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The Duke's Perfect Wife
The Duke's Perfect Wife
The Duke's Perfect Wife
Audiobook11 hours

The Duke's Perfect Wife

Written by Jennifer Ashley

Narrated by Angela Dawe

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Lady Eleanor Ramsay is the only one who knows the truth about Hart Mackenzie. Once his fiancee, she is the sole woman to whom he could ever pour out his heart.Hart has it all-a dukedom, wealth, power, influence, whatever he desires. Every woman wants him-his seductive skills are legendary. But Hart has sacrificed much to keep his brothers safe, first from their brutal father, and then from the world. He's also suffered loss: his wife, his infant son, and the woman he loved with all his heart though he realized it too late.Now Eleanor has reappeared on Hart's doorstep, with scandalous nude photographs of Hart taken long ago. Intrigued by the challenge in her blue eyes-and aroused by her charming, no-nonsense determination-Hart wonders if his young love has come to ruin him . . . or save him.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 9, 2012
ISBN9781452677910
The Duke's Perfect Wife
Author

Jennifer Ashley

Jennifer Ashley is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Kat Holloway Below Stairs Mystery series, the Shifters Unbound series, and the Mackenzies & McBrides series. Her novels have won several awards, including RT Reviewer's Choice awards and a RITA.

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Reviews for The Duke's Perfect Wife

Rating: 4.230769230769231 out of 5 stars
4/5

65 ratings14 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Didnot finish. Just didn't read like a romance more like a drama. To dark. And it's more about the characters forgiving and forgetting than falling in love
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I wasn't sure what to expect from Hart. His "unusual proclivities" were much hinted at in the previous books. I wasn't sure if they would be the main focus of this book. They weren't, though they did play a large role, albeit off scene.

    Hart was just as angry and cold here as he was in the precious books. But he was also strong and tender and surprisingly vulnerable. I believe Eleanor was the perfect match for him. She was inquisitive, demanding and stubborn. But also compassionate enough to understand Hart.

    All in all an excellent novel.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm ripping through these romance novels. The Duke's Perfect Wife which I finished today, had a great older brother/little brother relationship - that spanned the two books. In the first book The Madness of Lord Ian McKenzie - we see the relationship from the younger brother's perspective and the older brother, Hart, is portrayed as control freak and part of the mystery is if he is a villain, who is using his brother and blocking his happiness. (He's not). In the second book, we learn the lengths Hart has gone to to save his brother's life and his tremendous guilt for not doing it quickly enough, as well as the price he paid for saving his brothers from his father's rage. Ian realizing his brother's misery, goes out of his way to bring Hart and Hart's lost love Eleanor together. The romance between Eleanor and Hart, much like Ian and Beth in the first book, in some respects is almost secondary to the relationship between Hart and Ian, which is what made both books insteresting and different.

    The sex scenes didn't make any sense. The writer is great at dialogue, but not so much as descriptive action or sex scenes. Realized recently the plus side of action/fight scenes over sex scenes...and why they are easier to read and write - there's at least an element of suspense - you don't know who will win.

