Lily Farnsworth’s father has been keeping the family estate from financial ruin for a few years. Lily has found she can be quite resourceful when she discovers she has a particular skill at piquet and she can earn her own money playing cards. Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Duke of Dembly has taken over the reins of the family estate before his father completely bankrupts it. His only means of rescue is gambling and his skill at cards, but he’s about to meet his match when Lily challenges him to a game of cards. Hayes definitely believes woman should not be gambling, they do not have a head for numbers or cards. I love this match they are so perfect for each other, but Hayes is trying to avoid the marriage mart even though Lily is just exactly what he needs in a partner for life. I have voluntarily read and reviewed these excellent story.

I enjoyed this book!

The characters are well developed and the plot is different from that of the typical historical romance novel.

The hero is Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Duke of Dembly. Hayes father, the duke, is part of a group of six dukes that made a pact to see their heirs married. Of course, the heirs in question want no part of the scheme and go out of their way to ensure that they remain bachelors.

The heroine is Lily Farnsworth, who scraped together enough funds to provide herself a season in London. While in London, Lily stays with her aunt (who is a character in of herself).

Both the hero and heroine come from families that have financial difficulties, and both resort to gambling as a means by which to help their families with their financial difficulties.

At their first meeting, Lily and Hayes play against each other in a game of pique, and Lily trounces Hayes, much to the surprise of everyone, especially Hayes, as he is renowned for his card-playing abilities.

What I liked:

I appreciate that the author does not follow the stereotypical character types. The heroine is not a blue stocking and admits that she has difficulty learning; it is due to her photographic memory that she excels in playing cards.

The hero while trying to restore the family fortune does not aspire to marry an heiress. Instead, he aspires to marry only after he has enough funds to support a wife in the manner of which he believes appropriate.

This book is part of a series and has reoccurring characters from previous books; however this book can be read as a stand alone book.

I intend to read more books by this author.

Lily Farnsworth is determined to have a successful season and she has ensured that her finances are sufficient without requiring assistance from her father, by gambling. And she is so good at it. When Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth, meets Lily, he too is determined to use his gambling skills so as to return the dukedom to financial success. When Lily reveals that she likes to play cards, Hayes scoffs at her ability, forcing Lily to play against him. When she wins, Hayes is intrigued, yet he has resolved to not marry despite his parents’ determination to see him wed. Yet as the couple spend time together, their attraction grows as their lives suddenly appear to be in danger.
A clean romance with great dialogue. I enjoyed the banter between this couple, which goes from them arguing to romance. With several twists to the story and plenty of drama, it had me engaged to the very end.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth, has pledged not to marry for another 2 years standing strong with his friends who will defy their fathers against being forced into marriage by a declining income. Ashworth is trying hard to pull the dukedom back into the black and supplements the title's income with his gambling skills, that is, until Lily Farnsworth with her photographic memory, soundly beats him. He's convinced she used some kind of trickery, but the more he gets to know her, the more attractive to him she becomes. Will he abandon the pact and finally succumb to love?

I really enjoy this series. 3 duke's sons down with 3 more to go. It's a great premise for the series and each story is inventive. Ms. Archer slowly teases out the details into Ashworth's need to gamble. It's not what you think and there's a few twists and turns in the book that will keep you turning the pages until the end. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth, is desperate. He's desperate to get his father's holdings back on a firm footing and he's desperate to avoid the misbegotten plans made by his father and his ducal friends. Slowly but surely Hayes turns the tide using the proceeds from his cautious gambling and all is going well until he is seated next to the outrageous Lily Farnsworth who claims to have some skill at piquet. Provoked into taking a wager, Hayes finds himself seated across from Lily in a game of cards, where she proves her skill to him. This romance draws one in from the opening chapters as Lily and Hayes step carefully around one another, trying at all costs to avoid being provoked into further games, and finding an unwanted attraction springing up between them. However, there are others with malicious intentions that would bring about their downfall. The novel is romantic but there is a thread of suspense running through the plot as characters who have already caused much harm, make their appearance. I enjoyed the main characters in this book and in particular Mrs. Hemming's uncensored speech, causing no end of embarrassment to Lily. The story is well written and entertaining and kept my interest throughout. Having read the previous two books in this series, I found that some of those characters appeared in this story as well, but it is nevertheless and standalone and comes to a happy conclusion. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

