Can't Get Enough of the Duke

The Thunderbolt Club #2

by Lenora Bell

USA Today bestseller Lenora Bell continues her sparkling, sensual Thunderbolt Club series with a marriage of convenience between a grumpy, combat-scarred duke and his cheerful and beautiful ward.   

War hero Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, made a battlefield promise to become guardian to orphan Analise Crewe. He certainly didn’t agree to marry the girl! But that’s exactly what happens when he’s forced to wed her to save her honor.   

The last thing Analise wants is a loveless marriage to a broodingly handsome duke who lives in a gloomy castle and keeps his doors—and his heart—tightly locked. He’s determined to keep her at arm’s length—but she’s not easily deterred when there’s a tough case to crack. 

Warburton never wanted a wife. Especially an inquisitive and far-too-pretty whirlwind who upends his regimented life. Her sunny, winning ways charm everyone she meets and soon she’s unearthing buried secrets, plotting love matches, and shining light into even the darkest of hearts…his own. 

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance

368 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 7, 2026

About the author

Lenora Bell is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of historical romances with Avon Books. A teacher with an MFA in Creative Writing, Lenora has lived and worked on five continents. She's currently lives in Colombia with her partner and two tiger-striped rescue kitties. She loves hearing from readers!

Learn more at www.LenoraBell.com

Reviews

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine (but mostly heroine)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: takes just a little bit – at the end of chapter 2 (of 33)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, one year later
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley in e-book form
Why I chose this book: I love Lenora Bell!
Mains: Deckard (Dex) Payne (Duke of Warburton) and Analise Crewe – This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)

Should I read in order?
I think this one is fine alone! I did not read book 1 and had zero issues falling into this story.

Basic plot:
After making a promise during the war to a dying man, Dex returns to England to find his new ward.

Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance (Regency-ish?)
- Duke hero
- author heroine
- guardian and ward
- former soldier hero
- he’s huge, she’s tiny – she’s as a tall as his collar
- age gap – and please only dive in if you’re comfortable with this – she’s 18 and he’s 35
- compromised heroine
- scarred hero – he has facial scars from the war
- opposites attract – she’s impulsive, imaginative and talkative while he’s silent and brooding (some sunshine and grump dynamic)
- Annie retelling
- medium steam but slower burn – 3ish full scenes (and a shorter one I didn’t count) along with some elements of bondage, spanking, and praise

Ages:
- heroine is 18, he is 35

First line:
Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, knelt on the cold ground beside the fallen cavalryman.

My thoughts:
Oh, how I adored this novel!!! I haven’t read Lenora Bell in quite a while but this was exactly what I was needing!

This book...everything went almost exactly the way I wanted it to go. The beginning just grabbed me so good, and I LOVED their first meet. And then it just kept getting better to me, giving me all the romance things I wanted even things I wasn’t expecting but were so perfect for these two. This book totally wrapped around my heart and tugged at it repeatedly throughout their story.

Bell writes absolutely delightful heroines. I always fall in love with them. Analise is just such a lovely, chaotic whirlwind that I adored. I love her imagination, her optimism. I loved her writers’ spirit and her pairing with this large, overbearing grumpy duke I was eating up.

Other reviewers pointed out this is an Annie inspired novel – I am actually not familiar with the musical which I think I only saw once in like 5th grade and that was it 😂 . So that might up the either love or dislike factor for you.

I do want to point out the age gap – the heroine is 18, the hero in his 30s, so if that makes you uncomfortable I would forego this novel. I’m fine with it in fiction (I mean, 20 would be like...more palatable for me, but it’s not a make or break for me. Probably because I cut my teeth on those 80s novels of 16 year olds paired with 40 year olds 😬 )

There were so many lines I was swooning over. I missed the first novel in this series but it makes me want to go back and try it.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 9
Average rating from me: 4.11 stars
Favorite book: I’ll have to reread some of her earlier ones but either this one of One Fine Duke I think

Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize


“I’m making a list.”
“All of the ways I’m no longer an innocent young lady, fit for polite society?”
“ A list of everyone who has wronged you.” He slammed his fist against the padded carriage wall. “You shall be avenged.”
His voice, his air of total authority. The way his dark brows knit together over cold silver eyes. He was the Dragon from her book a creature of great power and purpose. The lines etched into his cheek, like claw marks.
---
“You’re free with your words.”
“And you keep yours locked so tightly it’s a wonder your lips know how to part. You are all the g-r words. Grumpy, gruff, grim, grave, grunting, growling…” She counted them off her fingers.
---
She could imply certain things, though, and the reader would fill in the rest. She dipped her quill in ink. Warburton kissed the way he hunted – with precise aim and single-minded focus. Adora was his prey. Her lips his prize.
No, that was too dramatic. And...goodness! She’d written Warburton.
She was becoming confused. Both her hero, and her villain, kept transforming into an ill-tempered, forbidding man who lived his life as if constantly negotiation for territory on a battlefield.
---
He dreamed he was unfurling a great roll of cloth, and when he’d reached the end of it she tumbled out. Perfectly naked. Looking up at him with lambent green eyes, her arms outstretched, murmuring, “How does kissing work?” and other inane but wildly pleasant questions that woke him right up, boiling hot and aching to go back to sleep so that he could show her.
---
“Ana.” Thea took her arm. “Is there, perchance, a brooding duke in your novel who gives stern commands?”
Miss Crewe’s cheeks flushed a fetching shade of pink. “The villain is rather ill-tempered and given to expressing himself with grunts and growls.”
Thea giggled. “And the hero?”
“He converses most eloquently with ease on topics ranging from his childhood to his taste in poetry. He’s always complimenting the heroine and acquiescing to her every whim.”
Dex snorted. “Sounds like a right ninny.”
---
“You’re a pretty girl, and you know it.”
She didn’t know it. She knew that men had wanted her. Had wanted to own her. She hadn’t seen this in their eyes. This tortured reverence. This longing. And she wondered if he could read the same thing in her eyes.
---
“Your Grace,” she curtsied prettily, her face flushed from dancing, curls escaping the confines of her hair ribbons.
“You’re not to dance with Lord Somersby again. Didn’t I warn you about him?”
Her fingers curled over his bicep. He flexed instinctively, wanting her to feel the steel of his muscles. Her toes tapped in time to the music. “I was warned. I simply chose not to heed the warning.”
Her fingers innocently stroked his arm.
---
“Do you know where I always express myself eloquently?”
She shook her head, her breathing ragged.
“In the bedchamber. I’ll give you instructions, encouragement. I’ll tell you how beautiful you are, how much you please me.” He closed the slight distance between them, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “And if you’re naughty, I’ll take you over my knee and spank you. And you’ll like it. You’ll beg me for more.”
---
“Don’t say that,” she said in an anguished tone that sliced through the fog that had descended in his mind.
“I apologize. I shouldn’t speak of such dark things. It’s your wedding night. There should be…” Tenderness. Love. Laughter. He had none of those things to give her. “Wine.”



Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- parental death, death from childbirth
- scenes and remembrances of war and injuries
- human sex trafficking elements – vulnerable women are preyed upon by a brothel owner
- kidnapping of heroine
- there is a guardian / ward relationship between the hero and heroine and also an age gap
Author content warnings? Didn’t catch any (I always encourage you to check author’s websites, since Amazon penalizes authors for certain content warning words in their novels)


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: No
How’s the consent? It’s good but I do want to note the guardian / ward aspect and the age gap (she’s 18, he’s in his 30s) – she tends to pursue and pressure him, he doesn’t chase her
Pregnancy/children in story? No
Chapter 16 – kiss
Chapter 19 – kiss
Chapter 22 – 🔥 oral for her
”Good. Now wider.” She heard his breathing grow heavier, sensuality lowering his voice to a husky growl. “Wider.”
“Fuck. Ana.”
Chapter 24 – 🔥 handy for him
He couldn’t refuse. He was too far gone now. He wanted her too much. In the darkness, her soft hand questing, sliding gently over him.
He lay back with a moan. “Please. Touch me.”
Chapter 25 – 🔥 missionary followed by doggy
It was dark, he’d blown out the candles, but she could see the hard lines of him, the jaw, the dark eyes. The enormous muscles of his arms bulging as he supported his weight above her, moving slowly, slowly. Deliciously.
Chapter 32 – her on top but it’s pretty short

