Forever
Featuring: August Faulkner; Clara Hayward
368 pages ISBN: 147891856X EAN: 9781478918561 Kindle: B071JLNSCP Mass Market Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Miss Clara Hayward was proud of the Haverhall School for
Young Ladies. While her superior intellect and education had
not won her any suitors, Clara had been allowed to succeed
at something she was good at, thanks to her brother Harland,
baron Strathmore, until Haverhall had to be sold to pay off
family debts. Clara and Harland want to hang on to their
floundering shipping company as long as they can, and
selling the School was a sacrifice that had to be made.
While enjoying the last summer term in Dover with her
students, Clara is stunned to notice the arrival of August
Faulkner, Duke of Holloway. August had not anticipated the
dukedom he inherited; he had learned to be a shrewd
businessman by necessity at an early age, and the drive
never left him. Seeing Clara again, ten years after a waltz
neither could ever forget, unsettles August; this time, he
is determined to do what he should have done the first time
around.
It bears repeating: Kelly Bowen is one of the most
accomplished storytellers around, and again she shines
brightly with A DUKE IN THE NIGHT. Quick to establish a firm
foundation for the romance, the vibrant descriptions, and
the superbly crafted secondary characters add layers and
depth to the story. Clara is precisely the type of
historical heroine I crave: she is refined but has used her
natural abilities to succeed in a field which allowed a
woman to retain her respectability, which was made possible
by her socially enlightened brother.
The chemistry between Clara and August is palpable,
explosive, nearing the boiling point from the moment they
meet again; I enjoyed the pace at which the expected
crescendo was building until two words infuriated me. I
could understand August's macho way of thinking towards
women, this was how women were treated during the Regency
era: women should not attempt anything more than being wives
and mothers. While August cosseted his sister Anne, she had
to earn what she could by defying him, August admired and
respected Clara's abilities and success. This brings me
to my rant, for which I apologize beforehand. Those two
words were "Good girl." I detest when a hero "praises" a
woman with this detestable utterance, which generally
follows the heroine agreeing to something sexual, which was
the case here. To me, one says "Good girl" to a dog, a pet
obeying a command, an order. August might have said to
Clara, but she, in spite of her lust, would have bristled
and balked. I find it a demeaning and insulting way to
"show appreciation" when a woman agrees to the hero's
demands, needs, desires. This is a pet peeve of mine and not
an issue solely with Ms. Bowen, but a universal one: every
time I see those dreaded words, I cringe, it infuriates me.
And I felt it was especially jarring given the decidedly
feminist tone of A DUKE IN THE NIGHT and the Hayward's
progressive attitude towards women.
There is a lot of action in A DUKE IN THE NIGHT, and happily
intrinsically tied to the seaside location, and there are
oodles of little secrets that had me on edge. The dialogues
are outstanding: how often are you enthralled by ordinary,
frank, honest conversations between the hero and the heroine
in historical romances? However, I am a bit torn where the
romance is concerned; obviously, it was all well and good
with Clara. I had liked August at the beginning, but then I
liked him less and less; I thought him too arrogant, and too
selfish. He did not tell Clara something of the utmost
importance, and although she seemed okay with it, sadly I
was not. In spite of their passion, I felt there was
something almost clinical about their relationship. On the
other hand, Kelly Bowen writes such splendid secondary
characters; they almost steal the show: Harland, Clara's
brother is wonderful, and Anne, August's sister, is just
fabulous; hopefully, we will read their stories in the near
future.
Duke. Scoundrel. Titan of business. August Faulkner is a man
of many talents, not the least of which is enticing women
into his bedchamber. He's known-and reviled-for buying and
selling companies, accumulating scads of money, and breaking
hearts. It's a reputation he wears like a badge of honor,
and one he intends to keep.
Clara Hayward, the headmistress of the Haverhall School for
Young Ladies, on the other hand, is above reproach. Yet when
she's reunited with August all she can think of is the way
she felt in his arms as they danced a scandalous waltz ten
long years ago. Even though her head knows that he is only
back in her life to take over her family's business, her
heart can't help but open to the very duke who could destroy
it for good.
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