Carlton Guthrie, Scoundrel of St Giles, finds runaway bride Regina wandering the dangerous streets of St Giles. He takes her in, mostly because she's the instrument of revenge against the man who killed his father. But Regina adapts to her new life and the man who is taking care of her by falling in love.
I've read maybe too many stories lately of Ton debutantes who wander around the slums of London and meet the man of their dreams who turns out to secretly be a noble, so perfectly appropriate to marry. This one was better than a lot of them though the revenge plot seemed a little silly. Still, Carlton and Regina are a nice couple and it's a quick read. ( )

The Forgotten Duke, by Sophie Barnes, is available through booksellers 1-28-20. Forgotten is book 5 in Ms Barnes Diamonds In The Rough series. I believe this is my first read of Ms Barnes work. I must say I'm impressed. I wish it were possible to rate in half stars, I'd give Forgotten a solid 4.5. I intend to backtrack and try out the first 4 stories. I'm curious if they'd stand up to my expectations of Ms Barnes writing (high). I've found most historical romance books to be a bit of entertaining fluff. I like fluff, eat it up, love it. But, a steady diet of fluff leaves me more appreciative of a complex emotional plot.

Our hero, Carlton/Valentine has been dealt a rotten hand in life and lives for revenge. He's plotted it and thought about it ad nauseam. He doesn't seem to realize that he made his life so much more than only anger. His story moved me, the hurt, rage, longing, subterfuge, nature vs nurture. He's interesting and once I knew his background I became invested in his HEA. The balm to his soul arrives in one Regina Berkley. Her father has pledged her in marriage to an inappropriate teenager. That poor kid is just as miserable as Regina at the though of what was to come. He's very sick & she is overcome with sympathy & actually runs away to save them both. Her father and his machinations made me hurt & angry on her behalf. Regina is strong & sassy & basically saves herself with only a bit of help from Carlton. Theres a perfect ending, it made me happy, was satisfying. I'm interested to see where the Diamonds series goes from here.

#SophieBarnes #Netgalley #DiamondsInTheRough #TheForgottenDuke #historicalromance ( )

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. The Forgotten Duke by Sophie Barnes is the fifth book in her intriguing Diamonds in the Rough series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I have enjoyed reading the previous books and do recommend them. Carlton Guthrie the scoundrel of St. Giles is certainly not going to let opportunity pass him by when the bedraggled bride he rescues turns out to be the daughter of the man he's been planning revenge on since he was 12 year old. Unable to think of another way to avoid being forced into marriage with a child by her father Lady Regina Berkley fled with no plan other than escape. With a Dickensian twist Carlton Guthrie is not whom he seems to be and soon he will have to decide if the growing affection he feels for Regina is more important than revenge. Once again Sophie Barnes has written a book that will keep you avidly turning pages to see what happens next. Medium Steam. Publishing Date January 28, 2020 #TheForgottenDuke #SophieBarnes #NetGalley #HistoricalRomanceNovel #bookstagram ( )

Desperate times call for desperate measures!

The trope is familiar. A powerful man having come from nothing is now a force to be reckoned with in the infamous St Giles.
Carlton Guthrie holds many secrets and he's sworn to take his revenge for a dardastardly deed that destroyed his childhood.
Lady Regina Berkly, the daughter of the Earl of Hedgewick, flees from an unwanted marriage foisted on her by her usually doting father. Of course there's something havey cavey about the whole affair. Her future bridegroom is the Marquess of Stokes. He is fourteen and suffers from a continuing illness. I liked this young person whose life has been one of constant pain, who's just as much a pawn of his father's desperation for the family line to continue, as Regina is of her father's scheming. I was touched by Stoke's forthright words to Regina, "as I deteriorate with time, you will regret being my wife, just as much as I will regret ruining your life.” The wedding is to be quickly done, within a couple of days.
Early on the day of her wedding, backed into a corner Regina bolts. Garbed in her bridal dress and bonnet, she runs away from Mayfair into unknown parts--St Giles. Where she literally stumbles into Guthrie, The Scoundrel of St. Giles. Guthrie seizes the chance to avenge himself against Hedgewick, 'the man who’d haunted [Carlton's] nightmares for two long decades, offering Regina sanctuary. The story flows from here as Regina and Carlton struggle with different purposes that in the end meld into one.
Flawlessly executed and a scintillating read! Loved the cover BTW!

