Kate Russell is furious.
It was bad enough that her father had let her grow up in virtual poverty, but now her dissolute brother wants to use her as payment for his debts. She runs away, determined to make her way so that she will never again be at the mercy of powerful men.
Then she encounters the Duke of Ashleigh.
He has overcome the shame of his parents’ scandalous lives and has a well-deserved reputation for honorable behavior. Then he encounters Kate, the niece of an old friend. There is some mystery about her background.
She is not the sort of well-bred lady of impeccable reputation that he plans to marry someday, but he can’t get her out of his mind.
MY REVIEW
3 1/2 stars
The first romance I read was a Regency, back when I was only twelve or thirteen and I had to sneak it from my mother’s room. I’ve loved them ever since. The description for A Debt of Dishonor immediately intrigued me, and I knew I needed to read it.
The story flowed well, and I enjoyed the characters. Especially Kate’s fire! The banter between her and the Duke made me smile and at times outright laugh. It was clear from the beginning something was brewing between them, even when they wouldn’t admit it to themselves. As far as villains go, Farnsworth was dastardly and completely insane. A truly vile man I wanted to bash over the head every time he entered a scene.
There were so many characters! And not just small parts either. Mrs. Darling, the Duke’s family, his friends, and Kate’s friends from back home all had their parts to play. At times, I found it a bit tedious to suddenly be in the point of view of a minor character. Instead of driving the story forward, it made it feel as if it had stalled while I had to wait and find out what was going on with Kate and the Duke. I can appreciate the minor characters’ perspectives of what was happening, but it seemed completely unnecessary. As did the side romance with the Duke’s sister. It would have been better served in a book of their own. For me, it detracted from Kate and Peter’s romance.
Overall, A Debt of Dishonor kept me entertained and I enjoyed the book. I’m not quite certain if I liked it enough to necessarily read more in this series. It would depend on how much focus was given to the main characters. I give A Debt of Dishonor 3 1/2 stars.
*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review above is only my opinion.