Starred review from April 29, 2013
Gray (A Duke Never Yields) opens a Regency series with a novel that crackles with chemistry and romantic tension. Seeking refuge from assassins, Princess Emilie of Holstein-Schweinwald-Huhnhof agrees to her uncle’s plan to disguise her as a male tutor to Freddie, the teenage son of the Duke of Ashland. The duke may be scarred and missing a hand, but he’s an enchantingly honorable, brooding figure who pays a prostitute for physical contact but not consummation, lest he betray his vows to the wife who abandoned him. When Emilie, lacking her male disguise, is mistaken for Ashland’s monthly visitor, she decides to play along, and the two begin a heated affair. Ashland has no inkling of any of Emilie’s identities, even as he arranges for a divorce and offers marriage to her. When Freddie uncovers his tutor’s true identity, even Ashland’s cold anger cannot cool the flames between him and Emilie, especially when the princess is still in danger. Emotionally electric scenes between strong characters make this one a winner.