⭐⭐⭐ Was I hooked by that book? Mostly, yes. The cheeky heroine seduces the inexperienced hero who is hiding his own secrets.

Lady Evangeline Raine prefers animals to people and has no interest in marriage, much to the dismay of her flirty younger sister, Viola. Because their father has one rule: Viola may be courted, only if Effie has a suitor as well. Saddled with debt, Gage Croft, Duke of Vale, is determined to rebuild his estates. When the owner of his vowels offers him a fortune to charm the impervious Lady Evangeline for the season so Lady Viola can be courted, the game is on, even if it means pretending to seduce an unconventional wallflower. But Gage gets much more than he bargains for in an adversary who wants to make her own scandalous arrangement. Effie will go to London for the season, but only if Gage agrees to be her lover. Yet when their fake courtship leads to passionate feelings, will their indecent proposal end with the season or be the start of something real?

MY THOUGHTS

Lord Huntington’s request that Gage keep Effie occupied started out innocuous enough, until his true nature was revealed. He was truly icky. Viola didn’t present as very endearing herself and I was mostly annoyed by her.

Effie and Gage were very likable characters. They were nothing like you’d expect from their positions in society and clearly they surprised each other as well. I enjoyed their banter and interactions, but they didn’t stir any overwhelming sweeping feelings.

The overall tone and dialogue were more what you’d expect from modern times, but it didn’t bother me. This book was interesting enough, and would work well for lovers of light-hearted, steamy historical romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Were you hooked by that book? Let me know in the comments below.

Genre: Historical Romance
Published: September 24, 2024
Sensuality Rating: Hot
Series: Taming of the Dukes
Tropes: Virgin Hero, Wallflower, Scottish Duke, Fake Relationship