Foul rumors and a fair maiden!

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 The Duke's Hammer (Duke’s Guard #5) by C.H. Admirand   

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫


So the trope here is a powerful one. An orphaned maid landed in desperate straights when lied to by her kinsman offering respectable work. What she actually did was all the serving,  cleaning work around his bar. He’s beaten her badly for refusing to entertain men and she’s not fed properly. Let’s not even ask about water for washing.

Enter our knight in his shining black coat, one of the Duke of Wyndmere’s private guards, James Garahan, who has plainly fallen in love with her. Rescue is his motive. Love is his reward, maybe! Only Melinda Waring doesn’t think she’s worthy of rescue, and is frequently doing things to put herself in danger in her efforts to be independent.

Meanwhile the Duke and his family are besieged by foul rumors. How to stop that, how to find the source, and how to save his love are all problems the Duke’s Hammer, James, has to contend with.

The plot is mightier than the execution but I still enjoyed it as part of the continuing overall storyline for the series. And yes, despite the few criticisms I have I will continue to read my way through the various layers. I just can’t resist the hero knight trope!


A Dragonblade ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.

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