Review: Duke by Day, Rogue by Night

Constance Danbury is fleeing an arranged marriage to lecherous Lord Burton, a man who has blackmailed her father and is nearly twice her age. Her escape takes her aboard a merchantman bound for Spain, where she hopes an aunt will help her procure funds to save her father’s dwindling reputation. But fate intervenes. Constance is captured by a pirate with a wit and stubbornness to match her own, and a secret he’ll do anything to keep.

Nobleman Percival Avery is a member of Nelson’s Tea, an elite group whose members are first sons from every tier in society. Undercover, he disguises himself as a pirate to infiltrate the gang of cutthroats responsible for his sister’s death. But when his vessel attacks a merchantman with valuable cargo, Percy is forced to choose between vengeance and saving the life of his commander’s niece, Constance Danbury. Mutiny is sure to obliterate his well-laid plans. It also aligns him with the one woman sure to see through his disguise. Forced to play the fop by day to outwit his enemies, he masquerades as a rogue by night in order to avenge his sister’s death – and to win his true love’s heart.

Series: Nelson’s Tea Trilogy #1
Release Date: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Eskape Press
Source: Provided by Author/Publisher via Manic Readers
Reviewer: Michelle
Rating:

Buy the book at:

Reviewer’s Thoughts

4.5 Cocktails

Lady Constance Danbury is a wanted woman —-wanted by 4 very different men.  Lord Burton is an older man known to be violent with women and use them for his own perverted sexual pleasure.  He won’t stop until Lady Constance is his wife.  His threats drive Lady Constance away from her home in England.   Lieutenant Henry Guffauld is tasked with protecting her while she is on board a ship bound for Spain.  He also falls under her spell.  Unfortunately, Lady Constance’s trip is interrupted when pirates attack her ship.  A deranged captain, Frink, attacks the vessel and acts without mercy.  One of his commanding officers, Thomas Sexton/Percival Avery, finds Lady Constance in her cabin.  After he sees her he knows nothing will ever be the same again.  Too bad Captain Frink decides that he must have Lady Constance.  But Thomas isn’t backing down.

The storyline takes off from there.  The author does an excellent job of weaving suspense, drama, and romance together for a nonstop roller coaster ride.  Every time I thought I figured out exactly what was going on and tried to predict the ending another twist happened.  I was glued to this novel day and night until I could finish it.  There was no lull in the story.  There were also some areas where I found myself laughing out loud.  I  think the author’s description of Percival Avery and the confrontation between Percival and Lord Burton had me doubled over laughing.  So the storyline had the best of everything suspense, humor, romance, and action.

The author did an excellent job of introducing characters and making them complex.  I loved that the author took great care to share the self-talk that Thomas had while trying to figure out how to navigate his relationship with Constance while pursuing his own goals.  Thomas and Constance had a passionate romance.  The sizzle could not be denied.  Constance was no shrinking violet.  She was independent and unafraid to take a leap into the unknown.  She also had a strong spirit and despite being plagued by nightmares she continued to display great courage.  I loved the display of love that was woven throughout the storyline.  Both Constance and Thomas had strong family ties.  At the heart of these characters their love of each other is what drove them to act the way they did.

Don’t miss this gem..