Review: Duke of Manhattan by Louise Bay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Standalone - The Royals Collection #3
Release - May 14, 2017
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5
Length - 306 pages

I was born into British aristocracy, but I’ve made my fortune in Manhattan. New York is now my kingdom.

Back in Britain my family are fighting over who’s the next Duke of Fairfax. The rules say it’s me--if I’m married. It’s not a trade-off worth making. I could never limit myself to just one woman.

Or so I thought until my world is turned upside down. Now, the only way I can save the empire I built is to inherit the title I’ve never wanted-- so I need a wife.

To take my mind off business I need a night that’s all pleasure. I need to bury myself in a stranger.

The skim of Scarlett King’s hair over my body as she bends over . . .

The scrape of her nails across my chest as she screams my name . . .

The bite of her teeth on my shoulder just as we both reach the edge . . .

It all helps me forget.

I just didn’t bargain on finding my one night stand across the boardroom table the next day.

She might be my latest conquest but I have a feeling Scarlett King might just conquer me.

Find your copy of Duke of Manhattan here:
Goodreads | Amazon

MY REVIEW

4.5 "Fall in love with your fake wife/husband" stars!!

I'm loving this cover and I found it fitting for the depiction of Ryder and his story. Scarlett's been divorced for two years from her high school sweetheart and her hearts still floundering. Finding the entire dating scene a total nightmare, she has thrown herself into the company she founded with her old college roommate, Cecily. Although they're amazingly successful, their loans are due and they need an investor ASAP. Ryder is the heir to a dukedom but he started his own investment company without cashing in on the family estate. He's incredibly close to his sister and grandfather, but with his grandfather being up in age and with a bad heart, his inheritance, his sister's way of life, and the company he's built are in jeopardy if he doesn't find the last thing he ever wanted - a wife.

I loved Ryder. LOVED HIM!! He had no shame to his game, he was a known womanizer, AND he was intrinsically a good person. Go figure. He was obviously insanely hot, honest, honorable, etc. His character never let me down. The same cannot be said for Scarlett. I also loved her, for the most part, but there were times that she frustrated the heck out of me. However, I do understand that insecurity can make people behave irrationally so her actions were easy to forgive. Scarlett was beautiful, generous, and stringently independent and I absolutely respected the heck out of her. I really liked how the author showed her progression as a newly single woman with all of its pitfalls and the loneliness she suffered as a result of the divorce, but never made her ex out to be a monster. Thank you for that! I wavered between giving this story 4 and 5 stars because I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, despite the epilogue, so I had to settle with 4.5 because overall the story of Ryder and Scarlett was just that steamy, just that delightful, and just that awesome.