9780063044166
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After Dark with the Duke audiobook

  • By: Julie Anne Long
  • Narrator: Justine Eyre
  • Category: Contemporary Women, Fiction
  • Length: 9 hours 11 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: November 30, 2021
  • Language: English
  • (1028 ratings)
(1028 ratings)
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After Dark with the Duke Audiobook Summary

Sparks fly when a daring diva clashes with an ice-cold war hero in the newest thrilling romance in USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Long’s Palace of Rogues series.

She arrives in the dead of night, a mob out for blood at her heels: Mariana Wylde, the “Harlot of Haywood Street,” an opera diva brought low by a duel fought for her favors. But the ladies of the Grand Palace on the Thames think they can make a silk purse from scandal: They’ll restore her reputation and share in her triumph…provided they can keep her apart from that other guest.

Coldly brilliant, fiercely honorable, General James Duncan Blackmore, the Duke of Valkirk, is revered, feared, desired…but nobody truly knows him. Until a clash with a fiery, vulnerable beauty who stands for everything he scorns lays him bare. It’s too clear the only cure for consuming desire is conquest, but their only chance at happiness could lead to their destruction.

The legendary duke never dreamed love would be his last battleground. Valkirk would lay down his life for Mariana, but his choice is stark: risk losing her forever, or do the one thing he vowed he never would…surrender.

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After Dark with the Duke Audiobook Narrator

Justine Eyre is the narrator of After Dark with the Duke audiobook that was written by Julie Anne Long

USA Today bestselling author and Rita(r) Award winner Julie Anne Long’s books have been translated into eighteen languages, nominated for numerous awards, and have appeared on dozens of “Best of” lists. NPR named her Pennyroyal Green series as one of the Top 100 romance series of all time. She currently lives in Northern California.

About the Author(s) of After Dark with the Duke

Julie Anne Long is the author of After Dark with the Duke

After Dark with the Duke Full Details

Narrator Justine Eyre
Length 9 hours 11 minutes
Author Julie Anne Long
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date November 30, 2021
ISBN 9780063044166

Subjects

The publisher of the After Dark with the Duke is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Contemporary Women, Fiction

Additional info

The publisher of the After Dark with the Duke is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780063044166.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

