What the Duke Desires

The Duke's Men, Book 1

By: Sabrina Jeffries

Narrated by: Corrie James

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Maximilian Cale, the Duke of Lyons, long ago buried his grief for his missing elder brother, Peter, who was presumed dead after being kidnapped. When a mysterious note arrives from Tristan Bonnaud asserting that the Duke's brother is alive, it leads Max straight to the winsome Lisette Bonnaud, illegitimate daughter of a viscount and Tristan's sister.

Soon he and Lisette are traveling to Paris posing as husband and wife, in search of Tristan, who has disappeared. And the longer he spends with Lisette, the easier it is for Max to see that the line between dukedom and desire is easier to cross than he imagined....

©2013 Deborah Gonzales (P)2013 Tantor

Finding Love

A wonderful book! Lisette the illegitimate daughter of a viscount along with her mother and 1/2 brother Dom are thrown off the estate by Doms brother the new viscount. He then makes sure Lisettes brother Tristan is wanted for horse thievery. Years later Lisette moves in with her 1/2 brother. When the Duke of Lyons enters her life. He is looking for Tristian, wanting to know if he has actually found his older brother Peter. With Lisettes help they are off on a journey of discovery and love. Corrie James was a great narrator.

A must for HR fans!

"Forgive me, madam, it appears that you and I got off on the wrong foot."

"You got off on the wrong foot. I merely watched you shove it into your mouth."

-conversation between Max and Lisette


After having seen first-hand the broken promises her papa made to her mama, Lisette is in no hurry to find a husband, believing there is no good reason for one. Maximilian, the Duke of Lyons, is an austere man who keeps many at arms length. Forced to work together to uncover the truth regarding Max's brother, Lisette and Max find themselves undeniably drawn to one another. Sparks fly, tension fills the pages, these two burn red hot.

I love books where the chemistry of the main characters are off the charts and the supporting casts liven the pages further with their unique personalities. Add in a great tale of loyalty and family and this book has become a definite favorite of mine.

I truly enjoyed the banter between the two main characters. I loved how Lisette was such a strong-willed female with brains, wit, and charm. She is fierce in her loyalty and protectiveness of her two brothers even when confronted by a Duke and his demands. Max, although used to getting what he wants, is not a spoiled individual. He stands by his morals and does not like to be lied to or deceived. He is strong in command with a sharp mind and lots of responsibilities yet he is conscientious of those he is responsible for. The two of them make a fantastic pair and the progression through their love story was so much fun to read. I adored both of them throughout the entire book, each character having strengths and weaknesses that complemented each other. A true HR fan will not be disappointed with this read.

Narration
Narrator: Corrie James
Performance: 5/5
James was splendid in her narration. Reading smoothly with distinction in each character and between male and female. She also did a fine job with the British and French accents and her tone and pace was perfect at 1.25X normal speed.

Absolutely loved

Most romance novels either get the adventure right or the romance right. This book was amazing in regards to both and I enjoyed the narration as well.

Captivating

A complete story without cliffhangers, yet it leaves the door open for the rest of the series.
A plot full of twists, realistic characters, great narration. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Terrific story

This is a well written tale with an interesting plot and wonderful characters. The narrator is very talented. I intend to listen to the entire series!

Romance, Mystery, and a Duke.

This is a fast paced romance with mystery that held my interest throughout. The story was believable and the two main characters (Maximilian and Lizette) had some great chemistry. I enjoyed the bantering between them.....it made the story endearing. The other characters added some depth to the story which should make any other books in the series even more entertaining.

The narrator was great. She had a way of changing her voice for every character. Her French accent was realistic too.

I am looking forward to more books in this series.

Humility, kindness AND a Duke? Who can resist?

Max, the handsome Duke of Lyons, gets a note from Tristan Bonnaud, someone he had met as a teen, telling him his long thought of as dead older brother may still be alive. After the note is delivered Tristan disappears. Hoping the news is true and longing to have his brother back in his life again, even if it means losing the dukedom to him, he sets off in search of Tristan, the only man who can help him locate his brother. His quest brings him to Lisette Bonnaud’s residence. In order to get her aid, he reluctantly agrees to have her accompany him to France in search of her brother. He also agrees to disguise as someone without a rank and they pretend to be siblings so that they can travel together without drawing any attention to themselves. At the start of their journey they run into Lisette’s neighbor and the Duke claims to be her husband in order to save her from ruination. Doing this forces them to continue their travel as husband and wife, which means sharing rooms at night. Romance begins to sizzle between them and seduction takes on a delicious flavor as they spend more time in one another’s company. An unexpectedly good book. I was pleasantly surprised.

Entertaining!

I enjoyed "What The Duke Desires", it was well written with engaging characters. The narrator did a great job.

Our hero, Maximilian (Max) Kale, the Duke of Lyons, was a second son who became the heir when his older brother was kidnapped as a child. The Duke, having a mad father and Great Uncle, fears madness runs in his family and dreads having to marry to produce an heir. So when he gets a note saying his older brother may be alive, he makes an assignation with Tristan Bonnaud, who supposedly has proof, and can lead him to his brother---but Tristan is a "no show" and has gone missing himself. Searching for Tristan leads Max to Tristan's half brother, Dom, who owns an investigative business. Dom is out of town on business, so the Duke ends up aided (and manipulated) by the investigator’s half sister, Lisette Bonnaud, the illegitimate daughter of a viscount, and Tristan's sister.

A big part of the story takes place on a trip from England to France, where Max and Lisette travel as a middle-class married couple. The mystery is well done and keeps one guessing.

Well worth a credit!

Narrator Corrie James is a new favorite of mine

If you could sum up What the Duke Desires in three words, what would they be?

Great story but a tad bit too much narration by the author. I prefer stories to be told through the characters dialog rather than pages of narration telling me what they feel and thing. The audio book narrated by Corrie James was excellent - Corrie James is a new favorite of mine!

rollicking adventure and steamy romance

I love a book with imperfect characters that have a need to grow and develop. Jeffries gives us a full cast of characters who are likeable, vile, or sometimes witty. James narrates with different voices so clearly that she brings the author's vision to life. the story has characters coping with changes in the middle of their lives, not like a blank slate waiting to interact. I'm looking forward to the next book in her series.