When You Give a Duke a Diamond by Shana Galen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As a courtesan, Juliette’s life depends on being seen as notorious and fascinating.
As a duke, William’s self-respect depends on being reserved and haughty.
When Juliette witnesses William’s intended being brutally attacked at a ball, she tells him what she saw and asks for his help protecting herself. It’s no wonder William is slow to believe her at all.
But when the evidence mounts up and William realizes she’s truly in danger, he whisks her away to Yorkshire where she’ll be safe and he can investigate. But doing so may tarnish his own reputation beyond repair.
I loved these characters. Two people for whom reputation is everything, but one of them craves discretion while the other has to give at least the appearance of indiscretion in order to survive.
William is every inch a duke. He believes he should never have to apologize because he’s above nearly everyone around him. The only person he needs to avoid is the Prince Regent, because he can say no to every other request that’s made of him.
Both William and Juliette are survivors of abuse. This hidden vulnerability helps them look beyond the masks that they each show the world and see each other for who they really are. With William, Juliette learns to stand up for herself (even if he’s sometimes the one she needs to stand up to). With Juliette, William learns how to have an identity beyond his title.
Shana Galen’s novels are always a treat for me to read. When You Give a Duke a Diamond has a bit of suspense, a good dose of humor, and a bucketload of irresistible sensuality. I look forward to the next two novels in this series, featuring Juliette’s fellow courtesans.
Have you read When You Give a Duke a Diamond, or any of Shana Galen’s other novels? What did you think?
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When You Give a Duke a Diamond
He had a perfectly orderly life…
William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual, securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that’s the way he likes it. But he’s in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossip papers link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn’t begin to describe what happens next…Until she came along…
Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It’s disruptive to have the duke who is the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William’s darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide…
Nice review. The characters sound interesting.
it’s always interesting to read about character that are well constructed. They have flaws, and are teh products of they origins, the way they were educated and what they wish for
seems to be a really good book
I’ve been meaning to try out Shana Galen’s books and her previous series was very well-received. This book sounds very interesting.
Great review!
I have read Shana Galen’s books and thought her Sons of the Revolution series was very well done. I think my favorite may be “The Making of a Gentleman”.
I haven’t had the priviledge of reading any of Shana’s books yet. I am planning to get some of them since her reviews have been so great and her books sound intriguing.
I’ve read four of Shana’s books and enjoyed them all. Great review and I’m sure this is going to be one that I enjoy too!
I read Shana Galen’s books Lord And Lady Spy. I really love this book!!
This book, When You Give a Duke a Diamond, sound great, i wanna read this book. And i love the cover book to. Thank for sharing post about this book and giveaway to 🙂