THE MAD, BAD DUKE

Author: Jennifer Ashley ISBN: 0843956070 12/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER
Time Period: 1820'S England

Meagan Tavistock could easily see how Alexander had earned the nickname Mad, Bad Duke. His deep blue eyes promised sinful pleasure, his touch burned through the silk of her dress, and his rich voice intimated that as soon as they were skin to skin, he’d fulfill desires she didn’t even know she had. When a love spell missed its intended target, Meagan could no longer resist the temptation... until the magic wore off, leaving the pair in a most compromising position. Their only option was a marriage that thrust Meagan into a new world of high danger, dark secrets, and a passion so intense she couldn’t help wondering: Was it the lingering power of the spell or true love at last?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Well, well, well. The bad, handsome and seductive duke I loved in PENELOPE AND PRINCE CHARMING has gotten his own seductive romance. He's lean, he's sexy, and... oh, did I mention he's seductive? Because on a seductive scale of one to ten, he's definitely over the top.

THE MAD, BAD DUKE is exactly who the title says he is. He's a little bit mad, but a whole lot bad. Real bad. And thank goodness, Ashley gave him a story worthy of his exalted, sexy, romantic hero status. Alexander is the type of bad boy we women just long to tame.

Exiled to England, Alexander is on the prowl for anyone who's a threat to his homeland, using his role as ambassador to keep tabs on the bad guys and anyone who threatens the people of Nvengaria. But his life becomes complicated when he's overcome by a love spell and, against a power he's unable to fight, finds himself compromising an English lady, Meagan Tavistock. Alexander might be mad and he might be bad, but above all else he's an honorable man. So, he does the right thing by English society's standards and marries the lovely redhead.

There's a lot of lust going on between these two, with or without the love spell. Let me tell you, this is one hot, hot romance! And thankfully, Meagan's no longer the giggling miss that annoyed me in PENELOPE AND PRINCE CHARMING. To be honest, Meagan's actually grown into the perfect companion for the sexy Alexander, and the erotic and sensual love scenes between these two, will, on more than one occasion, leave you quite breathless.

Ashley has redeemed herself in my eyes with THE MAD, BAD DUKE. The story this time revolves more around the characters and their development as people, and less upon the backdrop and customs of Alexander's homeland. The relationship between Alexander and Meagan is more intense, better developed, and the characters who annoyed me in the previous book are kept to a minimum. She also tempers Alexander's personality—oh, he's plenty bad in THE MAD, BAD DUKE, but he also has a heart, which Ashley is able to show without making him lose any of his "badness" traits. His tenderness toward his son and his constant internal fight against his "other" self, give Alexander a touch of vulnerability without taking away any of his machismo. Well done, Miss Ashley. Well done, indeed.

So, go ahead. Let Jennifer Ashley's THE MAD, BAD DUKE's Alexander seduce and entice you into reading this delectable romance, a wonderful mix of historical romance with a hint of fantasy and the paranormal. I'm not sure what Ashley has in mind for the next Nvengarian she sends our way, but here's hoping he's just as seductive and sexy as Alexander!

Nancy Davis