I could not put this book down. Ms. Fenichel writes characters that you are fully vested in. Faith and Nicholas were no different. Lady Faith Landon was promised to Nicholas Ellsworth, Duke of Breckenridge. Not knowing who he is or what he is all about, it seems the Wallflowers took it upon themselves to find out. The Duke was having none of it. He is a private man and his wife should be satisfied. He had no clue what he was going up against. When he past rears its ugly head and Faith becomes the target, all bets are off. The Wallflowers spring into action as does The Duke. They save the day. You would think that Nicholas could obtain a special license to wed Faith in the gardens. Nope. The ending was perfect!

Misleading a Duke
The Wallflowers of West Lane #2
A.S. Fenichel
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lady Faith Landon has been betrothed to a man she has barely met. So what does a wallflower do? Why she calls upon her three best friends the other self proclaimed Walflowers of west lane (and Poppy's new husband) to help her uncover the secrets of her mysterious fiancè. Her suspicions seem truer by the moment when she learns that he has recently arrived back from France. So now she has a question. Is he a traitor to his country? But she cant just jump to her first conclusion because the truth is quite the opposite. Nicholas Ellsworth, Duke of Breckenrige, is a secret agent for the English Crown who has just completed a risky mission to infiltrate Napoleon's spy network.

Nicholas, Duke of Ellsworth craves the peace and quiet of the country after all of his adventures and settling into a sort of domestic bliss with his new bride. That is until he discovers Faith's deceptive investigation which irks him to no end. How is he supposed to marry a woman who so obviously doesn't trust him? But beyond either one of their control a powerful spark has ignited between Nicolas and Faith that could bring about a change of heart. At this point Faith seizes her second chance to prove to Nicolas that they are a true love match, but before that can happen Nicolas's past catches up on him when three french spies show up ready to exact revenge. So now it seems survival rather than wooing has become the order of the day.

A.S Fenichel writes and incredible book of love and happiness. The main characters were absolutely perfect for each other. Neither of them wanted to bend for eachother in the beginning which was really cute. I really like it that Ms. Fenichel brings a story to life. I believe that Nicolas is the perfect man for Faith. He seems to really care about lady Faith and wants to make her happy, but what he really needs to learn is to let her be herself. She is an inquisitive lady and won't stop until she has an answer. Right off the bat there there is action with Lady Faith caught in the middle of it all, but amazingly enough it brings them closer. Her fellow wallflowers are always there for her and will go along with what ever Faith wants. Slowly Nicolas let's his walls down and starts to tell her about her past and faith is determined to keep those walls down what ever the cost. Having their friend Geb Arafa there is a very good thing as he helps Nicolas immensely. Nicolas has a lovely sister and Faith and her hit it off right away.
The book has Villians in it and all I wanted to do was strangle them myself. The Villians even have the utter gal to attack the rest of the wallflowers in their own home, but the wallflowers show no fear and send them running from the house. They then decide it's time they go to Scotland to marry because the laws are different and they can forgoe the posting of the bans. These two become madly in love throughout their ordeal. Finally after they are married one of them says "I will love you for a hundred lifetimes and shower you will all the love you give me in each one." I found this book to be utterly enchanting. Ms. Fenichel you have once again outdone yourself and this has become my favorite series. I can't wait to read about the next wallflower. Thank you for all of the hard work you put into a book so that we the readers can enjoy it.You are truly a talented Lady.

I was first drawn to Misleading a Duke by its gorgeous cover. It's eye-catching, yet simple; and I love that there is a dog. I wish the book had lived up to the cover. This is one where I probably should have really read the first book in the series because it appears that much of the introduction to Nick, Faith, and their relationship happens in the first book. If I ever read the first book I may need to revisit this one and revise my review of it.

This book had the same problem that sooooo many historical spy romances have... EVERYONE IN THE BOOK KNOWS HE'S A SPY. Literally, you have to be the worst spy on the planet to have that many people know you're a spy. The book itself couldn't quite find the right balance between romance and historical spy novel. Instead of the two genres being blended together it was like two parallel stories involving the same people but without one adding to the other. It just didn't work for me. Was I entertained for an afternoon? yes. Will I continue with the series? probably not.