Total chapters: 32 and an epilogue



Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs


Full break down on what my ratings above mean here:
Overall: How I felt about it everything considered!
Readability: How ‘readable’ was the book? Did I fly through it? Did I have to tell myself to pick it back up repeatedly? Were any passages confusing? (I will probably score like (1) is literally unreadable due to formatting/typing errors, etc (2) There were lots of errors that made it difficult to read OR It was extremely confusing and I had to reread passages to make sense of it OR I disliked it so much I had to bribe myself to keep reading (3) I didn’t really want to keep reading and would have preferred to abandon the read and start something else OR some minor continuity issues/confusion (4) I liked it fine, maybe a minor error or 2. I was happy to pick it up when I had time. (5) I never wanted to put this down. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it. I hid in the bathroom from my kids to read. I threw inappropriate food at my children for dinner so I could read instead.)
Feels: Totally subjective to each person but did the book give me any tingles? Any butterflies? Did it rip my heart out (in a good way?)
Emotional depth: How well do I feel I know the characters at the end? How much did I feel their emotions throughout the story?
Sexual tension: Again, subjective, but how strong was the wanting and longing to me between the characters? A book might have strong sexual tension without a single touch.
Romance: Was there romance? Did romantic things happen? This can be actions/words/thoughts of the characters and again is subjective.
Sensuality: This is how the intimate scenes are written. Kisses and sexual scenes – how sensual were they? Were they on the mechanical side? Was there emotional pull tied in? Were the details explicit or flowery? These are subjective but generally (1) too short to get a good judgment (2) not all what I'm looking for - very vague or flowery prose (3) either not explicit enough or not enough emotional pull (too mechanical/physically descriptive without the emotions) (4) what I love in a scene (5) absolute perfection - perfect balance of emotional longing and explicit descriptions
Sex Scene Length: How long the bedroom scenes are (generally (1) is 1-3 sentences (2) is a few paragraphs to a page-ish (3) is about average, a few pages (4) more well developed scenes, quite a few pages with descriptions (5) the majority of the book takes place in the bedroom. This is always hard to tell for me on audio!
Steam Scale: Generally, each flame is a scene. If scenes are super close together I sometimes combine them. If a scene is super short or so vague I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t count it. There’s some levels of grey but generally the number of flames is how many sex scenes there are (I max out at 5 so I’ll put a + after if there’s more than that)


Find me
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Book Clubs
The Ton and the Tartans (Historical Romance)
Upturned Petticoats and Undone Cravats (Historical Romance with Steam Requirements)
A Love Less Ordinary (Science Fiction, Paranormal, Monster, Fantasy)
Modern Manuscripts (Contemporary Romance)
Words for the Wicked (Contemporary Romance with Steam Requirements)
Vintage Romance (Old School Romance – published 2000 and prior)

[justinejustreads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to start this review by saying I didn't know I was getting a historical romance inspired by a musical. I've read most of Lenora Bell's older works, but haven't picked up the last couple because I didn't think the premises were for me. I am, unfortunately for this book, sick to death of retellings in the romance genre. I don't think I'm alone here either. Who is asking for retellings? Avon, do you think this is what HR readers want? Are you pushing your authors to write these?? I went into this pretty blind, having chosen it based on my confidence in the author and the blurb. I like age gaps and scarred war heroes. I realize that this trope can be problematic because of the power imbalance, but usually when an author writes this trope, they age up the heroine psychologically. She's been through it. She isn't naive and juvenile etc etc. Unfortunately that wasn't the case here. This heroine was eighteen going on fifteen. At no point did I think this person was mature, and thus the age gap made me squeamish. Then I realized...this is inspired by Annie. Except the rich dude falls in love with his ward instead of his secretary. (I've only seen the 1985 film and have not seen other Annie source material.)

What are you all thinking publishing a book in 2026 about a man who is thirty-five marrying his eighteen year old ward and then dropping Annie Easter eggs throughout the book? I have no idea who is going to receive this book well, especially in this political and social climate. Perhaps this trope needs to die at this point because the nature of this premise is predatory and not what new readers to the genre will want. The female main character, Ana, acts completely childish throughout the book, and her guardian, Warburton, is completely without personality except for his honour and duty and desire for her. The "good girl" moments in the spice were infantilizing, not sexy. This was grumpy-sunshine, sure, but where is the depth in Ana's character from surviving the tragedies she's been through? Why does she read so one dimensional? The plot felt contrived, and to be honest, I didn't get the feeling this was a book the author even wanted to write.