WhiskeyintheJar

November 26, 2021

3.5 starsI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Through her slitted curtains, she’d looked down into upraised fists and furious, snarling faces shaping the word over and over: harlot harlot harlot. After a duel is fought and a Lord is injured, Mariana is blamed in the public eye. She's an opera singer who now has no popularity and starting to fear for her safety. Knowing about Mrs. Breedlove and the twists and turns her life has taken, Mariana has heard that The Grand Palace on the Thames can be a safe spot, so she decides to hideout there for awhile. From farmer, to soldier, to Duke, General James Duncan Blackmore, the Duke of Valkirk, has hit writer's block on his memoirs and decides a change of scenery is in order. He decides on an inn by the docks that no one would think to look for him there. James knows about Mariana's reputation and Mariana can't help poking England's most honorable hero but when some unfriendly wordplay leads to the two having private Italian lessons, they begin to find something in the other they've been searching for. She didn’t even precisely know what she wanted from him. Apart, perhaps, from being seen. Fourth in The Palace of the Rogues series, this keeps us at the inn we've all grown to love with all it's characters. The last book had me pulling on the reigns to break free from the location but, for the most part, I found myself cozily settled in this time. Whether due to reading this during the holiday season where intimate settings with close friends and family just hits me better or Mariana and James had a better chemistry that they could carry the story, I found I didn't mind the one-stop setting. This does mean that this would be harder to just jump into the series here, however, readers of the series will enjoy our patronesses with glimpses of their husbands, and all our favorite guests, with a strong showing by Dot as she and Mariana share a love of learning new words. He was very brisk, frequently impatient, but always respectful and polite, and unless she counted the occasional devastatingly sensual smile that implied he knew precisely what she was up to, he did not take up the flirtation baton that she could not resist, every now and then, extending. This is an age gap story with Mariana at 25 years old and James 43 years old. In the beginning, as their relationship started to develop, I did feel some hero worship from Mariana's side which made their age difference glaring obvious but as their chemistry took up, this faded away. With age gap, there is some enemies-to-lovers as James thinks Mariana is frivolous and uncaring because of the gossip about the duel. When he learns the truth, his perception changes and we get some great threads about women's power, agency, and thin line they must tread during this time. Mariana is an opera singer and staying popular is her life blood, so this involves flirting and playing nice, even if she doesn't want to and with her younger age, not always having the experience needed for certain situations. He realized he’d lately taken to saying things to get her to laugh, the way he might reflexively open a window to allow in fresh air. There's some machinations to get these two together, Mariana gets to stay at the inn because she'll pay her way with a performance our patronesses decide they need to hold in their new ballroom and James ends up having to give Mariana Italian lessons as a “punishment” because those same patronesses decide he must be reprimanded for that unfriendly world play I mentioned earlier. Nothing feels too unbelievable to go along with and around 40% when James hears the truth about the duel from Mariana, these two really started to pull me in. I thought the whole “Harlot of Haywood Street” and “Valorous Valkirk” was an interesting premise and I ended up enjoying how layered their relationship ended up feeling and built. When James realizes the danger he's in, in regards to falling for Mariana, he tries to pull away but Mariana calls him on it and at 60% they have their first kiss. She wanted to be alone for a while in a room where, for the first time in her life, a man had come to her defense. Most of the story is the heated building promise of could be between these two and I enjoyed how the author gave us fully formed characters that could stand on their own, giving me the opportunity to see and feel all the ways they could fit together. James with his war career, caring the burden of being England's honorable hero, his marriage, widowhood, and feelings on his son and then Mariana with the pain of her father's death, her worry over her mother, and learning how to navigate the world. These two hit the sheets later in the story but I almost enjoyed their heated conversations and looks more. Holding her was the only comfort he’d truly known. Possibly the only peace he’d truly known. Because peace was being known. The last 20% ended up feeling a little rushed for me, at 87% James makes an offer to Mariana that at that point and time in a story, I'm not sure I want to see from my hero as he should know the heroine by now, and then the make-up ending declaration gave me more of that rushed feeling and I wasn't quite satisfied as I thought Mariana deserved more. At that point, I can't say I totally felt I believed in a happily ever after for these two, thinking about their positions in life, the way this particular story was written. There's a compacted epilogue that tries to give us that fairy tale ending to strengthen the idea of their HEA but with it's time jumps, it didn't completely work for me. Overall, though, I enjoyed this addition and time spent at The Grand Palace on the Thames, all our favorite characters are there and Mariana and James provided some welcome heat.

Princess under cover

July 21, 2021

Hallelujah!!Julie Anne Long is BACK!I admit I have been worried. She has always been one of my fave HR authors, top 3 for sure! Right up there with Lisa Kleypas and Elizabeth Hoyt (when they were still burning bright, TBD recently). When JAL started this series, I wasn't terribly keen. I didn't even realize this is book 4, thought it was book 3. The first 2 books I do recall reading and they were...OK. I missed the romance in those books and I felt like there was more love JAL had with her own words than love between the MCs.Now, THIS book, is not the case. This is CLASSIC JAL!The focus is on the romance YES!!! From chap 3 when they first met... Oh the tension! The wit! The flawed MCs. And yet so compelling! And how the Hero capitulates in the end with a swoon-worthy declaration of love! CLASSIC!! Historical Romance at its best!Love love love. I will be buying this book.Welcome back JAL!P.S. Not fond of the cover. Esp. the male model.

Chloe

March 30, 2022

Happy Pub Day to AFTER DARK WITH THE DUKE! Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advance review copy; all opinions are my own.It's no secret that I love Julie Anne Long's writing, especially her Pennyroyal Green Series, but AFTER DARK WITH THE DUKE has just moved up as one of my all-time favorites of hers. JAL's balance of engaging plot and deeply character-driven storytelling, her flair for sparkling love interests with smoldering chemistry, feisty repartee, and sharp wit, is at its finest in this story of a national legend, the noble, proper, serious retired General James, Duke of Valkirk, and the feisty, resilient, talented but down-on-her luck opera star, Mariana. Their backgrounds, stations, and circumstances couldn't be more different, but their stay at The Grand Palace on The Thames brings them together, and under the pressure cooker of forced proximity, their clashing encounters which evoke the delicious sharp-tongued, mounting tension a la Darcy and Lizzie in Pride & Prejudice, unfurl into an achingly romantic hot slow-burn, a gradual, witty, tender unfurling of emotional vulnerability and ultimately profound intimacy that is physical, emotional, even spiritual.James and Mariana's romance captures love's triumph over fear, its call to live beyond the safe confines of identities and beliefs that no longer are true to us, and its powerful gift in liberating us to cherish and be cherished as our honest selves.Content notes: sexual assault (in past but revisited in present and discussed), financial anxiety.

