After Dark with the Duke: The Palace of Rogues

I almost skipped this as I had so many recent disappointments with this author. I was sure it was going to bomb. It started off a bit slow and a little boring but wow did it pick up. One thing about this author she can really write a heartbreaking love story. This was a bit too reminiscent of two of her books, It Started With A Scandal (very similar hero) and Like No Other lover. If anyone read those they would agree. The scandal of the duel was totally revisited and not sure why. There were so many other scandals that could have worked here. It was kind of convoluted in a way but all that aside, what started out as being maybe a one time read and toss, turned out to be a true keeper. If I had to pick on something, I’d lose the dingbat maid character, which is silly and the age of the hero….. Wince. A bit much there. She could have shaved at least five years off of him or made the heroine a bit older? This was so much better than the previous, only one of which I had read, Delilah's story, which I didn’t particularly care for so I had skipped Angeliques. Get a feeling I didn’t miss much. Her three greats for me were the previous mentioned, Like No Other Lover, What I Did For A Duke and How the Marquess was Won. It Started With A Scandal was very good but I think I liked this more. she hit magic again with this.

This is the second book I’ve read by this writer. The first book I read was several years ago. That book was a disappointment so I hesitated to purchase this book. I read a review from one of my favorite reviewers and decided to take a chance on this book with a lovely cover. I’m a fool for a great cover. I loved this book. Quite a different HR. No balls, beautiful clothes, house parties, etc. I read many HRs and I recommend this to HR fans.

I loved the first three books in the Palace of Rogues series. The fourth offering is the best one yet. Made me cry and laugh at the same time. Very satisfying read. One of the best romances I have read in years.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading James and Mariana's story. Loved the slow burn of this book. I've loved the entire series so far. Looking forward to the next book.