    Wish the book was slightly better written and the writer showed us the backstory between the brothers, as opposed to told it to us. It would have been more powerful I think if we saw it happening as it enfolded as opposed to summarized flashbacks.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Brilliant story. Loved Hart and Elenora. Though I loved them all so far, I think this was my favourite.
    Regarding the narrator she's good but not for historic English stories, her American accent is very pronounced. She pronounces a lot of words in American which ruins the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fourth and final book in the Highland Pleasures quartet of romance novels about four brothers who are Scottish Lords in Victorian Britain. This book is about Hart MacKenzie, oldest of the brothers, and head of the family since their father's death. Their father was a brutal monster, whose ill-treatment of his family has damaged all four men. Hart has done much and sacrificed much to protect himself and his brothers, and that as much as the ill treatment has had its effect on him. There are other losses besides, including losing his wife and child to death.And before that there was Eleanor Ramsey, his first fiancee, who broke off their engagement when she discovered what it was he did to deal with his demons. Now Eleanor is back in his life, with the intention of protecting him from a potential scandal involving nude photographs taken of him long ago.Hart still loves her, and has no intention of letting her go this time. But holding Eleanor Ramsey will take more than even Hart Mackenzie's skill at seduction.It's a good book, and does an excellent job in rounding off the story arc of the family as a whole. But it doesn't quite make good on hints dropped in earlier books about the darker strands of Hart's personality. There were things set up which suggested that Hart had been involved in some fairly heavy BDSM, which may or may not have been consensual, but which contributed to his reputation as a man who could use his social position and wealth to get away with a great deal. As it turns out, Hart has good reason for thinking of himself as having the same capacity for viciousness and violence as his father did, but it's to do with trying to protect his family. The BDSM isn't a red herring, but it's not what we were led to believe in the earlier books. I thought it worked, in part because I eventually felt Ashley may have been making a deliberate point about society's assumptions about consensual BDSM, but I can see why other readers felt that it was bottling out. There's fannish gossip about backtracking due to publisher pressure -- if true, then I think Ashley did a good job in retconning the setup from earlier in the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the fourth book in the Highland Pleasures series and I loved it as much as the others. Jennifer Ashley has sky rocketed to the top few of my favorite authors, I am looking forward to reading all her other works. They way she creates a character I have not experienced before. The Heroine and heros are not of typical back grounds and personalities. They men are scared physically and emotionally from an abusive upbringing and have matured in to amazing men and the women who are strong enough to love them. Sigh!!! Love it and highly recommend.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was so emotionally tender, that it brought happy tears to my eyes during the love scenes.The romance gets a 4.5, but the plot gets a 3.5.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hart was do dark so seemingly unfeeling in the previous Mackenzie books, but there was always a tiny thread of compassion beneath the surface. I was wondering how Ms. Ashley would show us his softer side. The relationship between Hart and Ian was espcially touching. I like to see that in romance novels. I like to know that the characters have more depth, that the books are about more than just sex. I love this whole series and am eagerly awaiting for the next book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Duke' s Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley was published in April 2012. This is a historical romance . This is a Berkley sensation publication. There is a history between Hart Mackenzie and Eleanor Ramsey. Ten years ago they had been engaged. The engagement was broken and Hart continued on with his life much as before , while Eleanor lived with her father barely making ends meet. Now Hart is in the middle of a campaign for British Prime Minister. Then out of the blue Eleanor arrives with damning photos of Hart that someone had sent her anonymously. Naturally, this would not help Hart' s campaign. So, he hires the destitute Eleanor to find out who is sending her the photos. Intrigue and mystery abound as Eleanor tries to figure out where the photos came from and the motive behind sending them to her. Also, Hart has found himself the target of several assassination attempts. The backstory of Hart and Eleanor' s previous courtship is told to us mainly through Hart' s memory flashbacks. Having Eleanor around has reminded him of how much he loved her. This time he means to make sure they get married. I really enjoyed this novel. I liked Eleanor . She knew Hart better than anyone . She managed to maintain her own individuality against such a strong and dominate personality like Hart' s. Hart was fighting the past and trying to secure his future all at the same time. He means well, but tends to take over for everyone believing his way is always the best way. There is some borderline erotica included in this book, and that is usually not my thing. However, in this case it was handled very tastefully and wasn't in any way demeaning to women. Overall this one gets a B+ Thanks Goodreads for the free giveaway.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After all the build up, I can't say how impressed I am with Hart and Eleanor's relationship. Ashley did justice to their long ago relationship without being melodramatic, and their present day reconciliation was both nuanced and romantic. Can't say how much I love it when characters grow in a romance! The Mackenzie brothers have their own special brand of PTSD to overcome, and Hart definitely goes over the top with exorcising his demons, but everything clicked together beautifully in the end. After all the touching moments between Ian and Hart, I'm again overcome with the urge to go back and re-read Ian and Beth's love story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    OH MY GOSH!!! I LOVED this one!! I can't even put into words how much I fell in love with "The Duke's Perfect Wife". I actually haven't read this series for quite a few years, not since they first came out, and I can't believe it took me so long to read this one. Ever since the first in the series, I just fell in love with all of the characters. How great it was to see them all in Hart's story. Hart I have always loved...even though he is manipulative and craves power...but more importantly he loves very deeply. He does everything he can to protect those in his close circle, especially his family. The career he has made for himself is sky rocketing, and is most popular among England, even though he is a Scot and wears a kilt (so so sexy!!!)Eleanor, is a fighter, and I just loved that about her. She stands up to Hart, which could be very amusing, and isn't afraid of him at all. I really loved the sparks that fly between these two...even verbally. The bed scenes...well *sigh* so sweet and tender at times, but very steamy, I felt like I was in a oven!! The plot was very thrilling and exciting, and so mysterious at times, I kept guessing what was going to happen, and I ended up guessing wrong!! LOL Such adventure reading Ashley's historical's. I am never bored, and I always find myself totally engrossed in this one. I always know when I pick up her books I will enjoy it, and it was the same for this one. I think it had me from the first paragraph and I was hooked and It was pretty hard putting it down. I have always loved the way this author writes her stories...so powerful and heart wrenching. It touches something deep inside this reader, and I am sure every other reader who has had the opportunity to read her wonderfully written works. I couldn't help but fall in love with Hart....a hero to just dream about for years!!! A story that will capture your heart and take you on a adventure of love and passion and danger! A Delectable treat.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    little long.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Listened for fun (Audible)Tracking Books Read Review (Short)Overall Rating: 4·25Story Rating: 4·00Character Rating: 4·50Audio Rating: 4·50 (not part of the overall rating)First Thought when Finished: The Duke's Perfect Wife was fantastic. I loved Eleanor!Overall Thoughts: I loved Hart and Eleanor's story. I knew that I was going to love Eleanor because she was so straight spoken. She just said what she thought and she said it with style. She didn't let Hart run all over her but she was very real with herself about her feelings. I like how the 2nd half of the story played out. It was perfect for them. I have pretty much plowed through the first 4 books in this series in a matter of weeks. They are that good!Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Angela Dawe / Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins Broken record alert: Angela rocks! She does a fantastic job with this series. I highly recommend listening to them.Final Thoughts: I am excited to get to the rest of the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Duke's Perfect Wife
    4.5 Stars

