The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham

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The second book I started for the Historical Romance Readathon was The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham. This is the first book in her indie published series The Secrets of Charlotte Street. This is also her debut novel! I chose this book because book two in the series is the Rake Appreciation (hosted by Jen and Crystal) pick for July. When the readathon was announced, I though what a perfect way to read ahead for the club! The Duke I Tempted covers the prompts class difference, spinster, indie, duke in the title, one person on the cover, series and marriage of convenience for the readathon. I was also able to apply it to the prompts scientific pursuit for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo and backlist for the Summer of Swoon board two.

So this was also my first success in an audiobook. After Jessen had a live video I've been wanting to try and get into them again. It would be so helpful in getting to all the book I want to read but don't have time for. Also knowing that I'll have a lot of crafting to start in the next couple months, I thought it'd be good to see if it was something I could use instead of tv. This was a success, but there were a lot of times that I found myself suddenly surprised with what was happening and having to rewind a little bit. Maybe it's a new multi-tasking skill I need to learn. Also, I did only listen to it at normal speed (in case you were wondering). 

Poppy is a botanist and hired to decorate the ballroom for the Duke of Westmead, Archer. Things kind of get a little wild and she ends up in the newspaper and scandal ensues. Archer decides that he will save her reputation, especially since all her nursery business tapered off after the scandal, and marry her. This is Archer's second marriage, having lost his wife and young son 13 years prior. He is one of those heroes that "doesn't feel love anymore" but desires Poppy.

This is were this book fell for me a little. I didn't like how much he pushed and pulled Poppy. While she pushed back against him and didn't just allow him to treat her like that without any repercussions, I wish it didn't last as long as it did. It just bothered me because when he wasn't pushing her away he was so sweet and loving. Such a drastic change in his moods. There is also a sense of BDSM here in that Archer likes to be dominated and whipped. While I'm glad the BDSM wasn't too overdone here, I didn't like how he kept it a secret from her so long. Also, a big thing that I didn't like is his big romantic act during his grovel is to give her divorce papers. I understand the reasoning behind it and how it's giving the heroine some agency, but I really wish it wasn't a thing. Divorce papers are not romantic and I really disliked that Poppy said it was the most romantic thing she's ever had happen to her. No! Just no. How about the hero actually grovels. She also accepted him back far too quickly for how much hurt she felt. If I was to be stricter, the rating would be 3.5 rounded up to 4-stars. What saved it was that the writing was nice and I thought the narrator Holly Chandler did a good job.

I'll definitely continue the series, but mainly because not only does the blurb for the second book interest me more, but it's for the Rake Appreciation Society. They haven't let me down yet! Her big traditionally published book is The Rakess and it's had polarizing reviews. I'm not sure if I'll pick it up. I have marked it as "want to read" on goodreads, but from the reviews I've heard I feel like it would end up on the lower rating for me. Eventually I do want to try it at some point. There's just too many books above it on my ever-expanding tbr.

Have you read The Duke I Tempted?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Duke I Tempted, Scarlett Peckham, 4-stars, Audiobook, 318 pages, published in 2018