An ARC from the author via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.) ( )

We met Carlton Guthrie, The Scoundrel of St. Giles, in the earlier books of the series and developed a love/hate relationship with him. Was he saint or sinner? Now, we get to meet the real man and we can decide for ourselves. There was a lot going on in this book and while I was left with questions about some things, none of them really had to do with the HEA, the mystery, or its resolution. You don’t have to have read the earlier books in the series to enjoy this one, but it is a great series and I can’t imagine why you’d want to miss out on those books – besides – you’ll get a better feel for Guthrie because he’s threaded throughout the series.

Carlton has many secrets and I’ll not share all of them with you – but – I mean – you did read the title of the book. Carlton’s one deep abiding goal for the last twenty years has been to punish (meaning causing the death of) Charles Berkly, Earl of Hedgewick. The Earl is a wily fellow and has managed to guard himself well during that time – and Carlton has only had a couple of instances where he might exact his revenge. Sadly, none of those came to fruition. Then, the perfect revenge presents herself to him – almost on a silver platter. Who is he to say no to such a providential gift?

Lady Regina Berkly has always been a biddable, dutiful daughter. She diligently studied the pianoforte though she disliked it, she learned to embroider, to manage a household, to speak correctly, to dance without flaw, all of those things at which her parents said she should excel. She knew it was her duty to marry and to marry well for the betterment of her family. She was fine with all of that. At least she was fine with it until her father returned one day and announced she was going to marry the Marquess of Stokes the following morning at eight AM. She was aghast! She had never even met this person and she was expected to marry him. Her father would not be dissuaded, but did tell her that the groom and his family would be coming over that evening for them to meet. Surprise, shock, dismay – all of those and many more words could be used to describe her feelings upon meeting the potential groom. He didn’t want this any more than she did – and he was still a child. She liked him and he would be a good man someday, but not the man for her. When she told Stokes that she’d get them out of the arrangement, he was grateful to her.

Regina spent most of that night thinking and thinking, but she couldn’t think of any way out – except to just leave – and that is what she did. Just before dawn she snuck out the door and began running – and running – until she was totally lost and not in the best part of town. She ran right into a wall – well – a man who seemed like a wall. He steadied her and she told him who she was and that she was running away. Then, she went on her way – only to run into dire trouble. Again, the man showed up to rescue her. He offered her sanctuary until she could decide where she wanted to go and then he’d help her. Reluctantly, she accepted his off to stay at The Black Swan in his accommodations – as long as he didn’t make any demands of her. Admirably, he didn’t – the tension was there on both sides – but he didn’t.

“Who would have thought that she, the dutiful daughter of an earl, would be entertaining a bawd in a crime lord’s parlor?”

Lots of things happen – from kidnappings to betrayals – and Guthrie and Regina manage to become closer and closer through it all. Each knows that they love the other, but neither feels free to actually use the words. Then, when Regina is discovered and Guthrie’s deceit is revealed, Regina is devastated. Regina refuses to believe that her father has done what Guthrie says – but – she truly believes that Guthrie is honorable – so there must be another explanation. Can their relationship survive Guthrie’s deceit? Is her father guilty? If he is, can she keep Guthrie from exacting his revenge? Read the book to find out – you’ll love it.

This was a well-written book and a very enjoyable story with characters that I came to really like as I got to know them. I could feel Regina’s determination to take control of her own life and I could sympathize with Guthrie’s need for revenge. They were truly a very well-matched pair. It was a busy story that kept me engrossed from the first page to last. It also nicely set up the next story featuring Ida Strong and Fielding (from A Most Unlikely Duke). I assume Fielding will redeem himself in that book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )