What the Duke Doesn't Know

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Title:

What the Duke Doesn't Know

Author:

Ashford, Jane

Subject:

Historical Fiction
Romance
Fiction

Description:

"Ashford soars to new heights of literary excellence by creating a cleverly conceived story that takes all the traditional elements readers love in Regency romances and making everything seem refreshingly new. "—Booklist After making his fortune overseas, Royal Navy captain James Gresham is ready to settle down with a proper wife, but dark-eyed half-Polynesian Kawena is making that very difficult for him.Captain James Gresham is the fifth son of the Duke of Langford and has made his fortune in the Royal Navy. The time has come to find a proper wife and establish his home, but the adventurous possibilities of the sea entice him.Enter Kawena Benson—half-English, half-Polynesian, and all spunk. She has one mission: avenge her father and reclaim the jewels stolen from him. And she has her target: Lord James Gresham. His protests of innocence mean nothing to her. After all, isn't that what every man says when facing down the barrel of a gun?If James is going to get out of this situation alive, he'll have to throw propriety to the wind and aid Kawena in her quest for vengeance. But will he be able to watch her sail away once her mission is complete?The Duke's Sons Series: Heir to the Duke (Book 1)What the Duke Doesn't Know (Book 2)Lord Sebastian's Secret (Book 3)Nothing Like a Duke (Book 4)

Publisher:

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Sourcebooks

Date:

2016/09/06

Digital Format:

HTML

ADOBE EPUB

KINDLE

Language:

English

Summary

After making his fortune overseas, Royal Navy captain James Gresham is ready to settle down with a proper wife, but dark-eyed half-Polynesian Kawena is making that very difficult for him.

Captain James Gresham is the fifth son of the Duke of Langford and has made his fortune in the Royal Navy. The time has come to find a proper wife and establish his home, but the adventurous possibilities of the sea entice him.

Enter Kawena Benson--half-English, half-Polynesian, and all spunk. She has one mission: avenge her father and reclaim the jewels stolen from him. And she has her target: Lord James Gresham. His protests of innocence mean nothing to her. After all, isn't that what every man says when facing down the barrel of a gun?

If James is going to get out of this situation alive, he'll have to throw propriety to the wind and aid Kawena in her quest for vengeance. But will he be able to watch her sail away once her mission is complete?

The Duke's Sons Series:

Heir to the Duke (Book 1)

What the Duke Doesn't Know (Book 2)

Lord Sebastian's Secret (Book 3)

Nothing Like a Duke (Book 4)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Ashford's delightful second venture into the social lives of the six sons of the Duke of Langford (after Heir to the Duke) pokes gentle fun at British society stuffiness in a story that pits propriety against authenticity, passion, and personality. Lord James Gresham, at loose ends after the Royal Navy ship on which he served is decommissioned, is surprised by the pistol-wielding, revenge-seeking Kawena Benson, the half-Pacific Islander daughter of an English trader seeking to avenge her father's death. After James convinces her of his innocence, she asks him to help with her search for the robber whose theft of her father's jewels led to his fatal heart attack, and a comedy of awkwardness, misunderstandings, and manners ensues. James realizes his joking request to his sister-in-law to find him a proper bride is at odds with his appreciation of Kawena's outsider perspective and her island-learned freedom to ask for what she wants. The story resonates with the humor of English seafaring comedy such as The Pirates of Penzance while calling out narrow-minded exoticism in a fashion that has modern appeal. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* For British navy captain James Gresham, it was a perfectly boring Oxford garden party until a woman disguised as a man and brandishing a pistol leaped out of the shrubbery and accused him of being a thief. It turns out that Kawena Benson believes that while James was visiting the island where she lived in Polynesia with her family, he stole a valuable cache of jewels from her father. Although it is true that James' ship, Charis, did dock at the island, he most definitely did not steal anything. It seems that the only way James can prove his innocence to Kawena is by helping her track down the real thief. With the second addition in her Duke's Sons series, following Heir to the Duke (2016), Ashford soars to new heights of literary excellence by creating a cleverly conceived story that takes all the traditional elements readers love in Regency romances and making everything seem refreshingly new. Throw in Ashford's gift for creating intriguingly different characters and her dry sense of humor, and you have a romance worth cherishing.--Charles, John Copyright 2016 Booklist