Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Duke

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke by Janna MacGregor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the earlier books in Janna MacGregor's Cavensham Heiresses series, so I was pleased to be chosen by the publisher to read and review an advanced copy of the latest installment, "The Good, the Bad, and the Duke."

While this was not my favorite entry in the series, it was charming in its own way. I have been intrigued by the hero, Lord Paul Barstowe, ever since his first appearance as the villain in book 1, so I was glad to see him featured here. It's not an easy thing to redeem a villain and turn him into a worthy hero, but Ms. MacGregor manages to do so superbly with Paul. Learning his side of the story as well as more about his childhood certainly explains his actions in earlier books, though it does not excuse them. His heartfelt apologies to Claire and Emma made it clear that he had turned a corner and become the true gentleman he was always capable of being.

The heroine of this story, Lady Daphne Hallworth, also appeared in earlier books as Alex, Lord Pembrooke's, younger sister. I must admit to not remembering much about her from earlier stories, but perhaps that is the point since much of her character development hinges on her feelings of invisibility in the wake of her sister Alice's death and her brother's subsequent marriage to Lady Claire Cavensham. Her relationship with Paul helps her come out of her shell and learn to reach for the things she wants in life.

While the characters were mostly likeable, there were a few things that bothered me as I read. The story revolved around two main quests: first, to find Daphne's stolen journal, and second, to mend fences between Paul, Daphne's brother Alex, and their mutual friend Nick. Most of the first half of the book was focused on Daphne and Paul's search for the journal, which still hadn't been found when that quest was basically set aside in favor of exploring the book's second theme, the men's strained relationship. It bothered me that Daphne, especially, could seemingly stop worrying about the journal to focus on matters between Paul and her brother after the loss of the journal had caused her so much heartache in the beginning. When the search for the journal finally came back into play near the end of the book, it felt a bit like an afterthought solely designed to keep Paul invested in his relationship with Daphne after he had decided to break things off with her in the wake of the revelation of his family's painful secret.

Daphne's seeming recklessness also bothered me throughout the book. She was very worried about someone finding her journal and having it cause a scandal, as well as renewed pain for her brother and mother if her private thoughts about her sister's death became public. However, she didn't seem to be at all worried about the potential scandal of repeatedly visiting an infamous gambling den or spending time unchaperoned with a gentleman whom she had no intention of marrying - and one who was her brother's sworn enemy, to boot! I can't quite understand why she continued to compound her initial mistake of losing the journal in the first place by doing things that she knew were dangerous to her and her family's reputation.

At any rate, these annoyances were relatively minor, and overall I enjoyed this book. I very much look forward to the next installment in the Cavensham Heiresses series!

*ARC provided by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

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