“I’ve always told myself that even in the darkest of times, the sun will return. Now I’m not so sure.”

If this is what we can look forward to from historical romance in 2026, I'm not feeling very optimistic and sunny.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for the arc.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new-to-me author has me hooked!!! Loved this marriage of convenience, grumpy/sunshine story.

The growth, the breaking down of walls. Absolutely beautiful

[Dhaaruni Sreenivas · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, this book is a ward/guardian romance, and I’m generally not inherently opposed to that or to age gap romances in general, but it just annoys me when the younger woman is 18-years-old, aka could be a high school senior, and not because I’m jealous that 18-year-old are hotter than I am at 30.

As Phoebe Maltz Bovy writes in Features and Bugs, until relatively recently, it was NORMAL for adult men to be sexually attracted to teenage girls, and to not have to bother hiding it.

“Because I lived through the before-times, because I remember like yesterday not just early 2017 but 1997 (when I was 14 myself), I can paint a portrait of the mindset. It was quite simply not pedophilia-coded in that context (SHOULD HAVE BEEN but wasn’t) to declare barely-pubescent girls the world’s most beautiful women. You could do this in the National Review and be celebrated for sharing difficult truths. Only a liberal hag of 21-plus would mind hearing that age 15-20 is, as John Derbyshire argued in 2005, the peak female form. Pedophilia, in the before-times, was molestation. It was men (almost always men) acting on desires. But there was a popular understanding that red-blooded men liked teenage girls (American Beauty, remember that movie?) and that this was something disconnected from the tiny subset of men with genuinely troubling urges.”

One reason that #MeToo had so much backlash is that a lot of people, not just men, were really angry that behavior that previously went undiscussed or was even celebrated and envied was now deemed “problematic,” including but not limited to grown men lusting after and pursuing girls who were young enough to be their daughters.

Look, I’m not a prude about age gaps, in fiction or in reality when all parties are of legal age, like Julie Anne Long’s What I Did For A Duke is one of my favorite romance novels of all time (in it, the hero is almost 20 years older than the heroine). And, I do understand that young women are generally considered more attractive than older ones, and I’m genuinely at peace that I’m not in the initial blush of youth anymore. But that said, I think it’s nasty and unbecoming to insist that 15–20 is the peak female form, and I find it weird that a romance novel that’s set to published by Avon (meaning not an independent publisher) in 2026 has a hero that’s 35 and a heroine that’s 18!

I haven’t read a romance novel published in the last 15 years where the heroine is under 20, and even prior to that, there aren’t nearly as many as you’d expect, even among the bodice ripper categories from the 80s and early 90s. Even though it was more acceptable for older men to lust after teenagers 30-40 years ago, everybody still knew that teenage girls were teenage girls, and romance audiences, who obviously skew female, remembered what it was like to be 16 and have some guy twice your age creeping on you, and it sucked. There's also zero discussion of the age gap in the book, and the fact the hero and heroine have a borderline dominant/submissive sexual relationship, from the very first time they, and she, have sex, combined with the age gap, is kind of disconcerting for me, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I was curious if it was a male thing to be attracted to much younger women and women don’t feel the same way about younger men, but I asked my husband and he said that even if 18-year-olds are physically attractive, being romantically involved with a teenager gives him the ick because of how immature they are, and he didn’t understand why any 35-year-old would marry a girl that age.

Plus, in the case of this book, Analise also acts like a teenager, not just a sunshiney and #irreverent adult woman, and it’s quite frankly annoying because Lenora Bell also is intent on noting how physically SMALL Ana is.

Anyways, other than that, the book could have been worse so I’ll give it 2 stars, but I just couldn’t get past the age gap and I’m not the only one given the rest of the reviews. Next time, Lenora Bell needs to write a protagonist that doesn’t act like she’s planning out her outfit for senior year homecoming, that’s all I’m saying.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

[Nikki (awallflowerreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book immediately throws you into the story and grips you in its clutches by the prologue! Dex, on the battlefield makes a promise to his dying comrade- find and protect his young daughter. Immediately after making the promise Dex is horribly scarred on his face and spends two months unconscious in recovery. Still healing, he awakes determined to find Annalise to keep his promise to her father. And when he reads her letters containing chapters to a story she is writing- he becomes invested in not just her future but the future of the story. It then takes him several years to find her…Ana is just trying to get her epic romantasy published, but men are small minded as are publishers and they’re not interested in her work. That is, until she sells them on her fake fiancé and her mentor’s post-humorous work. When a Duke shows up claiming to be her new guardian, she might not believ him at first, but he’s about to make all her dreams come true.

