How to Dance With a Duke

Written by Manda Collins

Narrated by Anne Flosnik

Miss Cecily Hurston would much rather explore the antiquities of Egypt than the uncharted territory of marriage. But the rules of her father's exclusive academic society forbid her entrance unless she weds one of its members. To clear her ailing father's name of a scandalous rumor, Cecily needs to gain admission into the Egyptian Club-and is willing to marry any old dullard to do it.Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson, is anything but dull. He's a dashing and decorated war hero determined to help Cecily-even if that means looking the other way when she claims the dance card of Amelia Snow, this season's most sought-after beauty. But Lucas has a reason for wanting Cecily to join the Egyptian Club: His brother went missing during one of Lord Hurston's expeditions to Egypt. An alliance with the explorer's bluestocking daughter could bring Lucas closer to the truth about what happened . . . or it could lead him to a more dangerous love than either he or Cecily could have imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Apr 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452677477

Manda Collins

Manda Collins grew up on a combination of Nancy Drew books and Jane Austen novels, and her own brand of Regency romantic suspense is the result. An academic librarian by day, she investigates the mysteries of undergraduate research at her alma mater, and holds advanced degrees in English Lit and Librarianship. Her debut novel, How to Dance with a Duke, spent five weeks on the Nielsen Bookscan Romance Top 100 list, was nominated for an RT Reviewer's Choice Award for best debut historical romance, and finaled in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest. Both How to Entice an Earl and Why Dukes Say I Do were selected for inclusion in Eloisa James's Reading Romance column. Why Earls Fall in Love, the second book in her Wicked Widows series, was called "sparkling romance" by Publishers Weekly and is set in Bath, England, one of her favorite cities in the world.

Reviews for How to Dance With a Duke

[kathy Dunne · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

OK story but too long

[__lindsey__ · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time identifying with Cecily, since she just seemed kind of empty in a way. One thing that bothered me is that it seemed like it was stated over and over again how intelligent she was, but the reader never really got to see this intelligence in action much. Not that she ever seemed dumb; she just didn't really get to display her "keen intellect." A good opportunity in the plot for her to do this would have been having her solve the ongoing mystery in the book, but instead, she just got captured, and the villain explaining everything to her.

The plot was not typical, and that's a good thing. I wondered what was going to happen with the rest of the book since Lucas and Cecily were married so early on, and the marriage wasn't used as the happy ending. I thought it was interesting how Cecily had affection and attraction for Lucas but was afraid to love him, and the happy ending ended up being Cecily finding the ability to express and feel love for him. Also, I wasn't expecting the book to turn into a thriller/almost horror story later on.

I feel like there was a lot of work put into this book, and I'm interested enough in the characters to read the next couple books. Looking forward to what kind of plots will unravel in those as well.

[Jane Engelhardt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Light story with some steam. Took too long to get to denouement given that it was so obvious. Also, I’m very relaxed about narrators and usually find those that complain about them very fussy but this one was unbearable for me. The male voices were patently awful and the females were squeaky. I was about to start the next one in the series for the heck of it and stopped after about 10 minutes. Just couldn’t take her anymore. Also tired of the story. This one is okay for a quick listen if you can stomach the narrator.

[azurestrawberry · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

boring and predictable

[bugetta-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5* A cute historical romance with a mystery plot.

[cranberrytarts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an ok read. I enjoyed the pace of the story once I got past the first few chapters. The heroine bothered me quite a bit with her "act first, think never" attitude. I understand wanting to have your opinion valued. I even understand wanting to be in control if your own life. I do not, however, understand stupid actions that place you in danger at every turn.

When she wasn't insisting that she should could take care of herself, she was pushing the hero away to save herself heartbreak. again, I understand self-preservation. But it got old after awhile.

Aside from that, I enjoyed the story. I liked the hero and the premise. Collins relied a little heavily on certain stereotypes, but as a light read it worked.

I won't be rereading this anytime soon, but I do plan to read the other books in the series.

[beckymmoe_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a fun debut! The Egyptian mystery really made this novel's plot stand out for me--I was fairly certain that I had parts of it figured out, but other aspects surprised me. It was very well done.

I loved the character of Lucas--his relationships with his friends and his determination to find out what happened to his brother were especially admirable...not to mention his relationship with Cecily! For the most part I enjoyed Cecily's character as well, though she did take the whole "I've been burned by love once before and will never let that happen again" bit much too far. Honestly, after they'd been together for more than a week, shouldn't it have been obvious that Lucas was nothing like her loathsome ex? I also didn't quite understand how a dance card from a past dance was going to help them all season long, but that could have just been me. Still, though, neither one of those issues managed to detract from my enjoyment of the novel as a whole.

