This is the first book I have read by this author. This tale of a young woman, Liz, masquerading as a chambermaid in a Duke's, Marcus' residence, is surprisingly enjoyable. It is well written, the dialogue is interesting, the characters engaging, and the plot compelling. It has a bit of heat, as the Duke enjoys spanking and control, but it was framed within the story as mutually satisfying to both characters. I enjoyed it enough that I would not only recommend it- but I may just have to read the next in what looks to be an entertaining series!

Loved this book! More focus on relationships than a bdsm erotic novel, but it was captivating. Already anticipating book two.

3.5 "Good Ole Fashion Spy Bodice Ripper" Stars ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Loved It! A Good Ole Fashion Spy Bodice Ripper @ it's best! Disciplined by the Duke
had a very intriguing plot & was executed very well. I loved Montague & Liz together. The author got the Dominate in Marcus just right for my taste at least! I enjoyed Liz's personality immensely. She had just enough push back to make it fun! This won't go down in favorites but I do definitely wanna continue this series! Really looking forward to the next book w/ Rothchild (yum) & Mandy!That one looks like it will be even better!!

I graciously received a free copy of this book on behalf of NetGalley & St. Martin's Press and voluntarily chose to post a review.

This book caught my interest on Netgalley because I like historical romances, and I was intrigued at the prospect of this one being a little naughtier than usual. The sex in most HRs is quite vanilla (not that there's anything wrong with this, it's just a fact). Some do promise scandalous desires and unusual bedroom practices that all the lords and ladies love to gossip about, but few actually deliver.

Well, this one didn't either.

First, there was something that just didn't ring true about the writing. The dialogue and the characters' thoughts didn't seem like what you would normally read in an HR—more like someone was trying to write what they thought an HR would be like. It seemed too modern at times. There was liberal usage of the work "fuck" in ways you don't normally see in HR.

- For fuck's sake, he was infatuated with the chit.
- Right up against the fucking wall.
- Finger-fuck
- Fuck, she was beautiful.
- Oh, fuck it.

I don't mind an occasional "fuck" in HR, particularly if it's in crude reference to the actual act, but these just seemed anachronistic.

The characters weren't developed in depth at all. Liz comes to work in Marcus's household in order to save her sister from death in prison. Except we don't meet her sister until like 80% or so into the book, so we don't really care. Instead we're just beaten over the head with the fact that everything Liz is doing is for her sister. She can't even bring herself to eat because her sister isn't getting enough food in prison. (Yet she has no problem with Marcus giving her a bit of pleasure here and there. Maybe she knows something about Newgate that I don't...) Liz is the daughter of a second son, fallen from society, and your average innocent. Literally nothing stands out about her character except that she curls her hand into a fist when she's feeling anxious.

The duke's character doesn't fare much better. We're told he's a strict disciplinarian and likes everything in order. Yet there's no evidence of this, other than that his servants keep his house really clean. But he's nowhere near the sternest or strictest character I've ever read, and he seemed to lose control quite easily despite words to the contrary. All tell, no show. He was both a wannabe alpha and a wannabe beta, and wasn't particularly memorable in either role.

Despite their lack of development, these characters were really annoying at times. I don't mind a little angst, but they got all bent out of shape about the dumbest things.

Then, my friends, there was the sex. At first, when they were just doing hands and oral, everything seemed fine. Nothing too purple or out of the ordinary here. Marcus was supposedly into discipline and punishment in the bedroom, things that make it necessary for him to visit a brothel. Sure, there wasn't much punishment going on besides a little spanking, but I thought there was more to come.

The sex descriptions started out a little amusing (like a cock so hard it can hammer nails or pound horseshoes into shape), but somehow they just got more hilarious as the book went on.

Marcus deduces that Liz is an innocent, which he apparently takes to mean that she knows literally nothing about her body. I mean, it's not like they have a Q&A about it, but he just takes it upon himself to mansplain all her reactions.