Talk about setting up an excellent and compelling plot that throws these two characters together for the best kind of bonkers. Lenora Bell always knows how to grab at my interest and hold it, especially when she does things like adapt well-loved media into steamy historicals. She’s done it with multiple series and when I heard this book was inspired by Annie I was so curious how it was going to play out. Spoiler alert - it so works!

Anna and Tessie’s relationship is so cute and fun right from the start! There’s a level of familiarity since they’re close in age and I just love that Anna’s first duty was to find an ally and friend in the house. Anna’s free-spirited determination was an absolute blast to witness. Especially against her guardian and love interest who’s much more stoic, though he can clock every one of her fanciful plans.

I can see where readers might not like the age gap between Dex and Anna, since it is a large one (14ish years) and Anna is so young in general. But I actually really liked it, because it felt realistic to the characters. Anna isn’t someone who’s “wise beyond her years” and is instead the person who “throws all caution to the wind” which ends up being just what this scarred Duke needs to heal. Her optimism, joy, and youth, bring out these sides in him in a way that I thought was really well done. I also just think it’s so much fun when the older man gets jealous of all the “pups” vying for his girl’s attention, and Dex is Giving that energy with his overprotective instincts.

Like most Lenora Bell books, this one delivered on lighthearted humor and fast-paced dialogue! The characters have insane chemistry and despite their age difference are a perfect match. Watching him take the brat, and her best the beast was a rewarding time all-around. Highly recommend this one for those that love a modern-feeling historical romance that delivers bonkers hillarious situations and dialogue.

4/5
Thank you to netgalley and publishers for an eARC of this book.

[Heather | Nerdy By Nature Blog · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think it's time for me to throw in the towel when it comes to Bell's books. I've read a few of them now, and I found them all to be just okay. Her premises are fun, but something about the execution falls flat, as was the case here. I appreciated the marriage of convenience element, but the age gap felt unnecessary. That trope is inconsistent for me, and Ana genuinely read as an inexperienced eighteen-year-old. On one hand, I liked her pluckiness, but on the other, it made her feel younger than her years. I also wanted more complexity in her relationship with Dex. He was so emotionally distant that his love confession felt unearned. It was a quick read, and I flew through it all in basically one sitting, but I don't think I'm interested enough to continue the series.

[SelinaW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very easy and interesting read and my first by Lenora Bell. The characters are both likable and easy to root for - a brooding scarred military hero Dexter, who tries to redeem the hurt he imagines he dealt on the battlefield and his innocent but curious and imaginative ward Ana, who dreams of publishing her own fantastical novel about castles and dragons and ends up ensnaring her very own dragon and taming him.

They come together out of duty (Dexter’s to Ana’s father) and marry out of duty as well, but there is passion burning underneath (and lots of it too, and not without some steamy kink!). The book is slow burn but once it starts burning, it’s hot.

The author stayed true to the character’s personalities. Ana is only 18 and she is frequently frustratingly dense and spends many a scene attempting to right a wrong that was not hers to get into. Dexter is slow to change and can be surly and disgruntled. I thought the storyline was well done with some action at the end. I found myself slightly wishing there were more pages there at the end to give main characters more time to develop their feelings with the reader. But what a fun read nonetheless!

Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC!

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a miss for me. Age gap romances, however well they're written, always give me the ick. In this case, Ana is 18, and Dex is 35. Worse yet- Ana is a convincing 18. She's naive, dense at times, and childish. Ultimately, I couldn't get over that.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Anita]

My thanks to the Publisher, and Author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

[Courtney Pityer · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you are someone who enjoys dazzling regency romances then this is the book for you. it has a very intriguing plot line and will surely leave you begging for more.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could have shaved off 100 pages but I love scarred heroes something fierce RTC

[Nat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the publisher's summary before I dug into this historical romance, but still, I misunderstood the timing of the events described there. I imagined the Duke of Warburton was promising to be the guardian of a young woman, not a 13- or 14- year-old. "Several years" pass before he finds her, at which point she's a rambunctious 18 to his world-weary 35. I'm not against an age gap novel, but I think I wasn't quite expecting this.

