Book review: Round off the summer with Regency romance from Piatkus

A blue-blooded duke meets his match in a red hot, devilishly wicked sea captain’s daughter, and a lonely war widow will need some persuading to find love again.

The Duke Can Go to the Devil byErin Knightley

When opposites attract, the result can be magnetic!

Take the feisty, freedom-loving Miss May Bradford and William Spencer, the conventional, duty-bound Duke of Radcliffe… their lives are on a collision course and if their love manages to ignite, sparks are going to fly.

Immerse yourself in the latest seductive book in a honey sweet and deliciously love-filled series – aptly titled Prelude to a Kiss – from Erin Knightley, one of the reigning queens of romance.

The Duke Can Go to the Devil features her trademark mix of humour, passion and drama, all set in the beguiling landscape of Regency London and the grand salons of Bath.

May Bradford, also known as Mei-li after spending most of her formative years in the Far East and the East Indies, is not afraid to play devil’s advocate when it comes to a duke.

After her mother’s death, May’s sea captain father sends her halfway around the world to live in England with his stodgy sister Lady Victoria Stanwix (already nicknamed The Warden by May) until he returns from his current voyage.

The Summer Serenade music festival in Bath has been a lovely and welcome distraction but now May can’t wait for her father’s return so she can leave behind this country, its suffocating rules and one infuriatingly right and proper nobleman.

William Spencer, the haughty Duke of Radcliffe, permits his whole life to revolve around his duties. He never sets foot outside the bounds of conventional behaviour, and he expects the same of those around him.

With her devil-may-care attitude, May vexes him nearly as much as she tempts him but there is something about her that he just can’t resist. He knows he is falling for her but their lives are worlds apart and will they ever be able to find any common ground?

Knightley casts a magic spell in this gorgeous, breathtaking romance… prepare to be swept away!

(Piatkus, paperback, £8.99)

Only a Kiss byMary Balogh

Mary Balogh, a former teacher who grew up in Wales and now lives in Canada, has earned herself a place in the hearts of Regency romance lovers the world over.

Storytelling is Balogh’s gift and passions are certainly running high in Only a Kiss, the latest mesmerising book in her poignant and immensely popular Survivors’ Club series.

These exciting and seductive novels feature a group of six men and one woman, all wounded in the 19th century Napoleonic Wars, their friendships forged in steel and loyalty.

Since witnessing the death of her husband during the wars, Imogen, Lady Barclay, has secluded herself in the confines of Hardford Hall, their home in Cornwall. The new owner has failed to take up his inheritance, and Imogen desperately hopes he will never come to disturb her fragile peace.

Percival Hayes, the Earl of Hardford, has no interest in the wilds of Cornwall, but when he impulsively decides to pay a visit to his estate, he is shocked to discover that it is not the ruined heap he had expected. He is equally shocked to find the beautiful widow of his predecessor’s son living there.

Soon Imogen awakens in Percy a passion he has never thought himself capable of feeling. But can he save her from her misery and reawaken her soul? And what will it mean for him if he succeeds?

This is romance at its most intense and rapturous… don’t miss it!

(Piatkus, paperback, £8.99)