3.5 stars! In the next installment of this series, we're treated to the story of Felix and Sarah. Long-time acquaintances due to his standing friendship with her brother Anthony, Sarah and Felix never really thought about each other in romantic terms until fate and a dark closet kissing game changes it all. Through hard and sad times, they will fall in love with each other and overcome their fears.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It has a good flow, and two characters that even though they've known each other their whole lives, are starting to see each other in a different light. I loved Sarah's willing to be independent and Feliz absolute support of her. I hope Anthony gets a book soon!
Overall, a good reading experience.

I am starting to feel like the quality of the series is dropping. I remember myself loving the first 10 books or so, but books 11 and 12 were not so good in my opinion. Felix and Sarah were lacking passion and their relationship seemed more like one two siblings have rather than the one two lovers have. Another thing that bothered me is that I didn't feel like the characters were living in the 1800s. Some might consider it a spoiler but I have to say it. Sarah kissed 5 men in one night. Not one or two, but 5. And one of Felix's previous lady friends felt free to mention what a great time they had when he had company with him. Do we really need these tropes in HR novels too? Especially when the characters need time to develop and spend it thinking about what choices they have in the future. Sarah and Felix's relationship seemed rushed and underdeveloped to me. There were some moments when elements that made me love Darcy Burke's came up in the story and that's the reason I am not giving a lower rating to the book. This is the first book written by Darcy Burke that missed the mark for me.

Hats, events and love!

I must admit to finding the Duke of Distraction sort of distracting. How can such a seemingly strong storyline become less?
I applauded Sarah Colton's desire to setup her own millenary establishment as a safeguard for her future if she remained a spinster. I was appalled by her willingness to give up not only her dream, but the promises she'd made to a milliner's assistant. Sadly lacking sense of loyalty here. (Oh wait, I don't really need a job not like the assistant milliner I was about to poach!)
But the games Sarah played with Felix Havers, Earl of Ware, who has "vowed never to love", her seduction of him, was just a bit too over the top for me.
Mind you she is fighting the curse for all young women of the period (a least in many romance novels) of having her parents decide whom she would marry within a set timeline. So what's a girl to do?
Felix, with all his deeply hidden hangups, is endearing and he brightened up the way. Thankfully Sarah's noted hat design gift is given a nod. That pleased me.
Presenting all the cast for a final curtain call was not really necessary, but hey, on the other hand, why not?

A NetGalley ARC

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. The Duke Of Distraction is the 12th book in Darcy Burke’s The Untouchables Series. Characters from the other books appear in this book but you could read it as a stand-alone. Felix Havers, Earl of Ware aka the Duke of Distraction learned to cope with his feelings by burying them behind a wall and seeking out endless entertainment. He never lets anyone to close and has no plans to marry or have a family. His best friends sister Sarah Colton has given up on looking for a husband and is making plans to open up her own millinery shop, when her parents give her an ultimatum find a husband or we will find one for you. Felix, who is like part of the family to her offers to help and it seems to be going well until due to a mixup in a parlour game they kiss and everything changes. I enjoyed this story and it’s exploration about how one deals with feelings and loss. Skip the epilogue as it’s just an endless listing of characters int he other books and does not add anything to the story. Medium Steam. Publishing Date February 26, 2019 #NetGalley #TheDukeOfDistraction #DarcyBurke #DarcyBurkePublishing

As with the other books in this series, I was immediately all in.

I really liked Sarah and Felix. She knows what she wants out of life and she’s ready to go after it. He’s unsettled in life and going through the motions. I absolutely loved that Sarah and Felix had known each other forever. Sarah’s northern Anthony was interesting and of course all of the previous characters are great.

Plot wise it was good? I was definitely here for everything until a particular event happens and propels the story in an entirely different direction. I did struggle a bit with the jump to love. With their familiarity of each other, I was expecting more of a sudden OMG moment when it came to feelings. Instead it was an odd build up of lust and then some somewhat awkward and forced conversations.

My main complaint is that we didn’t get any sort of info on Felix and his childhood until the very end and then it was a brief mention. Okay, so there were minor mentions here and there, it wasn’t enough to paint a complete picture.

Overall, it was a quick read with characters I really liked. Even though I did enjoy it, I still can’t stop thinking there was a spark missing.

**Huge thanks to Darcy Burke for providing the arc free of charge**

I absolutely loved the story of Felix and Sarah. This story turned and it was not what I expected at all to my delight. Even if you haven't read any of the previous books, you will have no trouble loving this one right from the start!

Wonderful read. I have loved this series.

I particularly liked these two, they both warmed my heart. The storyline was great..

The epilogue was weird and I really didn’t like it so I marked down for that

I’ve been waiting for this book and was not disappointed! So sad to see what Felix went through and very happy for him in the end!

