BLAST, BLITZ, PROMOS, REVEALS, & TOURS . . . : TOUR w/EXCERPT - The Texan Duke (Duke Trilogy, #3) by Karen Ranney

The Texan Duke
Duke Trilogy, #3

by Karen Ranney

Publication Date: October 31^st 2017

Publisher: Avon Romance

Genre: Adult, Historical Romance

The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . THE TEXAN DUKE (Duke Trilogy, #3) . . . Where do I begin? Not exactly what I was expecting, but I did enjoy the read. I felt that it fit in to the series just fine. The Texan Duke put its own spin on the Duke Trilogy. I liked both Elsbeth and Connor. I wanted to love Connor, but he came to Scotland with his American attitude and the need to sell. That was not the way to win me over, but it did give me something to look forward to as he began to fall for Bealadair’s inhabitant(s). The danger, mystery, deception, and more drew me in but need a little something extra to take it completely over the top. Being in Scotland and working with the clan and Elsbeth was beginning to change the things that Connor thought while in route to Scotland.

You get wrapped in this read in a different way than the previous two installments. There was something about mixing the Americas and Scotland. The cowboy lifestyle with title and privilege and clan. There are many characters to get to know and some that you just want to forget but this was a read that allowed for various concepts to grow. If you have read the other two books of this series you will really want to continue onward. If you are new to the series, don’t be afraid you will pick things up just fine.

The Duke Trilogy series:

The Scottish Duke – The Duke Trilogy, #1

The English Duke – The Duke Trilogy, #2

The Texan Duke – The Duke Trilogy, #3

BLURB

As the ward to the late Duke of Lothian, Elsbeth Carew resides at the ancestral estate of Bealadair. Fiercely attached to the manor, she loves it more than anyone else. When Connor McCraight—the new Duke of Lothian—arrives, Elsbeth does not quite know what to make of the American who has inherited the title but has never even set foot on Scottish soil. The tall, ruggedly handsome Texan sweeps through Bealadair with an air of authority Elsbeth has never encountered.

Connor has no intention of making Scotland his home and hopes to sell the estate as soon as possible. But his plan is jeopardized when he meets Elsbeth. A sweet, gray-eyed beauty, she tempts him in ways no other woman has. As word spreads of Connor’s intention to sell Bealadair, his life is threatened—and the only woman who can save him may be the one he has hopelessly lost his heart to.

EXCERPT

Everything was being readied for the man in the carriage approaching the long drive.

Would he care? Would he even notice?

The blowing snow obscured everything but the yellow glow of the carriage lanterns.

None of it belonged to them anymore. It was all owned by the man who would soon emerge from the carriage, the same man who could so easily wave his hand and banish them.

She shivered, wishing she had been able to wear her cloak. And a scarf around her throat. And a hat pulled over her hair. She couldn’t feel her lips or her fingertips.

People were stamping their feet against the packed snow of the drive and wrapping their arms around themselves. She could see plumes of their breath against the night sky.

Didn’t Rhona notice that everyone was about to freeze to death?

Sometimes, she thought that Rhona forgot that the people who staffed Bealadair were human beings. A great many of her dictates didn’t make sense. Yesterday she’d given an order that the laundress was to starch all the maids’ aprons and today no one was to sit or otherwise crease their uniforms until the duke arrived. You could either do the job you were supposed to do or you could walk around acting like a marionette.

Rhona made decisions like that, making changes that weren’t the least practical. A few months ago she’d given an order that all of the maids were to have their hair arranged in the same fashion, in an overly intricate braided bun. It took so long for the girls to arrange their hair that way that Elsbeth had countermanded Rhona’s orders, more than willing to go to battle for the staff. Fortunately, the duchess hadn’t noticed.

Rhona liked to issue decrees. She made pronouncements, waved her hand in the air like a queen, and demanded certain behaviors. Just as quickly, however, she forgot what she’d ordered.

Elsbeth had the feeling that Rhona really didn’t care. The duchess just liked being obeyed, even if it was only momentarily. Elsbeth took great pains to ensure that Rhona got that impression, even if it wasn’t exactly correct.

In the past year she’d taken on the duty of housekeeper. Mrs. Ferguson had increasingly incapacitating arthritis. It was easier for the poor woman to remain in her quarters than it was to traverse the many staircases of Bealadair.

None of the family had any objections to Elsbeth assuming the role. They wanted their meals on time, their suites kept clean and sparkling, and their lives not disrupted by petty things such as laundry, staffing expectations, and inconsequential details like leaky roofs.

As for Elsbeth, she enjoyed having something to do every day. Each evening she met with Mrs. Ferguson, consulting the woman over the tasks that needed to be done. The housekeeper had been at Bealadair for over twenty years and knew the house as well as—if not more so—the McCraights. The woman was an organizational genius, acquiring details about the many collections housed at the estate from armaments to historical documents.

No doubt the new duke would want to know the extent of his inheritance. Thanks to Mrs. Ferguson, she could provide him with an exact inventory.

The carriage was turning into the drive. A stableboy ran out to steady the horses. A footman strode forward to open the carriage door.

Rhona stepped up, accompanied by her oldest daughter, Lara, and Lara’s husband, Felix.

Elsbeth was too far away to hear the duchess’s words, but they were probably those of welcome. Maybe the duchess said something in Gaelic, evoking Scottish sentiment. After all, the new duke was an American who needed to be educated on his Scottish heritage. At least that’s what she’d been told.

No one had ever spoken of this unknown nephew. Until Mr. Glassey had sent back word from America, they had expected that the 14th Duke of Lothian and the Laird of Clan McCraight would be Gavin’s brother.

This man who stepped down from the carriage was a complete mystery.