Blame It on the Duke

Disgraceful Dukes Series, Book 3

By: Lenora Bell

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Nicolas, Lord Hatherly, never intended to marry - nor add to the "mad" Hatherly line - but now he must honor his father's debt to a social-climbing merchant or lose the family estate.

A notoriously wild marquess, won by her father at a game of cards, is the very last thing Miss Alice Tombs wants. She's spent the last three seasons repelling suitors in spectacular fashion so she'd be at liberty to explore the world. She'll just have to drive this one away as well.

Until Nick proposes an utterly tempting arrangement: one summer together to prove the legitimacy of their union, then Alice is free to travel while Nick revels in the time he has left before the Hatherly madness takes hold.

It will be easy to walk away after a few months of make-believe wedded bliss - won't it? Alice and Nick are about to find out...one sultry night at a time.

©2017 Lenora Bell (P)2017 Tantor

The excitement vanished within the first 30 minutes

I was hoping the mystery and excitement of two people not wanting to be married would be great entertainment but it all vanished when the duke decided she was perfect to marry to within the first 10 minutes of meeting her. She seemed desperate to be married for real once marriage went through and changed her plans to leave England so swiftly that it made me wonder why she resisted marriage to begin with. Then the agreement prior to marriage was super silly. Lessons in sex? Huh. Don't worry I'm not giving anything away since this all happened within the first hour.
The narration was also poor in my Openion as sometimes it sounded like either the Duke or his wife were about to cry. The emotions were excessive for some scenes. The accents were also poorly done.

Loved it!

I love this series and I was so glad to read this new book.

Lenora Bell has become one of my favorite authors. There is humor and passion and a good story. The characters are great! Nick is hunky and Alice is a bluestocking. My favorite types!

Narration by Beverly A Crick is always first class.

I hope there are more books.

LOVED BLAME IT ON THE DUKE!!

Where does Blame It on the Duke rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 50 I have hundreds of audio books so this is quite High

What did you like best about this story?

The heartwarming way Nick loved his father who was suffering from mental illness and the growing love between Nick and Alice.

What about Beverley A. Crick’s performance did you like?

Excellent Beverley A. Crick is one of the Best Narrators I have heard.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed and I cried. There are some Funny Characters in this book and I cried because some of the are mentally ill and the suffering they endured in the 1800's in Mental Institutions.

Any additional comments?

I Loved "Blame It On The Duke". Lenora Bell did not disappoint in the 3rd book of the Disgraceful Duke series.

We met Miss Alice Tombs in bk1 How the Duke was Won. She was a bluestocking and even then I was anxious for her story. Alice is translating the Vatsayayana's Karma Sutra book into English. She wants to travel to Indian.

Nicholas/Nick is The Marquess of Hatherly and the Heir to the Duke of Barrington know as the Mad Duke. Nick thinks insanity runs through his family and refuses to ever have children. His father the Duke wagered Nick in a gaming hell and has lost. Nick has to marry Alice Tombs whose father holds the IOU or they have to give up his father's favorite home.

Blame it on The Duke is well written, funny with enjoyable characters. I really loved the Duke. Nicks father and Lady Tombs Alice's mother. There a bunch of nutty but funny characters in the story. This story deals with mental illness and how cruel the treatment was in the 1800's.

Alice and Nick have one Hot Sensuous marriage, because Alice wants Nick to teach all the sexual acts written in her copy of Karma Sutra. Nick and Alice grow in love they really get to know each other and they respect each other.

Blame It on the Duke is one of those Feel Good Stories. It really depicts the era it is written in. I Highly Recommend Blame It On The Duke and the entire Disgraceful Duke series. I hope we get Patrick's book next although he is not a Duke!!

Saved the best for last! So much fun!

I was surprised that THIS was the BEST of the trilogy! I never thought I would like Nick after the first 2 books and didn't think it was possible to like Alice! I was WRONG! This was so good! I laughed and teared up - I was on the edge of my seat.

The supporting characters are WONDERFUL! I think they put this book over the top for me.

I felt like the romance grew at a more natural pace and seemed to be more real. It was sweet, funny, sexy and leaves you feeling warm inside!

Lenora Bell saved the best for last!

It’s not you. It’s me.

I’m unimpressed. The romances I’ve read lately are unimpressive. I liked both the hero and heroine. I adore any opportunity for the heroine to rescue her man, and I appreciate good pacing in my historical fiction. Too many authors spend time on the wrong details. Lenora Bell is aces at all of the above. Unfortunately, I’m put-off by blatant anachronisms, and the modern language and cultural references were jarring. I couldn’t figure out if it was a tongue and cheek peek behind the fourth wall or slipshod research and editing. Nothing supports the former. I also hate ancillary mystery in my romance. If you can go thirty chapters and only mention two clues before the denouement, then does it really add anything to the story? I say...no! Take a stand, write erotica for erotica’s sake why don’t you! Alice, 19th century woman who’s name doesn’t really matter, is translating a lost portion of the Karma Sutra for the sake of scholarship and cultural appreciation! Better yet, for the entire novel, she is on a quest to return the misappropriated ancient text back to India. She marries to ensure, I suppose, she does not miss any of the nuance that could be lost from her unfamiliarity with “sexual congress .” When an author attempts to explore the point of view of a woman who commits to an arranged marriage for the sake of semantics, I think the paradigm within which we relate the carnal to the intellectual is clear.

Where is the story?

This should be marked as erotic story although there was very little story but different sex scenes with little story in between. Not my cup of tea...

Favorite of series

I was surprised this was my favorite installment of the series. The description sounds more depressing. Interesting, little waits and turns.

Very steamy

In all the best ways. I have really enjoyed listening to this series and I would love to see it continue. Period romance plus hot steamy sex - yes please.

Enjoyable story and great narration.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked Alice and NIck. They were great together. Alice is a strong female character. She was funny, witty and I loved her.

The story line and plot was very good. All Alice wanted to do was have an adventure. Her forward speaking and sarcasm was very funny. I found myself laughing out loud several times. And Nick being gambled away by his father was kind of funny to me, usually its the ladies that get gambled away. I loved NIck too. He was smart and handsome.

As for the narration. I am a big fan of Beverly Crick these days, she does a great job on the male voices. All the characters get their own distinct voice and she reads with emotion which makes for a great listen.

Awesome!

This was a wonderful read. I loved the twist in characters and plot. It gave me a new respect for the Kama Sutras.