Review: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

No good Duke Goes Unpunished 

by Sarah MacLean

Book 3 of The Rules of Scoundrels Series

4 stars

The very first book of Sarah MacLean’s that I read was Nine Rules to Break While Romancing a Rake. I fell in love with that story. I also became an instant fan of Sarah MacLean. Needless to say, I was super excited to be given the chance to read and review this book of hers.

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished is apparently the third book in a series featuring four men who are co-owners of a notorious gambling club, the Fallen Angel. This story focuses on the boxer who faces off with the men who had lost all their money at the tables above, should they ask for a last bid to win back all their losses.

His is known throughout London as Temple, the undefeated boxer of his time. It is also common knowledge that he is a duke. He is William Harrow, the Duke of Lamont, thrown out of his own home 12 years earlier because of the actions of one young, naïve, and scared sixteen-year-old girl.

That girl was Mara Lowe. She was practically given over by her ambitious, commoner father to a duke thrice her age. That duke happened to be Temple’s father. Rather than be miserable and be controlled by domineering men all her life, Mara, along with her brother Kit, concocted a plan that would let her escape her impending nuptials. Unfortunately, they went a little too overboard with one important detail. As a result, Temple was thought to have killed Mara Lowe when he woke up in her bed, drenched with blood.

That was then the beginning of 12 years of fighting for Temple and 12 years of hiding for Mara.

I think fans of New Adult who aren’t fans of historical romances will still be able to appreciate this book. Temple is a fighter, a boxer! He is handsome, he is built, he has just enough issues to be mysterious and not cross the line to creepy and antagonistic. Mara is a strong heroine who may make silly mistakes, but she owned them and made up for them each time.

I like that the author did not draw out Mara’s keeping the details of that night secret from Temple, so there wasn't too much drama about that. I also like the fact that they weren't overly cheesy with declarations of love. For instance, there’s this one important scene where Temple saw past Mara’s words and understood that what she really wanted to say was that she loved him. I just about melted during that scene!

Speaking of melting and swoon-inducing scenes...! Remember what I said about Temple being a fighter, which should be right up the alley of most NA readers because fighters are so popular in the genre these days? Well, let"s just say there is one particular scene that in my opinion can actually pass for a contemporary, NA, fighter romance! *wink2!

All in all, I really like No Good Duke Goes Unpunished. It is precisely my type of historical romance. It has a great plot, likeable characters (both main and secondary), amusing banter, readable conversations, and just enough extra backstory to let you make theories about the next story in the series.

Sarah MacLean is also really talented at writing touching scenes that are pivotal for the development of her main characters' relationships! There are at least three here, and all of them I love!

I recommend No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean to any historical romance fan who likes fighters, strong heroines, standout secondary characters, a little bit of sexiness, and a guaranteed HEA!