"Waking Up With the Duke" is the final book in Lorraine Heath's "London's Greatest Lovers" trilogy. I was so glad that Ainsley got his own book, as he is the most intriguing brother out of the three.I felt that the theme of "Greatest Lover" did not really apply to our hero before this book. Since he is later described as very discreet, there was no hinting that he also shared similar past-times to his two older brothers. I have been looking forward to learning more about Ainsley due to his fascinating characterization in the first two books - how the youngest of three brothers can act the most mature and wield the most power. It definitely was an interesting dynamic in their family! I was glad that the author side-stepped the numerous references to his familiarity with the more unsavory parts of society, which turned out to be a nice nod to her "The Scoundrels of St. James" series. In the end, Ainsley is the perfect considerate romantic hero who, although suffers from angst relating to Walfort's misfortune, does not take it out on the heroine!As for Jayne, I am still sorting out my feelings for her character. She served to complement Ainsley well enough as a couple, but there was nothing that made her stand out from all the other women of this genre. She plays the dutiful wife to a disabled husband and struggles with the breaking of her marital vows despite his urgings. The relationship between her and Walfort was quite cumbersome, and I knew from the beginning that if the "true" couple were to have their own happily ever after, Walfort would have to be removed from the picture. His demise was highly predictable, and therefore took away from the suspense that the author tried so hard to drum up. His "jewels" seemed to be the author's way of gently allowing the reader to forgive the heroine for falling in love with another man.This book was a great improvement over the first two due to the characters that I could come to like. The writing is a reminder of how well Lorraine Heath can do a historical romance, which was lacking in the rest of the trilogy. All the loose ends are neatly resolved by the epilogue and we finally get to see Leo and Tessa's happily ever after as well. If You Can Accept the Premise, It Is Great! There are some books where the very concept may keep people from enjoying the book. The second book in this series was one of those books for me. I never could get into the story because I did not like the premise and thus the characters were never ones that I could learn to care about or be interested in.This book as an incredible, unbelievable premise. Lady Jayne's husband asks the Duke of Ainsley to impregnant his wife since he himself cannot. When I read the description, I was concerned that I would never be able to get past that. To me the premise was so unbelievable and frankly a little disgusting as the premise for a romance novel that i passed over reading it many times.I'm so glad that I finally gave in. I decided to take the book on its terms and accept the premise and found that I loved the story that it told. The romance between Ainsley and Jayne is emotional and compelling. He romances her because she genuinely cares about her and always has. The book is very emotional and the characters shine. Ainsley is one of my favorite heroes. He is a very private, caring man -- something I really didn't get from the other two books of this series. This is by far my favorite book in the series!That being said, that plot remains unbelieveable. I, however, care more about characters than plot and thus I didn't mind it.I recommend this book if you are aware of the plot and are willing to overlook the lack of realism involved. I give the book 4 stars...however, it might move up when I read it again someday since I never give a book 5 stars on a first read.January 2014 Update: After some consideration, I'm going to give this one a rating closer to 5 (4.5) and round up to the 5 stars.
What do You think about Waking Up With The Duke (2011)?
I. ABSOLUTELY. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. 10 stars. Ainsley and Jayne's story. LOVED IT!!!!!!!!
—shujikun
I enjoyed the story even the premise was out there.
—kay2
