A duke with a past career in espionage--a young lady (his best friend's little sister, of course) who's pursuing her own undercover adventures--a lot of friction, both emotional and physical. I'll admit, I wasn't sure how this would turn out as someone who has trouble with espionage romances, but The Duke in Question was really, really fun... and surprisingly hot.

One of the things I've struggled with most in traditionally published romance (especially historical romance) recently is a lack of physical connection between the characters, and a lack of... just... issues. People being people, people having problems with each other. This book had that, while being fun and--overall--quite lighthearted. I wouldn't say that Bronwyn and Valentine (great names) have massive tragic backstories, but they have quirks and issues and challenge each other a lot, which leads to them going head to head quite a bit. Plus there's this element of Valentine, the retired spy, being the unwilling mentor to Bronwyn, a baby spy.

There's also an element of Valentine being a bit jaded, a bit world-weary, and Bronwyn being this chaos demon who just hurtles into his life. Or rather, throws herself in his face after having a girlish crush on him for years (we love to see it). He's thrown completely off balance by this girl--and if you're a fan of a stodgy, uptight man turning into a total mess over a woman, this is the book for you.

I'll also add--I love how Amalie Howard handled sex in this book. There's a lot of it, it starts early and with a lot of intensity, and at first they're really just trying to satisfy a need, well before it becomes emotional (which doesn't take away from the heat of it at all). There's a real carnality to Valentine and Bronwyn, and they are certainly a big fan of the danger bang.

To be real, I still find it kind of difficult to follow spy plots, and I don't know that there was much change with that... from this book. But I really enjoyed Valentine and Bronwyn spatting, Valentine and Bronwyn hooking up in every wrong place, Valentine and Bronwyn falling in love. There was a madcap, devil may care feeling to this book, and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casabalanca for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you like action and simmering romance, this book is for you. The tension around these two spies - finding each other out, chasing each other across continents, discovering their attraction to each other - it gave the plot such a great drive. Then add in the chemistry they have together, and it all simmers. I mean, really smolders here.

I loved this book so much

I did receive an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.