I have a confession to make. I rarely (if ever) read independently-published/indie romance authors. I often rely on “major” publishing houses to curate my romance reading since I assume that I’m guaranteed a well written and edited love story. That said, this habit is about to change in 2024!
Spearheading this new effort are my readings of the first three books in the Dukes Most Wanted series written and independently published by Scarlett Scott. Forever Her Duke (#1), Forever Her Marquess (#2), and Forever Her Rake (#3) are HOT and short (150-220 pages) historical romance novellas. These are great reads for not only historical romance readers, but fans of the SPICY angst, enemies-to-lovers, and revenge-to-love tropes!
The shorter length of these novels is both a plus and a minus for the reader. Historical romance readers accustomed to a slower burn might find the romance speed a little too speedy. However, for readers like myself, who often yell “GET TO THE GOOD STUFF!” while reading romances, these novellas were very satisfactory. I confess to reading all three in less than 24 hours. Don’t judge me!
Scarlett Scott clearly did her research on the time period and her alpha male characters are swoon-worthy. Fans of Lisa Kleypas’ The Wallflowers series are surely to emjoy Dukes Most Wanted. I will surely read the fourth installment in this series, Forever Her Earl (#4) when it is realeased on March 28, 2024!
Forever Her Duke (Dukes Most Wanted, 1) by Scarlett Scott
Verdict: Recommended
Publication: December 31, 2023
Subgenres: Historical Romance, Victorian Romance, Regency Romance, Gilded Age Romance
Synopsis (courtesy of Happily Ever After Books, LLC):
Vivi, the Duchess of Bradford, loved her husband from the day they first met. She was an unabashed hoyden. He was the heir to a dukedom and her older brother’s best friend. She vowed to marry him, but she never could have imagined just how dreadfully that youthful promise would go awry, shattering her hope for a future.
Having spent the past year in England while the duke has been abroad, she has thrown herself into a cause that won’t lead to more sorrow. She’s content with her growing circle of friends in the Lady’s Suffrage Society and is doing her utmost to banish the Duke of Bradford from her heart and mind for good.
Until she discovers she has an unexpected guest at her country house party, and it’s the husband who left her. Not only is he back, but Court is far more sinfully handsome than she remembered, and he wants the one thing she isn’t prepared to give—her complete and utter surrender.
Forever Her Marquess (Dukes Most Wanted, 2) by Scarlett Scott
Verdict: Recommended
Publication: January 23, 2024
Subgenres: Historical Romance, Victorian Romance, Regency Romance, Gilded Age Romance
Synopsis (courtesy of Happily Ever After Books, LLC):
Lady Clementine Hammond may be polite society’s most notorious matchmaker, but she’s perfectly happy remaining unattached herself. A series of unfortunate missteps at a country house party, however, leaves her with no choice but to feign an engagement to the last man in all England she’d ever want to marry—the annoyingly handsome Marquess of Dorset.
Dorset needs a wife with a sizable dowry to save his estate, but thanks to Lady Clementine’s machinations, the woman he intended to wed became someone else’s wife. Much to his dismay, when fate inconveniently throws Lady Clementine into his arms, he’s forced to claim she’s his future bride.
The bitter enemies strike a reluctant understanding. One fortnight of false smiles and pretending to be head over heels for each other, followed by a return to London and the quiet ending of their betrothal. It should be quite simple.
Except, the more time Clementine and Dorset spend together, the more real their engagement feels. And when their mutual enmity heats into a surprising passion, Clementine is shocked to realize she wants far more from Dorset than two weeks. She wants his forever.
Forever Her Rake (Dukes Most Wanted, 3) by Scarlett Scott
Verdict: Recommended
Publication: February 27, 2024
Subgenres: Historical Romance, Victorian Romance, Regency Romance, Gilded Age Romance
Synopsis (courtesy of Happily Ever After Books, LLC):
After spending all her life pinned beneath her overbearing mother’s thumb, Lady Edith Smythe is desperately weary of being a respectable, dutiful daughter. What better time to finally cast aside her wallflower ways than at a country house party where women’s suffrage is the leading topic of the day? And there’s no better man to exercise her freedom with than a diabolically handsome rake who’s as sinful as he is irresistible.
Valentine Blakemoor, self-made property magnate and one of the wealthiest men in England, has been lured to the wilds of Yorkshire by the promise of vengeance. Seducing the bookish, bespectacled Lady Edith proves an embarrassingly easy feat. But once he has her in his bed, Val is bemused to discover Lady Edith is far more than the quiet, freckled spinster he believed. To his shock, he can’t seem to get enough of her, which decidedly wasn’t part of his plan.
For the first time in his storied career as a jaded rake, Val wants more than mere pleasure. In fact, he wants everything Lady Edith has to offer. But she’s firm on her insistence that one night and her innocence are all she’s willing to give. And when she discovers his true motives for pursuing her, nothing between them will ever be the same…
One response to “Book Rec & Review – Dukes Most Wanted by Scarlett Scott (Books #1-3)”
I love reading through an article that will make men and women think.
Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment!