HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE by Lecia Cornwall

Avon Books

November 27^th, 2012

978-0-06-220241-3

Historical Romance

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 

Meg Lynton was going to kill her sister. Now Meg is stuck taking her sister’s place in her wedding as the bride. It is the only way to save the family from destitution. But Meg never anticipates falling for her groom, a man who is a rake through and through.

Nicholas Hartley, Duke of Temberlay, doesn’t want a bride but when he spies Meg, he finds himself intrigued by the beauty but what happens when Nicholas finds out Meg wasn’t his intended bride? Will it be too late for these two as they fall more and more in love?

I really enjoyed HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE immensely. The heroine was lively, intriguing and determined to save her family after her sister bails on her arranged marriage the night before the wedding. The writing is tight, story flows nicely and I got to admit, I loved the characters. Such a diverse cast that I couldn’t pick just one to enjoy more. They were quite well written and the story flows nicely.

Meet Meg Lynton. Finding out her family is about to be destitute was bad enough but having her sister, the bride, disappear the night before her arranged marriage…well let’s just say all eyes were on Meg at that moment on. Marguerite or Meg as she is called is a wonderful character. She has a responsible side that wars with her hoydenish side which of course makes for some interesting moments in the book. I loved how fiercely she defended her family as well as put others before herself. She really was a good woman with a heart of gold, one who fell for the Duke who for the life of me I wanted to shake three-quarters of the way through the book. Nicholas was a perfect foil to Meg’s wild yet responsible side but there is a part in the story that had me gnashing my teeth and itching to shake some sense into Nicholas. I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t read HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE but I really wanted to have Meg toss Nicholas on his butt a few times just for being a pig-headed man that he is.

The only drawback besides Nicholas’ flaws was the ending. For some reason it just fell flat with me and had me scratching my head in shock. It was a bit different than other happy endings I had read and it really didn’t work for me but I can say it may work for others. I think the author wanted to do something a bit different and depending on the reader either got raves over it or fell flat with them. I was on the fence on it in all honesty. But other than those two items, the book really was a good entertaining read. I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.