OR

Print List Price:	$13.99
Kindle Price:	$0.99 Save $13.00 (93%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Melanie Rose Clarke

+ Follow

More books from this author

Escaping the Duke (The Secret Crusaders Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Melanie Rose Clarke (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 1,997 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Secret Crusaders

See all formats and editions

Ignore powerful dukes who sabotage your plans.

Welcome to book 1 in the debut series The Secret Crusaders from the talented Melanie Rose Clarke!

Priscilla Livingston has dedicated her life to social causes, fighting to right the cruel injustices the world ignores. Under the guise of a lord, she sends messages to Edmund Hawkins, the powerful Duke of Bradenton. He doesn’t know his informant is a lady, even as he investigates to uncover her identity. When her father demands she find a husband, she cannot choose Edmund, who would demand total surrender.

But when he catches her spying, she may not have a choice.

Edmund is intrigued by the beautiful lady caught snooping through a dangerous lord’s home. Lady Priscilla may act the perfect duke’s daughter, but fiery mystery burns beneath the flawless façade. He sees the passion she cannot hide, the spirited woman who would make the perfect duchess. He will discover her every secret.

Then he will make her his.

Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

The Secret Crusaders
Escaping the Duke
Captured by the Earl
The Untamed Duke

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melanie Rose Clarke has wanted to be a writer since she was a little girl. Sixteen years ago, she married her own hero, and now she creates compelling stories with strong heroines, powerful males and, of course, happily every afters. She writes historical (regency) romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and women's fiction. Melanie is a three-time Golden Heart(R) finalist. Her manuscripts have earned numerous awards in writing competitions, including several first place showings. With over two decades of professional writing experience, Melanie has written thousands of pieces for businesses and individual clients. She has worked in advertising and marketing, and her freelance articles on the web have garnered hundreds of thousands of views. She writes amidst her five beautiful children, her dream come true. Besides writing, she loves to read, exercise and spend time outdoors. She is a member of Mensa.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B094WYQ55K
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.; 2nd edition (June 17, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 17, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3365 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B09733Z8TV

Best Sellers Rank: #159,631 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,449 in Victorian Historical Romance (Kindle Store)
- #3,922 in Regency Historical Romance
- #4,491 in Regency Romances

Customer Reviews:
4.5 1,997 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Melanie Rose Clarke

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Melanie Rose Clarke has wanted to be a writer since she was a little girl. Nineteen years ago, she married her own hero, and now she creates compelling stories with strong heroines, powerful males and, of course, happily ever afters. She writes historical (Regency) romance, contemporary romance under the name Melanie Knight, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and women’s fiction

Melanie is a three-time Golden Heart® finalist. Her manuscripts have earned numerous awards in writing competitions, including several first place showings. With over two decades of professional writing experience, Melanie has written thousands of pieces for businesses and individual clients. She has worked in advertising and marketing, and her freelance articles on the web have garnered hundreds of thousands of views.

She writes amidst her five beautiful children, her dream come true. Besides writing, she loves to read, exercise and spend time outdoors. She is a member of Mensa.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

1,997 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Em

You can run, but I will find you

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024

Verified Purchase

An extraordinary story about fighting society, secrets and love. The banter between Priscilla and Edmund is a joy to read, and give rise to a lot of laughter.

I love Priscillas determination and spirit. A strong woman trying to make a difference while being hunted by the established and very attractive and tenacious Duke.
He is a very controlling but kind man who is this season looking for a wife. And he has set his eyes on the young Lady who is hiding behind the bushen. And who he knows there are more to than meets the eye, Priscilla is intruiging to say the least.

The chemistry between these two are joyful, intriguing and very funny! The only thing i did not like was closer to the end when Priscilla is talking to her brothers. There is a sentence written regarding Edmund that was written as if he was standing there, but then in the next section he had already left and Priscilla didnt even know he was there. And also it would have been fun in the end, if the vase actually broke.

Otherwise, I loved this book and story and therefore give it 5 out of 5 stars. I can recommend this book to anyone who likes a good banter, comedy and romance between the main characters.

Helpful

LMS

"To thine own self be true"

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

Goals, desires, conflicts. Distractions, danger, fear. Deception, discovery, doubts. Commitments, convictions, conventions. Strengths, complications, appearances. Doubts, decisions, surprises. Dreams, truths, misconceptions. Corrections, misinterpretations, communications.
A sweet, serious, steamy story.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

J.Clark

Fun, exciting read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023

Verified Purchase

First time reading this author. I am very excited in finding her work.
She has a sense of humor that rivals many. Her characters are enchanting , frustrating and amazing! I love the sensitivity of the main characters and their understanding their positions in which they can help others and then go about achieving it. And that they do without taking the credit! A great story a great author!
I will recommend this book to my friends and family! Read and enjoy!
I w

Helpful

NavyWave62

4.5 STARS - STRONG CHARACTER'S

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Great author and I can't wait to read the rest of the series when released.

My only complaint is their strong wills lasted too long - some of it became repetitive. The H was a powerful Duke who helped the poor. He didn't want credit for it, but knowing he made a difference was enough. But, being a powerful Duke, he was use to getting his own way. So he obviously clashed with the h.

