was supposed to have the reader invested in the idea of their supposed undying love.
December 17, 2017
So we finally have a H who is not the brightest bulb in the room and knows it and others around him agree with this. He may be a nobleman..but he's not "noble".
Trying to put his conscience first? Nope not this guy. Thankfully it saves us pages after pages of inner turmoil when he takes off with his best friend's bride-to-be. He doesn't even try too hard to resist temptation. I'm actually happy about this.
Also I suppose Ashmont will get his own book. Tough to imagine him as the H. He's really stupid. Making him alluring is going to take some real effort.
Trying to put his conscience first? Nope not this guy. Thankfully it saves us pages after pages of inner turmoil when he takes off with his best friend's bride-to-be. He doesn't even try too hard to resist temptation. I'm actually happy about this.
Also I suppose Ashmont will get his own book. Tough to imagine him as the H. He's really stupid. Making him alluring is going to take some real effort.
January 17, 2022
huh this was very boring certainly not what I was expecting from this author and blurb
... and what a beautiful cover...
2,5�
... and what a beautiful cover...
2,5�
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