Debby *BabyDee*

July 02, 2021

"After Dark with the Duke" (The Palace of Rogues) was just wonderfully written and a somewhat love story that had its complications. The heroine, Mariana is a well-known opera singer and very successful at her profession. Unfortunately, she likes to flirt a bit and that flirtation has imploded into a duel between to close admirers and subsequently tarnishing her reputation and career. Worse yet, she is being blamed for the fiasco and takes seclusion at the Grand Palace on the Thames. Her place of refuge is a humble one and has its strict rules of the occupants that stay there.While there are other guests who reside in the Palace, there is one duke...the Duke of Valkirk who raised himself from a lowly stature to becoming a well-known General and appointed Duke for all of his bravery. He is there to write his memoir and eventually marry. It is unfortunate that when Mariana meets him, she sees an icy and uptight man.There are so many impossibilities with this story and the relationship between Marian and James. She is an opera singer and he is a Duke who has valor and a a relationship between the two could jeopardize all that they have accomplished in their lives. This was trope of enemies to lovers and angst that you just had to love it. I love the combative play off both characters and each not willing to back down on their convictions. This was a slow developing love story between the hero/heroine that subsequently leads them to love and learning to understand one another and their lives. I loved the plot, whit and the characters that make the Grand Palace come alive again. The growing romance to love and HEA was heavenly. This was one well-written and heartfelt story that I recommend reading. Having not had a chance to read the others in this series, I plan on catching up soon.Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

PlotTrysts

December 03, 2021

Julie Anne Long continues to write beautiful prose and create authentic, enjoyable characters. The Palace of Rogues series has been a gem, with hilarious ensemble comedy, poignant emotion, and of course the happily ever after we all crave from the romance genre. After Dark with the Duke continues the series with a match between an up-and-coming opera singer and a silver fox war hero duke. The book hits all the right notes. Mariana shows James that the world is not as black-and-white as he once believed, and he shows her that she is worthy of love and respect. That said, the fact that this is a relationship with a nearly 20-year age gap (he's 43 and she's 25) AND some forced proximity because he's tutoring her... was tough for us to read. His son is 3 years younger than Mariana! While the relationship is presented in historical context, and he is considering marriage to a debutante years younger than either his son or Mariana, still doesn't distract from the absolute value of the age gap. We realize that this is personal preference, but it made the book a tough sell for (one of) us - because Laine didn't really care at all!11-Word Summaries:Laine: Judgmental Duke is brought to heel by a scandalous opera singer.Meg: Mariana’s got James singing - me voici me voici militaire et mari!This objective review is based on a complimentary advanced reader copy of the novel.

Nabilah

January 09, 2022

This one started out a bit slow for me. Then, the story slowly creeps up on you. And suddenly, you realised you're grinning and weeping for them and experiencing a whole other myriad of emotions. It was that good. It's definitely a character driven story. Everything happened in one place which is the Grand Palace on the Thames. If you're looking for non-stop action, this book isn't it. What this book has would be great banters, well-fleshed out characters and MCs that you definitely root for. Pacing is good and Ms. Long writes beautifully. Steam factor: Mid-level. Not very explicit. However, the intimate scenes definitely impart the longing and desperation that the MCs feel for each other. The scenes are very fine, IMO.

Jan

January 25, 2022

3.5 to 4 stars. One of the better books of this series. I did not really enjoy #3, but this one was much more enjoyable. I liked the development of the attraction and relationship between the MCs. I wondered how a duke who was a famous war hero and a scandalous, lower-class opera singer could end up having their HEA. But the writer did pull it off, and the ending was very nice.

