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Between the Devil and the Duke Their love was always in the cards.
He should have thrown her out. But when club owner Alexander Lavoie catches a mysterious blonde counting cards at his vingt-et-un table, he's more intrigued than angry. He has to see more of this beauty—in his club, in his office, in his bed. But first he'll have to devise a proposition she can't turn down.

Gossip said he was an assassin.
Common sense told her to stay away. But Angelique Archer was desperate, and Lavoie's club offered a surefire way to make quick money—until she got caught. Instead of throwing her out though, the devil offers her a deal: come work for him. Refusing him means facing starvation, but with a man so sinfully handsome and fiercely protective, keeping things professional might prove impossible. (less)

We are finishing out Kelly Bowen's trilogy with about 4 chapters a day beginning August 20. Please join us!

Thanks for starting this Loriidae, you're a gem! I am looking forward to this.

:)

There are 19 chapters. How many per day would you prefer?

Joanna you are going to love it. I couldn't help myself, read the first two chapters with my morning coffee. Begins with a bang :)

Awesome! I am excited. I was thinking about getting a head start also and you beat me! Hehe.

As for how many per day, I'm open for different options. Bowen seems to be rather inconsistent with Chapter lengths, so if there is a long one in the mix, I may do less on those days.

Ok lets play that by ear. Say aim for 4, but more or less is fine, I have a huge day tomorrow, hence my guilt free head start.

I finished the first 2 chapters now. It does begin with a bang! Her family situation is intriguing. I am assuming that they are broke, but I wonder what the story is there.

Chapters 1 - 6
Loved the beginning (chapters 1 and 2) I'm not sure how I feel about Alex using the ledgers to investigate Angelique's background and the loss of her family fortune but I guess from a potential employer angle that would be entirely reasonable to his mind.
The brother now, what a piece of work he is!!
I am really enjoying this one. Still no hints on the fate of the money.

I swear I posted after finishing Chapter 5. I finished that this weekend, and then it took me two days to finish chapter 6. That was a long one and life has been busy!

Alex was being a bit on intrusive side, but considering his line of work, I suppose that is not too surprising. At least he had an excuse in his mind. Not sure either.

Her brother is a piece of work! I feel just a tad bit sorry for him, because he doesn't appear to be very bright. His friends clearly don't have his best interest at heart. I think Seaton is going to be the villain at least partially.

I am enjoying this as well!

As it is just us we can slow right down. You post next and assuming GR hasn't swallowed it :) I will read to there. It's all good.

Oh and I think you are right about Seaton, obviously the investment schemes are pretty shady.

Sounds good!

I just read Chapter 7, and it ended in a way that I will definitely be reading more tonight!

I couldn't stop and read through Chapter 11.

I was hoping to get to a point of clarity, but I am not there yet. (view spoiler)[ Seaton's father seems to be the villain, and Seaton is just complicit. Then again, Who knows? Gerald is so stupid and clearly being setup. The part I can't piece together is why someone seems trying to systematically destroy Angelique's family. Revenge? Against the whole family? It appears to be ruthless and well-orchestrated plan that is taking a considerable amount of planning and patience. Maybe similar to the Count of Monte Cristo? (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 7 - 10
Wow I see what you mean
The scene in the tower was absolutely brilliant this is by far the best of the three books at this point
The conspiracy around his incarceration in the tower is interesting. What does Gerald know that he doesn't realise he knows? I think it is very realistic that he is still clinging to his past behaviour/ beliefs. He is so gullible!
Ivory teasing Alex was really sweet
Seaton is a slimeball she is well rid of him!
I am really enjoying this and I don't have it on audio, so I have been reduced to the read aloud app on my tablet, which has this horrible robotic voice, at the very least the washing gets folded today.
I will probably end up at about 15 or 16 after my afternoon coffee.

I see you have read chapter 11. I will continue folding washing and then peek at your spoiler :)

LOL - I have never tried a read aloud app. I may have to check it again to get more stuff done. Do you typically switch between reading and listening on a book?

You can read my spoiler if you're that far. I didn't address anything in 11.

I loved the scene in the tower also. I agree, this is a very enjoyable read. I am not sure if I am more into it than the previous one or not, but I may be. Seriously good stuff here. The conspiracy, the mystery and intrigue is so well done. There are so many ways this could go and I have probably have not even thought of the way it will end up.

Ivory teasing Alex was fun. I wonder if we will see Eve at some point?

Seaton is awful, just awful. But he doesn't seem to make decisions for himself, which I thought was interesting.

Read aloud would be ok if it wasn't completely monotone. But of course a computer doesn't know what inflections to put on the right syllables. Not to mention words like wound etc which change on context, that bring you totally out of the story to work out what was actually meant. But it does work!

So at the end of chapter 11, the appearance of the lynch mob is interesting. You are right someone higher than Seaton is pulling the strings. His father maybe?

Loriidae wrote: "Read aloud would be ok if it wasn't completely monotone. But of course a computer doesn't know what inflections to put on the right syllables. Not to mention words like wound etc which change on co..."

I think it likely his father, or maybe Seaton's father is afraid of suffering the same fate? A deep, dark secret the deceased marquess and him have in common?

I read through Chapter 13 tonight

I enjoyed seeing Gil again. This romance has had what feels like a slower build than the other two novels. It's very well done. I really love both of them . Angelique is a great heroine. I love how she rises above her struggles and comes out stronger. Alex is great as well. They work well together. Not being able to figure out this mystery is driving me a little nuts, but in a good way.

Now that is an interesting idea a puppet master above the elders Seaton and Hutton

Chapters 12 - 16
I liked the way KB is weaving in characters from the previous stories, and that she has switched it up by not using the insta love this time.
So with great restraint I have stopped on a bit of a revelation. I really like that we are discovering clues along with the MC's. I dislike it when the villain is revealed to the reader beforehand.
So who's the duke? I am assuming that Alex is the devil, and had made the assumption that the duke was Seaton, now I am not as certain.

