Description
A chance encounter with a tabloid playboy lands a scrappy waif a place in high society.
Fainting in the notorious nobleman’s arms is the smartest move the self-proclaimed spazz ever made. Now her picture decorates every gossip rag in Britain and the public wants to know who the Devil Duke’s new squeeze is. Offered a sizable sum, Izzy De Luca travels to England where she will pose as the Duke of Devoy’s new bride. It seems the rake’s reputation needs some rehabilitation and the fresh-faced orphan is just the girl to brighten his tarnished image.
Izzy enters a lavish world of wealth and privilege, but soon realizes her uptight employer is no laid-back lady charmer. Sparks fly between the two when the spirited American lets the impossibly handsome blue blood know she won’t be gentrified without a fight.
As they play out the carefully constructed charade, the jaded Duke finds himself drawn to Izzy’s rare brand of charm and what begins as a collision of worlds ends in a union of love.This may be a modern day Cinderella story, but this feisty commoner is no simpering sweetheart. She means to give our titled hero a run for his millions.
Chopstickz11 –
I really enjoyed this book. This was the first time I had listened to a romance novel and I was pleasantly surprised. The story reminded me of My Fair Lady in that a commoner is taken in by the aristocracy and made over to become a Duchess. I really enjoyed the characters though there were times when Izzy’s voice was a bit much. As the book went on I feel like her voice was toned down a bit and it was much more pleasant to listen to. The only negative was that there were a few times that I would have liked Izzy to stick up for herself a bit earlier than she did, but at least she did stick up for herself.
While the story itself is one that is often told, (rich playboy meets common girl, falls in love, etc.) this version felt fresh and new and also added the element of the playboy having a young daughter. It added additional complexity to the story and more opportunities for humor and character development and discovery. It was a great story and one that I will likely listen to again. It is also the first in a series and I have already started on the next one!
I was provided with a free copy of this audiobook for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.
Rebecca Webeck –
Not really my type of story, but it was interesting. Narrator sounded like an actual child for the main female character.
https://www.audible.com/listener/A1IV3M7IRJPFQL
Inishowen CailÃn –
Ozzy and Trevor are the most unlikely couple I’ve ever read. Izzy is a very immature 20 year old and Trevor, the Duke, is much older and a complete womaniser. I didn’t really like either of them to begin with but Izzy’s quirkiness had me laughing out loud and it wasn’t long before I felt that the Duke wasn’t good enough for this poor little orphan.
I would have liked Izzy to have been a lttle bit older with more self respect. She begged him to have sex with her.
I also found the American usage of ‘fanny’ a little odd as it doesn’t mean the same thing over here. Hearing the phrase ‘he spanked her fanny’ was a little weird to my ears!
An entertaining listen.
Felicia Steele –
The Devil Duke by Tessa Bowen is a modern day fairytale romance about a young American girl who is offered a sizable sum to marry a Duke to repair his reputation. I listened to this book on audio Narrated by Virginia Ferguson. Virginia Ferguson did a great job narrating with the different voices she used for the characters. However, it did take me a bit to get used to the voice she uses for Izzy because she is supposed to be in her 20’s but sounds more like a 13 year old girl. This is the first book of Tessa Bowen’s that I have read and look forward to reading more of her books in the future. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes the modern day fairytale romances.
Tricia Wright –
The Devil Duke by Tessa Bowen is a modern-day Cinderella romance about Izzy DeLuca a young American girl who faints into the arms of The Devil Duke when he comes into the shop she is working at to buy a new shirt. Paparazzi take numerous photographs of her in his arms which add fuel to his notorious reputation but by some fluke, the man in the street think she’s wonderful and is happy he has fallen in love with a commoner. A short time later Izzy is offered a sizable sum to travel to England and marry the Duke to help him redeem his reputation.
The Duke – Trevor – is, at the start of the story, very unlikeable stuffy and pompous. Whereas Izzy is wild, she has short dark hair with a purple streak, wears outlandish clothes and refuses to comply with his demands. Never the less they each decide that they will go through with this marriage. The Duke’s elderly secretary Sir Archibald and the Duke’s 13-year-old daughter are both lovely characters who are important to the story.
As the story progresses feelings become involved on both sides but the Duke seems to think that he can have his cake and eat it too as he has his ‘friend’ the Baroness almost always at his estate, how is that going to work? When Izzy decided enough is enough and leaves, Trevor has to come to terms with the fact that he will need to really change if he wants to win her back. By the end of the book Izzy and Trevor had totally won me over and what started out as a business arrangement turned into so much more.
The story is narrated by Virginia Ferguson who did a wonderful job narrating the different voices for all the characters. However, the voice she used for Izzy who is 20 sometimes sounded a little young. The Duke’s voice I think was perfect, so pompous sometimes and charming at others just like the man himself.
This is the first book of Tessa Bowen’s that I have listened to but I plan to listen to the next book in this series.
Jodi Price –
This book is hilarious! I was listening to this book while I was at work and had to stop I was laughing so much! Rags to riches steamy romance. As they say opposites attract, I loved the banter and chemistry between Izzy and Trevor. Tessa Bowen has done a wonderful job with the characters and story. I received this audiobook at my request in exchange for an honest review
JoAnn Thompson –
Being this book is Book 1 of “The Demon Duchess Series,” it is important to read/listen to it in order to understand what’s happening in later books. While I liked the basic plot line of this story and Trevor, the “Devil” Duke, I absolutely was not impressed with Izzy! All I could think of as I listened to this story was: “Where’s the bar of soap”!!! Absolutely loved Archie—what a sweetheart!! This is sort of an off-shoot of a Cinderella story where an urchin from the U.S. and a member of the English aristocracy are forced into a marriage contract and have a battle of wills.