Misleading a Duke (The Wallflowers of West Lane, #2) by A.S. Fenichel The Wallflowers books is a great series. This one had so many feelings...attraction, mistrust, kidnapping, terror, misunderstandings, love, steamy stuff, racial bias, intrigue, and a HEA. I can't wait for the next book.

If you read the last book in the series - you'll know some of the back story to Faith and Nick. Faith's parents wanted to arrange a marriage to Nick and then her mother wrote letters to Nick pretending to be Faith to encourage the match. All without Faith having a clue. As a result, when Faith meets Nick for the first time. She is pretty unpleasant and then proceeds to investigate him because he won't immediately disclose his secrets and past to her. To say Nick wasn't happy about this is an understatement. He offers to let Faith break their engagement - but she doesn't.

The start of the book continues that arc and I have to say - doesn't go a long way to rehabbing Faith's character. All things considered - I just didn't like her for the first 1/4 of the book. She comes across as spoiled and entitled. Nick isn't that great either - he seems to only want a superficial relationship and is a little aloof. When Faith maneuvers them to have some alone time at an isolated estate, things take a turn for the better. Nick's past as a spy comes back to roost and they both undergo some pretty serious and difficult events. CW - <spoiler>Scenes of fairly explicit torture. </spoiler> Those events bring them very close together and really show their real character.

The Wallflowers play a critical role in later scenes - but the true winning part of this book, the parts that push it into a four star read, are the parts without them. Where Nick and Faith focus on their relationship. Nick supports Faith and allows her to make her own decisions. He doesn't expect her to change for him or to make concessions.

Overall - this is a good book and much better than the first in the series. I think there are still some things out of place (like having a nurse for Nick - that concept really didn't exist until the crimean war. A female servant to care for him - maybe - but not classifying her as a nurse) and some language that was far beyond the time. I was really impressed, however, by how far the author brought Faith around for me as a character. It went from a story I was annoyed with - to one I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

I definitely liked this book better than book 1 in the series, mostly because I liked Faith much more than I like Poppy, although to be fair, Poppy was much, much less whiny in this one.

There was a lot going on with this plot, in a pretty good way. The first party of the book invoked Faith and Nick getting to know each other, for reasons that probably only make sense if you read the backstory in the first book. Then, the plot takes off quickly from there. Part of what kept me reading way too late is that there are so many Regency books where the hero is a spy but it gets totally sugarcoated. Here, it doesn’t. While reading torture scenes isn’t my cup of tea, if it adds depth to the story, it’s fine with me to include. It certainly shows you here what Nick and Faith are made of.

There were some frustrating moments after Faith gets back to London that made me want to yell at the two of them to just communicate, but once they do, there’s a final obstacle which shows just how much Nick and Faith love each other.

I’m excited to see Mercy’s story next. I hope we continue to see more if Geb going forward, he’s an awesome character!

Man, this book was a lot of fun to read! We were introduced to these characters and their struggles in the first book, with Faith and her friends investigating Nicholas. Well, now there's fall out, and yeah, I really enjoyed watching these two interact!

The first third of this book is them actually getting to know one another, and working out their differences. And then the next third, yeah, that was pretty intense, and the pages just flew! It was so very entertaining!

I felt bad for the both of them, because this whole situation that they were in, from start to finish, they both had different levels of guilt and responsibility. Not all earned, but it was just another issue for them both to deal with, which was great to read!

We also saw the introduction of Mercy's love interest, so it was great to start to get to know him. Between his introduction and the synopsis of the next book, well, there's going to be some conflict there, and I can't wait!

I really enjoyed this book, it was a lot of fun to read, and I'm so glad that these characters found their happy ending!

First sentence: The home of Geb Arafa, a mile outside of London The last person Nicholas Ellsworth expected to find at his good friend Geb Arafa’s dinner party was Lady Faith Landon. Yet there she was, Nicholas’s fiancée, maddeningly pretty and equally aggravating. She fit perfectly with the lush décor and priceless artifacts in Geb’s parlor.

