One-Eyed Dukes Are Wild

December 14, 2015
Frampton's latest Regency never quite delivers on its promising premise. Lady Margaret Sawford is "a lady of scandal": an unmarried writer, an advocate for disadvantaged women, and a skilled card player. She is looking for an opponent "worthy of her skill and attention." The Duke of Lasham has an enigmatic and piratical appearance, caused by the patch over the eye he lost years earlier. He is tired of the dullness of running a duchy and wants adventure. From the time they first meet, Margaret and Lasham fight their attraction to each other, but they keep ending up in situations that are socially, physically, and emotionally compromising. Margaret and Lasham's conflicted romance is slow to evolve, as is the extended story of their trips to seedier parts of London to assist downtrodden women. The heroine and the dragon of Margaret's serialized story serve as a metaphor for Margaret's relationship with Lasham, creating a nice thread through the narrative, but that tale also lacks development. There are several sensual interludes between the two protagonists, and their verbal sparring is witty, but both the encounters and discussions become repetitive. The references to both Margaret and Lasham's family history hint at a deeper dimension to the characters, leaving readers wishing more had been done to bring it out. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency.

December 1, 2015

Card-playing, novel-writing, shockingly unmarried Lady Margaret Sawford just knows that the Duke of Lasham, complete with eye patch and piratical air, must be a bit reckless. Unfortunately, she's doomed to disappointment when she discovers he's as boring and responsible as any duke can be. Yet in reality, Lash is tired of being correct all the time and is attracted by Margaret and her unconventional ways. He asks to join her on her various escapades, never dreaming he'd find love in the bargain. Delightful selections from Georgiana and the Dragon, the heroine's novel within this novel, introduce each chapter. VERDICT An adventure-seeking writer and an oh-so-proper duke take a walk on the wild side with delectable results. This sexy, often funny early Victorian romance captivates from the start. Frampton (Put up Your Duke) lives in Brooklyn.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2016
When Lady Margaret Sawford first spots the Duke of Lasham across a crowded ballroom, she thinks the tall, dark, and dashing nobleman looks exactly like the pirate of her dreams. After spending less than five minutes with Lasham, however, she discovers that, despite his rakish good looks (including the requisite piratical eye-patch), Lasham is the epitome of propriety. Margaret, who is no stranger to scandal herself, is convinced that there is a bad boy buried somewhere deep inside Lasham, and she is determined to find some way to convince him to give up his endless rules and dull regulations and embrace his inner rogue even if it is only for one day, maybe even one night! In the third book in the Dukes Behaving Badly series (Put Up Your Duke, 2015), Frampton cleverly turns one of the standard romance tropesgood girl meets bad boyupside down, with wonderfully entertaining results. Readers who like delectably sexy and sharply witty historical romances are in for a rare treat.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)