SYNOPSIS
Clara Hayward, the headmistress of the Haverhall School for Young Ladies, on the other hand, is above reproach. Yet when she's reunited with August all she can think of is the way she felt in his arms as they danced a scandalous waltz ten long years ago. Even though her head knows that he is only back in her life to take over her family's business, her heart can't help but open to the very duke who could destroy it for good.
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About the Author
Kelly Bowen grew up in Manitoba, Canada. She worked her way through her teenage years as a back country trail guide and ranch hand. She attended the University of Manitoba and earned a Master of Science degree in veterinary physiology and endocrinology.
But it was Kelly's infatuation with history and a weakness for a good love story that led her down the path of historical romance. When she is not writing, she seizes every opportunity to explore ruins and battlefields.
Currently, Kelly lives in Winnipeg with her husband and two boys, all of whom are wonderfully patient with the writing process. Except, that is, when they need a goalie for street hockey.
Read the second in the series, Last Night with the Earl (The Devils of Dover #2) September 25th!
After Waterloo, Eli Dawes, Earl of Rivers, was presumed dead—and would have happily stayed that way. He's no longer the reckless young man he once was, and only half as pretty. All he wants is to hide his scars away in his country home. But when he returns home and tries to sneak into his old bedroom in the middle of the night, he's shocked to find someone already there.
Rose Hayward remembers Eli as an arrogant rake who helped her late fiancé betray her. Finding him stealing into the house currently rented by Haverhall School for Young Ladies doesn't correct her impression. Her only thought is to get him to leave immediately. Yet the tension between them is electric, and her painter's eye can't help but admire him, scars and all. He might be back from the dead, but now Rose will do anything to make him feel truly alive.
REVIEW
A Duke in the Night by Kelly BowenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Title: A Duke in the Night
Series: The Devils of Dover #1
Author: Kelly Bowen
Release date: February 20, 2018
Cliffhanger: Yes
“You asked me once when enough is enough. You are my enough. You are my everything.”
August Faulkner, the Duke of Holloway, is a shrewd and unmerciful businessman. Most aristocrats like to live a life of leisure, but he is no ordinary duke. At the age of fifteen, his father was thrown in debtor's prison, and he experienced homelessness and poverty, forcing him to make impossible sacrifices. Far from being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, his childhood lacked basic human necessities. As a result, August is now hellbent on making money, whatever the cost. He now believes that financial security is the only thing that matters. For himself, but most importantly for his family.
There is a lot of guilt carried over from his youth, guilt that makes him feel responsible for things beyond his control when he was so completely helpless. Even when he's at his most coldhearted, you can't help but feel for him, and understand his total obsession and ruthlessness. For a character of his type, it's imperative that the author gives you a deeper understanding of why they are that way. To get inside their head and understand their motivations and emotions. Kelly Bowen accomplished that perfectly. As a result, I was rooting for him to learn how to stack his priorities in life and open himself up to love. Discovering a potentially lucrative business opportunity will bring him straight into Clara Hayward's orbit, resulting in a lot of uncomfortable feelings he's not prepared for.
The Haywards' shipping company is now in his predatory sights, and he's not above using deceit in order to accomplish his goal. It doesn't cause more than a moment's hesitation with his conscience as he makes his plans to integrate himself at the Haverhall school for women. Making a trip will serve a dual purpose as it's where his sister has snuck off to, and Clara conveniently presides as headmistress.
August is blind, deaf, and dumb to what his sister Anne needs from him at first. His inability to simply listen to what she spells out to him is a huge hindrance to their relationship. There's a certain irony that his quest for money is mainly to keep her secure and happy, in fact it has the opposite effect. The things she wants most is freedom, respect, and fulfillment through working. Showering her with things and pressuring her to marry a "suitable" husband are pushing her away farther than he realizes. There is quite a conflict built from years of bad communication, and he finds that he's ill equipped to bridge the distance that's yawned between them.
Clara Hayward has a reputation for many things, and none of them good. At least by Victorian standards, that is. Bluestocking. Wallflower. On the shelf. None of that fazes her a bit as long as she's able to plant seeds with her students, steering them towards a higher education and their most secret dreams. Her family's floundering shipping business has her entire future hanging by a thin thread, and she has no idea where he will go next should they lose their heritage completely. She faces all of the uncertainty like everything else in her life. With resolve and courage. You can do nothing but admire her for her unique ability to throw conventions out the window and live her very best life, regardless of the reaction she receives. Not only does she help her students see the world through a whole new lens, but she nudges the Duke to examine things in ways he never thought of before as well.
Their romance was based in deception, however, August pushed down his feelings of guilt for the quite a while. He stubbornly refused to look too closely at how his actions could possibly hurt Clara, and time after time drowned out the voice in his head telling him that he was wrong. He had a reputation of a scoundrel because of his disinterest in serious relationships or marriage, but with her there was always something more between them that scared him a little. They seemed to be doomed from the start: he had no room in his life for romance, and she wasn't willing to sacrifice her independence or unsullied reputation to be his mistress. They eventually came to a crossroads, and August would have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was willing to make a lot of changes in his life for the woman he had grown to love.
This kiss, more than any of their kisses, tasted bittersweet. Tasted of what-ifs and lost opportunities and desire realized too late. Standing in a ruined lighthouse, the sky blazing above their heads, it tasted of goodbye. “Tell me what I am to you, Clara,” August whispered against her mouth. Everything, she wanted to cry.
This was an intriguing start to The Devils of Dover series, and I'll be very interested to read Rose's story in Last Night With the Earl. Publication is set for September 25, so now is the perfect time to introduce yourself to this new set of characters by Ms. Bowen!
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