Review: The Duke's Hellion

The Duke's Hellion by Julia Sinclair
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Duke’s Hellion is the second book in Julia Sinclair’s Hart and Arrow series, and it was another enjoyable read. I did not enjoy it quite as much as I enjoyed the first book – The Marquess’ Angel was a rounded up three-point-five-star rating whereas this one was a rounded down three-point-five-star rating – but it was certainly a fun addition to the series.

Like the first book, The Duke’s Hellion takes us deep into the Romeo and Juliet style hatred between families within regency England. In the first book, we simply touched upon the drama. In this second book, we went deeper into the hatred between the families. I will be honest and admit I still want to understand it better, with my fingers being crossed about the promise put in place for the future books, leaving me with the belief explanations will be coming soon.

Although I did mostly enjoy this one, what stopped me from rounding my rating up was the expectations I had for this one. There was such promise for this one following the things we got to see of the characters in the prior book, and I feel as though things were not as powerful as they could have been. I think, in part, this is a reflection of my preferences for second chance romances. I like to know more about the past, and with this one things were never explained as well as I would have liked them to be. Sure, there was a past there, but I feel like I was left with unanswered questions about it by the end of the book.

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read. This is a rounded down rating, but I am still interested in seeing more from this series. I’ll be honest by saying most of my historical romance reads can be labelled bodice rippers, but with the Hart and Arrows series I’m rather enjoying the clean read.

Overall, an enjoyable second book that leaves me curious about book three.

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