The English Duke

by Karen Ranney

Overview

In the second in New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Ranney’s scintillating series, society’s most coveted duke finds the one thing wealth and position cannot buy—the perfect partner…

For years, Martha York has been fascinated by a man she’s never met—Jordan Hamilton, the new Duke of Roth and protégé to her inventor father. Could the elusive gentleman possibly live up to his brilliant letters? When Martha travels to his estate to carry out her father’s last bequest, she discovers that the answer is a resounding yes, for the duke’s scientific mind belies a deep sensuality…

Jordan was determined to complete his prototype alone, but it’s impossible to resist the alluring young woman who shows up at his door. Working together, they grow ever closer, until a case of mistaken identity leaves him bound to another. A woman’s heart may be more complex than the most intricate invention, but Jordan must find a way to win Martha’s, or lose the only woman who can truly satisfy him…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062466891
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/28/2017
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Karen Ranney wanted to be a writer from the time she was five years old and filled her Big Chief tablet with stories. People in stories did amazing things and she was too shy to do anything amazing. Years spent in Japan, Paris, and Italy, however, not only fueled her imagination but proved she wasn't that shy after all.

Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, she prefers to keep her adventures between the covers of her books. Karen lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2017
Ranney’s second Duke Trilogy historical (after The Scottish Duke), set in late-19th-century England, unites a reclusive duke and an ingenious inventor. Martha York is upset that Jordan Hamilton, the Duke of Roth, hasn’t answered any of her letters. Her deceased father, Matthew, worked with the duke on a prototype torpedo and wanted Jordan to have his notes and latest prototype. Tired of waiting, Martha journeys with her spoiled sister, Josephine, and their grandmother to the duke’s home of Sedgebrook. As Martha and Jordan work together on the prototype, they discover how much they enjoy their companionable silence and collaboration. While the attraction between Jordan and Martha begins to sizzle, Josephine schemes to become the next Duchess of Sedgebrook. Jordan assumes women want him for only his title, and Martha is convinced that men won’t like her for her intellect; the believable connection between them enlivens the tale. Ranney has created a captivating story line complete with an intriguing cast of characters. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Ranney has created a captivating story line complete with an intriguing cast of characters.” — Publishers Weekly

“A compelling read...” — Kirkus Reviews

“[T]he scientific details and historical background add a unique and fascinating luster to this satisfying romance.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

[T]he scientific details and historical background add a unique and fascinating luster to this satisfying romance.

Booklist

[T]he scientific details and historical background add a unique and fascinating luster to this satisfying romance.

Booklist

04/15/2017
Martha York is incensed when science-oriented Jordan Hamilton, the Duke of Roth, refuses to come for the papers her late inventor father wanted him to have. With her beautiful, self-centered younger sister and canny grandmother in tow, Martha sets out for the duke's estate to deliver the research herself. A quick trip is planned until Gran becomes indisposed. Jordan and Martha end up collaborating and bonding, but a conniving miss manipulates the truth, with a near disastrous outcome. VERDICT Exceptional characters, a self-serving villainess, and fascinating detail about underwater vessels combine in this rewarding, sweetly sensual Victorian romance; the perfect addition to Ranney's latest series. Ranney (The Scottish Duke) lives in San Antonio.

Library Journal

2016-12-27
An inventor's daughter will stop at nothing to carry out her father's last wishes—even if it means confronting a handsome but unfriendly duke in his den.Martha York is not an ordinary young woman. When her late father invented a new type of torpedo ship, Martha took notes, built prototypes, and kept order in his workshop. Now that he's gone, she's determined to deliver his bequest. He left a working prototype of his torpedo ship to Jordan Hamilton, the Duke of Roth. Jordan is also an inventor and was her father's devoted friend. When Jordan refuses to accept the bequest, Martha travels to his country seat with her grandmother and half sister to entreat him to take it. The pain from a recent injury has made Jordan surly and reclusive, but Martha's grandmother fakes an illness so she'll have an excuse to stay at Jordan's estate for a few days, throwing her unmarried granddaughters into the ducal presence. Jordan and Martha spend the time working side by side in Jordan's workshop. They begin to respect each other as colleagues, and warm feelings develop, followed by very hot feelings indeed. But Martha's conniving younger sister, Josephine, is determined to win the duke for herself. Both Martha and Jordan are so unbearably passive and self-pitying that Josephine almost carries it off, getting herself affianced to Jordan through manipulation and outright lies. The reader is left in an agony of frustration and suspense, waiting for Jordan or Martha to speak up and end the farcical engagement between Josephine and Jordan. The second book in Ranney's (The Scottish Duke, 2016) Duke Trilogy is full of compelling details about Victorian naval armaments, but the secondary characters are almost more interesting than the brilliant but naïve hero and heroine. A compelling read in spite of the aggravating main characters.

Kirkus Reviews

Martha York has never met Jordan Hamilton, Duke of Roth, but he fascinates her through the brilliant letters he once wrote her father. When Martha arrives at Jordan’s estate to help him with an invention prototype, will she be able to capture his heart as well as his mind? Narrator Tim Campbell’s emphasis seems more on style than emotion, and while he captures the upper-class pronunciation and insouciant attitude of a British comedy of manners perfectly, the emotional details and growth in the protagonists’ relationship don't come across clearly. Nonetheless, the heroine’s intelligence shines, and the secondary characters’ scheming is captured beautifully, making for enjoyable and atmospheric listening. B.E.K. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2017 - AudioFile