Duke of Depravity by Scarlett Scott

An Eliza Review
⠀
Duke of Depravity by @scarlettscottauthor
⠀
Ratings (out of 5)
Chemistry: 💥💥💥💥
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Heart: 🖤🖤🖤🖤
⠀
Mrs. Jacinda Turnbow leads a quiet life. A widow of the Napoleonic Wars, she spends her days helping her father to break French codes. When treachery strikes her family, she finds herself in the home of Crispin, Duke of Whitley, playing the part of a governess. Crispin is a veteran of the war himself. The ghosts of his mistakes drive him into the arms of harlots and whiskey-soaked stupors. But when Jacinda strides confidently through his door, she makes him feel things he thought were beyond his reach. Can they survive the betrayal that would break them before they even begin?
⠀
Let me start by saying this: I love books where women are allowed rich inner lives and equally fulfilling outer ones. Jacinda is SMART. She is talented and clever, facts which are acknowledged, however begrudgingly, by the men around her. She lives her life on her terms, makes her own decisions (as much as she is able), and doesn’t apologize for these things like so many women of her time do.
⠀
And if you love a rake with a tortured past who just desperately needs to be loved by someone, look no further than Crispin. He’s gorgeous but flawed, which I also enjoy. Let me be clear - I don’t have to enjoy his flaws to appreciate that he has them. I LOVE that Scott goes there. Crispin is tormented and seeks any escape and distraction he can get. This resonated. It also means that when Jacinda walks in and brooks NONE of his behavior, we have contrast. The result is an excellent balance between these two lovebirds and a HEA that feels so richly earned.
⠀
If you like Regency romance that, while not high, traditional mystery, has a bit of mystery to it and plenty of tension, you’ll probably really dig this book. Add to that the fact that there are strong women, feisty girls, rakish men, and plenty of heat and it’s a real winner for its kind.
⠀
Kiss and Tell:⠀
By the time Jacinda and Crispin actually hop on that one-way train to Bonetown, you’re so invested in them that you’ll literally be leaning in towards your Kindle screen as Crispin leans in towards Jacinda’s lips. So many passionate, grasping kisses, oral sex, penetrative sex, and women who take what they want without the self-loathing that so often accompanies out-of-wedlock sex in this genre. Yes, please.