No Ordinary Duchess
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4.1 • 33 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
From a New York Times bestselling author, the much-anticipated third novel in the Greycourt series.
Cold and brooding, Julian Greycourt, the heir to the Windemere dukedom, has always known that his uncle the duke was responsible for his mother’s death. Now he’s determined to exact revenge against his uncle—if he can find the proof. But Julian hides a secret so explosive it will destroy him if it’s ever revealed, and the duke is watching. The last thing he needs is a distractingly sensual woman whose very presence threatens to destroy his plans.
Sunny and cheerful, Lady Elspeth de Moray doesn’t know why her brother and Julian fell out all those years ago, but she can’t let the autocratic man get in the way of her mission: to retrieve an ancient family text that she believes is in one of the Windemere libraries. Locating the tome, however, proves trickier than she anticipated, and at each turn, she’s thrown together with the maddingly mysterious Julian. And the temptation to give in to her family’s greatest enemy grows stronger with each intriguing encounter…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A series of unexpected rendezvous between a steely heir to a dukedom and a spirited book lover animate the solid third Georgian romance in bestseller Hoyt's Greycourt series (after When a Rogue Meets His Match). Julian, whose years of living with his abusive uncle have taught him to remain unemotional and detached, meets Elspeth, an endearingly naive yet self-assured gentlewoman, while both are hiding out in a private library. As Julian valiantly seeks to protect his family from his uncle's wrath and Elspeth doggedly searches for a journal she believes will restore the secret organization of women in which she and her sisters were raised, their lives intertwine. Elspeth thaws Julian's icy exterior, persistently fighting his hurtful attempts to force her away from him due to his deep-seated shame and feelings of unworthiness. Their will-they-won't-they comes to a head when they are trapped together at his country house during a storm, and their relationship blossoms through touching conversations and irresistibly kinky sexual interludes. While a few distracting subplots clutter the narrative and the ending arrives abruptly, Hoyt offers a refreshing perspective that deconstructs Georgian society's toxic views on sexuality and delivers a subtle but poignant message of self-acceptance without sacrificing her signature sensuality. There's lots here to enjoy.
Customer Reviews
Favorite Author Never disappoints
This was a wonderful story with a story inside it, as always. The best stories ever.
Cheerful vs Brooding, love it!
The bookworm is great at giving bedroom orders in Elizabeth Hoyt’s No Ordinary Duchess, third of The Greycourt series.
I enjoyed that his book started innocent enough with a cheerful Lady Elspeth de Moray in a library however things soon take a turn when brooding Julian Greycourt enters. This set the tone of the book, we never know what twists will present itself.
Elspeth’s nature of being unconventional and lovely around the need-to-be-proper Julian was entertaining. There were laugh out loud moments when big grins weren’t enough!
I loved that there was more to brave Elspeth and she would go through any means and distance to ultimately help others. This would lead us into some scandalous fun like an unchaperoned country manor. Plus, we find out she’s very skilled and dangerous.
Then behind a brooding male is a big heart, and in this case, Julian also has different desires which were a treat to read. His obedience was refreshing!
If you enjoy books with booklovers, secret societies, women empowerment, who-dun-it, and who’s-the-target historical romances, then I highly recommend this book! I surely will read the earlier books of this series!
Thank you to Net Galley and Forever publishing for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.
No Ordinary Duchess?
Yes, the heroine of this story is not ordinary and neither is the hero, but if you like kinky sex (BDSM), then this book is for you. Another good romance writer has lowered herself to write this kind of sexual activity into their story. The hero is mentally disturbed and feels at peace when he is dominated by the heroine. It is so sad that romance and love has dwindled to this.