The h also was a champion of the poor but because she was a women, she had to at times put herself in danger. She was secretly helping the H get votes for social causes. She knew who he was, but he didn't know about her, because she sent him letter's as coming from a man.

The h wanted to marry a man who had no interest in her as a wife so she could continue her causes secretly. Of course the Duke, didn't fit her requirements of a husband. So to say sparks ignited whenever they discussed anything is an understatement.

The banter between the H/h kept the story from being a cookie cutter. At times, I laughed out loud.

There is lovemaking, outside of marriage, heat level 2.5 out of 5. I felt a connection to this couple, so it was filled with passion.

Romance builds slowly, no cheating, no cliffhanger, interesting and strong secondary character's that I hope will get their own stories, HEA and a tad of spice. (ljb)

31 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ilona Nurmela

I think I found yet another fave Regency author, loved this book!

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is more in the vein of Charlie Lane than Bree Wolf - Regency romance with naughty nuggets and a headstrong heroine. Priscilla has one season to choose a husband - that’s how long her father has allowed her to choose. She has a list of suitable bachelors with peculiar hobbies - one talks to rocks - that would be preferable as they wouldn’t get in the way of her secret passion. If only the Duke of Bradeton wouldn’t have deemed her worthy of his pursuits. The very same lord whom she couldn’t possibly marry. A fun game of cat and mouse ensues with some close calls for the lady’s secret identity being discovered. I loved Edmund’s and Priscilla’s exchanges and their bickering. Her attempts to drive him away were hilarious - as it always is when smart women pretend to be daft. Both of them certainly met their match. I also liked how the author brought the woman’s lib movement into the fray and even made the MMC consider - at FMC’s insistence - how things are different for women in the society, what they can or cannot do. Loved the ending and can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Recommended for lovers of Regency with naughty scenes, headstrong heroines and honourable gentlemen ten times better than Mr Darcy.

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

I like this book and the UK version was written well. I would have given it more stars, if it wasn't for the heroine. For the entire book she harped on one thing all the way to the 98% before gaining a brain. The Hero was an amazing guy, but all she kept saying was he's overbearing, a tyrant, and too protective. He did amazing things for her and was an amazing person trying to help people just like her, and even though he kept saying he want a true partner in life; she kept saying he would stop her. Spoiler....of course any man would want the woman he loves to stop doing stupid and reckless actions that put her in serious danger; but to her that was too much. I came to the point for me I was skimming all her POVs because it was all the same every time. This just my opinion about the heroine and probably many disagree with me. I liked the plot and its a good read. It is also a "clean" book with no descriptive sex scenes. Best advice I give is give it a try and form your opinions.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

R. K. C.

Witty and so good!

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

Verified Purchase

I loved this book! Pricilla and Edmund have a love story that is witty and touching. Edmund is a powerful Duke who always gets what he wants and he wants her. Pricilla is a secret social activist investigating unscrupulous lords. She wants him but won’t give in as she’s afraid he’ll want to make her give it all up. Great characters and can’t put down good! Will Pricilla give in? Will Edmund force the issue and lose her? What will Edmund do when he discovers the true secret penpal?

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Diane

Laughed all the way through

Reviewed in Canada on March 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed the way Priscila fooled the Duke into thinking she was a man and laughed when she dressed as a man and went to a men's club. Good read. B

Fiona Faith Ross

You Will Marry Me And That's Final

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

Stupendous! This Regency Romance page-turner crackles with romantic tension throughout. The pacing is marvelous and the world beautifully drawn and detailed without being intrusive. Priscilla is brave, determined and feisty. Bradenton is formidable, overbearing, patronising, domineering and equally determined to get his way (he always does) but does he have a heart of gold? Will he discover Priscilla's dreadful secret? Just when you think, finally… another hole opens up and one or both leads fall into it. A roller-coaster witty read, with frequent laugh-out-loud moments. In an insane battle of wills, these two duel by banter and it's very entertaining. The supporting characters are nicely constructed and I especially loved Hannah, Emma, and battle-axe Lady Drummond. I appreciated the social commentary about how unfair life was for females of the day, whatever social class, and how the poor were kept down. The odds were stacked against aristocratic ladies who by and large weren't allowed to choose their husbands. Recommended reading. I loved it. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

S Bey

Fabulous read.

Reviewed in Spain on January 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

I was hooked by these characters right away. The story is beautifully crafted and I feel like I have found my next beloved author!

Crystal Carr

A good start to this series !!

Reviewed in India on July 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

I loved the premise of this book and convoluted things Priscilla says and does to get Edmund off her trail.

That being said, the story line sagged a bit towrds 3/4th of the book. I believe the plotline should have been a bit more developed in terms of the risks Priscilla took.

That being said, the characters of Priscilla and Edmund are very endearing !

I can not wait for her friend's stories which I am sure will be awesome to read !

Romance Level : 3.7/5
Steam Level : Tender lovemaking and sweet/ hot kisses

Wildfly56

Interesting tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

Excellent dialogue, which at times was amusing. Very dashing hero and sidekicks. The tall dark commanding types. Enjoyable read, thanks

OR

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

Escaping the Duke (The Secret Crusaders Book 1) Kindle Edition

More items to explore

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Melanie Rose Clarke

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries