Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase

Narrated by Kate Reading

I’ve seen mixed reviews for Dukes Prefer Blondes. I think whether the book succeeds or not for an individual reader will probably have something to do with how well they like a war of wits in their romance. And, in the case of listeners, how well they enjoy Kate Reading’s narration.

I happen to like both things and so the book was very much a success for me.

Lady Clara Fairfax was raised to be the wife of a duke. She is a lady. There are expectations she is required to live up to. And certain things she is expected not to do either. Like have a brain and want to use it. Clara chafes against the bonds of the haut ton and her upbringing. In some ways I suppose it is a bit “poor little rich girl” but she does it with self-awareness so I wasn’t offended by it. Plus, she actually puts her time and money into charitable works and she feels especially strongly about young women forced into prostitution by poverty. She sponsors a millinery school for such girls, where they are taught a trade and assisted in finding work which keeps them safe and fed and offers them a future.

Oliver “Raven” Radford is a mere “Mr.” His cousin, Bernard, is the current duke of Malvern. If Bernard doesn’t get cracking and sire an heir, there is a real danger of Oliver’s father (and thence Oliver himself) inheriting the title. Oliver doesn’t want this to happen but it is not something within his control. Oliver is a barrister and enjoys his chosen career very much. He has no time for fashionable society and little interest in the ton. He likes logic and order and reason and the law.

Oliver was not prepared for Clara to come storming into his life. His beloved order becomes extremely messy when Clara thrusts herself into the mix.

Bridget, one of the girls Clara is helping at the millinery school, has a younger brother who has been abducted and (apparently) forced to be a thief in a kind of Oliver Twist-style gang of boys. The Fagin character in Dukes Prefer Blondes is a man by the name of Fream.

Because of the strictures placed on high born ladies, Clara is unable to find Bridget’s brother herself. She enlists the aid of Oliver. Their interaction was a delight to me. They trade barbs and witty sallies back and forth. Even for me, who is not good at subtle, it was easy to read the subtext here. For a while the main characters are unaware of what they’re doing but even after they admit their attraction, they keep up this acerbic byplay. It’s the way they flirt. And later, foreplay.

Clara’s high birth is a great barrier to any match between her and Oliver. Her father, a Marquis, is most unlikely to approve her marriage to a barrister. And Fream rears his ugly head to try and ruin things as well, so Oliver and Clara have to work a bit to get their HEA. I would say that the conflict is largely external however. Oliver and Clara are well suited; the trading of insults is just a bonus.

Kate Reading is one of my favourite narrators. Although, I will say that sometimes (and I did notice it here) at the very beginning of a book, her style sounds a bit affected. That said, it doesn’t take me long to push through that phase (if I experience it at all – I don’t always) and settle into the story.

The big advantage Ms. Reading has in Dukes Prefer Blondes is that she is a master (mistress?) of portraying the witty barb. Perhaps the subtext was so easy for me to read because of the narration? It’s very possible.

Technically, the audio was smooth and crisp, the characters were all well differentiated and accents, when required, were very well done also.

Oliver is a bit gruff but he’s not the beastly hero Dain was in Lord of Scoundrels. Still, for those who enjoyed Jessica’s and Dain’s courtship, there’s plenty of goodness in the same vein in Dukes Prefer Blondes. There’s even a bit of heroic rescue going on and Clara, in fine Pretty Woman style, rescues him right back.

Kaetrin

Narration: B+

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence Rating: Fighting

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Harper Audio

Dukes Prefer Blondes was provided to AudioGals by Harper Audio for a review.