This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce
Twelve years ago, William Harrow’s life was turned upside when he was accused of the murder of a young woman. His father banished William and he was shunned from society and dubbed ‘The Killer Duke’. For the past twelve years, William – now known as Temple – has survived the rough streets of London while earning a living at The Fallen Angel, a notorious gaming hell. Temple is a skilled bare knuckle boxer, undefeated in the ring. He is both feared and respected, but still carries around the stigma of that fateful night.
One woman knows the truth about that night. Mara Lowe was a young woman, desperate to escape her brutal father and a marriage to a man three times her age when she disappeared twelve years ago. She never meant to return, but now her brother needs her help. He has gambled and lost everything to The Fallen Angel, so Mara plans to make a trade; she will reveal her true identity and prove Temple’s innocence in exchange for her brother’s debt.
I read and enjoyed Sarah MacLean’s previous novel, One Good Earl Deserves A Lover last year, so I was looking forward to reading No Good Duke Goes Unpunished, and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I enjoyed this book even more. Sarah MacLean’s writing immediately pulled me into the lives of her characters so that I was eager to turn the pages to see where they would take me. Temple is understandably furious when he meets Mara, the woman responsible for shaping the last twelve years of his life, but he can’t help being drawn towards the woman. I really liked the contrast of the characters of Temple and Mara and thought they were a perfect match for one another as they both tried to gain the upper hand. Their exchanges are fun, especially when Mara outsmarts him. She may seem like a dainty, respectable woman, but Mara has a past too and she has grown in strength over the years, so she is able to stand up for herself and those she cares about.
Although No Good Duke Goes Unpunished is the third book in Sarah MacLean’s Rules of Scoundrels series, the book is completely standalone, so you can dip into the series without having had to have read the others. The books are linked by the characters and The Fallen Angel, but they each have their own individual storylines.8/10