How to Love a Duke in Ten Days (The Devil You Know #1)

Byrne (The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo) rises admirably to the challenge of creating a hero who maintains dangerous alpha energy even through self-restraint and careful adherence to consent in this slow-burn late-Victorian romance, the starter to the Devil You Know series. Archaeologist Lady Alexandra Lane and her two dearest friends spent their schoolgirl days enjoying gentlemen’s pastimes as the Red Rogues Society. They also share the dark secret of having buried the headmaster, whom Alexandra killed after he raped her. A decade later, Alexandra, bankrupted by blackmail, sees a financial opportunity in marriage to the scarred Terror of Torcliff, Piers Gedrick Atherton, Duke of Redmayne, who wants heirs to thwart his faithless ex-lover and his cousin, who hope to inherit his title and wealth. Alexandra lays out a number of rules around touch so she can feel safe with Piers; he willingly agrees, and also insists on timing their marriage’s consummation to Alexandra’s menstrual cycle in order to ensure his paternity. This slow pacing gives Byrne abundant room to tantalize readers with the couple’s teasing and building passion, and with Alexandra’s unfolding discovery of sex as pleasure. This is a fine study of healing after sexual trauma, with tender care and patience as the keys to recovery. (Aug.)