I try to finish all the books I start reading but every once in a while there are certain books that no matter the effort just don't work for me.
This time the book I couldn't finish was "No Good Duke Goes Unpunished" by Sarah MacLean. Spoilers ahead.
Blurb from Goodreads:
A rogue ruined . . .
He is the Killer Duke, accused of murdering Mara Lowe on the eve of her wedding. With no memory of that fateful night, Temple has reigned over the darkest of London’s corners for twelve years, wealthy and powerful, but beyond redemption. Until one night, Mara resurfaces, offering the one thing he’s dreamed of . . . absolution.
A lady returned . . .
Mara planned never to return to the world from which she’d run, but when her brother falls deep into debt at Temple’s exclusive casino, she has no choice but to offer Temple a trade that ends in her returning to society and proving to the world what only she knows . . . that he is no killer.
A scandal revealed . . .
It’s a fine trade, until Temple realizes that the lady—and her past—are more than they seem. It will take every bit of his strength to resist the pull of this mysterious, maddening woman who seems willing to risk everything for honor . . . and to keep from putting himself on the line for love.
The story starts with our hero Tempple, heir to a Dukedom,finding out that he slept with his fathers fiancee and heiressMara Lowe and apparently he also killed her as the whole bed is full of blood and Miss Lowe is missing. So for the last twelve years Temple has been known as The Killer Duke by society and Temple himself believes that he is a murderer since he can't remember what he did that night.
Normally when I don't like historical romances it's because of the hero beacuse I feel he doesn't deserve the heroine but in this case I feel that the heroine didn't deserve the hero.
Turns out Mara was never dead, she just didn't want to marry the Duke something I completly understood since she was 16 and the Duke was old enough to be her father, so little Mara and her brother decided that they would pretend that someone ruined Mara so she wouldn't have to get married. Mara, our heroine confuses Temple with a footman and decides that she is going to drug him and use him as her fake lover, since Mara has heard that virgins bleed after their first time she gets some pig blood on the bed but she spills a little too much. So Mara escapes and because of the blood everyone thinks Temple is a murderer when she finds out she just leaves and thinks better him than me.
Twelve years later everyone still thinks that Temple is the murderer but this time Mara's brother has lost all his money and Mara decides that Temple has to forgive her brothers debt if she comes clean. Like any normal human being Temple is furious and doesn't want to forgive her or her brother so Mara can't belive that he is so mean and such a beast, how can he not see she is a good person that just let him be blamed for murder, so she does what any person would do she drugs him again but like the good angel she is she leaves her adress.
Turns out Mara runs a home for the bastard sons of noblemen, I assume tha author wrote this to make us see that Mara is not a horrible person, but the vibe I got was that she was only doing it to feel better with herself. When Temple arrives he tells her plan to basically humiliate her and then unmask her as a liar, this I didn't get it would have been easier just to take her to the authorities and never have to deal with her or her family ever again, it wasn't Temples fault that her idiot brother gambled away all their money.
As you can see I didn't like Mara, I get that she was young and scared but even at sixteen she sould have had enough brains to know that being blamed for murder is going to ruin anyones life, she could have come clean I don't think the Duke would have married her after that, I would have been ok with her but she never regretted what she did, it was never her fault and all the world was against her, she even was offended that Temple didn't give her what she wanted just because she wanted it.
As for Temple I think he was an idiot for falling in love with her
I only read 3/4 but I just couldn't stand Mara blaming everyone for all her probles and Temple being oh you are pretty and I want you. For this book it wasn't the hero that needed to redeem homself it was the heroine and I don't think she did.
Sorry for the long rant I just needed to get this out of my system.
