Stealing the Duke by Jess Michaels
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stealing the Duke has got to be one of my favorite stories by this author. In it's own way, it's kind of a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story. Alexander Wittingham Duke of Avondale hides himself away from the world, the ton and society until Mariann, daughter of the recently deceased Duke of Martingale brakes into his house to return a brooch stolen by her late father.
Alex is scarred in many ways, he strikes up a bargain with Marianne to be his lover at his country house when he encounters her returning the brooch. Right from the start I admired the strength of Marianne, especially after she agrees to a deal that will not only ruin her own reputation, but she puts her younger sister, Juliet before all else to protect her and make sure she has a secure future. She is the kind of heroine that I love to read about as I like a character with a lot of fight in their personality which Marianne has plenty of.
Together Alex and Marianne had a great connection both physically and emotionally. This isn't a traditional romance in any way but they really do have a very good sexual bond and friendship that burns slowly into something more. The story was very well written and was a fast paced read, and even though this book is only a short story I didn't feel like it was missing anything at all. I thoroughly enjoyed Alex and Marianne's story and look forward to reading more books in this series.

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