If the Duke Demands (Capturing the Carlisles, #1) by Anna Harrington Published by Forever on February 28th 2017
Pages: 368
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Miranda Hodgkins has only ever wanted one thing: to marry Robert Carlisle. And she simply can't wait a moment longer. During the Carlisle family masquerade ball, Miranda boldly sneaks into his bedchamber with seduction on her mind. Soon she's swept into rock-hard arms for the most breathtaking kiss of her life. But when the masks come off, she's horrified to find herself face-to-face with Sebastian, the Duke of Trent—Robert's formidable older brother.
Shocked to find Miranda in his bed, Sebastian quickly offers her a deal to avoid scandal: he'll help her win his brother's heart if she'll find him the perfect wife. But what begins as a simple negotiation soon spirals out of control. For the longer this reformed rake tries to make a match for Miranda, the more he wants to keep her all to himself.
The first book in Anna Harrington's new sexy Regency trilogy about the Carlisle brothers—three unrepentant rakes who become respectable gentlemen when family tragedy strikes.
I received If the Duke Demands (Capturing the Carlisles, #1) for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After Josie Carlisle gets her happily ever after in Harrington’s Secret Life of Scoundrels series, her brothers get their turn in the new Capturing the Carlisles series.
First up is the Duke of Trent, Sebastian Carlisle. His guilt over his rakish ways before the death of his father have made the Duke amend his ways for several years. When a woman appears in his bed after a ball, he wants to let loose for one night in his life.
Miranda Hodgkins thought she was in second son, Robert Carlisle’s bed. After a few hot, heated moments and slip of the tongue she realizes she’s been dallying with none other than the Duke. She’s mortified, but her skin still burns from every inch Sebastian touched. The two strike a bargin to help one another get their desired spouse during the season, but no one sets their souls a flame like each other.
Harrington made a fabulous decision to sojourn into the exploits of Josie’s brothers. Who wouldn’t swoon over the golden haired, god-like men? I fell for Sebastian from the first moment he entered his bedroom. He’s all starched and stuffy when acting the Duke, but just below the surface lies the heart of a panther with passion and desire only one woman inspires.
Miranda was a little harder to sell me on. At first, I worried about some of her decisions, but as the novel progressed, I began to see her as Sebastian did. She wasn’t flighty, she had a lust for life. She wasn’t irresponsible, she just cared enough about the people around her to put her life and reputation on the line. There were a few times I wanted to smack both of them over the head, but they eventually got their passionate selves together and made it all work.
I thought from here we might be seeing Robert’s story next since he was courting a young woman throughout the novel. With a sneak peek at the end of the novel into book two, When the Scoundrel Sins, it is actually brother Quinton who gets a chance at love. I’m excited to see where Harrington is going with this series and what is in store for the entire Carlisle family.
About Anna Harrington
An award-winning English professor and romance writer, Anna Harrington fell in love with historical romances and all things Regency—and especially all those dashing Regency heroes—while living and studying in England, where she spent most of her time studying the Romantic poets and Regency England, reading Jane Austen, and getting lost all across the English countryside.
In addition to earning her B.A. in English from Ashland University, M.A. from Michigan State University in literature, and Ph.D. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Composition, she has
studied theatre in London, Mexican history in Guadalajara, and Spanish in Ecuador. She has traveled the world, visiting schools and volunteering in Peru, Ecuador, France, Italy, Thailand, and Mexico, and has amassed thousands of photos she unleashes on
unsuspecting friends who dare to ask about her travels.
Anna also loves to be outdoors. She has been hiking and climbing in Alaska, Hawaii, the Andes and the Alps, including one week spent dangling off the via ferrata in the Dolomites, and she has whitewater rafted in Alaska, South America, and the Appalachians. She earned her pilot’s license, high-performance, complex and instrument ratings at Chicago Midway (To all the controllers in Chicago Center—she greatly apologies for every problem she caused you and Southwest Airlines), and she hopes to one day fly in a hot-air balloon over Kenya.
When she read her first Regency romance by Julia Quinn in 2012, she was hooked and longed to create her own independent and spirited heroines, dashing heroes, and the trials and tribulations of Regency England which worked to keep them apart until true love won the day. Her first series, The Secret Life of Scoundrels, was contracted to Grand Central/Forever in 2014, and her debut novel, Dukes are Forever, set for release in November, 2015 (with Along Came a Rogue in February, 2016 and How I Married a Marquess in May, 2016).
The best part of writing historical romances for Anna is falling into history—to live in the world of Regency England through her characters, with dazzling balls, beautiful dresses, and gorgeous estates that she would otherwise never be able to experience. She loves the period’s history, especially the architecture, and finds that all those rules of proper etiquette and propriety can be worked to the heroine’s advantage…if she’s daring enough to seize her dreams.
Anna adores all things chocolate, dives into ice cream of any flavor, and guzzles Kona coffee by the gallon. A Doctor Who fanatic (everyone says her house is bigger on the inside!), she is a terrible cook who hopes to one day use her oven for something other than shoe storage. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time trying not to kill the innocent rose bushes in her garden.
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