Four Dukes And A Devil [Mass Market Paperback]

'Four Dukes and a Devil' contains five stories, three which are historical romances with a duke as the hero, one modern romance with a ghostly duke/dog who is part of the plot and the fifth a paranormal romance with vampires and demons.

The three historical romances are all pretty much as one would expect - short stories about a woman falling in love - and marrying - her duke. Cathy Maxwell's "The Irish Duke" was the weakest of the three. Her heroine is a matchmaker, a spinster herself, who somehow turns polite society against the Irish dukes (who are last in order of precedence amongst dukes) and eventually snares one herself. It was difficult to believe half of the events in this story, and I didn't feel either character was particularly well drawn.

"Catch of the Century" by Sophia Nash focuses on Victoria Givan, a minor character in her previous full-length novel, who is travelling with three young boys and finds herself in trouble. She's rescued by a duke in a posh carriage and events mean that she ends up staying at his home, with the expected ensuing romance. John Varick, the Duke of Beaufort, is a worthy hero but I found Victoria a bit annoying (as I did in her novel 'Love with the Perfect Scoundrel') and there were appearances by several characters from her series of books which perhaps are a bit overmuch for a short story. This was probably the weakest story in the collection but was still OK.

"Charmed by her Smile" by Tracey Anne Warren was a good story, although with some elements that some might find uncomfortable (the hero is fourteen years older than the heroine, for example). The Duke of Weybridge finds himself improbably in a kiss with a young debutante, India Byron, in order to help her avoid a persistent suitor. They meet again and once again he helps to deflect the suitor's attentions, not realising that he will find himself entranced by India. This wasn't a bad story but lots of the plot aspects were very unlikely and the historical accuracy was fairly shaky in places.

The modern romance story, "the Duke who came to dinner" by Elaine Fox, was an enjoyable story about a woman 'getting away from it all' to a house in Massachussetts and trying to be a bit braver than normal. She meets Sam Gregory, a man who isn't her usual type but with whom she starts a friendship, aided by an unusual dog. This was a pleasant story if rather pedestrian.

My favourite story in this collection was "Devil to Pay" by Jeaniene Frost. Elise is a loner vampire who lives by herself and rarely interacts with anyone. When she discovers a man trying to kill himself she rescues him, not realising that he is trying to commit suicide to protect others from his demon rages. As Elise and her vampire Sire realise what's going on, that Blake will have to die away from humans to avoid transferring the demon, she comes out of her shell as she focuses on Blake and his needs. This was a well-written and original story which I enjoyed very much.

In summary, this is a fairly good collection of stories although there's a minimal connection between them in terms of theme. They make good reading for a lazy day and will introduce readers to some authors that they may not previously have encountered.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book. © Helen Hancox 2009

When I saw the title of this anthology I was intrigued. When I saw the list of authors contributing to the anthology I was puzzled. After reading the book I've come to the conclusion that this publisher is simply trying to introduce readers to various authors and the genres they typically write in. Did it work? Only time will tell.

1. "The Irish Duke", Cathy Maxwell, Regency historical, 56 pages long
Miss Susan Rogers is a 26 year old spinster who has discovered a novel method for earning her living. She will use her experience in a broken engagement to convince parents that she can guide their daughters through the perils of a London season. Roan Gillray, the fourth Duke of Killeigh, has come to London expressly to find a wife. What he discovers instead is that eligible young women actually run to get away from "the Irish Duke" because of the story some matchmaker is putting about. Roan intends to get to the bottom of this problem quickly.

2. "The Duke Who Came to Dinner", Elaine Fox, contemporary, 68 pages
Gray Gilliam knows that she needs to take some chances if she is ever going to get her life out of the rut she is in. That is the main reason she leaves her home and job in Virginia and agrees to spend the summer at the Cape Cod home of a friend, hoping that having someone in residence will help the house to sell. It seems there is a rumor that the house is haunted by the ghost of an English Duke. Gray's first experiment in kicking over the traces was to go skinny dipping in the ocean. That ended in disaster when a dog ran off with her clothes. Her second try was going to the local bar instead of a place more suited for tourists. That's where she met Sam who owns the dog who stole her clothes. The dog is called Duke, of course.

