Her Night with the Duke audiobook

I had never heard of this author before, but when Avon sent me an e-arc, I thought the cover was really pretty and decided to give it a shot. When the book started, I really loved Leela's character. She is a widowed duchess, wears pants, and does not let society define her role just because she is a woman. When she first meets Hunt at an inn, their chemistry was through the roof and I was living for their romance. Of course, after their own night together, they learn that he is actually betrothed to her step-daughter, who is more like a best friend because she is only two years younger than her. That makes this a forbidden romance and the angst was KILLING ME. Leela wanted her friend to be happy, but both Hunt and Leela are finding it harder and harder to ignore their feelings for one another. I loved the forbidden romance and the angst, but what sealed the deal for me was the groveling Hunt had to do for the last 20% of the book. Both Leela and Hunt are such strong-headed characters, so neither one of them would easily give into each other. Hunt does something that hurts Leela and she definitely makes him work for it to win her back. I loved it. I also loved how Leela is half-Arabic, so she feels like she really doesn't belong with either part of her identity; society doesn't see her as good enough for them and her mother's Arabic family sees her as too good for them. It was sad watching her try to understand her identity and feel like she really didn't belong anywhere. If you can't tell, I absolutely loved this book. And I think Griff gets the next book, which has my dying. Gah. I can't wait to read more from Diana Quincy!

Rich in detail, love, and passion. Sooo good! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~From the very first page, I knew this was going to be something special. The author really made this a unique story with the lead female not being your standard character.Not only that, but she also made her a Lady as well. She’s unique and hard-core and absolutely is in love with a one night stand. She just doesn’t know it, yet.The book was just wonderful from the beginning. Quincey has amazing characters and such a fabulous way of telling her story that I simply couldn’t stop reading. I read the whole thing in one sitting and wanted more!Classic historical romance with the spice and heat that we love today. Rich in detail, love, and passion! Interesting and highly developed characters with wonderful supporting characters make this a stunning story that leaves you craving so much more! I will definitely look for more books from Quincy!* copy received for review considerationFull Review - https://amidlifewife.com/her-night-wi...

I hadn't read a new-to-me author in a while, so when Avon pitched Diana Quincy to me and I saw a friend of mine love Her Night with the Duke, I had to give it a try. And I'm so glad I did – I loved this forbidden historical romance! I honestly haven't read enough forbidden romances that are also historical, so this was a great change of pace. The Duke hero, Elliot, has a woman in mind to marry for duty, but he ends up falling for her stepmother instead. SPICY!Elliot and Leela meet one night rainy night at an inn and feel a connection right from the start. They share a passionate night together before they find out who they are to each other when Elliot shows up at Leela's home, and that a relationship between them would be impossible. Elliot wants to throw everything away to be with Leela, but Leela, who is dear friends with her stepdaughter, refuses to hurt Victoria. There is so much push and pull, with a good dose of angst – all of it was so well-written. I was hurting for Elliot and Leela and wishing for a way for them to be together.I love how unique the heroine's character is. Leela is a Dowager countess who married an older count when she was very young, young enough to be closer in age to her stepdaughter and stepson than her late husband. She’s half Arab, half English, and feels like she's never really belonged to either part of her family. She does explore more of her mother’s roots as she travels around the world to gain experience for her writing.I'm now a big fan of Diana Quincy – the author wrote such a swoony hero in Elliot, who falls deep and hard for Leela. The forbidden aspect was set up and executed well. I can't wait to read more in the Clandestine Affairs series and am so looking forward to Elliot's Viscount friend, Griffin's story next!

I first heard about this book's insane premise on a Fated Mates episode (awesome podcast, go listen if you haven't already), and I just had to drop everything and see it for myself.Turns out, it was indeed crazy. Like, crazy good.It starts out with a chapters-long one night stand between the main characters, which is so rare for historicals!! Or maybe I just wasn't reading the right ones?? But I feel like it's way easier to find it in contemporaries, so I was very pleasantly surprised with this one.Anyway. The one night stand happens at a country inn, since the heroine, Delilah, is on her way to visit her stepdaughter, and the hero, Elliot, is on his way to visit his future fiancée. Turns out, THE STEPDAUGHTER AND THE FIANCÉE ARE THE SAME PERSON!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!Such a twist!!! The stepdaughter (and fiancée)'s name is Victoria and she's very sweet.Delilah's stepson, Victoria's brother, has invited Elliot to stay for weeks in the family's estate so he could get to know his future wife, and Victoria is very insistent that Delilah does the same. It's not awkward at all.I feel like this twist could have very easily carried the whole plot of the book, but the author took this story into such unexpected paths all throughout. There were things happening at 50% that I was sure would only happen at 90%, so I never knew where she was going to take these characters next.I really liked Elliot (I'm always a sucker for an honorable Duke), but Delilah was undoubtedly the star of this book. She had Arabian descent and her story was so powerful and compelling. Plus, she had a really interesting (secret) job as a very successful travel writer, which was so cool.This story was bonkers and so well constructed. This will definitely not be my last Diana Quincy!

