How to Ruin a Duke: A Regency Novella Duet

Rhapsody for Two by Theresa Romain Rowena Fairweather, the violin maker, has been tending to her late father's shop alone for a year. She has been a luthier all her life, but the lease is about to expire, and she is short of funds. To distract herself, she has been reading the new scandalous book, HOW TO RUIN A DUKE. What a coincidence that a down-on-his-luck musician, Simon Thorn, would bring his horn in which a note has been stuffed. Almost like in HOW TO RUIN A DUKE! When I heard that Theresa Romain was writing a novella about a luthier, I was ecstatic. I knew it would be memorable, and it most certainly is. What is so extraordinary about Rhapsody for Two is that this novella easily reads as a full-length novel. There is so much to love, I hardly know where to start. Rowena and Simon both have complete backstories, they are wonderfully complex characters, and it soon becomes apparent that they need each other. The way they meet is enchanting, but no more so than how they eventually fall in love. It is beyond lovely! I've always been grateful that Ms. Romain doesn't write the typical historical heroes and heroines. Both Simon and Rowena are working people, they're relatable, human, and so endearing. The mind boggles at the amount of research done by the author on stringed instruments, their care and repairs and on Vauxhall, which we experience from a musician's point of view. In carefully chosen words, Theresa Romain puts us right on the premises. How can one describe such a wonderfully perfect story? Rhapsody for Two took me a long time to read, because I kept highlighting those many gorgeous sentences, filled with meaning and charm, and wishing to remember every memorable paragraph, re-reading passages simply because they are just so beautiful. I was emotionally invested all the way, and I think I cried for at least a whole chapter. This novella is clever, witty, and so well constructed that we get brief glimpses of what to expect in Grace Burrowes's story. Every character is a delight, the story is superb, and filled with all kinds of historical details that have now become Ms. Romain's trademark. You don't notice them as such, but they make the everything feel genuine and so alive. I also loved that, in a way, this story features role reversals and a real independent woman. If I hadn't been a fan of Theresa Romain's before, I would be now. She is the undisputed queen of the historical novella. When His Grace Falls by Grace Burrowes Ever since she left her position as companion to the Duchess of Emory, money has been scarce for Lady Edith Charbonneau. She wants to write a book on domestic advice, but it's not easy for a woman to be taken seriously. Some people think she might be the anonymous author of HOW TO RUIN A DUKE, among them the thinly veiled subject of the book: Thaddeus, the Duke of Emory. He searches high and low, confronts her, but cannot help wondering what she does with all the money she earns from the book sales when she nearly faints from hunger. When His Grace Falls is everything we have come to expect from Grace Burrowes: vibrant characters, interesting family dynamics, vivid descriptions, biting wit, and sumptuous, lush prose. Edith and Thaddeus's relationship progresses realistically, and the sole intimate scene is at the same time very subtle and highly erotic. A misunderstanding occurs and I felt Ms. Burrowes handled it brilliantly. The romance is lovely, but it's the suspense that really thrilled me. The author of the scandalous book came as a complete shock, and you can't beat that! I hope that the future will include dukes to be rescued and ravished...

A book can ruin a Duke. And a very serious Duke must find the author. Lady Edith agrees to help him, and there is a very HEA.