The Good, the Bad, and the Duke

The Good The Bad and The Duke is a cautionary tale to never let your >bleeep< journal out of your sight! 😂 Seriously though, between the covers I was delighted to find a story of lifelong friendships and redemption. This does have the prerequisite plot points you expect from the genre. Boy and girl are drawn together, turmoil ensues attempting to keep them apart, and then the stars align and they grab their happily ever after. More than that, I enjoyed our hero “Paul” swallowing his pride and dusting off his apology britches to set his life to rights finally. Finally! This is the storyline I have been waiting for in this series. I feel that the author did a fantastic job in creating his romantic counterpoint in Daphne. She is no wilting wallflower with more than enough of an independent streak as to be relatable. These two play off of one another beautifully.

This could be read as a standalone novel. However, I feel that the redemption of the male lead, in addition to the multiple supporting character ties, this would be best enjoyed when read in series order. Paul really did make some colossal poor choices he has to scrape himself back from. I loved every minute of reading time spent on this story.

I received a complimentary advance copy of this title at no cost to the author via Netgalley. All opinions are unsolicited and my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This book was a hard one to put down. This was so full of intrigue and suspense. I just loved it. Ms. MacGregor really does a fantastic job in capturing the reader's attention. The plot of the book just flowed so smoothly that it felt like I was watching a movie in my head. The plot was such an original one that it really was a joy to read. It was not one that has done before (at least not that I have read a similar one). Some authors seem to write the same story over and over but with different character names and a slight change to the plot. Not here. I so enjoyed this.

The book was written in my favorite dual POV format. Being able to read the character's thoughts really helps me, the reader, to understand the character's actions so much better. This is especially important with reading historicals. The morals then are so much different than those of today's. Understanding some of Paul's actions would have been so hard to decipher without such insight.

Paul was a wonderful male protagonist. I just fell in love with him. He was so wonderful and protective of Daphne that I was completely smitten. Daphne was such a warm loving person that it is easily to be enchanted with her.

The only disappointment, it is over!!!! I can't wait for the next installment. I will probably re-read the entire series over again after it is over. I will say this, do you have to read the prior books to enjoy this one, no. The author does a fantastic job of writing that the reader is not confused. I so enjoyed reading more of the prior characters and getting a glimpse of their continued story.

I so highly recommend this historical romance.

What would you do if your family left for Christmas without you?
What would you do if you were a duke wanting to repair your worthless reputation?
What would you do when your dream is met with obstacles; especially in the form of the handsome as sin ex-best friend of your brother?
What would you do if your road to redemption is constantly blocked by your ex-best friend’s beautiful sister?
What would you do if your private diary (one that contains secrets that if exposed would devastate those you love) is stolen?
What would you do if your beautiful nemesis is constantly tempting danger in her search for a missing diary?
Lady Daphne Hallworth and Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart will answer all those questions while Janna MacGregor takes them on a journey of towards a happily ever after.