Stuck at a country inn on a stormy night, Lady Delilah Chambers finds herself delivering a well-deserved set down to several rough men, aided by a handsome gentleman. She feels an instant connection with this man and the two spend the night together with no strings attached. A widow is allowed a few pleasures after all, and the man is gone before she wakes. But Leela faces the worst of surprises the next day when she’s introduced to her gentleman at a family house party, only to learn that he is a duke and on the cusp of becoming betrothed to her much-loved stepdaughter, Tori.Elliot Townsend, the Duke of Huntington, wasn’t satisfied by one night with Leela and finds himself terrified by the feelings he’s already experiencing for her after such a short time, and haunted by the callous way he left her. But he’s in for a rude awakening when he learns just who Leela is.Leela and Hunt endure the house party they’re attending, giving each other a wide berth. They both know the betrothal talks have gone too far and that to renege now would cause a scandal and ruin Tori. Leela would never do anything to injure Tori. Hunt craves order, abhors scandal, and has spent his life trying to live down the debauched reputation with which his later brother tainted the family name, but he finds his passion for Leela soon overriding his rational mind and his proper marriage seems like a bleak future.This book wasn’t quite what I expected, but in a good way. I was super nervous reading this description because it sounded like it was dancing close to infidelity, which is a dealbreaker for me, but I don’t think that actually occurred here. I liked Leela but most especially Elliot. He had some excellent groveling and was very sincere in his feelings and earnest in their delivery. If anything, my issue was with Leela and her insistence on martyring herself, and thereby Elliot, even after obstacles between them were cleared. In fact, it almost seemed like she kept grasping for reasons not to be with Elliot even as he removed obstacles and made compromises for her. That said, Leela did recognize this reticence in herself and it made sense given her struggle to figure out where she belonged. Leela’s struggle with her mixed backgrounds and her decision to live for herself and her own happiness made it all the more endearing when things finally worked out for these two just as I was completely losing my patience with her. There was a lot of exhausting back and forth between Elliot and Leela and I kept finding myself just wanting to shake them both when they kept failing to get on the same page. These two were both set in their ways and resistant to change but they made each other better, although the constant angst did leave this one feeling a bit disjointed in places and threw off some of the pacing. Nonetheless, this was an original plot with good writing. This author was new to me and I liked her style and will be continuing this series.I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advanced review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!! So much angst and so much love. This book was delightful!

I had the great pleasure of reading this glorious book early and I absolutely adored it! Leela is a fierce, passionate, and complex heroine, and Elliot, the strong-yet-sensitive and extremely sexy Duke of Huntington, completely stole my heart. But don't take my word for it...critics and readers are raving:"Leela and Hunt's amorous scenes are page-turners, but it's Quincy's extraordinary ability to convey complex emotions that sets the book apart." (Kirkus Starred Review)"Quincy cleverly incorporates much-loved genre tropes into the daringly sensual plot of her print romance debut, and this combined with the refreshingly original, boldly adventurous heroine, who fully embraces her Middle Eastern family origins, makes this marvelously entertaining love story..." (Booklist Starred Review)Order HER NIGHT WITH THE DUKE now - you will thank me!

Hi everyone! I hope you love HER NIGHT WITH THE DUKE. Thanks for taking the time to read Leela and Hunt's story. This is my first book featuring a diverse heroine. As an Arab American, I enjoyed adding a fresh perspective to Regency and historical romance, while staying true to everything readers love about the genre. I can't wait to hear what you think!

This was SUCH A DELIGHT! Leela and Hunt had sparks APLENTY! So. Much. Chemistry! Leela was a wonderfully strong and independent woman,, there was a lovely female friendship/sisterhood. And boy do I love a hero who is completely smitten with his woman, and Hunt definitely was. This is an author to watch, I loved this!

