Wow! This book is SO GOOD! It is romantic, entertaining, witty, and so much more! Whenever I picked up "A Wicked Bargain for the Duke", I was whisked back in time, and found myself enthralled by this, at first, "marriage of convenience" romance!

This is the first book I have read by Megan Frampton, as well as the third book in her "Hazards of Dukes" series. I believe this book can be read as a stand-alone novel as well, and I now can't wait to go back and read the older books in the series! Ms. Frampton truly knows how to bring a story to life, and she hooks the reader from the first page to the last. Each and every character is so unique, and truly jumps right off of the page with their individual personalities.

Lavinia is such a spunky, witty, intelligent, caring, and loving woman who wants the best for those she truly holds dear. Extremely protective of her younger sister Jane, Lavinia will do anything in her power to keep Jane from being forced to marry someone she (Jane) does not love (as Jane is in love with a kind man already!). Never could Lavinia have imagined what occurs, and who this will lead her to fall in love with.

Thaddeus wants to find a woman to marry who he believes will act a certain way, give him an heir, and be considered a perfect duchess in his eyes. When he sets his sights on Jane, never could he have imagined that he will be found in, what others believe to be, a compromising position (that really is not one) with her elder sister. Nor could he think how this will turn his whole world upside down...perhaps for the better! There is much more to him than meets the eye.

(Possible Spoilers!)
Lavinia and Thaddeus, though very different in many ways, truly balance each other out quite well. They bring out the best in one another, and watching their relationship develop is quite unique and entertaining. Both are very strong-willed in their own ways, and watching them grow together is beautiful. And their chemistry!! Oh goodness!

If you enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend this book! It is unique, had me turning the pages into the early morning hours to see if and how everything would work out, and I truly hope we see many of these characters again in future books in this series!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC of this novel, I so enjoyed it! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thaddeus and Lavinia make an adorable couple in this humerous and poignant tale.
Thaddeus is a stogie duke. Lavinia is a heiress come author in this funny story.
Megan Frampton has written a remarkable story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and I have left this review voluntarily.

Lady Lavinia Capel is a rather unusual lady. Heiress, author, sister, friend and a member of a rather havey cavey family just this side of scandalous. Her sister Jane, however, is a different story. Quiet, reserved and shy, all she really wants is an opportunity to marry the boy next door. Everything is coming along nicely until the new Duke of Hasford enters the scene. He of the handsome face and the rigid principles is guaranteed to throw a wrench into everything, especially when he decides he wants to marry Jane. Suddenly everything is in an uproar, Lavinia is in the middle of it all and the new Duke finds that what he thought he wanted is not actually what he needed. Megan Frampton's newest book is filled with entertaining moments, sparkling dialogue and characters who make you want to read more. A solid read.

If you want a book that has Bridgerton vibes and just delightful - this is your book.

Tropes:
• Sister saves "shy-loves-someone-else" younger sister from marrying the Hero
• Marriage of Convenience
• Heroine Secret Published Author
• Interstitials of Heronine's Work
• Grumpy, Grunts, & Groveling by Hero
• Hero doesn't know how to love
• Spoon Scenes by both Hero and Heroine (it's a trope now)


A lot of the sex happens off-page initially and then appears on the page towards the end.

Overall, just a delightful read.

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the ARC.

A WICKED BARGAIN FOR THE DUKE is filled with sparkling dialogue and plenty of inner conflict to please romance fans...good for folks looking for Julia Quinn or Tessa Dare readalikes.

I loved this book. It was exactly what I needed right now—something light and fun, but still emotionally satisfying. I adored Lavinia; she’s smart, she’s funny, and she’s forthright. I knew Thaddeus from the previous books and was happy to see him loosen up a little. My favorite thing about this book is that the couple *actually talked to each other about their problems.* When Lavinia wasn’t sexually satisfied, she initiated a conversation about that fact, and together they discussed how to fix the problem. This is unusual in historical romance, but it shouldn’t be!

I was not a fan of the previous book in the series, but this one brought me back around. Now I’m really hoping Jane’s story will be next!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thaddeus, serious, stoic, dutiful, decides it's time to find a wife and conceive an heir. He sees Jane and finds her everything on his list, beautiful, quite, docile, etc. NOT her talkative, opinionated sister, Lavinia. The sisters come from an unconventional family, one step away from scandalous. Jane wants to marry their stuffy, judgmental neighbor and Lavinia wants to help her achieve her goal. When she and Thaddeus are caught in a compromising position (they trip and fall into each other in public), they strike an agreement to marry and separate after a son is born. Deep down, Thaddeus is lonely and wants a real marriage and close family but Lavinia also has a secret. Parts were funny. Lavinia finds her wedding night underwhelming and tells him so. She is not afraid to stand up for herself and Thaddeus soon realizes he married the right sister. Most of the story centers around the fact they both want to end their agreement to separate, but neither tells the other.

Another great regency romance from Megan Frampton. Lavinia is the spirited Lady readers love to root for. This is a terrific addition to the series but can be read as a standalone book with no confusion.

Thaddeus Dutton, Duke of Hasford, is looking for a suitable duchess after inheriting. Thaddeus is a military officer and always has a plan. That plan does not include Lavinia, but her sister Jane is everything Lavinia is not. Thaddeus sets his sites on Jane for his duchess. The only problem is Jane is in love with someone else. Jane is quiet and obedient and fears that if the Duke gets her alone he will propose. Jane asks her sister for help. Thaddeus is thrown together with Lavinia and attraction grows. The two soon find themselves married and learning love doesn't care about plans for suitable duchess, but bold women with thoughts and opinions is a different story.
I enjoyed reading this story. I did wish Lavinia and Thaddeus had a deeper emotional connection. The connection seemed mostly sexual and surface deep.

Megan Frampton does it again!!!
I truly enjoy her books and this one was no different.

I loved watching Thad (cause imma call him Thad) come undone in this marriage of convenience because we all knew that man needed to let loose a bit.

Lavinia was such a devoted sister and someone who desperately wants to unleash her passion and to that I say yes!

I especially enjoyed Thad’s genuine exploration of what loneliness is like and how much his life shifted to be able to take up the mantle of being a peer as opposed to just being a military man.

I love a good “compromised into marriage” regency romance, and Frampton delivers her usual sharp, witty and engaging writing in A Wicked Bargain For The Duke. When two people who think they don’t mesh end up married due to social conventions, neither is prepared for the passion they experience together. While the battle of wills that ensues is common enough in this genre, Frampton does it refreshingly enough so that it doesn’t seem tired at all. A cute and enjoyable weekend read.

Upcoming Release Feature: A Wicked Bargain for the Duke by Megan Frampton 🌹

If you’re like any of the 63 million viewers who have streamed Bridgerton as of late, you were looking for escapism in a time when reality and facts are arguably the first thoughts flooding our minds.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a confession. Historical romances have been sneaking their way into my hands since I was a teenager. When I was younger, I would go as far hiding them in between textbooks. So embarrassing, but true. I blame (and thank) my childhood nanny, my beloved Ann, for my foray into regency romances.

After many many years of stepping away from the genre, Jasmine Guillory lured me back into contemporary romance this summer and left me smiling. I remember asking myself why I stopped reading romances? Real life, adulthood, along with the desire to diversify my reading overall I suppose.

Regardless of how much my reading tastes evolved over the years, this year was an exception to everything. The second half of my reading year was spent alternating between serious, fun, political, and sexy. This was a great balance that helped my mind and heart stay strong during this pandemic.

In came The Duke and I in the television binge format interpretation of Beidgerton. I was left craving more and I knew it was time to jump back into a historical romance.

I started a few, but many of them felt a little “too” cheesy, hard to get into, or unrealistic. But wait, isn’t that the very purpose of historical romances? I was afraid that maybe I aged out of the imagination and escapism of the genre.

I decided to give it another shot and I started A Wicked Bargain for the Duke by Mary Frampton, and let me tell you - I could NOT put it down.

Frampton’s sweeping descriptions immediately connect you with the characters. The main protagonist Lavinia is forced into a bargain of marriage with Thaddeus, a Duke. I was drawn into Lavinia and her viviaciois and fearless personality. The strong female lead in a setting that frankly, favors the demure and kept was refreshing.

This read was pleasurable, empowering, and reminded me of how words can be tangible when our bodies writhe in anticipation for the next chapter. This book was equal parts steamy and thoughtful, a combination that I didn’t think was possible.

As if the characters weren’t interesting enough, the vivid description of the regency clothing, decor, and language left me wanting more.

I didn’t expect to have a smile on my face hours after finishing the book, but I did. After dipping my toe back into the historical romance pool, I can safely say that Megan Frampton has convinced me to make the full plunge and dive in.

Thank you to @avonbooks, @harpercollins, @netgalley, and of course @meganframptonbooke for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was simply lovely. One of my favorite things was how well-characterized Lavinia and Thaddeus were. These were not cardboard cutouts but characters who truly breathed on the page which made watching them fall in love all the more enjoyable.

I liked the message that biological family isn’t always real family. Lavinia has her sister, Jane, and her brother, Freddie, but Thaddeus is very isolated apart from his staff. They are both good people who are thrown together by Lavinia’s impulsive decision to protect her sister. Yet they learn respect and communication skills and form a rapport and then love follows. I am not a fan of instant love and there is no instant love in this book which makes it that much stronger.

Lavinia’s mother is truly horrible and her father is too drunk to care about much so be warned if those are your triggers. Otherwise, if you like a good historical romance, this one is most assuredly worth your time. There are no shortcuts to love here.

This was all sorts of good fun! I love a good opposites attract, starchy hero gets unstarched romp and I appreciated the hero was fully aware the miscommunication issues were coming from him, for a change.

A Wicked Bargin for the Duke is the 3rd book in a series. I read the 1st 2, so I couldn’t wait for the next book.
Though you can definitely read it without the others,
Thaddeus has decided he needs to marry. His 2 best friends (from the other books) have fallen in love and gotten married. He’s lonely, though he doesn’t realize it. He’s ex-military, so he makes a list of qualities he wants in a bride. He finds the perfect bride (according to the list) & then nothing goes right and he marries her sister. It’s not a romantic love story, but more and more he realizes she was the right sister for him and it’s almost too late.
This is a book I will likely read again when it’s released and eagerly await the next book in the series!

This ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read very little in Historical romances so it has to be really great for me to love it. This book just did not keep my interest I am sorry to say. The interstitials between each chapter early on drove me a little crazy as I had no idea what they meant.

The main character is Lavinia who loves her sister Jane but was not a fan of the Duke for her. Lots of pining which is not my favorite in historical romances. I felt the writing was pretty good otherwise and the character of Lavinia I really liked. She was a strong woman in a time when women were not supposed to be strong,

Another wonderful book from Megan Frampton. I have enjoyed this series of unconventional love stories.

Thaddeus and Lavinia romance is one that they had to learn to connect and overcome the challenges of marriage. I enjoyed the way their personalities held true to form during the love story. Also, enjoyed how the openness of their thoughts and actions was acknowledged.

I enjoyed the interactions of friends and family. Can’t wait to see if Jane gets her HEA.

This is Thaddeus and Lavinia’s story. He is a Duke her mother wanted for her sister. They get caught in a compromising position. They have to marry. He lays out the rules for their marriage. There are many misunderstandings. She has a big secret. I really enjoyed the story.

Lavinia is an author, although no one knows it’s her writing the books because she knows male authors are much more socially accepted, so her brother gets the credit publicly and she gets the credit financially. She is very independent, loyal, and not afraid to speak her mind, which is what I loved about her.

Thaddeus ha just become a Duke unexpectedly and now is in search of a wife that will fulfill his needs in the bedroom as well as other domestic duties. He is regimented, (thinks) he knows what he wants, and will do anything so that the dukedom doesn’t suffer.

These two could not be more opposite, but they work so well together! I was surprised at how they came together, but for the time period they are in, that was how it happened sometimes. Once under the same roof, I was excited to see their relationship develop and while I could have used more steam in the first half of the book, the second book was fantastic!

I really liked how Thaddeus defended Lavinia against people who had been putting her second her whole life and how her was willing to take suggestions from his new wife without being a total jerk about it. This made it a fun read and a definite page-turner!

ARC received for review

2.5 stars

Slightly better than the previous book but still lacks a lot. I think my biggest peeve with it is that the sex scenes feel like they were written by my 15 year old virgin daughter. They were very vague and just lacking. Her mom is a witch with a capital B, and her sister's future in-laws aren't much better.