Escaping the Duke

The Secret Crusaders Book 1

By Melanie Rose Clarke. Pub Date 6/17/2021

5*. Best Enjoyed when you want a funny HR romp. 

Priscilla Livingston is a daughter of a duke and is also, secretly, a crusader for social justice, working behind the scenes and within her means to find the secrets of the nobility who are less than amenable to vote for causes that would better the less fortunate in society in the House of Lords. She then poses as Lord P and writes letters to the Duke of Bradenton to share the secrets she finds, which he uses to further their mutual causes. Unfortunately, her father has put a stumbling block in the way of her progress: He wants her to find a husband by the end of the season.

Edward Hawkins, the Duke of Bradenton, is also a crusader for the people. However, when he expects that his somewhat anonymous confidant, Lord P, may be putting himself at great risk, he becomes determined to sus out his companion’s identity so he can offer protection. While trying to catch Lord P in the act at a ball hosted by a dangerous member of the nobility, he instead stumbles across Priscilla. As Edward gets to know her, he finds a feisty, compassionate and secretive woman that stirs feelings in him like no other woman has. 

Unfortunately for Edward, he is not on Priscilla’s list of eligible husbands. She feels that if she were to wed him, he would want to own her and she cannot allow anything to get in the way of her social justice causes. Even as she develops feelings for him, she knows that she cannot give in to them. 

However, as Edward begins to close in on her secret identity, things start to get a little dicey, and soon it’s not just her causes at stake, but also both of their hearts. 

Oh my word. So funny. Clarke is an amazing author and the way she writes the internal dialogue of her characters is absolutely fantastic. I honestly loved this book and found myself laughing out loud at times.

Edward is my favorite kind of curmudgeon HR love interest. I pictured him with the large build of Luke Evan’s Gaston and the brooding sexiness of Mr. Darcy. Priscilla is funny, strong, and all heart. Their banter was fantastic and the various settings in which they interacted only helped the plot and pace. I will definitely be picking up the next books in The Secret Crusaders series. I highly recommend this book if you need a pick-me-up!

Thanks to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for this honest review!