    Synopsis
    Hart Mackenzie, Duke of Kilmorgan, has it all - power, wealth, influence and any woman he desires except for the only one he truly wants: his former fiancee, Eleanor Ramsey. Despite knowing the truth about Hart, Eleanor has never stopped loving him and when someone sends her scandalous photos of the duke, she doesn't think twice before going to him with an offer he can't possibly refuse.

    Review
    The rekindled romance is similar to Mac and Isabella's story but the flashbacks to Hart and Eleanor's relationship are more detailed and satisfying.

    Hart and Eleanor are an excellent couple and the sparks certainly fly between them. Eleanor's feisty and independent nature make her the best heroine in the series thus far, and the insights into Hart's personality and how he grows and changes throughout the book are a definite highlight.

    It is also great to catch up with the characters from earlier books and see how each couple is faring. Ian, in particular, plays a significant role in the story and he will always hold a special place in my heart.

    Unfortunately, the rest of the plot is problematic as revolves around three separate issues (the photographs, the Fenian plot and Hart's darker sexual needs). All have potential but none are fully fleshed out or resolved well.

    The next book is Elliot McBride's (Ainsley's brother) and although we know little about him, I am intrigued by his experiences in India. Daniel's book is also tantalizing but I am particularly interested in Fellowes who may get his own HEA with Isabella's sister, Louisa. It seems that only time will tell.