Customer Reviews
A disappointing follow-on from the first book - By: K.E.B, 12 Aug 2010 
As much as I hate to admit it, this second bookin the Inferno Club series was a slight disappointment. Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading it & it is by no means a bad book. However, after being blown away by the first bookin the series, `My Wicked Marquess', I was expecting a similar effect with this one but I'm afraid to say it did not happen. Yes, there is romance & yes, there is a lot of sexual passion but somehow it still did not live up to the high expectations created by the first book.
Whilst `My Wicked Marquess' featured Max Rotherstone & his journey to finding love, this book is centred around Rohan Kilburn, a deadly assassin of the Order. Having convinced himself he is not worthy of love, the Duke has only ever had physical relationships with women. That is until a young virgin named Kate Madsen is brought to him by smugglers as a `bed-warming gift'. Kate, having been abducted from her lonely homein Dartmoor certainly does not intend to let herself be deflowered by the frightening duke. And rather than act the weak, submissive victim Kate proves herself to be strong, intelligent & brave. As the story progresses it appears that Kate & Rohan have been brought together by destiny but will destiny tear them apart again? As Kate & Rohan set out to unlock the secrets of their past, I was reminded of Indiana Jones & his female assistant cracking codes & raiding tombs. Read the book & you'll understand what I mean.
The storyline is exciting & full of unpredictable twists but it is no way as romantic as the onein the first book. But perhaps I am just being too much of a harsh critic. Or perhaps the Marquess of Rotherstone set the bar too high for the Duke to follow.
There were times when I found the exchange between Kate & Rohan rather cheesy (please excuse my use of adjective) & Rohan's lustful hunger, quite unromantic. Whilstin the previous book my frustration had been felt towards Daphne, the female protagonist, this time it was the Duke who earned my frustrated cries. On a number of occasions I found him cold-hearted, stubborn & aloof, which only increased my sympathy towards Kate.
Although this book did not quite live up to my expectations, I would still certainly recommend that you read it & judge for yourself. I confess I am guilty of having very selective taste when it comes to romantic books & I daresay you will enjoy it immensely & find it faultless. I only hope the third book will fulfil my wild fantasies of chivalrous gentlemen, sexual passion & captivating romance, just as the first one did.
Unforgiveably poor writing standards! - By: Persephone, 01 Aug 2010 
Ms Foley what has happened? What era are you writing in? It is certainly not regency! Far too many thoughtless americanisms,glaring examples of language foundin modern day language, sloppy work from the editorial department.As I dont want to ramble, the customer reviewer loupop summarised issues very nicely,it seems quality writing is going down the gurgler & mass market mills & boon is the go.Sorry to say very disappointing,from an author who was fresh & originalin her research & plots.That's another author off my reading list!
Inconvincing and Static! - By: Loupop, 31 Jul 2010 As one of the redeeming featuresin the largely inconsequential 'My Wicked Marquess', Rohan has unfortunately failed to live up to his promisein this book. I have the distinct feeling that Gaelen Foley has 'lost her way'in this genre somewhat or perhaps just lost a little interest. When compared to some of her previous gems, (Princess, Knights Miscellany et al) this is something of a disappointment. It fits the basket of her latter books (Spice Trilogy, My Dangerous Duke etc.) which are simply not that convincing.
Although Rohan's character is sporadically formed throughout the novel, he is at heart your typically handsome alpha male though Foley can't quite make up her mind it seems as to how exactly she wishes to portray him. In her efforts to progress the typical romantic cliche of him imagining himself to be unloveable, she renders this potentially attractive character into an uninteresting one. In fact his character is eventually completely lost & as a reader, one has little interestin him towards the end. Bearingin mind his key rolein the narrative, this is pretty disastrous, to say the least!
It's plain to see that Ms Foley's blueprint for this story was 'Beauty & the Beast', as per the Disney cartoon as opposed to the original fairytale. The 'beast'in this case being equally beautiful if not more so than the heroine. The heroine herself, Kate is simply completely unconvincingin terms of her situation & background. In fact the whole scenarioin this book is ludicrous, which would be fine if the author could convey it with conviction but Foley however, is so obviously aware of the flimsiness of her ridiculous plotline,which borrows inconvincingly from so many other novels/films (Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones, Beauty & the Beast....etc.), that the said conviction is lackingin the extreme.
I have to confess I found myself 'skimming' the last third of the book as it seemed I,in allegiance with the author, had simply 'lost my way' also.
A Gaelen Foley fan will possibly find something to likein this book if prepared to read it without comparing it to her best as it has (very) fleeting glimpses of Foley's true ability & a new reader may well enjoy it generally & therefore find her best books brilliant but either way, it's simply 'not good enough' from this particular author who most certainly can do a lot better!
My Dangerous Duke (Inferno Club) - By: Rosanna Notaro, 16 Jul 2010 
I bought this book after seeing it advertised on a publishers website who published other authors I read which I enjoyed greatly, so I trusted the publishers judgement on this writer & decided to give it a go as I was looking for something new to read, however, this particular author disappointed me greatly!!
The story line had some potential, but after reading a couple of chapters i grew increasingly bored, fustrated & irritated that there was nothing grittyin the story telling. I was expecting alot better!!
One of the main characters is a female called Kate who apparently has a strong fighting spirit, couldnt be more wrong!! She was boring as hell!!
The other main character, The Dangerous Duke, didnt get into any danger, except for cutting himself with his cheesy lines. I didnt see his arrogant moody side that often, but then he also shows his sensitive side & the Duke got boring as hell!!
The chemistry between the two characters didnt work for me & put the book down & didnt finish it. Not worth the buyin the first place & won't buy Inferno Club series either.
One other reader gave this a five star rating, I'm baffled as to why?? The main story telling is setin a castle & there the characters remained for most of the chapters, there was no adventure, no fun, no excitement, where has the imagination gone??
Not even sure it was worth one star, I want my money back!!
My Dangerous Duke - By: Mrs. Carol A. Andrews, 08 Jul 2010 
This is book number two of the Inferno Club every bit as riveting as the first one & a compulsive read couldn't put it down till I'd read it. the characters are so vibrant & full of life a very good read
