CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE DUKE

After surviving a battle against Napoleon’s forces, Deckard Payne is left with two things: terrible injuries and a battlefield promise to care for the daughter of one of his men. Years later, Dex is still living with both, because, despite the resources at his disposal as Duke of Warburton, Analise Crewe has been impossible to find. Unbeknownst to Dex, after her father’s death, the now 18-year-old Ana was tucked away in Cornwall as the companion to a lady writer, and only arrived in London recently to find a publisher for her own novel. Unfortunately, publishers haven’t been receptive, and as she is now unable to pay rent, it seems that moving to a bawdy house is her only option. Just as she is pondering that fate, however, 35-year-old Dex appears, offering her another life entirely. Though he’s never wanted a wife and she’s focused on her writing, an attraction quickly grows between them. After turning his staid house upside down, the impulsive and inexperienced Ana asks Dex to kiss her for the benefit of a novel she’s promised to complete—and then everything changes when they’re found in that compromising position, and Dex has to marry Ana to preserve her reputation. The second volume of Bell’s Thunderbolt Club series has many of her signature touches, but it’s emotionally inconsistent. Ana and Dex start out with a classic grumpy/sunshine dynamic, but it often reads as immaturity on her part and coldness on his, making their eventual connection feel sudden. This may be because, though their age gap is historically accurate, it’s likely to be outside the comfort zone of many readers, especially as Dex spends the early part of the book reminding himself of how inappropriate it is to be attracted to his ward.