Premise/plot: Misleading a Duke is the second book in the series. The heroine of this one is Faith Landon; the hero is Nicholas Ellsworth, Duke of Breckenridge. The two are engaged before the novel opens, but not happily engaged. Apparently a good bit of their story is told in book one--though I don't think Faith is the main character of book one? Long story short, it's an arranged marriage and Faith doesn't want to marry a stranger. Since he is not as forthcoming as she would like him to be, she sets out to manipulate him into a situation where there really isn't much of an escape: a secluded country home with just two or three servants. But unfortunately for them all his past isn't just haunting him emotionally but quite physically leading to a dangerous, hostile situation where all their lives are endangered. Will this couple live long enough to wed?

My thoughts: Are plots necessary to smutty romance novels? Is characterization a must? Would I find the characterization completely lacking if I'd read book one? Would I find their romance more believable if I'd read it from start to finish instead of middle to finish? Perhaps. Though I will say this, whether I'd read book one or not...I would find the graphic what-goes-where-ness of this novel to be not to my taste or preference. That's me. I get that. I completely and totally get that every romance reader has their preference: completely clean, mostly clean at least until the 'I do's', a bit off-screen but obvious, a few scenes in graphic detail BUT plenty of characterization and story and wit and charm, graphic details and the plot and characters are of secondary importance, a LOT of graphic details and names don't matter as there isn't any bother at all about making heroes and heroines at all unique. It's not my job to judge other readers for their personal preference as far as smut level is concerned. This may be a five star read for other readers. But for me, it definitely is not. If anything it proves how stubborn this reader can be that I'll finish just about anything no matter how much it's not working for me. Is that a good thing? a bad thing? a thing thing?

I will definitely not be reading other books by this author now that I know her idea of romance. But check out other reviews (higher reviews) to see if her books might work for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for my honest review.

I did not read the first book in this series, I did not realize it was a series until I started it. I was able to follow along, but I do think it would have been helpful to read it. The backstory of our main characters, Nick & Mary, clearly took place in the first book before we jumped into this book. That being said, I did enjoy the adventure in this book. I would recommend if you're looking for:

-Close proximity romance
-A strong group of girlfriends watching out for each other
-Spies and intrigue
-historical romance with a more modern writing
-A cute puppy
-plenty of steam

While set in the past, ultimately this was a bit more modern to me. There was not a lot of the hallmarks of a regency romance, the characters were upfront with themselves from the beginning about their attraction. This is an open door romance and not a slow burn as is typical in this setting. If you like historical romances but are looking for something different, and a sense of adventure I would encourage you to give it a try. I think where it missed the mark for me was that the characters switched their feelings for each other so quickly. It was written up as an enemies to lovers romance, but never came across that way. I enjoyed it, and may have more if I read the first one.

3.5 stars

This book took awhile to get into but once the story actually started I enjoyed it. That being said, I was probably a 1/3 of the way through before that happened. I’m not exactly sure what genre it was supposed to be. Romance? Historical fiction? Something else?

I felt like it was more of a story about a French spy vs. a story about the romance between the two main characters. I thought it would be more of a love story. I wish we could have gotten more of Nick and Faith’s journey at the end. I felt like it was a bit rushed and the author skimmed over some parts.

Overall, a solid 3 star story. I could have done without the beginning, it was a little confusing and didn’t really “fit” the story very much. But the middle to end was great! A good amount of action and romance. It was a fairly fast read.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review! #MisleadingADuke #NetGalley

The characters in these novels are so lovely. The Wallflowers of West Lane series centers on a group of four friends - Poppy, Faith, Mercy, and Aurora. Poppy is the heroine in Book 1, and Faith is our leading lady in Misleading a Duke. Faith's love interest is Nick, who is both a duke and a British spy. He was introduced in Book 1. He arranged a marriage to Faith through letters with Faith's family, and Faith and her friends wanted to learn more about him, so they set out to do a little spy work of their own. Because they were spending so much time sneaking around Nick, he is suspicious of them and wants Faith to call off the marriage, even though he is very attracted to her. Faith, however, recognizes Nick is a good man and wants things to work out. Because of this back story, unlike most romance novels, I think the reader would benefit from reading Book 1. Does Misleading a Duke operate as a standalone? Sure, but the background knowledge would make for smoother sailing.