The description and title of this book are pretty misleading, in my opinion. There's SO much talk of punishment and discipline, and how actions have consequences, but nothing is ever delivered. Marcus spanks Liz a few times with his hand (the man even owns a riding crop, for crying out loud). He makes her hold her hands above her head. He... oh wait. That's it. They never go beyond that, despite what this book appears to suggest.

I was actually really optimistic about this book at first. The opening scene with the villain was really good. Soon after that, however, things went downhill fast.

Thanks St. Martin's Press and netgalley for this ARC.

This romance will appeal to wide audience even though the title and cover give the impression it's not explicit. I was rooting for the heroine to save her sister and not lose her self-respect. You'll have to read the novel to find out if she did or not.

The day Amanda Wilcox murdered their abusive father, Elizabeth Wilcox, her younger sister stopped being a gentleman’s daughter. Willing to do anything to save her sister from the hangman’s noose, now she is a spy... A servant. A liar. A thief. A submissive.
She is sent by the Earl of Westmore to masquerade as a parlour maid at the Duke of Montague’s country estate in order to steal a letter with a purple seal, Liz is willing to risk all to uncover the secrets that would save her sister. But submitting to the duke’s peculiar brand of discipline surprises her with a heady mixture of pleasure and pain.
An enjoyable novel the pace is well paced, well written & the characters well portrayed. Marcus is stern & likes to use a ruler but he also has a softer side & becomes almost obsessed with a parlour maid. Liz finds it hard to be a servant & is very outspoken for a maid no wonder the steward views her with distrust. Marcus works for the Crown & is trying to find a traitor, Liz believes the letter she has to steal is about Marcus’ fleet of ships & the goods they carry. A page turning novel that kept me reading & wanting to find out how things were resolved of which there are quite a few, will Amanda hang? who’s the traitor & will they be caught? (although this wasn’t hard to work out), will Liz find & steal the letter? how will Marcus’ & Liz’s relationship develop? So plenty of goings on to keep your interest. This is the first novel I’ve read by the author & look forward to the rest of the series especially after the teaser for the second book at the end of this one

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Disciplined by the Duke is the first book in Alyson Chase’s Lords of Discipline series. I enjoy reading historical romance novels set in the Regency era, and even though this is slightly different from what I usually read, I was curious to see what Chase was going to do with the material.

Despite coming from a minor aristocratic family, Liz Wilcox finds herself in a terrible position. Her sister murdered their abusive father, and was jailed for her crime. The man who has been “helping” Liz has coerced her to commit petty crimes in order to continue to receive the benefit of his assistance. Now he tasks Liz with posing as a maid at the Duke of Montague’s estate so that she can steal an important document from the duke.

As soon as Liz meets Marcus, there is an instant connection. He prides himself on the control that helps him maintain all aspects of his life. It’s very disconcerting for Marcus to find himself so strongly attracted to a housemaid, and likewise, Liz does not want to deal with distractions because she needs to focus on her mission so that she can save her sister.

I found the story to be pretty well written, and Chase did a wonderful job with building tension between Liz and Marcus. There is a lot of smoldering and brooding and angst before they finally get together. Their connection seemed a lot more genuine rather than based merely on lust. Also, the “discipline” aspect alluded to in the title didn’t play nearly as large a role as one might expect. It’s certainly present, and it’s clear that Marcus has certain proclivities, but it’s not the crux of the story.

I would recommend Disciplined by the Duke. The characters are interesting, and I especially enjoyed the tension involving Liz trying to save her sister. That gave the book more of a purpose beyond the main romance. I would definitely read more of Chase’s books, and I’m already looking forward to the next book in this series.

So this book wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I figured it would be another smutty read with terrible writing and even worst characters. But I was surprised to find out that that wasn't true. This book actually had a plot. Liz is trying to save her sister and to do that she needs to steal from the duke. They have an immediate attraction and Liz finds out that her desires run a little bit darker and the duke is the perfect man to help her out with that. So yes of course it's smutty. How can it not be with that title? But there is a story and it's actually really good.