I just finished Chapter 16

There have been some great secondary characters in this series.

I admire your will to stop here. That was a must-read-more sort of stop.

I agree - seeing the clues unfold has been fun. There was great misdirect employed between the Seaton's family and the Burleighs. I will be a tad annoyed if there is no Duke for which the title refers. Seaton's father's behavior has still been highly suspect.

I don't know why, but I thought Angelique's father had been dead for longer. I thought he died shortly after his wife.

Are you reading the rest today?

Ok, I finished. I think I have felt a bit letdown at the end of each book in the series because I don't want it to be over. That was exciting and well done.

After that comment. Definitely! Hubby is away on a job and will be late home. So plenty of time.

Ok finished!
A little disappointed in the very neat bows of the ending, it wasn't necessary or at all believable for Gerard to suddenly be a hero, just proved innocent and sober as a result of the experience would have been more realistic.

And no duke explanation!!

I liked the banter Alex and Max!

It had a lot of ingredients for a five star read but fell short so 4.5 stars!

Loriidae wrote: "Ok finished!
A little disappointed in the very neat bows of the ending, it wasn't necessary or at all believable for Gerard to suddenly be a hero, just proved innocent and sober as a result of the..."

I agree with all of your points. I think it could have used an epilogue. I thought it somewhat strange that the marquess (their father) would be so done in by all the blackmail. Seems like he could have figured out who it was.

I did like how Angelique ran the club for Alex while he was recovering.

It was close to a 5 star read for me too.

Excellent!

I have really enjoyed our conversations and would love to continue.
Next month - why don't you choose one of the three that you put forward in the last thread or anything else that comes to mind :)

Loriidae wrote: "Excellent!

I have really enjoyed our conversations and would love to continue.
Next month - why don't you choose one of the three that you put forward in the last thread or anything else that co..."

Awesome. I wouldn't mind continuing with Kelly Bowen. Maybe the worth series? I have seen that it is good.

You're on. Are you still ok with one a month? That suits me I must admit. :)

Yes, works for me. Mid-September? Maybe starting on a Friday or Saturday instead this time?

Sounds good:)

Okay you guys. I read it and I loved it!

I loved the characters and the interactions. No insta-love was awesome! I loved seeing their relationship build. I really do enjoy Kelly Bowen's writing and I think this was her best so far.

Some thoughts based off of your thoughts. I think that Angelique's father knew who was blackmailing him. But it didn't matter because he still didn't want what had happened to come out. It was probably extremely obvious to him because he knew his friend had kept records of it to some degree at least.

I'm also personally very happy there was no epilogue. They're honestly one of my biggest pet peeves in romance books. The epilogue with the children and the pregnancy and all that. Bleh. It has brought down my ratings and enjoyment more than once. It's just too much. And I think it especially wouldn't work well with their story. But maybe that'st just me.

I think Seaton was the duke. Because she had almost married him (or at least she thought she was going to), he's the first person she ever had sex with and he offers to protect her once her brother is put in jail. To us, obviously she wasn't going to accept him because he's a giant dickwad. But looking at someone's perspective from that time, she probably should have accepted him. He was "respectable" and a friend of her brother's. And ever other person in the ton completely rejected her and her family. Being with Seaton could have made that better, saved her reputation and saved her financially. There was literally a mob attacking her house. If Alex hadn't been there for her, who knows what was going to happen? And although, I don't think Seaton ever really loved her, I totally think he could have been lying about why he didn't marry her. I think (I don't remember his name, but her brother's other friend) could have bribed Seaton not to marry her in agreement for the money even though he was actually planning on marrying her. I dunno. But I can totally understand the title even if it's not the most obvious.

Glad you enjoyed it Giselle. Your Duke explanation makes perfect sense I hadn't looked at it that way.

I don't mind the HEA epilogue. I get annoyed by the abrupt switch which sets up for the next book and has nothing to do with what I have just read.

Giselle wrote: "Okay you guys. I read it and I loved it!

I loved the characters and the interactions. No insta-love was awesome! I loved seeing their relationship build. I really do enjoy Kelly Bowen's writing a..."

Glad you enjoyed it! I think your explanation of the title makes sense when you step back. Was there indication that the marquess knew who it was? I don't recall, but I do agree a reasonable person would have guessed. But, if he knew, why no retaliation to the blackmailer?

I don't like epilogues that are unrelated and are used as a setup. I do like it when they add to the story, maybe answer an unanswered question. I can understand your aversion though. If it's just a cutesy add on at the end, it can seem unnecessary.

Joanna wrote: "Giselle wrote: "Okay you guys. I read it and I loved it!

I loved the characters and the interactions. No insta-love was awesome! I loved seeing their relationship build. I really do enjoy Kelly B..."

I don't believe there were any hints but he had been dead for awhile so they just might not have found it. What retaliation could he give? I don't think he was the most sensible person so maybe he just couldn't think of anyway to retaliate.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when the female has a hard time getting pregnant and suddenly in the epilogue she's pregnant. Or if one of them didn't want kids but now in the epilogue it's okay? Like kids are the end all be all of the universe in HR epilogues.

Giselle wrote: "Joanna wrote: "Giselle wrote: "Okay you guys. I read it and I loved it!

I loved the characters and the interactions. No insta-love was awesome! I loved seeing their relationship build. I really d..."

Yea, him not being the most sensible person is probably right and fits.

Epilogues just for the sake of showing the kids or pregnancy can have me rolling my eyes. In general, it doesn't affect my enjoyment of a book, but I think it a valid gripe.