3. "Devil to Pay", Jeaniene Frost, urban fantasy, 88 pages
Blake Turner is a man who became possessed by a demon six months ago. Since then he has been trying to find a way to kill himself to stop the horrific things the demon does when he controls Blake's body. When Elise, a vampire, captures Blake he thinks that she will be his best chance to end this nightmare he is living. But, there is a problem. Unless Blake dies in exactly the right circumstances the demon will simply leave his body and enter another. Elise would much prefer to keep away from the entire situation but something about Blake makes her want to get involved, a feeling she hasn't had in a very long time. (This story was the star of the collection for me and I really liked it very much.)

4. "Catch of the Century", Sophia Nash, Regency historical, 76 pages
John Varick, ninth Duke of Beaufort, has been dubbed by all the London papers as the Catch of the Century because of his fabulous wealth, his title, and his good looks. John has become very adept at avoiding the snares placed before an inattentive Duke when it comes to matters of matrimony. When he meets Miss Victoria Givan and her three young charges along the roadside he may be wary but common courtesy demands that he offer to help them reach their destination.

5. "Charmed by Her Smile", Tracy Anne Warren, London 1809, 89 pages
Quinten Marlow, eighth Duke of Weybridge, is very bored. Of course having a lovely young woman run up to him at a wedding reception and demand that he kiss her does add a certain amount of sparkle to the occasion. India Byron hopes that her unwanted suitor will be convinced that he has no chance with her and leave her alone once he sees that she is being paid particular attention by the Duke. Unfortunately it simply means that the suitor continues to challenge the Duke to every contest imaginable, from whist to riding. Quinten hasn't had so much fun in years and he really does enjoy being with India, but there is quite a bit of difference in their ages.

All five of these stories was very well written. The usual problems exist with stories included in an anthology, specifically that there is just not enough space given to fully develop the plots or the characters. For me, the story which came closest was the story by Jeaniene Frost, but her name is the one which sold me on the book in the first place. The connections between dukes and devils was quite a stretch at best. And one "duke" was a dog and there was possibly a ghost Duke. The "devil" was in the Frost story.

The Sophia Nash story contains characters who are included in other books written by her. The Jeaniene Frost story has an appearance by Bones and Cat from Frost's Night Huntress series. If the other stories have connections with previous books or series, I don't know that information. As I've said before all of the stories are very well written but overall I would have to rate the book as being rather bland. This isn't a book that I will ever want to read again and I don't know if I fully understand why these particular stories were together in the book unless the publisher was trying to encourage readers to explore genres new to them. Good luck to them if that is their purpose. For me personally, Regency romances have become so predictable that I've almost given up on them completely. I had hoped that the authors of those Regency stories included here had taken some daring chances. No such luck.

Wow! It's very rare that an anthology has more than 1 or 2 stories worthwhile for me. And I'm surprised at the low ratings on this. I felt like this one delivered! =)

Now I like Nash, Maxwell, and Warren already as historical romances are my genre! And I was not disappointed! As for the other 2 authors, I had read one or two books by them and while they are also good authors, they just don't push the 'extra' for me that these other authors do.

The stories from Nash, Maxwell, and Warren use one ingredient the others didn't: humor! If you are of the same mind you will love these! And you will probably recognize characters from previous stories!

The other two stories if I had to rate them individually were better than usual with antho's. so, I have rated them overall and individually. I hope this helps! note, Warren Maxwell were a very close tie actually for 2nd; thus the odd #. And one reviewer was turned off by one of the female leads stubborness - I on the other hand found that this trait was a big part of what gave the story so much humor! Just goes to show - different strokes... as another reviewer commented, there is something here for everyone! =) Enjoy!

Cathy Maxwell - 3 (4 3/4*) Yes, I know, only whole and half #'s but...=)
Elaine Fox - 5
Jeaniene Frost - 4 (4 1/2*)
Sophia Nash - 1 (5*)
Tracy Anne Warren - 2 (5*)

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 13 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars