This book is what I call a “balls and house party book”. Pretty light on actual love story, just mostly about the hoops the H had to jump through to marry the h.

Book #2 in the Duke's Pact series.
Can be read alone, characters from previous books are mentioned.
Lady Sybil is devoted to her family and they are great at holding grudges. She is small, but mighty.
Richard, Marquess of Lockwood is enamored by Lady Sybil. Good and likeable fellow.
Fun premise

Richard Smythe, Marquess of Lockwood and heir to the Duke of Gravesley, does not wish to marry no matter if the duke will cut his funds in half until he does as he was told and pick a wife. Lockwood feels bad about the prank his friends did to an innocent young lady and tried numerous times to apologize to her friend, Sybil Hayworth. Sybil had adamantly refuses to forgive Lockwood even though her friend has done so. This only spurns Lockwood on at every turn to gain her forgiveness. When Sybil says her father has forbidden her to dance with him, Lockwood now must win over both Sybil and her father. Sybil had enjoyed Lockwood's attention and now that her father has decreed no more interactions for her and Lockwood, Sybil must decide if her loyalties lie with her family or the handsome Lord Lockwood.

I enjoyed the first book in the series, but this was fell flat for me. I almost stopped reading a number of times especially since there are no interactions between Lockwood and Sybil until the very end. I think that was a mistake and it was hard to figure out why there was even a romance between these two. It was hard to route for either of them when all we got were their inner thoughts. One bright spot in the book is Charlie, the orphan that talked his way into accompanying Lockwood's valet. He was a hoot. He made me laugh so many times, but unfortunately, even the adorable Charlie could not save this book for me.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately this novel did not hold my attention. Unoriginal characters and a slow storyline made it difficult to get through. True to its historical era, the language just felt too formal and lacked romantic chemistry.

How long do you hold a grudge? What if the person offended forgave the offender? Would you still be mad at the offender? What if your parents were at odds, but you were Romeo & Juliet! Would you walk away from your true soulmate!

Lady Sybil was just discovering her feelings for Lord Lockwood, but not only was there her father’s adamant grudge against this young man because of past bad dealings with his Father, but Lord Lockwood had his Brotherhood Pact of friends who were meddling nefariously in keeping this young couple apart as well.

Laughter abounds in adventures with all the characters trying to separate or get together this couple! The author has given us another astounding book that has kept me entertained and wanting to keep turning the pages! I cannot wait for the next book of the series!

I laughed all the way through the book. In fact I'm still laughing. The second book in the DUKE PACT, Richard, Marquess of Lockwood is on a mission. As a former solider in the war against Napoleon, he works on his strategy to gain the forgiveness of Lady Sybil for the terrible circumstances involving her friend Lady Cassandra, now Lady Hampton. No matter the lady's refusal to have anything to do him, he keeps going forward to try to win over her forgiveness and then her heart. What better way to succeed than through her father. As an unwelcome guest to a house party, a sinking regatta, a street urchin named Charlie, bets placed on anything moving or otherwise and the interference of his fellow second sons. Richard is never discouraged. As a Kate Archer fan, I can't say enough how much I've enjoyed reading the books in this series... and to think of more to come!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Though her friend, Cassandra Knightsbridge, now Lady Hampton, has forgiven the gentlemen of the duke's pact, Lady Sybil Hayworth has not. The Hayworth family never forget a slight, and especially not when one of the gentlemen is the son of her father's enemy. Richard Smythe, Marquess of Lockwood and heir to the Duke of Gravesley has always been intrigued by the petite and feisty Lady Sybil, and wants more than anything her forgiveness. When the Blanding family decamp to Yorkshire of a house party, Richard manoeuvres his way in, and tries to get in Sybil's, and her father's, good books. Both of them are attracted to the other, but Sybil will not give in, and when it seems as if Richard is making a joke of the entire thing, and after the pretty Miss Mapleton, she's heartbroken. Richard, for his part, knows he wants to be with Sybil, but the other gentlemen in the pact are actively working against him, and he might just not be able to convince her he's serious.

From the first book in the series, I loved Sybil and Richard's interactions. This time, they aren't together as much, because of the various situations they find themselves in, but I still enjoyed their romance. Richard was nothing if not persistent, and though he went around it the wrong way, he was sweet in his efforts. I also loved the camaraderie between him, Kingston, and little Charlie - who was definitely a cheeky chap! Sybil, for the most part, was a bit brash and abrasive, but seeing her and her parents, you could understand it. The thing that got me the most with the book was how much I dislike Lord Dalton, and though I know one of the books will be about him - likely the final one - I don't know if I'm looking forward to it - unless he suffers before getting his happy ending. His imprisonment of Richard, and trying to actively hurt his chances with Sybil, was abhorrent, and I want him to get his comeuppance in some way. I do look forward to reading about how the other gentlemen get on in their marriage chances.

While I loved the first book I didn’t really like this book and that was because Sybil was not a likeable character for about 90% of the book.

She was a wonderful character in the first book. A fierce and loyal friend, but in this book I found her prejudice and petty.

Lockwood and his persistence made me laugh. He set a goal for himself and went for it.

I also missed interaction between the main characters. They had most of their interaction in the first book, but hardly any in this book.