So not my favorite trope, but I was game...until it struck me that, like the first book in the Thunderbolt Club series, I was reading an adaptation of a musical. (That first book, You're the Duke That I Want, was obviously based on Grease, perhaps to an extreme degree.) I should have seen it sooner: a gruff, forbidding guardian named Warburton; a little red-haired orphan, Ana, constantly referred to as a hellion; her residence in a boarding house with Miss Flanagan; a final kidnapping plot that revolves around reuniting with a lost parent. Once I realized I was getting a historical romance version of Annie , the ick factor was high and never really went away. Daddy Warbucks and Little Orphan Annie are top on the list of pairings I never, ever needed to see in a romance novel.

And obviously, this story is not identical; I'd say this was loosely inspired by the elements of that story. But once you know, it's hard to unsee.

Other than that, it felt like an uneven pairing, with one of the romantic partners doing all the work to drive the romance forward. Not my favorite type of romance; even if the hero is a bit taciturn and closed-off, I need to see glimmers of softening so that when they finally get their HEA, it feels earned. Here, the change was too sudden, too late in the story. It didn't ring true.

I wanted to like this one. I've been missing good historicals and Lenora Bell has some fun ones in her back catalogue. This just didn't hit the spot. I'm going to have to research which musical she's basing her next book on before picking it up; won't make this mistake twice!

I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

[Jani Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

England - 1800s

Deckard Payne, Duke of Warburton, survived the war, but not all of his men did. He made a promise to one that he would be the guardian to the obviously dying man's daughter. Dex was determined to make her life easier after being orphaned. But upon his return to England, he discovers that the girl, Analise Crewe, had fled her private school and disappeared. It will take Dex several years before he finds her.

Ana has lived with author Lady Claridge, since fleeing her school. Ana has always wanted to write, and, in fact, had sent her father drafts of a fantasy she was writing. Not knowing if her father was dead or alive has been the worst part of her life since the war ended and he didn't return. So Ana is hoping her relationship with Lady Claridge will help her get published. But when the older woman passes away and Ana is threatened by her heir, she escapes to London, finding a seedy residence, and slowly selling her late mother's jewels to survive. Continuing with her writing, Ana still plans on selling her book to the London publisher Lady Claridge had.

Dex has finally managed to track down his errant ward, but she's not easy to tame! She is unaware of her beauty, and has a fiery streak when it comes to making her into a lady. However, an incident forces Dex to marry Ana, although the marriage is anything but normal. And there are secrets emerging that may lead to trouble.

CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THE DUKE is the second book in the Thunderbolt Club series. While it's a romance, per se, it is a poignant account of two people sadly affected by war. Honorable Dex wants to keep his promise to Ana's father, but he is shocked to discover that he can fall for the unpredictable and, sometimes, outrageous Ana. Ana is a fighter, and reluctantly tries to behave, but marriage and love for her was not in her dreams. How will it all turn out?

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

In so many ways this was a great book that hit all the high points of the historical genre. All our favorite tropes are here for our enjoyment. The grumpy hero has a solidly tragic past and sense of duty to play the "I want to, but I must not" game perfectly. The heroine is plucky and shiny even when life is not going very well. Add in some marriage of convenience and a cleverly inserted feminist subplot? This should have been a winner.

The hitch? The age-gap trope here was a little too much of a gap to feel OK. While this trope is common in historicals, because historically cis-het men have been free to sexuaize and partner with teenagers, here it was a bit much. Given that the seminal incident for all of this is Ana attempting to break the glass ceiling of getting a book published, making her "barely legal" feels gratuitous. Either the feminism is ahistorical and we all suspend disbelief or not. Given the plot progression and time between our stoic Duke being assigned as Ana's guardian and when they actually meet up, making her solidly in her 20s (and still "on the shelf" by historical standards) was a viable option that would have taken this book right to a five-star rating.

While this was a solidly enjoyable book for the genre, beware the ick that this age gap creates.

[Nia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenora really had me feeling all types of ways.
The Duke of Warburton had me pissed off seven ways until Sunday. But Analise is what shines to me in this book. First she was the Dukes ward, being the daughter of one of his men that he lost during war. Analise was idealistic, young, defiant and naive, but she was 18 so it made sense. Heads up there’s a large age gap here.

