The Duke's Temptation by Jillian Hunter

I'm stymied!
http://www.jillianhunterauthor.com/

Yes, folks...I said I'm stymied. And here's why. A Duke's Temptation by Jillian Hunter is giving me fits as to how to rate it. There were parts of this book that I loved, loved, loved and then there were parts of this books that had me scratching my head and uttering that profound word: "HUH?"

Let's start with the love feast. This book has a little bit of everything, it has a little gothic overtones, a little paranormal, murder, mystery, fun, laughs, quirky characters. Samuel and Lily are one of the best romance couples I've read in a long time. They talk to each other, they have a good time, they at no point in the story feel that they are not good enough for each other, they are mostly honest with each other. And, biggie here: when he proposes, she accepts!!! Samuel is a writer, and this part was fascinating, his characters come alive (sorta.) He and his quirky staff enact his stories while he's in the process of writing, part of his writing technique...and I found it very amusing. Samuel is an interesting character, he's a vegetarian (we don't know why) and he's scarred from a fire. Now, this fire wasn't explained very well in the book, I suspect it will be part of a plot in another book in the series which I also suspect will be about his sister. But, I don't know because Ms. Hunter's website doesn't say anything about who is next in the series. Lily was a delightful heroine and I had some laugh out loud moments with her. I loved it when she called Samuel Mr. Coachman.

Now, let's talk about the issues that had me scratching my head. Her parents and brother. I don't want to spoil too much of the book, but let's just say I found their reaction to what she witnesses to be truly dumbfounding. Obviously, they've known their daughter for a long time, so why they choose to believe her fiance over her had me creating creases in my forehead. I know, I know, it's a plot device used to get her from where she was in the first half of the book to her final destination in the second half of the book, but I thought it was one of the weakest parts of the book. And then toward the end of the book there were some events that had a rushed disjointed feel about them.

So, I'm stymied. There are parts of this book that have some very strong writing and are filled with wonderful quirky antics and people. Those parts of the book make me want to take it to a Desert Island along with an A...but then there are parts that take an amazingly different romance story and make it average. Light bulb over my head! That's what bothers me, those parts that I don't like I would have to classify as typical romance and they don't fit in a book that for the most part is not your normal run-of-the-mill romance story.

I'm looking forward to the next installment of the Bridal Pleasures series, and hope that Ms. Hunter continues down the quirky road.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:Almost
Sensuality Rating: Almost Hot!