Nearing thirty, the Duke of Rathburne is finally ready to make amends for the wager that caused him and his best friends such scandal—but taking on a ward who needs a husband is a feat he’s not sure he can manage. The last he saw of Miss Marlena Fast, she was a spirited little ruffian, not the sort of bride most bachelors on the marriage mart sought. But one glance at the lovely lady she has become is enough to convince him otherwise…

Orphaned young and shuffled from family to family, Marlena counts on her fierce independence and quick wits to keep herself content. Being the responsibility of a notoriously wicked duke who upended so many lives is an unexpected challenge when she realizes he arouses her decidedly feminine desires. Marlena must be careful. She has her own scandalous secret to protect. If he finds out, will it shatter her chances of a happily-ever-after with the notorious rake?

My rating:  3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I had previously read another of the books in this series and the plot summary of this book caught my interest also so I decided to review it. After reading this book, I found that it did have a pretty good plot. I really liked Marlena’s character and how independent and self-sufficient she was. And her character and Rath’s actually had some really good tension and the build up of their relationship I thought was really well done. I wouldn’t say there was anything overly exciting or interesting about the plot or the book overall but it was a solid romance novel that I enjoyed a good amount. There were a couple things I found a little odd, like that Marlena was taking on all the risk of writing that gossip column but gave all the money to her friends. I understand she was trying to help her friends but it still seems like a lot to take on. And some of the characters seemed overly selfish but they definitely added to the entertainment overall. I would recommend giving this one a try.

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