Already known as a dynamic duo, Mychael Black and Shayne Carmichael deliver once more in The Duke’s Husband. A romance with a twist, it is the story of His Grace, Jay Wharton, Duke of Wharton and the sweetly wicked Devon Brooks. Brought together by sheer circumstance, they’re a beautiful pair and a classic one. Yet Black and Carmichael turn what could have been ordinary with two fun twists. Devon is a virgin and not the overdone “I’ll do everything but that” virgin but an honest to goodness waiting-for-my-wedding-day virgin. And Jay is not your typical ne’er do-well English noble.

And thus their uniqueness has already captured my heart. Their path to love is a modern one full of the first dates that are anything but casual and the seductive kisses of attraction. And not only is this path fresh, it still manages to be heated and amusing as Jay strives to keep himself under control as per Dev’s outright warning of no sex. As most classic romances have, there are the bad parts that make their blooming love difficult. The paparazzi and the less than subtle witchy behavior of Jay’s mother all conspire to overwhelm sweet Devon, and I wanted to stomp them into the ground for Devon’s confusion and eventual escape.

But Jay, with that hardy English spirit lives up to his heroic image and gets his man. You’d expect an ending here in all honesty. Yet the story has what I’ve come to think of as two parts: Jay and Devon and then: the Evil Forces. Here’s that twist, I mentioned and where the story keeps its romantic tone but shoots into something that you’d expect in an occult story.

A fascinating mix of contemporary and fantasy, Black and Carmichael have a delightful, suspenseful tale that I found to be clever and entertaining. I did stumble a little at the switching points-of-view yet reading on, it fit, giving a sample of Jay and then Devon and then back again, which made the sex positively electric. An excellent story all around - I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by: Nicky