Review: The Duke's Treasure by Minerva Spencer
Print Length: 336 pages total (this is a three-book anthology)
Publisher: Kensington Books (January 28, 2020)
From Goodreads.com: Plain, prickly Josephine Loman has loved Beaumont Halliwell, the Fifth Duke of Wroxton, since the first time she saw him. But the most beautiful man she's ever met had eyes only for Jo's erstwhile friend, who betrayed Beau's trust by marrying his brother. Beau hasn't been home in years, but when his brother dies in an accident, he must marry to save the impoverished dukedom. And Jo is the overlooked heiress who will turn his world upside down...
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DISCLAIMER #1: This story is part of an anthology of stories from three best selling authors. I have decided instead of reviewing them all at once which may be confusing to some of my readers, I am reviewing each one separately.
My Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Much like with the first novel, this one focuses too much on the sex between the characters instead of building up their relationship and tying up loose ends. Yes, I get it, they are sexually compatible, but that shouldn't be the focus on the relationship. How did he win over his wife? As a matter of fact, it's not until the epilogue that we even learn that he in fact not only fell in love with her, but told her as much. These are the little details I enjoy reading about.
Victoria was an easy character to dislike, but even that seemed to be a wasted opportunity. With the exception of a couple of encounters, she wasn't used to build the relationship, she wasn't even there to cast doubt on their marriage, or to cause trouble (although she tried, it was all easily brushed aside). It would have been more believable (especially with what Josie knew about Victora's prior relationship with her husband), if the woman managed to cast doubt in her mind, leading to more of a confrontation than just Beau saying "Oh that don't worry about that", and them tumbling back into bed.
Also, what was the point of Josie and Beau's visit to her dying father? It started as a tragically beautiful encounter, and we are later told that was the moment that Beau started to realize his feelings for his wife, but it just stops in mid-sentence and then picks up again at the epilogue. Again, missing an opportunity to make more of this novel.
Perhaps it is simply because this story, as the other was, and the next will be are novellas the authors have been trying to cram as much into a short span as they can? Whatever the reason, the writing itself was strong and flowed well, so I would read a full-length novel of this author's in the future to see how it compares.
Much like with the first novel, this one focuses too much on the sex between the characters instead of building up their relationship and tying up loose ends. Yes, I get it, they are sexually compatible, but that shouldn't be the focus on the relationship. How did he win over his wife? As a matter of fact, it's not until the epilogue that we even learn that he in fact not only fell in love with her, but told her as much. These are the little details I enjoy reading about.
Victoria was an easy character to dislike, but even that seemed to be a wasted opportunity. With the exception of a couple of encounters, she wasn't used to build the relationship, she wasn't even there to cast doubt on their marriage, or to cause trouble (although she tried, it was all easily brushed aside). It would have been more believable (especially with what Josie knew about Victora's prior relationship with her husband), if the woman managed to cast doubt in her mind, leading to more of a confrontation than just Beau saying "Oh that don't worry about that", and them tumbling back into bed.
Also, what was the point of Josie and Beau's visit to her dying father? It started as a tragically beautiful encounter, and we are later told that was the moment that Beau started to realize his feelings for his wife, but it just stops in mid-sentence and then picks up again at the epilogue. Again, missing an opportunity to make more of this novel.
Perhaps it is simply because this story, as the other was, and the next will be are novellas the authors have been trying to cram as much into a short span as they can? Whatever the reason, the writing itself was strong and flowed well, so I would read a full-length novel of this author's in the future to see how it compares.
DISCLAIMER #2: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
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The Duke's Treasure is currently only available as part of
The Arrangement now available from Amazon.com
The Arrangement now available from Amazon.com
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