Review: Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen

Title: Between the Devil and the Duke

Author: Kelly Bowen

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: January 2017

RITA Category: Historical Romance - Long
Rating: 4/5 stars

This was my first Kelly Bowen historical, and I was pleasantly surprised! I try not to read too much about a book's plot before picking it up, and I was immediately drawn into the story of Angelique Archer, a noble lady whose family has fallen on extremely hard times, forcing her to use her quick mind to win card games and support the family with her gambling winnings. Angelique loves math and focuses on ensuring her family's home isn't lost and that her younger brother's can continue their education. I immediately liked her, and that she was smart, capable, and understood how she struggled with asking for help, as it meant that she had to admit that she was in trouble. I also liked the hero, Alexander Lavoie, the owner of the club where Angelique plays, who is impressed by her skills with cards and wants to hire her as the first dealer for his club. His offer could solve her problems, as she would have a steady income. However, as a lady she is hesitant to accept a job, and her instant attraction to Lavoie only complicates matters. 

I loved the chemistry between Alexander and Angelique, and romances where at least one character is a commoner is kind of my catnip, so I loved that this book didn't have the typical duke hero, despite the title. I became pretty invested in the characters, both good and bad; I literally screamed whenever Angelique's loser brother would squander their money or do something stupid, and the twist at the end of the book had me gasping. It was a fun, engrossing read that featured a few elements of intrigue that I thought made it a bit more exciting that a typical historical romance. There is definitely a mystery element to the story, thanks to cameos from some of the characters from the previous books in this series, which I now have to go back and read because I have to find out how those characters ended up together.

Between the Devil and the Duke is a good read if you want something different than the more traditional historical romance. The writing is snappy, the characters are well developed, and the romance itself is pretty steamy. Alexander is the type of hero that appeals to me; he's kind of a bad boy, but not really, and he's looking for a woman to be his equal rather than a damsel in distress. If you're looking for a quick-paced historical romance that has a nice mystery woven into the romance, I would definitely recommend this book!