One Duke Down

Bennett’s tantalizing second Rogues to Lovers Regency romance (after Girls Before Earls) gets off to a memorable start: fisherwoman Poppy Summers catches a man in her net. He’s Andrew Keane, Duke of Hawking, and a mysterious attacker tried to drown him. Poppy saves his life and tries to run for help, but Keane reasons he’ll have better luck sussing out his would-be killer if whoever it is believes he’s dead, and offers Poppy an exorbitant sum to hide him instead. Poppy’s distrustful of the nobility due to a painful family history, but she reluctantly accepts. She’s certainly not expecting the duke to prove charming, kind, and intelligent—or for him to treat her with such remarkable respect and care. Keane, for his part, is instantly smitten with Poppy and recruits her help in finding his enemy. As they work through Keane’s list of possibilities, mutual attraction gives way to tender sex scenes—but Poppy’s still wary of risking her heart. The mystery itself feels a bit half-baked; the characters take a somewhat nonsensical approach to the investigation and the twist is easily guessed. Bennett makes up for this, however, with the genuine feeling of connection between her leads and the vivid seaside scene setting. Readers will be swept away. (Jan.)