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Anything But a Duke
(The Duke's Den #2)
by
Self-made man Aidan Iverson has seen more closed doors in his thirty years than he’s ever cared to count. As a member of the elite Duke’s Den, he has all the money he could possibly need, but the one thing he can’t purchase is true power. If roguish Aidan can’t buy his way into society’s hallowed halls, he’ll resort to a more extreme measure: marriage.
Brought up to be a pr ...more
Brought up to be a pr ...more
ebook, 368 pages
Published
April 30th 2019
by Avon
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Start your review of Anything But a Duke (The Duke's Den, #2)

2.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Second in the Duke's Den series that follows three friends who invest together, Anything But a Duke follows the one without a title, Aidan Iverson. He's been able to rise from a childhood where the mother he can't remember left him and his sister and amassed great wealth. What he can't seem to overcome is the snobbery of the ton and certain doors remain ...more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Second in the Duke's Den series that follows three friends who invest together, Anything But a Duke follows the one without a title, Aidan Iverson. He's been able to rise from a childhood where the mother he can't remember left him and his sister and amassed great wealth. What he can't seem to overcome is the snobbery of the ton and certain doors remain ...more

I had read the first book in this series and was eager to get to this one.
I loved Diana and Aiden. They’re both so smart and looking to belong in their own way. I loved that she was an inventor and that he built himself a living. They had excellent conversation and the though their relationship evolved in a short amount of time, it felt organic.
Plot wise, I just wanted more of them together. The thread about Aiden’s family fueled most of this story and I wasn’t really into that; however, I loved ...more
I loved Diana and Aiden. They’re both so smart and looking to belong in their own way. I loved that she was an inventor and that he built himself a living. They had excellent conversation and the though their relationship evolved in a short amount of time, it felt organic.
Plot wise, I just wanted more of them together. The thread about Aiden’s family fueled most of this story and I wasn’t really into that; however, I loved ...more

Series: Duke’s Den #2
Publication Date: 4/30/19
Number of Pages: 368
You will fall instantly in love with Aidan who is a one-third partner in the Duke’s Den. He doesn’t know all of his past, but what he does know about it is poverty, the workhouse, hunger, cold, loneliness, and sorrow. Now, he is as rich as Croesus, he is very successful in business and investing, but he doesn’t have the acceptance he desires in society. He is searching for information on his mother who dropped him and his sister o ...more
Publication Date: 4/30/19
Number of Pages: 368
You will fall instantly in love with Aidan who is a one-third partner in the Duke’s Den. He doesn’t know all of his past, but what he does know about it is poverty, the workhouse, hunger, cold, loneliness, and sorrow. Now, he is as rich as Croesus, he is very successful in business and investing, but he doesn’t have the acceptance he desires in society. He is searching for information on his mother who dropped him and his sister o ...more

This was my first Christy Carlyle novel and I have to be honest, I was completely pulled in by the stunning cover and fun synopsis. Diana, our heroine, is an impoverished inventor looking to save her family by acquiring an investor for one of her creations. Aidan is a self-made man and investor (there was a Shark Tank-like scene in this book and I was here for it) attempting to get into the upper echelon of British society by marrying a debutante with connections. Aidan and Diana decide to help
...more

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
Anything But A Duke is the second book in the "Duke's Den" trilogy and somehow I missed this book when it was released over a year ago especially when I adored the first book. I have to say that Christy Carlyle is an author I am warming up to. I won't say that this was a page turner in any means (personally I have had a struggle with historical's lately, not sure why) but I did find this one enjoyable in many ways. So what is th ...more

Anything But A Duke is the second book in the "Duke's Den" trilogy and somehow I missed this book when it was released over a year ago especially when I adored the first book. I have to say that Christy Carlyle is an author I am warming up to. I won't say that this was a page turner in any means (personally I have had a struggle with historical's lately, not sure why) but I did find this one enjoyable in many ways. So what is th ...more


Title: Anything But a Duke
Series: Duke's Den #2
Author: Christy Carlyle
Release date: April 30, 2019
Cliffhanger: No
Genre: historical romance
After reading and loving A Duke Changes Everything, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book in the series. The Duke's Den series revolves around three friends who own a gambling club that the nobility and the lower class both frequent. Aidan is one third owner, and it was with his sharp instincts in investments as well as skill in profiting at gam ...more

Diana Ashby is an inventor, and the daughter of an inventor. ". . . just because she couldn't study at university like her brother and never be asked to speak at the Royal Society as her father had, that didn't mean her inventions weren't worth while."
Aiden Iverson is a self-made man, who is one-third owner of the Lyon's Gentlemen's Club, a gambling club. "Every penny and pound he possessed, he'd earned. On his own. He'd never taken a loan. He didn't incur debts. He had business partners, but he ...more
Aiden Iverson is a self-made man, who is one-third owner of the Lyon's Gentlemen's Club, a gambling club. "Every penny and pound he possessed, he'd earned. On his own. He'd never taken a loan. He didn't incur debts. He had business partners, but he ...more

Jun 30, 2019
Blodeuedd Finland
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobook,
historical-romance
Iverson is a selfmade man, known for taking chances and making money. But he is a commoner and some doors are closed. So he needs a noble lady to wed.
I did like him, ok so yes he is marrying for status, but the woman he would marry would probably only marry him for money. A match made in the ton. And all he does it for new inventions and the greater good.
There is also a tiny subplot where he tries to find out what happened to his mother and who she was.
Then there is Diana, an inventor, who visit ...more
I did like him, ok so yes he is marrying for status, but the woman he would marry would probably only marry him for money. A match made in the ton. And all he does it for new inventions and the greater good.
There is also a tiny subplot where he tries to find out what happened to his mother and who she was.
Then there is Diana, an inventor, who visit ...more

Well this series seems to be following a theme of strong women with men who might need a bit of calibration of their moral compass, once again we have Diana who is an inventor and brilliant in a world where women of intelligence are not really that respected.
Enter our roguish hero Aidan Iverson is partners in a gambling establishment that those of us who read the first book in the series A Duke Changes Everything will recognize. It is a good setting for men who walk a fine line between legal and ...more
Enter our roguish hero Aidan Iverson is partners in a gambling establishment that those of us who read the first book in the series A Duke Changes Everything will recognize. It is a good setting for men who walk a fine line between legal and ...more

>>>>>My Synopsis (Review follows):<<<<<
"Spinster. Alone. Aberration" Those were all words polite society had for Diana Ashby. Diana "felt an ever-present hunger. An ambition that she knew most thought improper for a lady. Yet it was a compulsion she couldn't deny. Her ideas were good and she longed to prove herself to those who would scoff at a woman inventor."
While Diana's family allowed her tinkering, they weren't exactly supportive of her pastime. "A waste of time. It's what her mother called ...more
"Spinster. Alone. Aberration" Those were all words polite society had for Diana Ashby. Diana "felt an ever-present hunger. An ambition that she knew most thought improper for a lady. Yet it was a compulsion she couldn't deny. Her ideas were good and she longed to prove herself to those who would scoff at a woman inventor."
While Diana's family allowed her tinkering, they weren't exactly supportive of her pastime. "A waste of time. It's what her mother called ...more

Aidan Iverson had met Miss Diana Ashby a year ago when she had saved his hide. He hadn't known then who she was, but it took only a moment to recognise the lady who is asking for investors for her invention. Diana is passionate about her work, she wants to succeed, and her family desperately needs the money. Her mother doesn't quite approve, and she agreed to Diana's endeavour on one condition: if Diana fails to secure backers, she will need to marry a wealthy man. Aidan is a businessman, and co
...more

4.5 stars rounded up.
Diana Ashby is an inventor who has earned the distinction of being the first woman ever invited to present her invention to the "Duke's Den" for investment consideration. She is nervous and her model is damaged when she collides with Aidan Iverson - the very man she saved in an alleyway last year and has been unable to forget. She composes herself and gives her presentation for her invention - a cleaning device, but none of the men will commit to funding her project. She ret ...more
Diana Ashby is an inventor who has earned the distinction of being the first woman ever invited to present her invention to the "Duke's Den" for investment consideration. She is nervous and her model is damaged when she collides with Aidan Iverson - the very man she saved in an alleyway last year and has been unable to forget. She composes herself and gives her presentation for her invention - a cleaning device, but none of the men will commit to funding her project. She ret ...more

This was my first read by Mrs Christy Carlyle, I confess I passed on it because there were too many releases on its release day but then I read the blurb, and I’m a sucker for the scholar/geek trope.
Plus, for once it was about a commoner and not a duke!
I quite liked this read, it was different from the last historical romances I had read so far, and not set on the regency period even if to me I didn’t see real changes but I’m no history professor.
I loved Aiden Iverson, he raised himself from the ...more
Plus, for once it was about a commoner and not a duke!
I quite liked this read, it was different from the last historical romances I had read so far, and not set on the regency period even if to me I didn’t see real changes but I’m no history professor.
I loved Aiden Iverson, he raised himself from the ...more

I read this in one day. I enjoyed both books 1 and 2 and definitely plan to finish reading the trilogy once the final book is released.

Although self-made man Aidan Iverson has attained wealth and gained power, especially through his partial ownership in Lyon's Gentleman's Club, his uncertain birth and clear lack of title leave him barred from certain circles. Regardless of his business acumen, his inferior birth means that no matter what he could potentially contribute to society, he remains on the outskirts of polite society. Aidan pulled himself up from the workhouse where his mother left him and he won't accept loans or incu
...more

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. Thank you.
Review originally posted at Romancing Romances
3.75*
I love books with self-made heroes/heroines. And this book has both!
It was interesting to see how Diana worked hard to not lose focus, and to present her work in the best way.
I really like the kind of story that is about “deals” to find a husband/wife for the opposite character. And this is that kind of book.
It’s always amusing to see them ...more
Review originally posted at Romancing Romances
3.75*
I love books with self-made heroes/heroines. And this book has both!
It was interesting to see how Diana worked hard to not lose focus, and to present her work in the best way.
I really like the kind of story that is about “deals” to find a husband/wife for the opposite character. And this is that kind of book.
It’s always amusing to see them ...more

Originally published at Reading Reality
I picked up Anything But a Duke because I absolutely adored the first book in the Duke’s Den series, A Duke Changes Everything. So naturally I wanted to see what happened next to the Duke’s Den gambling den and investors’ club.
While the two things that go on in the Duke’s Den may seem like opposites, they also aren’t. Because the three owners of the Duke’s Den, Nicholas Lyon (hero of A Duke Changes Everything), Aiden Iverson (the hero of our current tale) a ...more
I picked up Anything But a Duke because I absolutely adored the first book in the Duke’s Den series, A Duke Changes Everything. So naturally I wanted to see what happened next to the Duke’s Den gambling den and investors’ club.
While the two things that go on in the Duke’s Den may seem like opposites, they also aren’t. Because the three owners of the Duke’s Den, Nicholas Lyon (hero of A Duke Changes Everything), Aiden Iverson (the hero of our current tale) a ...more

After having experienced some initial disconnect with the characters, I found I enjoyed this Historical romance. Set in the 1840's, London is experiencing transformation, high society is a bit in flux, and our characters Aidan Iverson and Diana Ashby are a part of it.
Aidan's and Diana have a sort of second chance to get to know each other after a brief encounter a year earlier. When they meet again, the situation is a unique one, it's a sort of modern shark tank situation with Aidan as a potent ...more
Aidan's and Diana have a sort of second chance to get to know each other after a brief encounter a year earlier. When they meet again, the situation is a unique one, it's a sort of modern shark tank situation with Aidan as a potent ...more

Lighthearted Victorian romance that was an enjoyable read, with a inventor heroine.
Diana is a very unusual woman, from the minor gentry, she doesn’t want to marry, she wants to restore her family’s fortunes by making money through her inventions.
Inspired by her late father’s talents, she wants to succeed where he had failed, He ran through the family ones pursuing useless ideas.
She literally bumps into Aiden, and helps to rescue him from a couple of Footpads.
Aiden is an orphaned boy who escaped ...more
Diana is a very unusual woman, from the minor gentry, she doesn’t want to marry, she wants to restore her family’s fortunes by making money through her inventions.
Inspired by her late father’s talents, she wants to succeed where he had failed, He ran through the family ones pursuing useless ideas.
She literally bumps into Aiden, and helps to rescue him from a couple of Footpads.
Aiden is an orphaned boy who escaped ...more

Anything But a Duke by Christy Carlyle is Book Two in The Duke's Den Series. This is the story of Diana Ashby and Aidan Iverson. I have read the previous book (and Loved it) but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Aidan had a harsh start to the world when he and his sister were just left at a work house. But he has gotten them out of that and now he is very rich man and is a part of the Duke's Den, but the one thing he can't break into is aristocratic Society. Diana kn ...more
Aidan had a harsh start to the world when he and his sister were just left at a work house. But he has gotten them out of that and now he is very rich man and is a part of the Duke's Den, but the one thing he can't break into is aristocratic Society. Diana kn ...more

Overall, I found this to be a good read and I loved Diana but I found a few things lacking.
As I said, I loved Diana. I love heroines that are more than just ladies waiting to get married. In fact, Diana was the opposite. She never wanted to get married. Ever. And I loved that she did more with her life than go to balls.
That being said, I felt like Aidan had very little personality. There was nothing really of interest about him for me except the mystery of where he came from. And that fell far ...more
As I said, I loved Diana. I love heroines that are more than just ladies waiting to get married. In fact, Diana was the opposite. She never wanted to get married. Ever. And I loved that she did more with her life than go to balls.
That being said, I felt like Aidan had very little personality. There was nothing really of interest about him for me except the mystery of where he came from. And that fell far ...more

4 lovely Stars.
I liked this book a lot, the build up romance was great
I liked this book a lot, the build up romance was great

London - 1845
Diana Ashby is off to attend a scientific lecture presented by a past tutor she had. Her interest lies in being an inventor and she spends most of the day in her workshop. Her father had been the second son of a baronet which had afforded her a good education. However, the man had not managed the family funds well and now they are in need of money.
Diana’s twin brother, Dominick, tends to spend most of his time gambling and drinking himself into a stupor. While her mother has tried t ...more
Diana Ashby is off to attend a scientific lecture presented by a past tutor she had. Her interest lies in being an inventor and she spends most of the day in her workshop. Her father had been the second son of a baronet which had afforded her a good education. However, the man had not managed the family funds well and now they are in need of money.
Diana’s twin brother, Dominick, tends to spend most of his time gambling and drinking himself into a stupor. While her mother has tried t ...more

The second book in this series focuses on Aiden, friend to both Nick from A Duke Changes Everything and Rhys, who’s story is yet to be told. These three are rich and determined, if not always ‘palatable’ to the tastemakers in London society. As we learned from Nick’s story, it is more a matter of finding a woman who both intrigues and accepts them, with the ability to rein in their most ‘common’ impulses. And that, in itself makes for an interesting clash of wills between the two. But Aiden, a s
...more

4.25 Stars
Aidan Iverson doesn’t know who his family is but he's a self made man, risen from the streets after running from the workhouse. He’s a part owner of the elite Duke’s Den, he has all the money he could possibly need. If roguish Aidan can’t buy his way into society’s hallowed halls, he’ll resort to a more extreme measure: marriage. Brought up to be a proper lady, the only thing Diana Ashby desires is to be left alone to the creation of her own devices.
Aidan & Diana first meet when he’s b ...more
Aidan Iverson doesn’t know who his family is but he's a self made man, risen from the streets after running from the workhouse. He’s a part owner of the elite Duke’s Den, he has all the money he could possibly need. If roguish Aidan can’t buy his way into society’s hallowed halls, he’ll resort to a more extreme measure: marriage. Brought up to be a proper lady, the only thing Diana Ashby desires is to be left alone to the creation of her own devices.
Aidan & Diana first meet when he’s b ...more

Anything but a Duke
Duke’s Den book 2
by Christy Carlyle
Aidan Iverson has a mission in life, to marry into the peerage. He’s amassed a vast fortune but has been shunned more than he’d like to admit, his plan to marry a LADY will finally open doors for him.
Diana Ashby is a lady fallen on hard times, her passion for inventing things keeps her from the marriage mart. Promising her mother that this latest creation is her last. But things don’t always turn as we plan. Taking her latest creation to The ...more
Duke’s Den book 2
by Christy Carlyle
Aidan Iverson has a mission in life, to marry into the peerage. He’s amassed a vast fortune but has been shunned more than he’d like to admit, his plan to marry a LADY will finally open doors for him.
Diana Ashby is a lady fallen on hard times, her passion for inventing things keeps her from the marriage mart. Promising her mother that this latest creation is her last. But things don’t always turn as we plan. Taking her latest creation to The ...more

I received an ARC of this book to read through Edelweiss+ in exchange for a fair review. Anything But a Duke by Christy Carlyle is the second book in her Duke’s Den series. This one could be read as a stand-alone, but I did enjoy reading the first one and recommend it.
Aiden Iverson is a self made man, abandoned in a workhouse as a child he has become a successful business man who provides funding to inventors. He and Diana first meet when he is attacked by a couple of thugs and she comes runnin ...more
Aiden Iverson is a self made man, abandoned in a workhouse as a child he has become a successful business man who provides funding to inventors. He and Diana first meet when he is attacked by a couple of thugs and she comes runnin ...more

Entertaining, short, but rather forgettable. I finished this one a week ago and already barely remember it.
Aidan runs the Duke's Den aka Dragon's Den of inventions with his two besties. Diana's an inventor (of the vacuum) and she wants them to sponsor her invention. They don't, but she ends up making a deal with Aidan: she'll introduce him to society women (so he can marry someone who can get him into an elite society invention expo thing) and he'll put money toward her invention. If she can't f ...more
Aidan runs the Duke's Den aka Dragon's Den of inventions with his two besties. Diana's an inventor (of the vacuum) and she wants them to sponsor her invention. They don't, but she ends up making a deal with Aidan: she'll introduce him to society women (so he can marry someone who can get him into an elite society invention expo thing) and he'll put money toward her invention. If she can't f ...more

Apr 20, 2019
nikkia neil
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
edelweiss,
hist-romance
Christy Carlyle knows how to keep her readers in suspense til you want to pull your hair out. This is a romance with all the right notes to make you tingle. Can't wait for more of this series.
...more
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Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there's nothing better than
...more
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The Duke's Den
(3 books)
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