To the Duke With Love is a historical romance novel written by Amelia Grey. It is the second book in her Regency-era The Rakes of St. James series. I have not read any of Grey’s other books, but I was excited about the opportunity to try a new author.

Sloane Knox is the Duke of Hawksthorne. Hawk, as he prefers to be called, is hoping to arrange a match for his sister before her Season. He is afraid of her becoming embroiled in a scandalous prank as retaliation for a scandalous prank he was involved with a couple of years ago. Hawk has settled upon the rather bland and inoffensive Mr. Quick, who is the nephew of an earl and due to inherit the title one day.

There’s just one problem- Mr. Quick’s sister Loretta is against the idea. She refused to marry the man her uncle chose for her, and as punishment, she was banished to a remote hunting lodge. This is the very same lodge where Hawk arrives unexpectedly with his proposal.

Loretta is very kind and caring. She has accepted her fate, and plans to live out her life at the lodge. She doesn’t know what to think of Hawk; he’s handsome and charming, but she has no business involving herself with anyone else after her failed engagement.

I felt like I was at a bit of a disadvantage because I haven’t read the first book in the series and did not understand the allusions to Hawk’s prior misdeed. Hawk and Loretta had nice chemistry, but their connection was a little too instantaneous to be entirely believable. That said, I could empathize with Loretta’s feelings of reluctance regarding any sort of romance with Hawk; her uncle wields a great deal of power over her, and she does not want to anger him by disobeying him a second time.

I would recommend To the Duke With Love. I would suggest reading the first book in the series before this one, but overall, this was a sweet book. There was an interesting subplot with a scruffy urchin. This was my first experience with Amelia Grey, but I am interested in reading the other books in this series.

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.