Review: What Would a Duke Do? (Seductive Scoundrels #4) by Collette Cameron

Print Length: 346 pages

Publisher: Blue Rose Romance (June 26, 2019)

From Goodreads.com:  He’s bent on revenge. She’s his enemy’s granddaughter. He’ll marry her…willing or not.

Maxwell, the Duke of Pennington is a man focused on one thing: revenge. He’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goal, including marrying the beautiful, unpredictable granddaughter of the man he seeks reprisal against—whether Gabriella is willing or not. As Max inexplicably finds himself drawn to the spirited minx, unforeseen doubts and guilt arise.

Miss Gabriella Breckensole is astonished when the enigmatic Duke of Pennington turns his romantic attentions on her. Debonair and confident, he set her heart fluttering from their first meeting. Far beneath his station, Gabby never hoped to win his favor, and she soon risks losing her heart to the roguish lord.

Until she accidentally overhears Maxwell vowing to return her familial home to his dukedom and learns his courtship is a revenge-filled ploy. Even though he awakened feelings she never imagined possible, Gabriella now considers him an enemy. Can Max make the impossible choice between retribution or forever losing the only woman to ever touch his heart?

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This was one of those unique kinds of stories that stands out amongst the crowd. Maxwell isn't necessarily a villain although at first he is bent of revenge and making Gabriella's grandfather suffer - he soon realizes the easiest way to accomplish the goal of getting the house and lands back is by staying in Gabriella's good graces. 

I would have liked to have seen a bit more of their interactions at the house party BEFORE she overhears him - what attracted her to him in the first place? I feel like if we had gotten a sense of her true feelings (being shown rather than her telling us later), his deception would have meant more. As it stands, it was amusing more than anything else watching him first act the part of a besotted fool and then later on become one - while she holds him at arms length and stops just short of being unforgivably rude. Gabriella was certainly a heroine with a backbone, and I enjoyed her spunk just as much as I enjoyed watching Maxwell try and navigate the minefield that was their relationship. 

I think one of my favorite parts about this story was the way the author managed to find closure for everyone - while I loved the idea that Maxwell finally seeing reason and realizing that it didn't matter who owned the land so long as she was happy with him, I think her grandparents needed to impart the knowledge they had to help him heal. At that point it wasn't about the wrong that been done to the two old men - but rather the one that had been done to him. I feel like being armed with that knowledge, it would help him become a better man and break the cycle that started with his grandfather. 

I do agree with what I have seen in some other reviews about this one being a little slow to start, but once it does I was thoroughly engrossed by these characters and this story. I would definitely read more of this series and more from this author! 

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                        What Would a Duke Do? is available from Amazon.com
                                        (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)