How to Love a Duke in Ten Days

June 10, 2019
Byrne (The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo) rises admirably to the challenge of creating a hero who maintains dangerous alpha energy even through self-restraint and careful adherence to consent in this slow-burn late-Victorian romance, the starter to the Devil You Know series. Archaeologist Lady Alexandra Lane and her two dearest friends spent their schoolgirl days enjoying gentlemen’s pastimes as the Red Rogues Society. They also share the dark secret of having buried the headmaster, whom Alexandra killed after he raped her. A decade later, Alexandra, bankrupted by blackmail, sees a financial opportunity in marriage to the scarred Terror of Torcliff, Piers Gedrick Atherton, Duke of Redmayne, who wants heirs to thwart his faithless ex-lover and his cousin, who hope to inherit his title and wealth. Alexandra lays out a number of rules around touch so she can feel safe with Piers; he willingly agrees, and also insists on timing their marriage’s consummation to Alexandra’s menstrual cycle in order to ensure his paternity. This slow pacing gives Byrne abundant room to tantalize readers with the couple’s teasing and building passion, and with Alexandra’s unfolding discovery of sex as pleasure. This is a fine study of healing after sexual trauma, with tender care and patience as the keys to recovery.

Starred review from July 1, 2019
In late Victorian England, a sexual assault survivor and a scarred nobleman nicknamed the Terror of Torcliff marry for practical reasons but become enamored with each other--within 10 days, as the title promises. Dr. Alexandra Lane is a successful archaeologist, but she is haunted by her own history of having been raped by her boarding school headmaster when she was 17. Though Cecelia and Francesca, her two best friends, have been supportive, Alexandra has kept something from them since then, and now, 10 years later, her secret is at risk of exposure. When she meets Francesca's almost-fiance, Piers, at his ancestral estate on the Devonshire moors, she proposes to him, which will help her keep her secret (and because she knows Francesca doesn't want to marry him). Piers is an angry man, especially furious with his promiscuous mother and an unfaithful former lover. But Alexandra, with her scholarly bent, fearful demeanor, and sporadic acts of courage, catches his interest. Byrne (The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo, 2018, etc.) begins her Devil You Know series with an absorbing mix of old-school gothic romance with a woman in peril and the #MeToo era, celebrating the strength of survivors (as she writes in the book's dedication). After initially misunderstanding his wife's past, Piers transforms from a self-centered duke with a marked sense of entitlement to a supportive spouse once he learns of her trauma. Whether a change like this is wishful thinking or a realistic depiction of the allies that some women might have had under pre-feminist patriarchy, it makes for a heartwarming romance. Even more empowering is the friendship among the three women, who model female solidarity and whose personas (and nicknames: Alexander, Cecil, and Frank) reject restrictive gender roles. The story's overt politics sit in somewhat awkward proximity to the melodramatic end of the gothic plotline, but even that conclusion is enjoyable in its own way. An un-put-down-able story that combines sensuality, tenderness, slightly far-fetched dramatic scenes, and memorable characters.

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July 1, 2019
Almost everyone has a secret, but if Alexandra Lane's ever got out, it would destroy lives. Ten years ago, something terrible happened to Alexandra. With some help from her best friends, Francesca Cavendish and Cecelia Teague, Alexandra thought she had taken care of the matter. However, someone has been blackmailing her, and as she arrives in Devonshire to attend Francesca's wedding to Piers Atherton, Duke of Redmayne, the blackmailer ups the ante. Marrying a wealthy and powerful man like Piers could certainly help neutralize Alexandra's blackmailer, and as far as she can tell, Francesca has absolutely no desire to wed the Duke of Redmayne. So, if Alexandra were to take Francesca's place, it would solve both their problems, right? In this brilliantly conceived start to her captivating new Devil You Know series, Byrne (The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo, 2018) once again delivers the beautifully nuanced characters and seductive storytelling her readers have come to expect, while at the same time deftly conjuring up the spirit of Victoria Holt's classic gothic romances (albeit with a lot more heated sensuality).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)