San Diego is a wonderfully diverse community, and it feels very natural for me to incorporate characters of different ethnicities in my books. Sonora Vasquez of Crash Into Me is half Guatemalan. Luke Meza, the hero of Set the Dark on Fire is part Luiseño (Native American). Marc Cruz from Dangerous to Touch is Mexican.

I love bicultural heroes. But it’s seldom (in my opinion) that an author creates this kind of character well. Lisa Kleypas’ half-Mexican heroine in Sugar Daddy is a favorite of mine. Meredith Duran also handles the topic beautifully, serving up one of the most delicious dark heroes I’ve read in a long time.

Julian Sinclair, the heir to the Duke of Auburn, is half English, half Indian. The Indian setting is lushly drawn and spicy, the situation precarious—a country on the brink of rebellion. Duran does a superb job with physical description. Call me shallow, but this guy sounds hot:

Another step brought him full out of darkness, and she caught her breath. It was the man from indoors—the one with whom she had nearly collided earlier. Once again, his height took her off guard. He was taller even than Marcus, and a full head over her own considerable height.

His eyes were a luminescent green-gold, catlike as they reflected the faint light spilling from the bungalow. They watched her as though he waited for something.

“Are we acquainted?” she blurted out—knowing very well they were not.

He gave her a faint smile. “No.”

When he said nothing more, she arched a brow, returning rude stare for rude stare. At least, she hoped it was rude, for she suspected she might be ogling him. The man was unnervingly handsome—like something from a fever dream, brilliant and fierce, skin touched by gold and hair so black it absorbed the light. Earlier, indoors, she had found herself looking at him, thinking his face begged to be sketched. It would take only a few economical strokes—sharp, angular slashes for the cheekbones, a bold straight line for his nose, a fierce square for his jaw. Perhaps his lips would take more time. They were full and mobile, and saved his countenance from sternness.

He was very tanned. Doubt flickered through her mind, quashed as she considered his starched cravat and elegantly cut tailcoat. Of course he was English. The lazy grace with which he held himself made her aware of her own unmannerly slouch. She straightened, lifting her face toward the stars.

“A lovely night, isn’t it?”

Duran is a fabulous writer, and she also has a deft hand with character development. Here’s a passage of dialogue in which Emma (the heroine) and Julian discuss his impossible position:

The air burst from her lungs, a breath she’d been holding for perhaps forever. “I don’t know what to make of you! One moment you’re the man I met in the Evershams’ garden, and the next, you’re someone else entirely!”

“I see.” At length, he said, “If you must make something of me, the days ahead won’t be easy for you. I am not just an English aristocrat, Emma. I was born in this country, and for many years of my childhood I knew only two words of English—my first and last name.” His words gained speed, took on a sharper edge. “And I must say, if you think I have changed for the worse, that I have somehow lost my way, you are badly mistaken. The man you met in Delhi, the one you think you know—the fucking Marquess of Holdensmoor—he is the act. He is what I was forced to become.”

The days ahead aren’t easy for either of them. Julian wants freedom for India, but not death for his English peers. His loyalties belong to both countries, but he is trusted by neither. Duran gives us a realistic portrayal of a man torn between two cultures during a time of war.

The Duke of Shadows is a dense, satisfying read. I put it down often, but kept picking it back up. I only have a couple of quibbles. Although the writing is lovely, it isn’t quite perfect. There are repeated words (a tiny nitpick!) and some action sequences in which I felt as though I was watching a scene, not experiencing it through the character’s eyes. At times, the pace lacked urgency. Overall, Duran’s debut novel is very well crafted, rich but not heavy, filled with passion and angst. I’d give it a strong A-.

I’m looking forward to her next book, Bound by Your Touch, which releases June 30th. Jane of Dear Author gave it a solid A!