"When You Give a Duke a Diamond" Review

"When You Give a Duke a Diamond"
by Shana Galen

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: Sep 1, 2012
Source: ARC sent by publisher

My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Summary from goodreads.com:
He had a perfectly orderly life...

William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual, securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossip papers link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next...

Until she came along...

Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's disruptive to have the duke who is the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide...

My Review:

This regency romance is a lot of fun, and sweet at the same time. It's a really good mix of fluffy romance with a lot of heart and tender feeling as well.

Will is really a different sort of hero, which a good thing. He's so ordered and punctual almost to a fault. I really liked this side of his personality, especially when we get to know why exactly he acts that way. At the same time, he can be very very cold, especially to Juliette, which isn't so good. However, there is one point where we really understand where he's coming from, when he admits his true feelings for himself as well as why he covers them so much, and it is just absolutely heartbreaking. He has to do a lot of apologizing to Juliette, but he does find a way to apologize, and he definitely redeems himself.

Juliette is the perfect contrast to Will, she is such a free spirit. I love that this aspect of her character isn't watered down. She really is pretty reckless, it's not like she says she's reckless, but then in reality she's just a cultured 'miss' of the ton. The author does a really great job with both characters and makes them both interesting to read about and unique from the norm in historical romance. They butt heads quite a bit, and it is really fun to read about.

Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5

Romance: 4.5/5

Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 4/5 (I really love the yellow gold color. His expression is a bit detached, but I'll try to ignore that)
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line:  A fun regency romance with a lot of heart and two unique and likable leads.

6 comments

  1. Sounds sweet. I want to know what his secret is lol

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  2. I'm happy you liked the book!!!
    I'm very weary of Ms. Galen though because she wrote one of the most odious heroines I've ever read and I have never really recovered from it.

    So sad.

    That being said Will sounds like a good hero.

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  3. I don't read romance much, but I do enjoy historical fiction so once in awhile I'll read a historical romance. I really like this cover! And the characters sound pretty appealing as well.

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  4. I like the premise and the cover, and I really like what I've read from Shana Galen. That said, I despise the recent trend of cutsey romance titles. Every time I see this title, I just think of a mouse and a cookie...or a moose and a muffin...etc. :)

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Thanks so much for your lovely comments!