Four Dukes and a Devil- Cathy Maxwell, Elaine Fox, Jeaniene Frost, Sophia Nash and Tracy Anne Warren

Four Dukes and a Devil
Cathy Maxwell, Elaine Fox, Jeaniene Frost, Sophia Nash and Tracy Anne Warren
Avon, Jul 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780061787362

"The Irish Duke" by Cathy Maxwell. Having been jilted at the altar, Susan warns her younger friends to avoid rakes especially “The Irish Duke”, but when they meet neither can resist the lure of the wager.

"The Duke Who Came to Dinner" by Elaine Fox. On Cape Cod, Sam almost burns himself with his scalding coffee when he sees the naked woman on the bike. Humiliated Virginian Gray “Ghost” prays no one seen her. Sam pursues her with the help of his matchmaking roguish criminal canine.

"The Devil to Pay” by Jeaniene Frost. In DC Blake buys Crack hoping an overdose will kill him. However, thugs mug him but he kills them as the demon inside him insures he lives. Elise the vampire lives alone under a train station. When they meet they fall in love, but must remove the demon, which means the host dies.

"The Catch of the Century" by Sophia Nash. The new Duke John has become the latest catch among the Ton. He meets schoolmistress Victoria when his Coachman almost ran over her and her three young male students. He is attracted to her feistiness; he considers the teacher to be “The Catch of the Century”.

"Charmed by Her Smile" by Tracy Anne Warren. In 1809, Duke Quentin kisses India which leaves them both wanting more. However as she has problems especially with “Peter the Pest” he has doubts because he wants her to have more chances with life than a week of falling in love.

These are five terrific romances with four loosely connected by a lead duke while Jeaniene Frost’s entry is radically different as an urban fantasy. Still, fans will enjoy this fine collection as each contribution is well written starring solid lead characters. As a bonus, fans of Sophia Nash will recognize some of her protagonists from previous tales as support players.

Harriet Klausner