What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long

For years, he's been an object of fear, fascination . . . and fantasy. But of all the wicked rumors that shadow the formidable Alexander Moncrieffe, Duke of Falconbridge, the ton knows one thing for certain: only fools dare cross him. And when Ian Eversea does just that, Moncrieffe knows the perfect revenge: he'll seduce Ian's innocent sister, Genevieve—the only Eversea as yet untouched by scandal. First he'll capture her heart . . . and then he'll break it.

But everything about Genevieve is unexpected: the passion simmering beneath her cool control, the sharp wit tempered by gentleness . . . And though Genevieve has heard the whispers about the duke's dark past, and knows she trifles with him at her peril, one incendiary kiss tempts her deeper into a world of extraordinary sensuality. Until Genevieve is faced with a fateful choice . . . is there anything she won't do for a duke?

Genre: Romance
Pub Date: 2/22/11
Note: I received a copy for review from netgalley

What I Did For a Duke is actually part of the Pennyroyal Green Series, but it's the first one that I've read. Fortunately, I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not having read the previous books. We are introduced to Genevieve Eversea and her her loud and crazy family. One of her brothers, Ian, is caught by the Duke of Falconbridge in bed with the Duke's fiance. Escaping with his life (but not his clothes) the Duke leaves Ian with a warning, his punishment will fit the crime.

What I loved was that this story could have been the same tired story of seducing the innocent to pay back the brother/father/cousin that wronged the powerful and worldly hero of the story. However, the premise may be one we're familiar with, the characters were entirely fresh and far from cardboard cutouts.

Alex, the Duke, is cold and intimidating, but he also possesses a wry and sometimes self-deprecating sense of humor. It's just that very few ever get to see it. He's not a boy. He's nearing forty, he's been married before, he's fought in wars and duels and he knows what it is to love and lose. I appreciated this about him. He was no untried boy running amok around society. He's smart, witty, calculating and he knows his own mind. He doesn't spend the book fighting what he wants. He identifies what he wants and he goes after it.

Genevieve was a great heroine. She's exceptionally clever. So clever in fact that she's on to the Duke pretty early on in the story. She even calls him out on it. Which both irritates and impresses him. She's a little irreverent, she's kind and generous and yet a little scandalous subject matter doesn't send her into hysterics, but instead intrigues her agile mind and her great sense of humor.

I loved Alex and Genevieve together. They have a bit of the same sense of humor and could also appreciate the differences between them. Their witty repartee was great fun to read and the chemistry between them was both believable and undeniable. I loved how they spoke to each other, got to know each other and how Genevieve learned to appreciate the difference between a man that knew himself already and one that had a lot of growing up still to do.

I felt a bit disappointed at the end just because I wanted to spend more time with this couple. I wanted to see them into their HEA. This is not a couple that readers would quickly become bored with.

Final Grade: A-

What I Did For a Duke: Pennyroyal Green Series

What I Did For a Duke at book depository

Author's website