Hamish MacHugh relishes his new title of Duke of Murdoch as
much as facing Napoleon's army again, probably even less. For
his beloved sisters, he will make the sacrifice and endure a
bit of the Season in London, but he will not be going back to
Scotland soon enough. He inadvertently meets Miss Megan
Windham as a persistent suitor threatens to drop Megan's
spectacles, and Hamish with lightning speed averts the
disaster, for Megan suffers from very poor eyesight indeed.
Hamish knows Megan's handsome scoundrel who bothers Megan
from his war years, and he seethes at the idea of the blonde
miscreant getting his paws on Megan. Which is also how Megan
feels, but she has a secret that she doesn't want revealed.
Hamish is stuck in London for a while, and the kind Miss
Windham suggests she teaches him how to waltz, as well as
some of the finer points of etiquette, which completely
eludes the brawny Scotsman, who commits gaffe upon gaffe. But
a military man must soldier on, and this is how Hamish sees
the whole enterprise: a battle to be won, and one must
strategize. To his surprise, Megan is not deterred by
anything, not even that Hamish is known as the Duke of
Murder!
Ms. Burrowes' incandescent, gorgeous, glorious prose shines
and enchants as always, the author's wit and erudition add
much to the narrative and the dialogues, which are marvels of
cleverness. Hamish and Megan are such well-drawn characters,
I took to them right away, even though Hamish appears brash,
he is honest, straightforward, and very kind, and so is
Megan; they understand each other. I love how they come
together; the very stubborn and reluctant Duke is willing to
listen to Megan, because he senses she sees the man that he
is and accepts him as such, he doesn't have to pretend with
her, while she attempts to polish his rough edges, for his
sake. Megan and Hamish's love is palpable, and I also liked
the discreet love scenes, which suit the mood. Megan's
persistent suitor is a despicable, conniving little weasel,
and I really appreciated that Ms. Burrowes described him as
quite handsome, he's a welcome change from the stereotypical
villain. I adored Colin, Hamish's younger brother, and I hope
we have a chance to see his story in the future; he's quite
the charmer.
Grace Burrowes is always such a pleasure to read, and she
weaves words into exquisite sentences into a splendid story
filled with engaging characters, clever banter, and vivid
descriptions. THE TROUBLE WITH DUKES is a very lively story,
and
Megan's secret leads to a nail-biting ending. THE TROUBLE WITH
DUKES is the definition of a perfect historical romance!
THEY CALL HIM THE DUKE OF MURDER...
The gossips whisper that the new Duke of Murdoch is a brute,
a murderer, and even worse--a Scot. They say he
should never be trusted alone with a woman. But Megan
Windham sees in Hamish something different, someone
different.
No one was fiercer at war than Hamish MacHugh, though now
the soldier faces a whole new battlefield: a London Season.
To make his sisters happy, he'll take on any challenge--even
letting their friend Miss Windham teach him to waltz. Megan
isn't the least bit intimidated by his dark reputation, but
Hamish senses that she's fighting battles of her own. For
her, he'll become the warrior once more, and for her, he
might just lose his heart.