I liked the Analise was writing a book within the book and the books within was about fairies and dragons and the beginning of each chapter with an excerpt of her book was great. Though I did hate how much and often she referred to herself as a spitfire.

I think the Duke had various emotional issues, he was so emotionally constipated it had me questioning why Analise liked him. Honestly that’s the part what it wasn’t clear. I also hated how he drove the misunderstands. I also think his shift happened a bit suddenly. I think I would have loved to have seen it more little by little.

Also when they get married we take a sharp turn into a bit of a D/s relationship that I don’t think we set up for so it came a bit out of nowhere. But it was fun smut. Overall I had a good time with this book and had a lot of visceral reactions to it.

[Leeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prologue gives all the back story so this book can start where we want it to, with these two opposites having to live together. He is a big, gruff, dummy who will vanquish anyone who has ever hurt her. This is obviously the only way to care for a person when you are a scarred warrior of a Duke. Ana is smart and full of potential. She has a fiery personality and as she has grown and gained experiences, what she wants from life has evolved. She is not afraid to go after the life she wants.

The best part of historicals is when the hero is hero-ing and the heroine breaks him, and boy does she. When these two are together it is forbidden and they are full of desire. He knows best, but she knows what she wants and the push pull between these two is a constant theme.

Fantasy elements were cleverly woven throughout this historical romance through the FMCs writing. The story she wrote within the story we are reading draws really wonderful parallels. The side characters add mystery and drama to the story, and frankly, the main characters are interesting. The author fit so much in these pages, and there was a great balance between action and believability. The whole story was a lot of fun to read.

[Pat Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Grumpy/Sunshine…and this one has it in spades! I loved the story within the story as it parallels the real story. Dex is a warrior bent on living with guilt that may or may not be his to live. When he saves sweet, red-headed hellion, Ana, his whole world is thrust into chaos. Watching the two of them come to terms with the other and trying to live life together was an exercise in deep pain, grief, light and love ( at least on her part?) I enjoyed Ana’s sense of living life to the fullest and her joy was catching. The ins and outs of this story keep you enthralled. What I didn’t particularly care for was the f-bomb use(thus the 4 star rating- that word does NOT.need to be used and it ruins the story for me) and the Dom/submissive sex scenes. I understood the premise, with him being a control freak, just would have loved to have been pre-warned. . Seeing Dex realize what he is missing in life was so sigh worthy and I enjoyed their chemistry building. A good story with an exciting and excitable heroine that I absolutely adored.

I received this story for free and these are my own views.

[bluevioletbb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can’t Get Enough of the Duke by Lenora Bell was such a fun read! Now I’m actually tempted to go back and pick up book one because I’m so curious to see how Sandrine and Dane first met. I used to love binging historical romance, and this book reminded me why.

Dex and Analise made for an intriguing couple. You can really feel Dex’s lingering guilt from the war—especially regarding his team—and the way he struggles to adjust to a “normal” life afterward. Analise, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air. I loved that she’s an author dealing with the very real challenges of trying to get published, especially in that era.

Like many historical romances, the relationship has a bit of an insta-love feel, and the societal rules of the time definitely play their part. Still, it all came together in a satisfying way.

Overall, a solid 4-star read for me!

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 for me. I love the beauty and the beast trope so I was all in for this. Unfortunately, the age gap here felt too large to get over the ick factor. Ana is barely 18 and Warburton is 35. I do not mind an age gap romance when well executed, but Ana felt very, very much like a teenager to me (impulsive, flighty, imaginative). Every new experience was fodder for her book “oh look, a rake! I need a rake for my book! Maybe I’ll kiss him in the gardens!” “Oh look at this handsome man, he will be my new hero!” Meanwhile, Warburton felt very much like a man approaching middle age. Add in the guardian/ward angle plus the surprise “hey virgin bride, we’ve barely kissed but imma give you some spankings on our wedding night and you’re gonna like it” and it just felt like none of these pieces fit.

