The Duke's Undoing by G.G. Vandagriff

The Duke's Undoing by G.G. Vandagriff

Summary from Goodreads:
Meet the Duke of Ruisdell, the unlikely hero of my new Regency Romance.

The duke has just returned from the Napoleonic wars on the Iberian Peninsula with a wound in his shin, where a musket ball was lodged. He is weary, cynical, and very bored. Known as the worst rake in England, he finds he has no interest in upholding that distinction, when his friend, the Marquis of Somerset, proposes a bet: “Five thousand guineas says that seducing Miss Elise Edwards will cure your ennui.” Because his friend has just lost a packet to him, he agrees that the bet be posted in White’s famous Betting Book.

The following day, he has a most unsettling experience. Walking in Green Park, he spies a mysterious young woman, veiled, and obviously grieving. A disembodied voice, sounding strangely like that of his late adjutant, informs him, “The jig is up. That is the girl you are going to marry!” He scoffs, but is nevertheless intrigued by something about the slight figure. He even sketches her and asks if he can be of assistance to her. She declines his offer kindly.

At the opera that evening, he is again intrigued by a beauty across the Opera Hall. He hears the same voice, saying the same thing. The marquis informs him that the woman in question is Miss Elise Edwards. When he meets her, he recognizes her voice as that of the woman in the park. Now she is surrounded by a surfeit of ex-fiance’s, one of them dangerously unbalanced. Ruisdell discovers an actual bond between them which makes him honor bound to protect her.
Thus begins a train of unstoppable events–dangerous, humorous, devilish, and amorous–that carry his life along at such a pace that the duke soon knows not whether he is on his head or his heels. And then there is that bet . . .

3.5 Stars

Read May 2013

Historical Romance, Got a free Amazon e-book

My Review:
I had a hard time at the beginning of this book.  I didn't particularly like the hero or the heroine.  But a few chapters in I began to like them and was drawn in to their story and their bond.  The middle of this book was great with the love blossoming and the twists and turns in the story.  Then, I hated the ending.  It wasn't at all what I wanted for these 2 characters (not that it is my choice).  I felt let down.

So, I give the beginning of this book 3 stars, the middle 4 stars, and the end 3 stars.  Thus the 3.5 stars.  

Warnings: Lots of talk of sex although there aren't any sex scenes.  One character exposes her breasts.  People are stabbed, hanged, killed in a duel, kidnapped, attacked.

I would let my 15 year old read this, but I would not recommend it to her.  I think there are cleaner historical romances that I would recommend to her before this one.  In my opinion it is more for adults.