Historical romance is always filled with women who are trying to do hard things in a time when they shouldn't. I think that Leela is the best example of this that I have seen yet. She didn't want a man. She didn't want status. She simply wanted to do life her way on her terms with the people she loved. She was determined to make that happen whether the world agreed or not. I liked her strength and her willingness to grow. I loved their happy ending. This was a page turning non-stop adventure for me.

4 stars**Historical Romance Readathon 2021 | Bingo Board Prompts: Recent Release (2020) / Shirtless Man on Cover / Windowed Heroine**Her Night with the Duke reads like a complete narrative, rather than just a potent dosage of romance fixation, and I very much appreciate that.Having just recently surpassed 10 books into my historical romance journey, I'm starting to uncover my preference; the primary one being the need for story to expand beyond just courtship. While I do enjoy reading snappy banter and steamy love making, oftentimes I find historical romance novels very 'plot-less'—barely anything substantial/unique happens (other than the expected happily ever after), and the setting so generically described every books simply blends into one giant vanilla Regency England Universe.While Her Night with the Duke still follows the genre's template (with the obligatory third act conflict intact—though it handles it slightly more gracefully the others), I greatly appreciate the intentional deviation, with its half-Arabic heroine, commentary on classism, sexism, and diversity, and two level-headed (to the extent allowed in HR) protagonists that openly discuss their roadblocks rather than dive straight into dramatic hysteria. Most of all, there is a plethora of subplots and characters that get meaningful time in the limelight and properly developed. The evenly distributed detail makes the world of Her Night with the Duke feels alive and tangible, rather than just cardboard backdrop for the romancing couple.For someone who has no patience following series (book, TV, film, no matter the medium), I'm actually looking forward to the next book in the series. That in itself is quite an accomplishment!

I read this book within a days time. That’s how good this book is. I was drawn towards the pull between Hunter and Leela. What ever they tried to do in order to avoid each other failed. They loved each other. Leela cared for her stepdaughter so much. Hunter couldn’t get past Leela to marry Tori. The writing by the author was a slow pace, but this helped to explain certain things for better understanding to the readers. This is a good romance book to read. I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy.

4.5 ⭐️ The angst just worked for me.

Okay—upon reread, this book didn’t hold up. These people are too self-sacrificing. Maybe I’m just not a good person but I just can’t get behind Leela consistently choosing to be unhappy for the betterment of others. Then the fact that Hunt would still marry Tory was frustrating. Fucking Edward was a twat dumpster and I’ve said it before: I have zero patience for fuckwit family members. Idk why I have such an issue with terrible family members but it sucks for me because they are EVERYWHERE. At least Leela cut the bitch. Tory was the only one brave enough to take her future in her own hands. Ten points Gryffin-Tory. I have grown since I first read this book and my new ratings reflect that. It’s still a fine book but frustrating and I have little time these days for frustrating. oO yes Hunt worded it perfectly: Leela pushed Tory to be happy but didn’t care about his happiness.LMAO why is this ending so angsty and drawn out? Hunt is actually a dick. Docking another .5⭐️s. He also waited tooooo long to kick the mistress out. He wasn’t actively seeing the mistress but still. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶.25/5_______🌶🌶🌶🌶/5 Behold another four on the sauciness meter. I was very close to giving it a five but what truly is a 5/5 on this critically acclaimed spicy scale? Will this be my white whale? Either way this was definitely a hot hot hot book, as forbidden romance usually is. I loved this book. I read it over a few nights before bed and it was the perfect remedy for a brain that's been cruising at a solid 90mph all day. I believe Diana Quincy said in her @avonbooks Insta take-over that she has Arab heritage, which is why the heroine does as well. Heritage and family is a large part of this novel and it was interesting to read about it in the context of a historical romance! I always appreciate learning historical context and mini history lessons interwoven with the romance.'Her Night with the Duke' is the classic "widow meets an alluring hunk of a man in a shabby inn after which they share a glorious night of passion together but as morning comes the two quickly realize that Mr. Man Hunk is the soon-to-be betrothed to her step-daughter" trope. JUST KIDDING! Nothing about the plot of this book is common at all! This was a take on the historical romance that I hadn't encountered before and one I want to encounter again. As soon as I heard that Leela (our widow) slept with her step-daughter's betrothed, Elliot (our Fabio), I immediately added it to my cart. It's a shorter read at 258 pages, so it is quite refreshing. Also it has both Leela and Elliot's perspectives which I always love in a novel. This is the first in the 'Clandestine Affairs' series which has me giddy, I really hope Griff gets the second book. Plus this book reminds me of ‘Illicit Affairs’ by @taylorswift just with a happier ending.