Elley the Book Otter: Blog Tour: My Once and Future Duke by Caroline Linden (Teaser, Review, Giveaway)

What happens at the infamous Vega Club . . .

Sophie Campbell is determined to be mistress of her own fate. Surviving on her skill at cards, she never risks what she can’t afford to lose. Yet when the Duke of Ware proposes a scandalous wager that’s too extravagant to refuse, she can’t resist. If she wins, she’ll get five thousand pounds, enough to secure her independence forever.

Stays at the Vega Club . . .

Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware, tells himself he’s at the Vega Club merely to save his reckless brother from losing everything, but he knows it’s a lie. He can’t keep his eyes off Sophie, and to get her he breaks his ironclad rule against gambling. If he wins, he wants her—for a week.

Until now.

A week with Jack could ruin what’s left of Sophie’s reputation. It might even cost her her heart. But when it comes to love, all bets are off . . .

About the Book

My Once And Future Duke
by Caroline Linden
Series
The Wagers of Sin
Genre
Adult
Historical Romance
Publisher
Avon Books
Publication Date
February 27, 2018
Amazon | Avon Romance | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iBooks

Pinspirations!

Click here to check out Caroline Linden’s My Once And Future Duke Pinterest board!

My Review

Rating: 5 Stars

This is definitely one of my new favorite regency romances. The opening of this book reminded me a bit of A Little Princess, with Sophie being sent off to finishing school where she makes instant bosom friends with her two roommates. It's a very powerful beginning that shows a lot about Sophie's character, as well as telling the reader where she comes from and how she ends up where we next meet her, gambling for her livelihood in the Vega Club in London.

Sophie is just an incredible character, strong and so smart! I'm kind of glad that she doesn't sing as beautifully as her mother or play pianoforte as well as her father, or she'd be just too perfect. How clever of her to reinvent herself as a widow, thereby allowing herself many more freedoms than she'd have as a spinster of no family. I love her wit and the way she teases, as well as her vulnerability. I also really love how much Jack grows throughout the book, learning that just because he is the Duke with all these responsibilities doesn't mean he needs to work so hard he's a cold automaton with no personal interests or fun. Sophie helps him find himself again, and I do love a good book where the woman helps save the man.

This book is so compellingly written, I literally couldn't put it down. I found myself making lunch, changing my 18 month old's diaper, brushing my teeth, all one-handed so I could keep reading while performing life's necessary little tasks. Now I just need to figure out how to read and sleep at the same time... Must work on that. Aside from Jack's temporary insanity in sweeping Sophie away, the plot points felt believable, with just enough wrenches thrown in the works to keep things interesting and make the leads really work for their happily ever after. I felt like we didn't get as much about Sophie's friends as side characters as I'd have liked, but since Eliza is the heroine of book #2, I assume Georgiana gets her own book as well. I wanted to slap Philip (which is always a great sign of a good side character!) and I hope we get to hear more about Lucinda and how she fares.

READER BEWARE! The epilogue contains a Segway into the next book, which makes it end on something of a cliffhanger. If you're not good with that sort of thing, maybe skip the epilogue. But OH MY GOSH, I immediately went and looked up the next book, An Earl Like You, on Goodreads and I CANNOT WAIT TO READ IT. GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW!!!

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of MY ONCE AND FUTURE DUKE, we’re giving away five paperback sets of WHAT A WOMAN NEEDS and WHAT A GENTLEMAN WANTS by Caroline Linden!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. Five winners will each receive a paperback set of What a Woman Needs and What a Gentleman Wants by Caroline Linden. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 3/9/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

About Caroline Linden

Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer code before discovering that writing fiction was far more fun. Since then, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series three times, which is not related but still worth mentioning. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages, and have won the NEC-RWA Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the NJRW Golden Leaf Award, and RWA’s RITA Award. She lives in New England.