A review by bananatricky
The Duke of Deception by Darcy Burke
4.0
Three and a half stars.
Edward Bishop, ninth Earl of Sutton, Ned to his friends, is looking for a wife. However, his brother George suffers from some unexplained dementia and as a consequence Ned has some very particular requirements in a wife. Ned's serial courting of ladies of the ton has not gone unnoticed by Miss Aquilla Knox and her friends who have dubbed him the Duke of Deception because of the way he courts women and then just when they expect an offer of matrimony, he abandons them entirely. Ned isn't looking for love, he saw his parents' marriage fall apart when his brother became ill and he doesn't want that pain.
Ned and Aquilla become acquainted at Lady Middlegrove's ball when Aquilla gets caught in the rain and asks Ned to get her sponsor Lady Satterfield. It is Aquilla's fifth season, her father has already refused to pay for her so Lady Satterfield has kindly offered to support her for the season. Aquilla's home life is very unpleasant and has given her a distaste for marriage, she plans to become a lady's companion instead. But when Aquilla's father accepts an offer for her hand from an unpleasant suitor, where can she turn?
It's inevitable isn't it - two people who don't want to fall in love just have to fall for each other. But can Ned trust Aquilla with the secret about his brother? And can Aquilla trust Ned not to hurt her?
This was a gentle, fun historical novel. I liked that the heroine had an unusual name and George's dementia was something different - although I was left wondering exactly what his modern-day diagnosis would be.
Although this is the second book in a series, I don't think you need to have read the preceding book and I read it easily as a stand-alone.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Edward Bishop, ninth Earl of Sutton, Ned to his friends, is looking for a wife. However, his brother George suffers from some unexplained dementia and as a consequence Ned has some very particular requirements in a wife. Ned's serial courting of ladies of the ton has not gone unnoticed by Miss Aquilla Knox and her friends who have dubbed him the Duke of Deception because of the way he courts women and then just when they expect an offer of matrimony, he abandons them entirely. Ned isn't looking for love, he saw his parents' marriage fall apart when his brother became ill and he doesn't want that pain.
Ned and Aquilla become acquainted at Lady Middlegrove's ball when Aquilla gets caught in the rain and asks Ned to get her sponsor Lady Satterfield. It is Aquilla's fifth season, her father has already refused to pay for her so Lady Satterfield has kindly offered to support her for the season. Aquilla's home life is very unpleasant and has given her a distaste for marriage, she plans to become a lady's companion instead. But when Aquilla's father accepts an offer for her hand from an unpleasant suitor, where can she turn?
It's inevitable isn't it - two people who don't want to fall in love just have to fall for each other. But can Ned trust Aquilla with the secret about his brother? And can Aquilla trust Ned not to hurt her?
This was a gentle, fun historical novel. I liked that the heroine had an unusual name and George's dementia was something different - although I was left wondering exactly what his modern-day diagnosis would be.
Although this is the second book in a series, I don't think you need to have read the preceding book and I read it easily as a stand-alone.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.