The Scandalous Love of a Duke

A beautifully written story.

First book from this author. Good read! Just Too much drama!

This is my fourth book by Jane Lark and my third of her historical series Marlow Intrigues. Out of all the characters I have encounter in the series I am touched mostly by John. The poor boy had a torturous upbringing by his grandfather excluding him from his mother for the first ten years of his life and that truly affected how he was with people as a grown up. Thankfully his childhood friend Katherine was able to draw the carefree side of John out of his hardened shell and show him a happier life. It wasn't an easy journey for either of them, lots of pitfalls as they struggled to cope with their personal and private lives as Duke and Duchess. A lovely book for all those historical fans out there. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I love this cover! It suits John. Remember young, little John from The Illicit Love of a Courtesan? Well, now he's all grown up. John grew up with Kate, but he never truly saw her. At least not the way she wanted him too, but now she's all grown up too. Thanks to his Grandfather, John has quite a bit of baggage that he lets affect pretty much all areas of his life. His family adores him, but no one truly knows how he feels about them in return. He puts on his "Duke" face. Kate sees the real John come through from time to time, but even she doesn't know what's really going on in his head. As with all of Jane Lark's books, this one is so well told. She always gives you suspense, humor, and a steamy romance. I'm to the point where I feel like I know these characters, and I'm very attached to them. The Scandalous Love by Jane Lark was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

John Harding is the Duke of Pembroke and should have everything at his fingertips. What he is a deeply scarred man who does not think he deserves love. John's mother was ripped from him by his grandfather when he was a very young child. His grandfather beat any and all emotions from his young heart and left what John calls "his grandfather's monster" in it place. Katherine Spencer grew up down the lane from John and has loved him forever. John and her brother Phillip have always been the best of friends. Katherine was adopted by Phillip's parents after her birth mother killed herself. Her adopted mother and sister have always treated her as a servant. She is only truly loved by her father and brother. John returns to England when his grandfather dies. Now he is the duke and he trusts no one and feels he is drowning. He sees Katherine again and she starts to begin light to his dark world. Can Katherine and her love be enough to heal John's heart and soul? Will John forget his title and embrace her love? Will they both learn to trust in their love? Jane Lark writes with such passion for her characters. She makes them so scarred and flawed that they jumped off the pages and landed into my heart. I was cheering them on, screaming at their wrong choices and crying in happiness and sadness. I am now mew and devoted fan of Jane Lark. I give this inspired love story 5 fingers up and 8 toes.

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