The Duke of Distraction is book 12 in the Untouchables series by Darcy Burke. I have enjoyed all of the Untouchables books. But I felt that this one fell short of the mark. Felix Havers, the Earl of Ware is an agreeable character, but I kept hoping for more of a physical description of him. There is a brief one half way through the book, but not much. Felix also carries some secret that affects him negatively, but I couldn’t really understand the depth of it. I also wasn’t a fan of Sarah Colton the heroine. Her willingness to callously use men made her self centered and grasping. Her willingness to use an old friend like Felix was just awful.
I enjoyed the scene of parlor games even though I had not heard of them before. There were some laugh out loud moments. Overall, I felt this book lacked something that the other books have had - solid character development with logical responses to life around them.

Miss Sarah Colton and her friend, Lavinia, the Marchioness of Northam are enjoying themselves at the races. There, both men and women race their phaetons. Felix Havers, Earl of Ware is the facilitator of the races. But when a woman is injured when her phaeton overturns, Felix is urged, and agrees to stop the races permanently.

Sarah is now in her fourth Season and the pressure to marry is intense. Sarah likes to bet on the races hoping to earn enough money to support herself as a spinster should it come to that. Her plan is to open a shop called Farewell’s along with her friend, Dolly. There, they will design and sell hats.

Returning home from an outing, Sarah is summoned to her father’s office where Felix is standing. Her father suggests that Sarah and Felix marry as he feels they are an excellent match. Both Sarah and Felix are embarrassed with Sarah refusing and leaving the room. Later, Sarah apologizes to Felix for her parents. He says he will do his best to find a husband for her.

Felix’s mother died giving birth to him and his father grieved her death for the rest of his life unable to show love for his son. Having experienced a childhood where he was deprived of affection, Felix feels that finding someone to love is not in his future.

Felix plans a house party at his home featuring phaeton races and includes a number of bachelors hoping to find a husband for Sarah. There, a kissing game ends up changing the way Sarah and Felix feel about each other. Is it possible for Felix to learn how to love someone?

I really liked this romance. Sarah and Felix are great characters and perfect for one another. The only thing I questioned was the kissing game they play at the house party. That sounded a bit juvenile to me, but after researching it, it truly was a game played at Regency parties although slightly different from the one played at Felix’s party. I hope readers will enjoy this book as much as I did.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the first book I have read by D'Arcy Burke, it is an interesting story about two friends who have grown up together. They have some explosive moments before coming together. It was an easy to read book and I will look out for more books by this author,

Great book. These characters were made for each other. A ln excellent start to the book. Such adventure.

Felix Havers, Earl of Ware, has been friends with Anthony Colton and his sister Sarah. Sarah's parents have been pushing her to marry, but Sarah wants to only marry for love. When Felix offers to play matchmaker for Sarah, she accepts. During a kissing game at Ware's manor, Felix and Sarah share a steamy kiss and their relationship begins to change. When tragedy strikes for Anthony and Sarah, Felix makes it his mission to lift their grief.

I kept waiting for this book to get exciting, but it never did. There is a slow build up to the romance between Felix and Sarah and nothing much else happens. Anthony objects to Felix kissing his sister, but that's the biggest obstacle in the story. I've read other books in this series, but I still found the epilogue confusing. I read so many books that I didn't remember all the characters from previous books and to have them all show up in the epilogue didn't make sense to me. I only wanted to see what happened with Felix and Sarah. While the book is well-written, it is not one of my favorites.

It is difficult to believe that the series ‘The Untouchables’ has come to an end with the much-awaited story of Felix (the Earl of Ware) and Miss Sarah Colton. Sarah’s brother Anthony and Felix have been best friends since childhood and the friendship that exists between Felix and Sarah flows through. When Sarah’s parents insist of her marrying, and suggest Felix, she is mortified for him, and only then, tells him of her plans to open a millinery shop, so that she can have the funds to live the rest of her life as a spinster. However, tragedy strikes the Colton family, Felix does what he knows best, distracting others from their pain.
The romance between Felix and Sarah when it begins, leaves both wondering how they can go back to being ‘just friends’ However, whilst Sarah realises her feelings for Felix, earlier on, he struggles to overcome his fear of marriage. In many ways, it would have helped to fully understand the complexity of his relationship with his father and his uncle, earlier on. Despite this, their romance was beautifully explored and so fitting to a great series.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my fair and honest review for this ARC. Disclaimer, Darcy Burke is one of my go to authors. Having said that, it is because she is a consistently great author. This is part of a series (the Untouchables) and I have read every one of them. they are really that good.

I have read only one other book from this series. I was happy that NetGalley approved my request for a copy of this book.