Saby Westcliff

December 11, 2021

This book wrecked me. Easily one of the best HRs I've read, and I can't find one thing I'd criticize about it. There's a reason I faithfully read everything Julie Ann Long has written. Sometimes, I run into a dud or two, but generally, her books have that magical escapism quality that simply transports me to a different world, which is the whole point of reading HR for me. :)I am a sucker for a cold Duke, and a down-on-her-luck heroine in HR, and Valkirk and Mariana are stellar. The plot, the writing, characterization - everything here was top notch. I actually haven't read the previous books in this series, and was nervous about whether I'd find myself lost with little context, but this one can easily be read as a standalone, and the writing covers enough of the older characters to suffice.

b.andherbooks

March 24, 2022

Mariana Wylde, an opera diva newly branded the “Harlot of Haywood Street” finds shelter at the Grand Palace on the Thames when she finds herself out of funds and options after two rival beaus duel over her. She finds the rules of the Grand Palace delightful, and is grateful to find a soft place to land while she finds a way to keep carrying on. She wasn't expecting the starchy General James Duncan Blackmore, the Duke of Valkirk and grand war hero of well, everyone, to be so entirely rude to her.When the proprietresses of the Grand Thames chastise James for his behavior and ask him to make it up to Mariana, he agrees to tutor the young ingenue in Italian. Instead of the flirt he pre-judged, James finds himself slowly falling in love with this determined woman as he helps her learn to both recognize when people are taking advantage and to stick up for herself.But, with honor and propriety on the line for James as he attempts to pen his next book, he cannot fathom every allowing himself, or Mariana, the pleasure of finding a happily ever after, together.WOW THE ANGST. This book, what a ride. I truly wanted to yeet James a few times, as his honor causes him to so thoroughly wound Mariana, who only wanted to give him her heart. BUT BUT how he falls, and how he groves. Perfect. Yes.I about died when he threatened the Italian composer while he wouldn't listen to a no. Put that in my veins people. Also, all the little moments, the soft touches. how Mariana clutched James' palm kiss against her heart while she slept. UNF.My one minor quibble was the anti-sex worker rhetoric, that felt shaming. James really uses it to hurt Mariana at one point, but it felt true to his character (and he atones). Mariana also is disdainful of sex workers.It was great to be with the ladies of the Thames again. I need to go back and read the book I missed, and I snagged an ARC of the next one. JAL - a queen.Big thanks to Kate Clayborn, and Funmi, for reading this with me!Thank you to Avon for the advanced copy. Glad to find out this wasn't a holiday romance (don't let that cover fool you like me. I do want that robe though!)CW: physical violence, sexual harrasment (described, some on page - countered, James is a widower and is about 20 years older than Mariana. Lingering grief over death of a father (in past, described).

RachelReadsandSings

January 13, 2022

Julie Anne Long has been a little bit of a hit or miss author for me, but this was definitely a HIT in every sense of the word.Oh my GOD literally everything about this was PERFECTION. I LOVED how different these 2 main characters are. James is a 43 year old widower who earned his dukedom from his service to England, and Mariana is a 25 year old opera singer who has found herself disgraced due to 2 idiots fighting a duel over her. The way James and Mariana’s relationship started as verbal sparring between the two of them (James judges Mariana at first for the gossip about her in the papers and Mariana believes him to just be a cold duke) and turns into a slow burn and tender romance filled with vulnerability and passion is simply exquisite. Y’all….I cried SO MUCH at the ending. I can’t get over how James showed Mariana how much he truly loves her. The grand gestures were EVERYTHING!! GAH so beautiful 😭😭😭😭😭PS I really appreciate how the age gap wasn’t ever brought up as a reason why they couldn’t be together! How refreshing.**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

Jennifer

July 03, 2022

This is a absolutely soul opening story about how unconditional love should be. This book brought me to a deep emotion place. This story brought me joy,peace,longing it truly made my heart ache with sadness and joy (to say I was emotionally spent is a understatement) My only regrets in reading this story was that it ended far quickly. No book I read last year 2021 made me feel the way this wonderful story did (which is why it was my top pick for 2021) Read it and have your heart forever changed.

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