cover image It’s Hard Out Here for a Duke: Keeping Up with the Cavendishes, Book 4

It’s Hard Out Here for a Duke: Keeping Up with the Cavendishes, Book 4

Maya Rodale. Avon, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-238681-6

Rodale concludes her Keeping Up with the Cavendishes Regency series with this delightful fourth installment (after Lady Claire Is All That). James Cavendish travels from America to England after learning that he has inherited the dukedom of Durham. While staying at a tavern in Southampton, he meets the beautiful Meredith Green, and the undeniable attraction between them leads to one night of incredible passion. When James and his sisters arrive at the London home of their aunt, Dowager Duchess Josephina, James is surprised to learn that the woman he met at the tavern is a companion to the duchess. The encounters between James and Meredith at Durham House are filled with longing and regret, as she frequently reminds him of his duty as a duke to marry a woman suitable to his rank, not a mere lady’s companion. The ever-present desire and romantic yearning lure the reader into James and Meredith’s story, which Rodale writes with great depth of emotion. This series finale will leave readers deeply satisfied. (Dec.)