Forever
Featuring: Captain Maximus Harcourt; Miss Ivory Moore
352 pages ISBN: 1455536792 EAN: 9781455536795 Kindle: B00Z7J7CXW Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Ivory Moore's life has taken many twists and turns.
Gifted with a beautiful voice, she was "purchased" from
her family at a young age and groomed to be an opera
singer. She soon learned what she had to do to
survive in a world ruled by men. Eventually, the Duke of
Knightley discovered her, and they began a love affair
that turned into a marriage. When the older Knightley
dies, his grown children ostracized Ivory, who didn't
have the clout or the desire to fight them. Aided by the
journals her deceased husband kept, Ivory embarkes on a
career of being a discreet problem solver for members of
the ton. Her latest assignment takes her to the home of
the Duke of Alderidge, where the duke's younger sister,
Bea, has disappeared, leaving a naked, dead earl tied to
her bed.
Maximus Harcourt, the Duke of Alderidge, is also a sea
captain and spends the majority of time away from his
home. He returns on the night of a ball in honor of his
sister's debut, only to find her gone, and her bedroom
full with strangers, a dead man, his distraught aunt,
and a hysterical maid. The duke is furious his aunt
hired Ivory for damage control, until he realizes
Ivory's assistance may be the only way to save Bea's
reputation. Though he initially opposes Ivory at every
turn, it's soon clear she has the knowledge and
means to find Bea, as well as making the earl's death
appear to be from natural causes.
I adore the character of Ivory. She is brilliant and
confident as well as beautiful. She has endured a lot in
her life, yet she's not bitter or jaded, but she does have
her own sense of justice. She is somewhat surprised at
her physical response to Max, as she has not been
involved with a man for a long time, instead
focusing on her business. Yet each meeting finds her
desiring the enigmatic duke more and more.
Max has plenty of experience with desire but not love.
He had two older brothers who were in line to inherit the
dukedom before him, so his parents had no use for him.
He was sent away to school at six, then off to sea at
thirteen. When his parents and brothers died, and he
inherited the title, he felt like the square peg trying
to fit into the round hole. There were plenty of
stewards and solicitors to keep the estate running
smoothly, so he continued on with what he knew—the
sea.
There were many lovers over the years but no love so
the emotions he is feeling for Ivory puzzle and disturb
him.
I devoured DUKE OF MY HEART. The pacing is
excellent, with the mystery being just as compelling as
the romance. I love both of these unconventional
characters, especially how Max makes no judgment of
Ivory's past, and how Ivory is willing to make a great
sacrifice because of her love for him. Kelly Bowen has
written an exciting, emotional, sexy and very satisfying
story, and I'm happy to highly recommend DUKE OF MY HEART
(Season for Scandal #1) for your reading pleasure.
Captain Maximus Harcourt, the unconventional tenth Duke of
Alderidge, can deal with tropical storms, raging seas, and
the fiercest of pirates. But he's returned home from his
latest voyage to find a naked earl - quite inconveniently
deceased - tied to his missing sister's bed. And he has only
one place to turn. Now he's at the mercy of the captivating
Miss Ivory Moore of Chegarre & Associates, known throughout
London for smoothing over the most dire of scandals.
Miss Moore treats the crisis as though it were no more
serious than a cup of spilt tea on an expensive rug. As
though this sort of thing happened on the job every day. Max
has never in all his life met a woman with such nerve. Her
dark eyes are too wide, her mouth is too full, her
cheekbones too sharp. Yet together, she's
somehow...flawless. It's just like his love for her,
imperfect, unexpected - yet absolutely true.
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