The first half of this book was almost a DNF for me. I was bored and found it hard to get into. But then something happened about halfway through and it became interesting. So the 2nd half of the book was very good. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Never Deny a Duke begins a little slow and the story slows for a smooth sailing to a HEA. Davina wants her family's lands and title back. Her petition to the King never really progresses, so she comes to England, working as a tutor and further investigating her case. The Duke of Brentworth craves discretion and propriety and is somewhat captivated by Davina since she fails to fall at his feet. The inevitable butting of heads come when the Duke discovers its his lands she wants. Together, they investigate to prove or in the Duke's case disprove her claim. Now, I expected way more conflict but it was surprising mellow from here on out. They ride to Scotland and fall in lust before working on their ever after. Davina has potential to be a great heroine but I felt she sizzled out just a little bit with accepting all the sparkle of being Duchess and not really continuing her work as a healer. The HEA hits on her dreams of a hospital but Davina settles down to do naughty things with the Duke. This book suffers from no big conflicts, no major ups and downs, and just slowly makes its way to a HEA that I wanted more from. Still the book is a pleasant read on a quiet afternoon that won't rip the heartstrings. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

A well told story with a mystery to solve as to whom some lands belong to. A great romance between Eric and Davinia. It kept my interest throughout. I would give it 6 stars if I could!

Took me a bit to get into the story for some reason - but I thoroughly enjoyed it by the time I was finished, I had not read the others in this series so that may have played a small part. Interesting characters and good romance.

I love Madeline Hunter’s books and although not my favorite, I was a good four star read. No author can write dialogue in a story like she can. This book is the conclusion to the a Decadent Dukes story and I enjoyed revisiting the characters of the two previous books. The mystery was interesting and the romance delicious!

Davina MacCallum is a Scot trying to reclaim her family's lands that were taken from them. She is determined to get them back, as her father and grandfather gave her a letter to indicate what the previous king had promised. Davina plans to make the estate into a hospital. Eric, the Duke of Brentworth, has no intentions of giving up his lands to a woman. He does not believe there is proof to her claims. He is more intrigued by the fact she has no desire to marry him and goes toe to toe with him. Still, he denies himself passion, after what occurred years ago at the Scottish estate he rarely visits. Neither are willing to compromise on the issue. The king thinks a marriage between them would solve his problems and the king does not like being embarrassed or made a fool of. Eric has no intentions of marrying Davina, but cannot the passion that occurs when they are together. Marriage might not be such a bad compromise after all. Still, Davina wants to discover the proof that the land is hers and Eric agrees to accompany her, to prove that the lands are his. Neither can deny the attraction, but the secrets at the estate affect Eric and he does not want anyone to know the truth about it. However, the truth has a way of revealing itself and Eric and Davina must decide if what they could have is stronger than uncovering the truth.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one just moved super slow and it was more than a third of the way in before any attraction even came out. Needs a little more heat and tension to hold my interest

I wasn't taken with this novel. While the writing stayed true to the times it was difficult to get into since it was too formal. The heroine is stubborn and determined to get her family's land back from the Duke but he is equally stubborn and will not give in. While you would expect fireworks between them this did not occur. Instead there was dry humor and lots of arguments with almost no sexual tension. Just not my cup of tea.
Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.