"When Seducing A Duke"

"When Seducing a Duke"
by Kathryn Smith

Source: Bought

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

After her father's death, Rose Danvers and her mother are under the protection of Greyden Kane, the Duke of Ryeton. The Duke is scarred from a scorned lover slashing his face, and has become reclusive. He hates the society he used to be a part of and will only appear in public wearing a mask. Rose is one of the few people he allows to see his face. Rose has always loved and respected Grey for taking her mother and herself into his home when they had no where else to go. She has no idea that Grey loves her too, but has put her so high on a pedestal that he feels unworthy of her love and she has become untouchable.

I personally love a really sweet romance, and this book just wasn't sweet enough for me. It was quite the opposite, really. I was turned off by all the cursing and vulgar language.

In the beginning of the book, I thought I was really going to enjoy the story. I love a scarred hero and Grey practically worshipped the ground Rose walked on at the beginning. I thought this would be a hero that I would find irresistible. But as soon as he learned of Rose's feelings for him, his personality changed completely. He became grouchy and the book went downhill for me.

Another thing missing in this story for me was a sense of humor and a strong supporting cast. The Duke's brother, Archer, did provide some much needed comic relief, but the overall tone of the story was a bit too melancholy for me.

Kathryn Smith's writing is always great and I liked how there was no silly side story about stolen jewels or spies, the focus was on the romance.

Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 2/5 (with the exception of Archer who is a 5!)
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 2/5
Uniqueness: 2.5/5
Cover: 5/5 (Love it! The picture is beautiful and the yellow is so eye grabbing!)
Writing: 4/5

Bottom Line: Overall, the sad tone and overuse of vulgar language turned me off of this book. If Kathryn Smith wasn't one of my favorite authors, I might not have finished this one.