Narrated by Derek Perkins

The first thing I’m going to say about How to Love a Duke in Ten Days, the first book in Kerrigan Byrne’s new Devil You Know series is this: don’t let the cutesy title fool you. Unlike most of the romances out there with dumb movie or song rip-off titles, this isn’t a light-hearted, fluffy historical rom-com. Ms. Byrne has become known for writing fairly dark stories featuring damaged characters with troubled pasts, filled with purple-tinged prose and melodrama, and this is no different. The book opens with what’s become one of the author’s trademarks – an impactful yet disturbing prologue set some years in the past that details a traumatic event in the life of one of the leads. In this case, there’s a scene of sexual assault and murder, and listeners should be aware that the assault and its effects on the heroine in terms of how she views men and relationships are mentioned throughout. And while it’s possible to avoid listening to the event itself, skipping the prologue in its entirety will mean missing out on meeting Alexandra’s friends (and future heroines) and the events that bind them together.

In the ten years that have passed since the
rape, Lady Alexandra Lane, daughter of the Earl of Bentham, has immersed herself
in her studies, has received a doctorate in history from the University of the
Sorbonne and travelled the world to attend various archaeological digs and to
study places of historical significance and interest. She has also spent that
time trying to make herself as invisible to men as possible and certainly has
never found any of them attractive. Back when they were at school, she and her
two closest friends, Cecilia and Francesca – who dubbed themselves collectively
the Red Rogues (because of their red hair) – made a vow never to marry, which
is why Alexandra is somewhat bemused when she receives an invitation to the
ball being held to celebrate Francesca’s betrothal to the Duke of Redmayne. She’s
even more confused to learn that Francesca has absolutely no desire to marry
the duke and had no idea of the existence of a betrothal contract between them
until a few days earlier.

Piers Atherton, Duke of Redmayne, has
decided to do his duty by getting married and making a start on filling his
nursery. He’s not particularly interested in marriage and doesn’t particularly
like his bride-to-be, but it’s the only way he can produce a legitimate heir
and leave his title and lands to someone other than his despicable cousin. He
and Alexandra meet under extraordinary circumstances when she prevents his
severely spooked horse from mowing down a mother and child at the railway
station, and he’s completely smitten – by her courage and quick thinking as well
as her lovely face and obviously independent spirit.

Alexandra is unnerved by the feelings
evoked in her by the large, dark and scarred duke, feelings she has never
experienced before, but recognises as ones of attraction and desire. She tries
hard to ignore them but they won’t go away, and as the night of the ball
approaches, Alexandra finds herself more and more strongly drawn to Redmayne,
the pull of attraction she feels as frightening as it is invigorating.

She and Cecilia have both been invited to
act as bridesmaids at the wedding, but Alexandra has another reason for wanting
to see her two oldest friends. For years, she’s kept secret that she’s been
blackmailed by someone who knows what happened on that fateful night a decade
before; but now, her family is all but destitute and she is no longer able to
pay the money demanded of her. Seeing a way to help her situation and also to
help Francesca avoid a marriage she doesn’t want, Alexandra throws caution to
the winds and suggests to Redmayne that he should marry her instead.

Although proposed as a marriage of
convenience, the sparks that fly between Piers and Alexandra show very clearly
that it isn’t going to remain so for very long. Piers has been half in love
with her from the moment they met, and Alexandra, while needing the protection
of his name and money also finds herself able to experience sexual attraction
and desire with a man who makes her feel safe in a way she’d never thought
possible.

There’s quite a lot going on in this book;
blackmail, attempted murder and the plotline regarding Francesca’s family that
I expect is going to run throughout the series, as well as the underlying
threads about female friendship and the story of a young woman and
rape-survivor rebuilding her life. Yet Ms. Byrne skilfully juggles all these
threads while never losing sight of the fact that this is, first and foremost,
a romance. The Black Moment – which happens about half way through, so I won’t
spoil it – is one that it’s possible to see coming a mile off, and it has to be
said that Piers reacts in a way that isn’t exactly sympathetic (although it is
understandable to an extent.) BUT he does redeem himself quite spectacularly
and the moment when he realises his mistake and what it means is beautifully
done.

I enjoyed the story, although I did find
some of the language and sentiments to be rather overblown (this are typical of
the author so anyone familiar with her work will know what to expect). I was
puzzled by the nickname assigned to Piers – The Terror of Torcliff – which
seemed to be for no other reason than because of the scars on his face,
sustained when he was attacked by a jaguar while on a hunt in Peru. In spite of
his somewhat forbidding appearance, he’s a charming, decent and generous man
(apart from the aforementioned Black Moment), so it just felt like a way of
trying to make him into one of her typically damaged heroes when he really
isn’t. Another irritant was the way that the three Rogues always address each
other by the masculine names of Alexander, Cecil and Frank they adopted at
school. I get the idea of secret names and secret societies at school, but
these women are approaching thirty and they should surely have grown out of
such a silly affectation by now. Plus, the epilogue was… odd, and largely
unnecessary.

Derek Perkins is one of my favourite
narrators so I was delighted to see his name attached to this audiobook, as I’d
wondered if a change in publisher would mean a change in narrator and I’m a
firm believer in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Mr. Perkins doesn’t record
all that many romances these days (most of his recent work has been in genres
that generally don’t interest me), so it was a pleasure to listen to him again.
His narration is well-paced and he differentiates effectively between all the
characters, providing distinct voices for a dozen or so roles. His interpretation
of Piers is especially good, perfectly conveying the character’s commanding
personality while not being afraid to show his vulnerabilities and more tender
side, and he does a great job in bringing Alexandra to life as a courageous
young woman who, in spite of the horrific thing that happened to her, refuses
to let it define her. I did, on occasion, have a little trouble telling the
difference between Alexandra and Cecily and needed to rely on the dialogue
tags, and I spotted the odd misread/mispronunciation, but those are very minor
issues and didn’t impact on my understanding or enjoyment in any way. All in
all, it’s a terrific performance that truly enhances the story.

After the last few Victorian Rebels books, I
was really concerned that Kerrigan Byrne had lost her way, so I’m really
pleased to be able to say that she’s returned to form with How to Love a Duke in Ten Days. With the added inducement of
excellent performances from Derek Perkins, I’m looking forward to listening to the
rest of the series.