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justinkhchen's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Pleasantly decent, after picking up The Detective Duke for the most trivial reason (One of the cover models happens to be a personal friend), I was confronted with an rather unique premise, and expertly written prose; even though the story ended up unfolding in a very ordinary manner.
Scarlett Scott has a way with words; her writing style strives a good balance between mounting mood and atmosphere, as well as being easily comprehensible. It definitely has a glaring modern flair, while often not completely period correct, the lack of historical accuracy is not distracting and actually makes The Detective Duke an easily 'bingeable' book.
With a premise about a detective inheriting an unwanted title, and entering into a marriage of convenience unwillingly, I was expecting a heavy emphasis on his 'fish out of water' journey as a duke, as well as a 'strangers to lovers' progression to the relationship. But both aspects ended up being quickly brushed over, with the hero and heroine confessing their mutual feeling at around the 15% point, and the remaining romance advanced just like any basic, vanilla historical romances. I do however thoroughly enjoyed the dominant detective subplot (even though the villain's scheme was ultimately quite lame if you analyze it).
I had no expectation going into The Detective Duke, so while it didn't blow me away, and the simplistic plot shied away from the more enticing potentials of its setup, I still had an inoffensively good time with it.
**Historical Romance Readathon 2021: Holiday Edition | Bingo Board Prompts: 2021 Release / In a Series / New to You Author / Marriage of Convenience**
Pleasantly decent, after picking up The Detective Duke for the most trivial reason (One of the cover models happens to be a personal friend), I was confronted with an rather unique premise, and expertly written prose; even though the story ended up unfolding in a very ordinary manner.
Scarlett Scott has a way with words; her writing style strives a good balance between mounting mood and atmosphere, as well as being easily comprehensible. It definitely has a glaring modern flair, while often not completely period correct, the lack of historical accuracy is not distracting and actually makes The Detective Duke an easily 'bingeable' book.
With a premise about a detective inheriting an unwanted title, and entering into a marriage of convenience unwillingly, I was expecting a heavy emphasis on his 'fish out of water' journey as a duke, as well as a 'strangers to lovers' progression to the relationship. But both aspects ended up being quickly brushed over, with the hero and heroine confessing their mutual feeling at around the 15% point, and the remaining romance advanced just like any basic, vanilla historical romances. I do however thoroughly enjoyed the dominant detective subplot (even though the villain's scheme was ultimately quite lame if you analyze it).
I had no expectation going into The Detective Duke, so while it didn't blow me away, and the simplistic plot shied away from the more enticing potentials of its setup, I still had an inoffensively good time with it.
**Historical Romance Readathon 2021: Holiday Edition | Bingo Board Prompts: 2021 Release / In a Series / New to You Author / Marriage of Convenience**
mostlyfated's review
4.0
Great story of a former inspector for Scotland Yard turned reluctant duke and an inventor heroine (she was working on an electric frying pan!
bowersbookmarks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick read. I personally found parts of it slow and a little boring, so I won't be reading any more of the series. If you are looking for a steamy book to read on a vacation this is it! However it is definitely NSFW.
ninoskasua's review
5.0
This is one of my favorite books of Scarlett Scott. This book is a marriage of convenience with a murder mystery. This a new series of Scarlett Scott- The Unexpected Lord Series. A quick summary the hero is a recent duke and the heroine is his new fiancé. She a strong willed and independent young woman who want to help her younger sister marry her love. This is a very adventurous read and I can’t wait for the next book. :)
torilovesheas's review against another edition
4.0
This was so good! I’ve had a string of historical romances on KU that just weren’t it, but Scarlett Scott has a new fan!
The Detective Duke has one of my most loved tropes: marriage of convenience. Hudson needs a wife with a substantial dowry after he inherits a dukedom riddled with debt. As the oldest daughter, Elysande needs to marry so her younger sister can marry.
I really loved that these two started to care about each other really early on. Too often, there’s pages and pages between the marriage and the characters in HisRos even admitting they tolerate each other, so this was a pleasant change.
Hudson was such a good break from the super alphahole H I’m used to in HisRos. Not to say I don’t love alphaholes, but it’s nice to get a hero that’s more gentleman than rake on occasion. I did think it was funny that he fled to London because his feelings scared the shit out of him.
Elysande was a great blend of independent and sweet. I liked that she loved to work with engineering and electricity. She didn’t want to marry but she threw herself into making the marriage work.
There were a few things keeping this from being a five star read. I felt that the villain was a little too obvious and the murder plot was wrapped up a little too conveniently. And Elysande’s inventing storyline was kind of abandoned in the middle and picked back up in the epilogue. I understood why. Her husband was being accused of murder. But I would have liked to see just a little bit more about it.
Overall, this was really enjoyable and I’ll be diving into Scott’s Wicked Winters series next!
The Detective Duke has one of my most loved tropes: marriage of convenience. Hudson needs a wife with a substantial dowry after he inherits a dukedom riddled with debt. As the oldest daughter, Elysande needs to marry so her younger sister can marry.
I really loved that these two started to care about each other really early on. Too often, there’s pages and pages between the marriage and the characters in HisRos even admitting they tolerate each other, so this was a pleasant change.
Hudson was such a good break from the super alphahole H I’m used to in HisRos. Not to say I don’t love alphaholes, but it’s nice to get a hero that’s more gentleman than rake on occasion. I did think it was funny that he fled to London because his feelings scared the shit out of him.
Elysande was a great blend of independent and sweet. I liked that she loved to work with engineering and electricity. She didn’t want to marry but she threw herself into making the marriage work.
There were a few things keeping this from being a five star read. I felt that the villain was a little too obvious and the murder plot was wrapped up a little too conveniently. And Elysande’s inventing storyline was kind of abandoned in the middle and picked back up in the epilogue. I understood why. Her husband was being accused of murder. But I would have liked to see just a little bit more about it.
Overall, this was really enjoyable and I’ll be diving into Scott’s Wicked Winters series next!
pearlagcalo's review against another edition
3.0
I've gone down the historical romance rabbit hole and this one is another on the list. The take is interesting, but I was looking for more investigating on the part of Duke. And she's an engineer, why couldn't get more backstory there? This one was just OK for me.
daniela_endless_tbr's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/6.
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.
I loved Hudson and Ellie! What started as a marriage of convenience quickly became more. I liked that neither of them had doubts of their feelings towards one another and that Ellie trusted Hudson in everything once she her his side of the story. She didn’t run away or something like that, she stayed and demanded answers and I appreciated that.
Moreover there was no question that they were in this together and I loved that there’s no third act conflict.
This was such an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to continue the series.
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.
I loved Hudson and Ellie! What started as a marriage of convenience quickly became more. I liked that neither of them had doubts of their feelings towards one another and that Ellie trusted Hudson in everything once she her his side of the story. She didn’t run away or something like that, she stayed and demanded answers and I appreciated that.
Moreover there was no question that they were in this together and I loved that there’s no third act conflict.
This was such an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to continue the series.
lems135's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75