THE DUKE OF SHADOWS – Meredith Duran
A Perfect 10
Pocket Star
ISBN: 978-1-4165-6703-5
April 2008
Historical Romance

Delhi, India – May 1857 – London, England – 1861

A journey toward her future nearly ends in death for Emmaline Martin. Emma is the only survivor when the ship carrying her and her parents to India sinks. Emma was on her way to join her betrothed, Marcus Lindley, a Colonel in the British Army, and she is determined to follow through with the marriage her parents arranged, especially since they died escorting her to Marcus. However, Emma soon realizes that Marcus is not the man she remembers from childhood. His infidelities are hard to bear, and when he turns violent, Emma must accept the help of a man she barely knows, the Marquess of Holdensmoor, Julian Sinclair.

Julian Sinclair is a man from two worlds, the product of the marriage between an English nobleman and a native of India. After spending his early years in India, Julian was taken to England by his grandfather and finished growing up as a peer of the realm with all the benefits the heir to a dukedom is entitled. He returns to India in the hope of convincing the British government that an uprising is imminent, but he has little success negotiating with the British or the Indians because of the prejudice each holds against his mixed blood. Julian is well versed in the antics of British society in India, and yet he is captivated when he meets a young Englishwoman who is not like any Memsahib he has ever encountered. Vibrant and filled with life, Emma intrigues Julian, and even knowing she is betrothed to his cousin, Marcus Lindley, doesn’t prevent him from falling for her charm. When it becomes apparent that Emma must break her betrothal to Marcus, Julian offers his help in ensuring she returns to England safely.

Before Julian can whisk Emma to safety, the natives rebel against the British, and places that were once thought safe no longer are. Julian saves Emma from the rebellion in Delhi, and they travel a long and often perilous path to escape. On the journey, Emma and Julian fall in love. But, war is an uncertain thing, and Julian and Emma are separated. Will they find each other again -- and if they do, will their love turn out to be simply the product of desperation, or will it sustain them for a lifetime?

I need to start my commentary on DUKE OF SHADOWS with a warning. I’m going to gush. I’m going to go overboard. I’m going to make you want to read this book more than you want to see the next Indiana Jones movie. (And that’s saying a lot since Harrison Ford is one of my favorite heartthrobs.) First let’s get the technical stuff out of the way. The plot is engaging on many levels and not just the romance. Later in the book, an element of suspense and danger beyond the battles of India is introduced, and it’s icing on what is already a perfect cake. The character development is so detailed and deep that I find myself hard-pressed to articulate how fully and completely the various characters throughout the book have captivated me. From the most innocent to the most heinous villain, all are so meticulously detailed that I feel as if I’ve actually met them. The action in the first half of the book is non-stop as Emma and Julian attempt to cross India and avoid death from the British and the Sepoy soldiers. The attention to detail is exquisite, to the point that it is often hard to read some of the horrors that Emma must witness on her flight. In the second half of the book the action is not as dynamic, but this is where the author takes the heart she’s won with the first half of the book and wrenches it from your chest. This is the dark side of the book. Oh, I know, you’d think the war and the atrocities committed in India would be the dark side -- but it’s not. As in real life, it’s not the pain we suffer that hurts as much as the changes wrought in who we are that is the real tragedy.

I really can’t say more about this incredibly brilliant novel without giving spoilers, so I’ll have to end this with saying that it has been many years since a novel has touched me and moved me to tears the way THE DUKE OF SHADOWS did. I cringed, I wept and ultimately, because this is a romance after all, rejoiced, while I read THE DUKE OF SHADOWS. This is without a doubt the best historical romance I have read this year -- and I’ll go so far as to say that it’s the best one I’ve read in the last five years. I have never read this author, and actually, had this not come as a last minute assignment when our May schedule was full, I’d probably have assigned it to someone else at Romance Reviews Today -- and I would have missed an incredibly brilliant and moving novel. I should probably, for full disclosure, say I’m not an expert on this time in history, and frankly, if there are historical errors, I wouldn’t have noticed because I was so engrossed in the story. As far as I’m concerned, that means the author has done her job. Ms. Duran has produced a novel that is spectacular. DUKE OF SHADOWS is definitely an RRT Perfect 10, and perhaps the best historical romance of 2008.

Terrie Figueroa