[Gylene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Grumpy Duke/Sunshiny Miss storylines and I also don’t mind when there is an age difference. But this book was not for me. I did like both Dex and Analise’s characters and liked some of the interactions that they had together which I thought were entertaining. I don’t really liked how the story started off with a very detailed battle scene and I also didn’t feel the need to have a very detailed fight scene at the end when Dex comes to rescue Analise. I had moved passed the first battle scene to give the book a chance but to have the second one at the end was enough for me. The book was well written with engaging characters that I didn’t feel we needed to have the shock factor thrown in with the detailed fighting scenes. I am on the fence if I want to read another book by this author and will definitely be more cautious in the future.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beauty and Beast and Grumpy/Sunshine are a couple of my favorite tropes so I was excited to read Can' t Get Enough of the Duke. It was well written and entertaining but I just couldn’t get past the age difference (she’s 18, he’s 35) and the fact that she began the book as his ward. I know that age differences were common during this time but the power imbalance still bothered me.

Also I enjoy reading about a taciturn by day - loquacious Dom by night but I was troubled by this dynamic appearing during her wedding night/first time. She hadn’t even had more than one kiss before and then the Dom comes out. Maybe a low key first time then bring on the Dom night two?

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[SuperMommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars. Lenora Bell always delivers with a creative story. Ana becomes a ward of Dex when Dex makes a deathbed promise to her father to see her cared for. Dex takes his word seriously, as the toll of all of the lost lives during the war affected him deeply. He was not ready for his attraction to Ana and his ungentlemanly thoughts. Ana is a breath of fresh air that he realizes that he desperately needs.

Story progressed well. However - and this is just personal preference - as there is a large age gap between them (18 yrs vs 35), that seemed a bit weird to me. Nothing against age gaps, but thinking of a teen and a 35 year old is a bit uncomfortable.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a rollercoaster for me on my opinion. One if the main points was that there was an age gap, but it was also never really addressed or brought up… like you had an oath to protect and you sure took that one step further. I don’t have much experience with reading age gap romances but my issue here was that Analise acted so immature and childish. Not only was she annoying, she just seemed so naive to the point of agitation.

I actually quite liked Deckard, and he wasn’t your typically grumpy MC. He actually a lot of depth and characters about him that were explored.

I appreciated that this had a good storyline and plot, even if I didn’t love all the parts of it.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for this ARC!

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ana and Dex are total opposites, but opposites attract right? One of Dex's soldiers makes him promise he will take care of his daughter with his dying breath on the battle field, pretty sure marrying her was not what he meant.
I enjoyed this book for the most part, the really only issue I had was the age gap. I know that it's normal or not unheard of in the time to have such a large gap but I feel like there was a lot of emphasis put on it in this story that just rubbed me the wrong way. Once I put that out of my mind though the story was good and I enjoyed how headstrong, independent and optimistic Ana was despite having all the odds stacked against her.

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenora Bell’s Can’t Get Enough of the Duke is a compelling story about a war ravaged Duke and a feisty aspiring author who also happens to be his ward. There is romance (and definitely some spice), adventure and drama. Bell writes with a flourish that at times seems overdone akin to an early black and white melodrama film. But the core story is good.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I rate this 3.5 stars.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deckard is plagued with guilt and depression over his wartime experiences. He promises a dying buddy he would make the older man's daughter his ward. Finding Analise in poverty conditions, he moves her into his home. He plans to marry her off and see her settled. What he didn't plan for was his attraction to her and her happy spirit. Can he remain aloof? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Avon for my honest review.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this new installment of the series. Dex and Ana came together as a battlefield vow that was given. Their story was a fun read and there were so many emotions that they both traversed. Seeing old characters was also a nice touch. There is an age gap that I did struggle with although I had to remember the timeframe of the story. I also tried to figure out how she was a companion to an established lady being 15 years old.

[Susy V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story of the Duke of Watburton . I liked the banter between the two MC , from the beginning of when they meet ! Also the story of the dragon and blue star that was within the story was super entertaining….Ana wanted to be an author and wanted to have this story published . The premise heessiin of their love story was evenly paced and I really enjoyed their HEA and marriage of convenience turned live story …good story

[Tami Fidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun romp. Another fabulous story, with a grumpy hero, and a sunshiney heroine. This story was engaging, and I was gripped from the beginning. I could not wait to see what crazy adventure Ana went on next. In addition, the banter between Dex and Ana was fantastic. This was a great read, with lots of heart, and was full of adventure. I highly recommend this book. Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled a bit with this one. I think I liked the characters separately, but together it was very uncomfortable to me. She's so young, very determined but also very very young. And he is this battle hardened, angry man who thinks he knows best. It felt very uneven, the dynamics between the two of them. I don't think I will be continuing this series.