The heroine is Sarah. Her character is pleasant. She has inner strength and she is independent. I like that she is not stubborn or opinionated. Although she is a virgin, she did express attraction to the hero and was not afraid to act upon it ( I say good for her). The hero is her childhood friend, Felix. His character has sort of a contradiction. He is the sort to cheer people up and inject fun into everything. His childhood was loveless since his mother died giving birth to him and his father never got over it and never took on the role of a father to him. So Felix does not want to marry and finds it difficult to commit to love and accept love. This was the major impediment to his relationship with Sarah.

I must say at the beginning I found the pace of the story slow. I am glad that I continued to read because the story did pick up and gained momentum. This is a love story. There are some sexually explicit pages. There is no kidnapping or mystery involved. Just simply the development of feelings between a man and a woman, the transition from friends to lovers. I would have given this five stars but the epilogue did not make a lot of sense to me because it did not focus on Felix and Sarah. Instead, it was the culmination and meeting of characters from previous books in the series most of which I have not read.

Felix, the Earl of Ware or Duke of Distraction has known Sarah since he was eight and she only five. Felix and his father visited the Colton’s estate as guests of Sarah and Anthony’s father. Anthony was basically Felix’s first friend. And, they stayed friends from that time forward. They even tolerated little Sarah as the little sister who wanted to follow them around.

Sarah’s nature is to be independent and self-sufficient. She wants to marry for love or become a spinster if she cannot find the right man. She plans to open a millinery as the background supporter and designer. Great plan – just not her parent’s plan for her. They even go so far as to insist Sarah marry Felix. Quite a surprise to both Sarah and Felix.

Felix is so adamant about not marrying! Due to events he proposes to Sarah. Yet, his consistent attitude of remaining single seemed at odds with his actions. For a man who appears to be the ultimate entertainer, he became a bit annoying. He tells Sarah he has not changed his mind about marrying, but if he has to marry it might as well be her. At this point he is pretty much a jerk. Thank goodness he redeems himself amazingly. And, we learn why he does what he does.

I love that Felix supports Sarah’s endeavor to own a milliner shop. This helps make him a more likable guy. He seems to care without realizing it himself. The only portion I found really lacking with a solution for Anthony. He seemed to be a great guy with a huge weight on his shoulders.

The Duke of Distraction is my first time reading Darcy Burke novel but I've long heard lot of great things about this writer. I liked this book. I particularly liked Sarah. I thought her dreams of hat-making with very endearing. What a charming, fun skill to have.

Total disclosure...friends to lovers is one of my least favorite romance tropes. So the trouble I had with this book was that I didn't feel much chemistry between this couple initially and it took a while for me to get any sort of emotional connection going for Felix especially. This is usually my issue with any friends to lovers story... I always want there to at least be the tiniest little attraction beneath the surface...On the positive side this book has a great emotional payoff eventually which makes it worth reading. When this couple finally do connect there are some sweet, sexy moments. But I wished there had been a little more there in the beginning. A little more spark.

I like Darcy's writing style. I think with other characters I would enjoy her even more. Some characters just don't hit for everyone. No biggie. I have several others from her waiting on my TBR and I'm excited to make my way to them.

This is not my usual read, but I saw it on NetGalley and thought I'd have a look as I've been branching out to different genres recently.
This one's an historical romance and I hadn't realised it was actually book 12 in a series by Darcy Burke.
I was initially confused, as there were a lot of names mentioned in the opening pages, however previous readers of this series wouldn't be and I imagine would like to see previous characters again. It wasn't a problem though, as I quickly grasped the basics of who's who.

'The Duke of Distraction' is set in 1818 and centres around Felix Havers, the Earl of Ware, who has spent the majority of his life hiding his emotions behind a jolly facade of entertaining others. He becomes embroiled in helping his best friend's sister to find a husband. This is Sarah Colton, who also hides a secret; she's intent on opening a millinery shop and supporting herself. This independent wish is stopped by her parents desire for her to many appropriately.
After tragic events, Sarah is helped by Felix to find a husband she could love but, unsurprisingly, their mutual attraction begins to cause problems.

I think these books tend to follow a typical structure, and I guess it's what readers of this genre like and I can't deny it's entertaining. I chuckled several times! I also needed to fan myself as I wasn't prepared for the detail of the amorous moments, and there was quite a few! Lol!

All together, it was an easy read, well written, with characters suitable and believable within this genre. Good fun romantic escapism. Maybe not a genre I'll read regularly but I can certainly appreciate the appeal!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an arc for an honest review.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

I normally really like this author but I just couldn’t vibe with this one. I agree with the other reviewers who say that the couple seems more like close friends than lovers, and the heat factor is fairly low. I felt like they were settling, and to be honest that’s not when I turn to romance for. Meh. I hope the next one picks up the heat.