Times
are tense in the outside world, but Duke Darcy’s Castle was the perfect book to
curl up to with a cup of hot cocoa and be carried away by the story.
Kathryn
Atherton wants to be the first woman architect in Victorian era England. She has completed the work to earn the
degree, but it was not granted. She has
also taken the exam to become a licensed Architect, but she is awaiting the
results. Her firm has sent her to St. Gabriel’s
Mount to work on renovations to the castle.
St. Gabriel’s Mount is a castle located on an island off of Cornwall
that is only assessible by land during low tide. When she arrives, she is surprised to learn
that the man who hired her has passed away and his brother, Lance Granville,
has recently returned from the navy to become the 10th Duke of
Darcy. Kathryn strives to complete her
job as a professional, but she can not deny her attraction to Lance. Will she choose her career or love?
Lance
loved being the Captain of his own ship in the Navy and never thought he would
take his brother’s place as the Duke of Darcy.
He is stunned to learn that the estate is mortgaged to the hilt and he
is about to lose it. He is also stunned
to learn that his brother hired an architect and that the architect is a woman. What was his brother thinking with their lack
of money? Lance decides to continue the
project and finds that he loves Kathryn’s ideas and also finds himself very
much attracted to her. When he learns
that Kathryn is an heiress and her fortune could save his estate, what will he
do?
I greatly
enjoyed this novel. It was a perfect escapism
read. I loved Kathryn and Lance as characters. I was particularly taken with Kathryn’s struggle
to be a licensed architect. It
infuriated me when her accomplishments were not taken seriously as a female architect
and she was barred from receiving her degree and licensure. I really enjoyed the note at the end of the
novel that described the real historical struggles of female architects as they
tried to be taken as serious professionals in the world. As a female engineer, I really related to
this storyline, although I was a hundred years later. I loved that Lance respected Kathryn as a
professional besides also being attracted to her as a woman.
This
novel does have steamy scenes. It is the
third novel in the Dare to Defy series.
I’ve read the previous two novels, but this one can stand alone.
Favorite
Quotes:
“To
succeed in my profession, I will need to work twice as hard as any man.”
Overall,
Duke Darcy’s Castle was a perfect escapism historical romance novel and I was
especially intrigued by the heroine’s journey as a female architect.
Book
Source: Review Copy as part of the Blog Tour
put together by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose
QUICK FACTS:
- Title: Duke Darcy’s Castle: A Dare to Defy Novel (Book 3)
- Author: Syrie James
- Review Roundup: February 24 – April 24, 2020
- Genre: Historical Romance, Victorian Romance
- Publisher: Avon Impulse
- Length (384) pages
- eBook ASIN: B07DCD1HYB, (February 25, 2020)
- Mass market paperback ISBN: 978-0062849717 (March 24, 2020)
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Lance Granville, the Tenth Duke of Darcy, was none
too happy to give up his career in the Royal Navy to inherit the family title,
complete with an ancient castle he needs to renovate. When an architect arrives
on his doorstep, Darcy is astonished to discover that she’s a woman.
Kathryn Atherton has one goal: to become the first
woman architect in Britain. Marriage doesn’t figure in her plans. Despite the
odds, her schooling is behind her. Now she needs experience. When she’s sent to
a small tidal island in Cornwall to remodel a castle, the last thing Kathryn
wants is to be attracted to its roguishly handsome owner.
Kathryn is determined to keep things professional,
but the sizzling attraction between her and the duke quickly blazes out of
control. When Darcy learns that Kathryn is an heiress whose fortune would save
St. Gabriel’s Mount, he wages the most important battle of his life: to woo and
win the woman who’s captured his heart. But (in an homage to Austen), the
Duke’s first proposal is so Darcyesque, he is refused. In any case, duchesses
can’t be architects. And Kathryn has worked too long and too hard to give up
her career for anyone ….
RUNAWAY HEIRESS BOOK SERIES:
Three American heiresses defy their family’s wishes,
and social convention, to strike out and find their own happiness in late
Victorian Cornwall.
Runaway
Heiress: A Dare to Defy Novel (Book 1)
Brainy
and college-educated, American heiress Alexandra Atherton will do anything to
avoid marriage to the English peer her mother has chosen for her—even abandon
the life of privilege she’s always known. But as her escape goes horribly
wrong, Alexandra must invent a new identity to gain the help of a handsome
stranger.
PURCHASE
LINKS:
Summer
of Scandal: A Dare to Defy Novel (Book 2)
An
American heiress and an English earl fight against the conventions of society
-- and their attraction to each other -- in the second book in the Dare
to Defy series by USA Today bestselling author Syrie
James.
PURCHASE
LINKS:
AUTHOR BIO:
SYRIE
JAMES
is the USA TODAY and Amazon bestselling author of thirteen novels of
historical, contemporary, and young adult fiction and romance. Her books have
hit many Best of the Year lists, been designated as Library Journal Editor’s
Picks, and won numerous accolades and awards, including Best New Fiction by
Regency World Magazine (the international bestseller “The Lost Memoirs of Jane
Austen”), and the national Audiobook Audie for Romance (“The Secret Diaries of
Charlotte Bronte”, also named a Great Group Read by the Women’s National Book
Association). Los Angeles Magazine dubbed Syrie the “queen of nineteenth
century re-imaginings,” and her books have been published in twenty languages.
A member of the Writer’s Guild of America, Syrie is also an established
screenwriter and playwright who makes her home in Los Angeles. An admitted
Anglophile, Syrie has addressed audiences across the U.S., Canada, and the British
Isles.
REVIEW ROUNDUP DESCRIPTION:
International
bestselling author Syrie James tours the blogosphere February 24 through April
24, 2020 to share her new historical romance, Duke Darcy’s Castle: A Dare to
Defy Novel (Book 3). Twenty-three popular book bloggers
specializing in historical romance and Austenesque fiction will feature,
spotlights, exclusive excerpts and book reviews of this acclaimed Victorian romance
novel featuring a strong, independent heroine and complex, swoon-worthy hero.
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