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The Duke of Shadows
by Meredith Duran
5 Stars
One of the Best Romance Debuts of 2008!
Publisher: Pocket
Star (March 2008)
In a phenomenally
written historical romance about the Rebellion in India during the
mid-1800's, Ms. Duran brings the splendor and trauma of this time to
life and shows the richness of a culture that fought to remain, and the
soldiers of England who were traumatized by this war. Yet in all the
chaos, there is beauty and love between two remarkable characters, the
very young and beautiful Emmaline Martin and the handsome and cynical
Julian Sinclair, The Duke of Auburn.
When Emma's fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma trapped in India with
no other family to help save her and get her out of India, she has no
choice but to turn to Julian for help. The situation they find
themselves in turns into an attraction for each other that deepened
into an intense love. During the turmoil of the rebellion, Julian loses
Emma and thinking her dead, returns to England and mourns her for
years. But Emma is very much alive and has felt deserted by Julian.
Using her talent as an artist, she sketches and paints the horrors of
the India Rebellion over the years and is then encouraged to show her
art in a special showing. Julian, struggling through his mourning, is
finally pushed to return to society. Considered a traitor in India and
a hero in London, Julian feels lost in both worlds until without Emma
until he attends the special art show, recognizes the artist by the
work he sees and discovers his Emma is alive! Emma's love has turned to
indifference at feeling abandoned, while Julian's deep loss turns to
anger at the thought that Emma was alive and never contacted him. But
the years of feeling betrayed between them both has really intensified
their love. Will Emma and Julian learn to come to terms with the past
and the present, while at the same time discovering who the real
traitor in India was?
In this well-written story, there is much intensity, mystery, and
sensuality in a story that shows the ugliness of war, yet beauty and
love that can rise from it all. Ms. Duran has done a wonderful job at
research about a complicated time in history. The characters have such
depth throughout the span of time of the story. It is sensual in a way
that no other story could be given the time and situation the
characters find themselves in. A Gather.com contest winner, The Duke of
Shadows is truly a wonderful debut that reads as if it were written by
a master of history and romance.
Reviewed
by Beverly,
Beverly Romance Books
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