The Duke of Ruin

Written by Darcy Burke

Narrated by Marian Hussey

With her betrothal to a duke in tatters and scandal imminent, Diana Kingman has two choices: live in certain ignominy or flee into obscurity. Diana wants solitude. She never wished to wed in the first place. However, her father will stop at nothing to betroth her to one of the finest titles in the realm...no matter how loathsome the bearer. Escape is Diana’s only option, and she’ll pay any price to achieve freedom.

Universally blamed for the death of his wife and unborn child, Simon Hastings doesn’t dispute his guilt over an accident he cannot even remember. He hasn’t had a drink since, nor a moment’s peace. Determined to be a better man, Simon rescues a young woman in need—only to be accused of kidnapping. They must marry to save him from prison. But how can a man haunted by the love he lost and a woman afraid to get too close find happiness together?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Darcy Burke Publishing
• Release date: May 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781094237831

Darcy Burke

Darcy Burke is the USA Today bestselling author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional, contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age eleven, a happily-ever-after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan that loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. In her “spare” time, Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a twelve-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.

Reviews for The Duke of Ruin

[veronica needa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great storytelling. Loved the characters and the twists and turns of the plot. I just fast forward on the - for me - the excessive details of the lovemaking!

[sarinhamac48 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Aaaaaaw... Simon won my heart in the last book & I'm even more enamoured with him after his book:))

If Nick is a very poor & completely misguided attempt at a Mr. Darcy, then Simon is a Mr. Bingley on steroids... love, love, love him!

At the end of the last book, I really disliked Nick & wasn't a fan of Diana's character... she eventually won me over, but I find Nick even more despicable now!

His friend faces ruin or even worse (no spoilers), trying to clean up his mess & he can't even be bothered to check to see if his best friend is OK... his friend is the one who needs to reach out to him... I'm really not a fan of Nick's.

Some things did irk me in both books...

One, you do NOT address a Duke/Duchess as Duke/Duchess, it's always, Your/His/Her Grace... especially if you're a lower rank!

Dukes/Duchesses are 2nd only to Royalty... absolutely NO ONE would EVER be that rude to their faces, regardless of whatever reputation they had!

The British public is still to this day extremely deferential to gentry, aristocracy & Royalty & it was even worse in days gone past. A Baron's wife would NEVER even contemplate addressing a Duke without him addressing her 1st, let alone berate him... she'd/they'd be ostracised in the blink of an eye!

Just some really glaring errors about the social hierarchy, especially about the era that it's being written about!

[UchennaEzeh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book. I looked forward to this book after reading Duke of ice and it did not disappoint. I'm glad Simon found peace and happiness after the raw deal with his previous duchess

[Cilla Roman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a great story! And that ending was a surprise

[Menolly Robinton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely adore this book! The hero, Simon, is to die for. Sweet and funny. The heroine, Diana, is smart and strong, and neither of them is obtuse or drove me crazy! Howe refreshing! And Marian Hussey, the narrator, is my all-time favorite.