Goldilox and the Three Weres: Joint Review: Dukes are Forever by Bec McMaster

Dukes are Forever
(London Steampunk: The Blueblood Conspiracy #5)
Bec McMaster
Release: February 12, 2019
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ARC provided by the author

A compromising situation forced him into marriage. But has his wife been working for the enemy all along?

In a steam-fuelled world where vampires once ruled the aristocracy, the Duke of Malloryn knows his nemesis, Lord Balfour, has finally returned to enact his plans of revenge.

Malloryn can trust no one, and when incriminating photographs surface—of an enemy agent stealing a kiss from his wife—he is forced to question just why his wife, Adele, trapped him into marriage.

Is she an innocent pawn caught up in a madman's games, or is she a double agent working against him?

The only way to discover the truth is to seduce her himself...

Adele Hamilton may have agreed to a loveless marriage in order to protect herself, but that doesn't stop her heart from yearning for more.

Her husband promised her a cold marriage bed. He swore he'd never touch her. But suddenly he's engaged in a campaign of seduction—and the only way to keep her wits about her is to fight fire with fire.

The ruthless beauty has locked her heart away, but can she deny the passion that flares between them? And when the truth emerges, will she be the only thing that can save Malloryn's life?

Or the weapon his enemy will wield against him?

Review:
Remember when we said that sometimes we both read the same book? And sometimes we both just have to share our thoughts? I hope you do, it was only two days ago. Well, we've done it again.

We both love Bec McMaster. In fact, one of the first joint reviews we ever did was for Of Silk and Steam, the finale of the previous London Steampunk series. But today we want to talk about the final book of The Blueblood Conspiracy.

RoseRed: I’m so sad to see this series end but Adele and Malloryn were everything!

Gretl: I was surprised how much I enjoyed this couple. I didn't really care about either of them when the series started, though Malloryn grew on me over the last few books. They almost have an enemies to lovers thing going with the competitive nature of their relationship which was fun.

RR: One of the things I loved about this book is how McMaster took these two characters that everyone sees as heartless (Malloryn) and cold (Adele) and shows us the other side of them that no one else really sees. The romance between Malloryn and Adele was very well done and drew me in from the beginning. Which honestly was a relief because I was a bit wary of the romance going into this book. But I loved them as a couple!

G: My only complaint about the romance is that I felt like it overshadowed the political aspects of the story, which are usually one of my favorite things. In a way though, maybe that was point - Malloryn had been putting politics and patriotism above everything else and his relationship with Adele showed him there was more to life. But I still wish I had felt more invested in the politics this time.

RR: I will say that I wish we had seen a bit more interaction between COR and Adele and Malloryn but what we got was golden!

G: Adele did seem to be either with Malloryn or with the ladies, rather than being part of the group as a whole. *scratches head* I liked her friendship with Lena from the original series though. I think everyone except Blade came back in this finale.

G: I can't help but compare Dukes are Forever to Of Silk and Steam. The characters find themselves in a similar situation at the end. And what stands out to me about that finale is the explosions - I even made a joke about going out with a bang. But I think McMaster blew up even more stuff this time. I imagine her sitting at her computer going "Oh, did I leave that standing last time? My bad!"

RR: This was a very satisfying conclusion to this series but I’m sad to leave the world and characters behind. I will say that while I enjoyed the ending of this book, I really need McMaster’s next newsletter to be out so we can read that promised epilogue.