At the Duke's Pleasure (Byrons of Braebourne, 3)

Edward Byron, tenth Duke of Clybourne, had been trained from an early age not to show emotions. No matter the provocations, a peer is always in control of both his thoughts and feelings. His marriage has been arranged to Lady Claire Marsden since he was a lad. When duty finally requires he wed, Edward decides the long-standing arrangement will do nicely. Edward thought his betrothed would be thrilled when he finally sends word that their wedding date is nearing. He quickly learns otherwise.

Lady Claire is twenty-one by the time Edward decides they are to wed. Claire has been in love with Edward since she met him five years ago. However, Claire does not wish to be wed without her love being returned, even if that means becoming a spinster. Claire informs Edward up front that she does not want a dutiful marriage, but rather a love match. When he refuses to release her from their engagement, Claire decides that her only escape is to force Edward to jilt her. Therefore, during the Season, Claire engages in various eyebrow-raising peccadilloes in hopes of Edward jilting her. Instead, Edward realizes her game and picks up her thrown gauntlet.

At the same time, Edward is secretly working to uncover the identity of a spy buried deep within the system - a mole who had access to information at the highest levels of government. Does Lady Claire even stand a chance of shaking Edward up, when even a dangerous spy fails?

***** FIVE STARS! Who could NOT love a lady with the courage to stand up for herself? I was thrilled as each antic Claire engaged in turned out to be grander than the one before! By the last one, Claire even had me admitting that I would never have dared to go half as far. Tracy Anne Warren has brazenly shown that she is one of the best Regency Romance authors of our time! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I think this is the best of the series so far. It was a light fun read. I do not agree with a lot of the reviews about the heroine. I thought it was nice to see a heroine that was not a doormat. Most of her escapades were funny and harmless and all she really wanted was to be loved. She might of acted a little immature at times but she is fairly young and being sentenced to a supposed loveless marriage. This is the only way she thinks she can end the marriage. I thought the hero dealt well with her. I only wish he had confessed his love for her sooner.

I loved this story and couldn't put it down. I disagree with some of the other reviews about Claire. I personally really liked her because she thought that she would be unhappy married to Edward even though she loved him. Claire was perfectly honest with Edward about not wanting to marry him, several times in fact, and really gave it all she had to get out of marrying him. I enjoyed looking forward to what she would do next. I really hate it when the H/H give in with a token resistance, that's so wishy washy. Edward was lovely and sometimes I could just picture steam shooting out his ears but he was patient and determined. Of course, all works out well in the end and I closed the book with a smile. It's a keeper!

I'll admit that I liked the drama and angst of Claire. Yes, she did come across as a bit immature and crazy, but I give her a pass since she's a fictional character in a romance novel and they're kinda funny when they're crazy. Ned was a great hero, strong and determined and puts up with a lot from the heroine so you could see them together and happy for a long time. he can take a lot and since her excuse for the craziness is unrequited love, then I guess the craziness ends when she's finally certain her loves her. I was really expecting the heroine to have some deep dark secret of some reason other than unrequited love for not wanting to marry, but nope, that's what it was. The ending of the book is a bit absurd, but that whole spy subplot is a minor part of the story.

LOVED IT!!

I recommended to anyone who hasn't read Tracy Anne Warren work. She is a great author and you won't be disappointed.

How many times must we read "I am madly in love with him, but I won't marry him because he doesn't love me; however, I will have sex with him any time he wants to". Please could someone tell the writers and the publisher that this theme is STUPID. I can not tell you how many times I have read this in a story and every time I read this theme I have a tendency to cross that writer off my list of must read authors. I cannot believe Ms. Warren has used this stupid theme in a pretty good series. The heroine always appear to be either igorant/stupid or just totally immature/childish when this ploy is used in a story. Claire, the heroine, thinks she is being smart but the writer has her coming across as an imbecile; no wonder I was able to pick up this book so cheap at a second hand store.

Very pleased.

This wasn't my favorite out of the others that I've read in the series, but it was still a good read. I liked both Edward and Claire from the beginning and I was rooting for them all the way. I liked how Claire had a little spunk and stood up for herself. I liked how Edward was a little out of his element when dealing with Claire. But, once I got to the middle of the book and Edward realized Claire was a romantic, I wanted to see him sweep her off her feet. The romance was a little lacking, but it was still good. I'm just about to start Mallory's story now.