Eliza and the Duke (The Doves of New York)
American heiress Eliza Dove wants a last taste of freedom in late Victorian London before she marries. When a sexy prizefighter named Simon Cavell, also known as the Duke, is hired to protect her family, Eliza decides this Whitechapel foundling turned club manager is the man to show her a forbidden night on the town. It only takes one night for Eliza to fall in love. To rescue his niece from the criminal overlord who raised him, Simon needs to stage one last big fight. But as Eliza pursues him, Simon finds their class differences more and more easy to bridge—though the bounty on his head, after the fight goes wrong, is certainly an obstacle.
Fans will enjoy appearances from several characters in St. George’s Gilded Age Heiresses series, who are accomplices and abetters. Eliza’s alluring actress mother and songstress sister Jenny are the most well-drawn characters, sharp and funny. Eliza entertains in her propensity to show up where she’s not supposed to be—she becomes dependable for it. Simon is surprisingly soft for a man who grew up in such conditions, a tender and devoted lover. There’s lust and love in equal measure here.
