Book Review: When You Give A Duke A Diamond

Author: Shana Galen

Publication Date: September 4, 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Series: Jewels of the Ton #1

He had a perfectly orderly life...

William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual, securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossip papers link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next...

Until she came along...

Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's disruptive to have the duke who is the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide...

For some reason here lately I am really starting to get into more historical romance and just more romance books in general. This is not usually a genre that I read often, but it has really sparked my interest as of late and I have read some wonderful books by some fascinating authors. I have to admit that the yellow dress and the title caught my eye on this want. I didn’t even read the back cover I just knew right away that I wanted to read it, as a seasoned reader I probably shouldn’t say things like that (:

Juliette, the Duchess of Dalliance, and William, the Dangerous Duke or the Duke of Pelham, make such an unlikely pair. He believes her to be a whore (courtesan) and she believes him to be a pompous ass! I love the way that we first meet them both. The tabloids (their Times) has been writing and spreading gossip about these two having an intimate love affair. We find out, within the first few pages, that in reality they have never even met. But when they do meet for the first time it is such a riot! They are downright snotty to each other at times and boy can Shana Galen right some nasty comebacks. I was laughing at the unlikely pair the whole way through. They are the same person at times and share a lot of the same characteristics, which is not always easy to right in characters.

 I was so happy to find that this was going to be the first in a series! Juliette is part of the Three Diamonds. This is a group of women who get their names and fame from their public. People see them as three women that sleep with only the richest of men. On page 15 on the e-copy version someone describes them as this, “The three strolled on the lawn, quite aware of, the fetching picture they made.” Juliette, on page 22, is described like so, “She picks her own lovers, and she’s extremely choosy.” Juliette is a very witty character and I loved her sense of spontaneity. She is my kind of girl. It was easy for me to see early on that she had been hurt by a previous lover, her husband. On page 230 she says, “One aspect of marriage I never could tolerate was being owned. You don’t own me, Will. I’ll sleep where I wish.” She is such a strong and really admirable character all the way through the book!

Usually I find the male characters to be dreary and dull in historical romance novels, but I must say that this was not the case with our Duke of Pelham. He is rash, arrogant, and sometimes even ignorant but I love how he learns to loosen up and be himself around Juliette. Galen includes small details about him, like his incessant need to be on time everywhere he goes, and I find that I LOVED knowing those small details about his character. His character kept me intrigued because I was wondering if his hardened outer shell was every going to break!

This book put me right into the action from the very first page. By the end of Chapter 1 I was already being presented with conflict and it was all smooth sailing from there. I loved the fact that there were kind of two stories going on at once. The love connection between William and Juliette and the fact that a mad man was after them claiming that Juliette had taken his precious diamonds! I am telling you now that I will definitely be purchasing or requesting the next title in this series from the author or publisher because as of yesterday I became a huge fan of Shana Galen!!

***Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of this book for me in return for my honest review***