A Duke's Promise by Jamie Carie

Alexandria and Gabriel are now married. Facing her wedding night with trepidation Alexandria still does not know if she was violated by John, her former fiancé.  Not a good way to start a marriage.

Gabriel has made Alexandria a promise to help her find her parents. The Featherstone’s are treasure hunters and have been missing for over a year now. With many people wanting what the Featherstone’s are seeking, life is very dangerous for Alexandria. 

Gabriel is still afflicted with his hearing problem. He seems to lose it when he is seasick or at high altitudes, which doesn’t help him when he and Alexandria hire an aeronaut to take them in her hot air balloon to Italy. His hearing is also exacerbated by the floating colors he sees. 

An evil Duke has taken the Featherstone’s captive. He has threatened to abuse Alexandria if they do not hand over the manuscript that they have been seeking. The manuscript supposedly contains the plans for a weapon that could be devastating for the countries that do not have it. Will Alex and Gabriel be able to find the Featherstone’s before this manuscript gets into the wrong hands?

I have to say I was disappointed in this last installment of The Forgotten Castles trilogy. The beginning scene of Gabriel and Alexandria’s wedding night was on the border of too much. Really the scene needed to stop at the bedroom door. I did enjoy all of the action that took place. The romance between Gabriel and Alexandria was special, but again the borderline sex scenes were a bit uncomfortable. I also had a problem with Gabriel’s seeing colors. It sounded too much of aura’s and the whole “new age” way of thinking. The ending with the big reveal of what the great weapon was not very satisfying and a bit over the top as far as the spiritual realm goes.  I would have liked it better if the author had concentrated more on Alexandria’s relationship with her parents. There needed to be more resolution in that relationship. So yes, there was excitement in the story that keeps a person on the edge of their seat, but there were also scenes that I thought the author took too far.