The Duke and the Lady in Red (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Book 3)

One of the BEST HRs on the market. Thank you Ms. Heath for a heartfelt adventure that was truly amazing.

"He wanted her to be what every other woman in his life had been: a convenience. But damnation, she was most assuredly not that."THE STORY: The Duke of Avendale leads a life apart from those who could be his friends and those who love him. He knows a secret from his past that haunts him and keeps him apart from others. He has made a life of debauchery and drink. One night at a gaming hell, he sees a woman in red walking in who he wants. Rosalind Sharp walks into the hell masquerading as a woman of means, but she is actually a swindler looking for a mark. When she meets Avendale, she thinks she has found him. When Rosalind's truth is discovered, Avendale makes a deal with her -- a week in his bed and her crimes will not be revealed.OPINION: This is a beautiful story of two people who have kept themselves apart from others and find in each other the joy of sharing themselves and opening up their lives to others. The love story between Avendale and Rosalind is complicated and difficult. I especially loved how Avendale finds himself wanting to give for the first time and how Rosalind struggles with how to communicate truth in a life filled with lies.Rosalind is a complicated heroine. She is a con artist and a swindler and yet capable of great love and sacrifice. She has deep secrets that are slowly revealed through the book (I will not reveal them here because they are central to how the book works). She is an independent woman who has taken care of herself for a long time and made the best life she could. I especially like her unapologetic view of her own life and her acceptance of herself.Avendale is a man who has kept himself apart from others and instead filled his life with meaningless pursuits to mask his loneliness. Readers of the series will be especially gratified that his secrets fit in with what has happened in prior books and thus will not be surprising for fans. Heath does a great job of creating a man who has a soft sweet core without being a pushover. His character here meshes well with the child who appeared in the Scoundrels of St. James series. Dark, tormented and yet somehow desperate to be loved for himself.I am a big fan of Heath's deeply emotional books. Many of her best books end up with sections that reduce me to tears and this book was no different. Heath has a beautiful way of expressing emotions in a deep and unapologetic manner. While the first book of the series, WHEN THE DUKE WAS WICKED is my favorite of the series, this one is pretty darn good as well.I am a fan of series and I especially appreciate it when an author gives readers more of favorite characters in a way that rewards their commitment to the series. This book gives great rewards to those who have committed to not only the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James but also the Scoundrels of St. James. This story operates apart from those books and it is not necessary to read all those books first, but a reader who has will get glimpses of the characters and some iconic scenes that will make longtime readers smile.Finally, I want to mention that the secrets in this book bring about some of the most beautiful glimpses of friendship and love that Heath has given in a book. I don't want to give away the secret, but I loved that storyline as well.WORTH MENTIONING: The heart of this book is a mystery that is better without knowing what it is. Don't read the spoilers!FINAL DECISION: Loved this book. Deeply emotional, the connection between the characters was well developed and engrossing.CONNECTED BOOKS: THE DUKE AND THE LADY IN RED is the third and final book in the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series. It is also connected to the Scoundrels of St. James series. THE LAST WICKED SCOUNDREL from that series is the story of the hero's mother. Although this book can be read as a standalone, it does address things that occur in the prior books.STAR RATING: I give this book 4.25 stars.

This is an OK Regency romance, but I did have a few issues with it. It gets 3.5 stars from me, rounded down to 3 stars.Rosalind was OK, but her decision to scam her way thru life was questionable. She knew it was wrong, but admitted to enjoying the excitement when she got away with it. I get that she was trying to provide for her sick brother, but I just had a problem with the way she did that. I also get that there weren't many legitimate ways for women to make money in that time period -- but again, it bothered me that she actually enjoyed scamming others.Avendale was OK, too, but it bothered me that he was such a terrible womanizer and rogue. He didn't really change when he first met Rosalind either -- just decided he would stop his carousing and wild parties so he could bed only her. He did change after he fell in love with Rosalind, but I had difficulty with that, too. I don't think he would have changed that much so quickly, and I also don't think he would have forgiven Rosalind so quickly for scamming him. I did like how good he was to Rosalind's sick brother after he met him.I adored Harry, Rosalind's brother. His story was so sad, but so typical of the time period. Most people with a disability or physical limitations of any kind were very mistreated then, and Harry was no exception. I did like that Avendale helped him to enjoy life for a while.*** Spoiler Follows ***Some reviewers felt that Avendale overreacted to what happened when he was a child -- but I don't think he did. He thought his mother had a lover and murdered his father because of it. That would severely traumatize any child, especially since he thought he saw the murder.*** End of Spoiler ***My rating system is below.1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.

A moving passionate story about 2 persons with dark secrets trying to be happy. I liked this book and enjoyed how the author resolved the various situations the characters were in. A good addition to the series with lots of emotional and sexy scenes.

This was one of the best of the thousand plus novels I’ve read in my 63 years of life. Love

I have enjoyed the whole series but this book is definitely my favourite. It is such a lovely story made me go through so many emotions can't wait to read another book by Lorraine

I can’t recommend this book enough. It has everything. Great characters, an unusual story and lots of emotion. Highly recommended.

I stayed up half the night to finish this story. It was such a lovely read. I'm so sad its ended.

This is definitely Lorraine Heath at her best, an excellent storyline with a wealth of wonderful characters to enjoy in this book.

Loved it. Lovely story and a gorgeous duke. Super characters too. Enjoyed book very much.