Cecily's two cousins, the other so-called "Ugly Ducklings", are going to be the subject of the next two books in the series, and they are definitely characters to look forward to. Hopefully we'll see one or more of Lucas's friends as well, since they too were fun secondary characters in this novel. Even though actual ducal dancing was hard to find here (Lucas suffered from a war wound in his leg), How to Dance with a Duke was still a thoroughly enjoyable first novel.

[mybookaddiction_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

HOW TO DANCE WITH A DUKE by Manda Collins is a wonderful debut historical romance set in Regency England. This is Book 1 in "The Ugly Ducklings Trilogy" and what a wonderful story from the first page to the last page. It is fast paced,emotional,well written with twists and turns you will not see coming. "How To Dance With A Duke" is about "The Ugly Ducklings' club,or so three young ladies are dubbed,but alas,they are anything but "Ugly".They are intelligent,determined,strong-willed,with dreams of their own. "How To Dance With A Duke" is the story of Miss Cecily Hurston, a wallflower who enjoys Egyptian artifacts for which she is forbidden to endeavor into. But her father's trip to Egypt has turned bad,he is left near death's door,and his assistant is missing. Cecily, needs to get admittance to the famous Egyptian Club which her father founded, in order to find his journals and learn the truth of what happened.Even if she has to marry one of the Egyptian Club members. Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson is on his own mission to discovery what happened to his beloved brother who was Cecily's father's assistance and is the one who has disappeared. "How To Dance With A Duke" has witty banter, danger, the allure of Egyptian artifacts,deceit,intrigue,mystery with romance,sweet sensuality and the price of betrayal. This author has done a fantastic job writing this suspenseful,story. The characters are strong and will capture your heart. The "Ugly Ducklings" are a force to reckon with,and will have you turning pages to their next adventure. I LOVED,LOVED "How To Dance With A Duke". A must read for anyone who enjoys historical romance,Regency,England,and Egyptian artifacts.What a delightful debut novel. I can hardly wait for the next installment in "The Ugly Ducklings Trilogy". An author to watch for in the future. Received for an honest review from Net Galley and the publisher. Details can be found at St. Martin's Press,the author's website, and My Book Addiction and More.**"How To Romance A Rake" coming in July,2012**RATING: 4.5HEAT RATING: MILDREVIEWED BY: AprilR,My Book Addiction and More

[rtb_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed by LaciReview copy provided by NetGalleyI really enjoyed How To Dance With A Duke. It blends together romance, suspense, humor, and a murder mystery all set in a historical setting. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Right from the beginning, I found myself loving Cecily. She was bound and determined to get her way and prove her father innocent, and the lengths she goes to throughout the book to achieve that purpose sets the tone for the entire book. I loved how she immediately met her match in Lucas but wasn’t quite ready to admit it. Poor ole Lucas was exasperated with her and that was great, too because while he wanted to find out what happened to his brother, he knew that her father was somehow involved, and getting involved with her could spell disaster. That’s where the book really starts to gel for me. It really comes together with the involvement of the mystery itself, the mystery of Egypt and the artifacts, and finding out if Lucas and Cecily really can work it all out. It was fantastic that I was kept guessing until the very end. There were no hints at who the villain might be. When you add in the random cast of characters that includes 2 wallflowers, a mean girl and her followers, and a misplaced fan, the book does a good job of keeping you interested. It totally kept me guessing to the end. I hope Manda follows up with books about the 2 cousins that are wallflowers. I would love to see how they find the men of their dreams.

[sharonr53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson, gets his first glimpse of Miss Cecily Hurston as she is being unceremoniously hustled out the front door of the Egyptian Club. Cecily is at the club trying to get access to her father’s journals, which were sent to the club after his disastrous last trip to Egypt. During the trip, Will Dalton, Lucas’s brother, went missing and Cecily’s father returned suffering the effects of a fit of apoplexy (now known as a stroke). Will was the secretary to Cecily’s father and there are rumors that there was a disagreement between them before Will disappeared.Lucas is at first pleasant to Cecily but later rudely snubs her when her identity becomes known to him. After this first encounter, he decides he acted hastily and determines to seek her out at the next ton event. Cecily, along with her cousins Julia and Madeline, are wallflowers dubbed The Ugly Ducklings by the ton. Lucas finds her at a ball and makes amends for his behavior. Eventually the two discover that they are both looking for answers as to what really happened on the last Egyptian trip and decide to work together. Cecily is planning to wed a member of the Club to get to the journals and Lucas agrees to help her weed out unsuitable possibilities. I enjoyed this book, both the romance and the mystery parts. Cecily and Lucas make a perfect couple even if they can’t see it themselves. She is smart and independent and has been unlucky in love. He is a decorated and handsome war hero who has never been in love. They are united in trying to get answers about their family members. The secondary characters which include Cecily’s cousins and Lucas’s friends help move the story along. There is the requisite shrewish beauty and vapid aristocrats which no regency should be without. The mystery aspect is a nice touch even if I figured out the villain fairly early.This book is the first of a trilogy. The next book is due in July- can’t wait to read it.