A review by chelseaj91
Four Dukes and a Devil by Elaine Fox, Sophia Nash, Jeaniene Frost, Tracy Anne Warren, Cathy Maxwell

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The Irish Duke by Cathy Maxwell

I think my biggest issue was this needed to be longer. It went from Susan using Roan as a bad example and suddenly they're in love. The story just developed too quickly for me, even for a shorter novella, especially since the two of them hadn't had any interaction/relationship prior to this. Overall, Susan was decent although I didn't like the fact that she defended her whole bashing of "The Irish Duke" as a way to keep her job. It's one thing to acknowledge she was treating him like a phantom/scare but once she realized he was real and actually trying to participate in the Season, she should have apologized, IMO.

The Duke Who Came to Dinner by Elaine Fox

This one definitely needed to be longer because I was just lost. It seemed like it was trying for a supernatural bent, between the ghost at Gray's house and then all the mentions of the man in the long coat walking Duke. Plus the various references to the Duke of Dunkirk and I just feel like stuff got dropped because of the length of the story and it left things feeling unfinished. Even with the way things ended with that comment about pipe smoke. Again I can see kind of what the author was going for, but I feel like the whole "cliffhanger"/"is it?" ending the author used would have worked better if there'd been less pivot into Gray and Sam's relationship or just a longer overall story.

Devil to Pay by Jeaniene Frost

So I haven't read any of the Night Huntress world books yet, but they've been on my list. Honestly, I'm thinking I might have to figure out how to start it sooner than later because I have to know how Bones and Cat started. Plus it would be interesting to see if Elise and Blake make any appearances at any point. I liked the solution that Mencheres came up with to try and save Blake.

Catch of the Century by Sophia Nash

Again: this needed to be longer because I wanted more time with these characters! Victoria was headstrong and knew how to take care of herself but I did wish she'd been a little less frosty with John. Although their conversation at the end seems to point to it maybe being a little more on purpose than just her personality. I did like the way the Helstons and the Wallaces were such good friends and just basically took everything in stride.

Charmed by Her Smile by Tracy Anne Warren

This was fun and again, I wanted a longer story but this time more so we could see India escaping Peter the Pest. Even though she explained things, I think it would have been a little better for the progression to have taken longer rather than it just being written that it had been days/weeks. I did like the way Quentin handled Peter when he realized he'd left India behind but part of me wishes there'd been one last scene where India could punch him in his stupid face.