I liked Liz and Montague. They both had separate things going on besides the smut. It was just a really good read and I am looking forward to more from this author.

I agreed to give an honest and fair review in return for this ARC. Well, this one is a bit different! Great writing, great story, awesome characters and there will be a followup story about Amanda. Can't wait for it to publish. Get this book, i promise you won't regret it!

I got this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really had my hopes up during the first 25% of the book because it started to well with the blackmailing etc. but over the pages it got more and more predictable. I really had my hopes up that there would be more of a relationship development – it was pretty flat in my opinion. When you read the title “Disciplined by the Duke” you get the image of some BDSM, well it was so mild – some soft spanking – I expected much, much more.
There were so man options to make a great story out of it but honestly said: predictable and boring towards the end.
That Elizabeth would use the secret ways through the house as soon as she discovers them – predictable. That Montague would sooner or later find out that there are some spies in his house – well predictable. But the reason why Elizabeth’s sister is in jail is quite late exposed to the reader if not even too late.

A thrilling and hot historical romance with a great plot. Good plot building and characters. Thanks!

A great read and exceptional for this genre
A good love story with a good dose of erotica
Anyone who loves a romantic romp through the town will not be disappointed.

ARC received for review

I forget how long it takes people to hook up in a historical. Light BDSM. I skimmed a lot cause it seemed like Liz was cleaning way too much. I wanted a little between her and Marcus.

Looks like her sister and one of his fellow "spies" are up next.

This book was better than I thought, because I was wondering when I read the title and I was not disappointed. The plot was good enough to be believable and the author doesn't push so much on the BDSM part, so I appreciated that. I will keep on reading this series.

Questo romanzo si é dimostrato decisamente meglio del previsto, perché ammetto di averlo preso solo perché il titolo mi incuriosiva. Comunque la trama regge abbastanza e l'autrice non spinge poi troppo sulla parte BDSM, cosa che ho apprezzato perché di solito il troppo sesso va a scapito della trama, quindi credo che continueró a leggere questa serie.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Very well developed characters and plot line. I could not put the book down.

WOW is all i will say. A great read, will tell all my friends to read it.

I liked this. Liz was a fun character to follow in her dangerous mission, to do one last thing for a crooked man of power. She'd do anything for her older sister, a woman whose life literally threatens to hang by a thread, if she doesn't fulfill this one last thing. It should be simple to betray a man she doesn't know if it means getting her sister back, but when she enters the duke's home as a chambermaid, things start to get deliciously complicated. And that's when the struggles begin.

Her dedication to family is always something sweet to see in someone, but in this romantic case, it was a constant heartache for me because every time she had something good going for her, she later shunned it, in guilt for having what her sister currently could not. Liz keeping her secrets and maintaining a certain facade was cool, but I also liked how it intrigued the expressionless duke. Marcus was a sexy man to read about, very focused and controlled (when he wasn't being distracted by Liz). His reluctance to act on the attraction added with her cautious nature (well, sorta cautious) made for a entertaining read. It was very hot and erotic between the two, and the drama, along with the feels and suspense, resulted in one very happy reader. It's a recommended read if you like things hot and exciting in a historical setting.

Entertaining historical romance

This is the first book I've read by Alyson Chase but it won't be the last. She sucked me into the story. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see was happening next with Liz and Marcus. However, despite the title, there was very few discipline scenes between the main characters.
While the book reads as a stand alone I look forward to reading the next book Bound By The Earl which features Liz's sister Amanda and Julius Blackwell, Earl of Rothchild.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

There were a number of times that I skimmed because it seemed to be a repeat. Liz was just cleaning a different room, having a different conversation but more of the same thing. I would say that I did this 4+ times because of this. Other than that the story was good and was the reason that I kept going. I had to see what happened. So while it wasn't enough to stop reading the book, it was enough that I would not reread it.

I enjoyed this book, but I was expecting so much more from the relationship between Marcus and Liz. I thought this was going to be an erotic historical, but in the end it was a story of a girl desperate to save her sister.