The plot of this one was... a lot. It starts off with Faith and her friends creating another scheme to get to know Nick better, since he is not a good communicator. However, soon there is even more action than the blurb lets on. And that was exciting! We have a trio of French spies hellbent on revenge from Nick, which leads to some thrilling situations. Trigger warning: Nick is BADLY abused by his captors in this one. There's a lot of blood. (I should also not the trigger warning that Faith's friend Aurora had an abusive first marriage, which is mentioned in Book 1 as well.) These scenes are scary and exciting, and the villains are far from cartoonish. One is pure evil, another has clear motivations, and the third doesn't seem like too bad of a person. However, later in the book, there are some more action scenes that I don't want to spoil. I found them to focus too much on the movement and not enough on what the characters were feeling, which made it hard to connect.

The romance between Nick and Faith is hot. I really love both of their characters, and most of the love scenes were super steamy. Nick is the right amount of sweet and broody, mysterious and interesting. Faith has some insecurities from her youth, but her friendships have bolstered her and helped her to become the confident, interesting woman she is today.

Overall, this one was okay for me. I think the plot was a little too all over the place to connect with the characters as much as I did in Book 1. However, I am excited for Book 3. The ladies in this series are fabulous. Book 3 is about Mercy, who I really like, but I am very eager to see Aurora's POV down the line! This was a 3 star read for me. My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and enjoyed the first book in this series, I requested and started reading this book right away when it was approved.

I enjoyed the romance between Faith and Nick.. The characters in this book are well developed, and I do enjoy all the friendships in this series, one thing I was very uncomfortable with, however, was the extended torture scenes in the book. This is something I don’t like reading at all - and definitely was not expecting it in a romance novel. I skimmed over those pages tbh .

I’m looking forward to the third book in this series .

Lady Faith Landon attempts to get to know Nicholas Ellsworth, Duke of Breckenridge, to whom she became engaged by her mother's doing without her knowledge. Nick is a spy for the English government who has recently returned to England in hopes of settling down to a ducal life with his lady bride. Unfortunately, old enemies interrupt Faith's attempt to get to know Nick better and it becomes a question of surviving it long enough to fall in love.

This book is not what I expected at all when it is classified as a historical romance. There is a good spark between Faith and Nick, but it's initially difficult to like him. Nick fails to see that Faith feels hurt by her mother's actions which is what leads her to investigate him with her friends. Spies are discussed in the book blurb, yes.; however, there are repeated, lengthy descriptions of torture. I have never enjoyed reading it, but it's worse when it's in the middle of a romance.

Reviewed after receiving an ARC copy through Netgalley.

When I saw this book available for request, my finger clicked request quicker than you can think "read me". The first book in this series, which I was also fortunate to read an ARC of, is one of my favourites of the year so far.

I went into Misleading a Duke with high expectations, and I was not disappointed. I absolutely adore the Wallflowers of West Lane and everything they stand for. I have a history degree with a specialism in women's suffrage, and these women are just the kind I'd love to study. Faith is such an endearing character, knowing her own mind and using sound logic and reason to help herself, and herself alone, determine what is best for her.

Nicholas, as many men of the period did, has some demons to face due to his position, and uses these to push away those who get too close; enter Faith. There were some very tense moments in their story, particularly in the castle,but I thought the author dealt with them very humanely,and didn't romanticise those dark moments.

I thought their realisation moments were quite lovely, and of course the Wallflowers were at hand to play their parts. With each book I read I hope that we'll get to find out about Geb Arafa's happiness... and I suspect one of our Wallflowers...

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the review in exchange for an honest review.

Very unique historical romance, but the characters were hard to connect with. I didn’t particularly like the female MC and her ‘friends’ - some times, it seemed like they were immature people playing games.

The action was meh. It’s not really something I actively choose to read.

All in all, it was ok?

Whew, I feel like I'm still coming off of a slight high after reading A.S. Fenichel's Misleading a Duke. Talk about ACTION. PACKED.

This book is way more dramatic than the description lets on, and the French spies it alludes to aren't just cartoon villains; they're actually terrible people. This novel almost plays like an action movie as much as it does a romance, and it's truly unlike anything I've read in historical romances recently. It doesn't quite reach the level of thriller, but there's definitely seat-of-your-pants tension.

Think of it like the film The Princess Bride in terms of how it runs the emotional gamut. And personally, I loved The Princess Bride, so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed Misleading a Duke too.

4.5 Stars. It took me a little bit of time to warm up to the hero, but once I really started to like him, I could not stop turning pages! A great follow-up for anyone who liked the first in the series!