Give the Devil His Duke by Anna Bradley (TLC Book Tours)

 

What is your favorite color for a new outfit?  I always tend to go with reds or blues. 

Francesca Stanhope knows that bright pink is not the color that most other debutantes will be wearing, but it is the color of the dresses she has been given.  What she doesn’t expect is for Giles Drew, the Duke of Basingstoke, to be overheard calling her a radish just dug up from the garden and for that fact to be spread across the gossip pages.  Their families have a sordid history that both wish to keep out of the newspapers.  They agree to work together for appearances sake, but they discover that they have a great love-hate chemistry.  When another scandal ensues, their marriage may be the only thing that can save them.  But will they be able to tame each other?

I enjoyed this book and the romantic comedy elements brought a smile to me more than once.  I really enjoyed the characters of Giles and Francesca and they had great chemistry.  This book was definitely a steamy read with an awkward sex scene within the first few chapters with Giles and a few ladies that felt very out of place. It also set Giles up to seem just like his despicable father.  It took me awhile to realize he wasn’t like his father.  Giles and Francesca are married within the first roughly third of the book and spend the rest of the book trying to get to know and understand each other.  This book is an enemies to lovers trope.

This is the first in a new series called “Drop Dead Dukes” and I’m interested to read future books.

My only complaint is I wish the cover of the book featured Francesca’s bright pink gown!   

Book Source: Review Copy from Kensington Publishing Group.   Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the TLC book tour. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.