The card shark gets a run for his money! This is an easy read although it takes a minute to get to the love and relationship part. It's a slow start to a sweet relationship. The love happens quick and if you blink, you will miss it. I do wish the story told more detail on their love instead of focusing so much on other characters and those relationships.

Lilly Farnsworth met Hayes Ashworth, the oldest son of a Duke, over a game of pique. He lost not one, but two games between them. It's all London society can talk about.
For a young lady and a Duke who don't seem to suit, being held hostage together brings some major changes in their regard for each other. As the kidnapper becomes a blackmailer and more irrational, Hayes needs to decide to give up the game or raise the stakes. The third book in the series doesn't focus on their courtship as much as card games, a Lady who isn't the Lady and a cheating blackmailer. Nevertheless I still found it very entertaining. Three down and three sons to go.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Another dedicated bachelor duke falls in love! Hayes is a gambler that can’t be beat, until Lily with her photographic memory plays him. Hayes is intrigued by a person, a woman at that, who can beat him. Both of them need to win money to support their families. I can’t wait to read about the next duke in the series! I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, Dragonblade Publishing and to Ms. Archer for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required and these opinions are my own.

The Lord's Desperate Pledge was definitely my favorite of the three books thus far. Frankly, I thought that the characterization showed a huge improvement over the first two. Lord Ashworth acted like a blockheaded, arrogant ass (read: a man of his times) on occasion, but didn't slander Miss Farnsworth (looking at you, Lord Hampton) nor was he obtusely persistent to the point of idiocy (Lockwood). Lily Farnsworth was a perfect foil for Ashworth: confident, unapologetic, and calm. At times perhaps, it could be argued that Miss Farnsworth was a bit TOO confident, as your average debutante could arguably have lost her reputation after the first "wager", let alone after repeatedly publicized profitable trips to the card table. It was nonetheless enjoyable to witness Lily and Ashworth's battle of wits, as well as (of course) their gradual slide from enemies to frenemies to friends.

One thing you don't really notice in this story is the lack of, ahem, physical intimacy between the two main characters. The story is so engaging that it really doesn't register and frankly, I enjoyed that about it. Sneaking off into alcoves for a quickie is fun for us modern girls to read about but highly unlikely for your average regency virgin, cough cough. I liked very much seeing the organic growth of friendship and then stronger feelings between the two main characters; it was that exact growth of romance that was so lacking in book #2, where Lockwood and Sybil seemed never to really move beyond the "enemies" stage until BAM they were engaged.

The side plot with Lady Carruthers and Mr. Shine was a little out-there but I understand that it existed to force Hayes and Lily together, which otherwise was unlikely to happen. I am assuming that we'll see Lady Carruthers again (hopefully) as I thought she would have made a terrific foil for Dalton. I would very much like to read Penny Darlington and Lord Cabot's story (I'm assuming they'll match up) as I'm just about as horse-enthused as either of them seem to be :) Hopefully that one is next!

Overall, this is a fun, enjoyable and engaging historical romance that is gentle without really ever seeming gentle, if you know what I mean. I liked it very much and am eagerly awaiting #4.

The Six Grandfather Dukes are back and two are sitting back relaxing and the rest are planning the fall of their grandsons!

The heir to the Duke of Dembly may have boasted once that his estate was prosperous, but that is not the case any longer. However, Hayes has been able to rescue the estate and build up a reserve only because of his card playing skills. He has been the cardsharp King and he is very arrogant about his title.

Lily Farnsworth is new into town for her season, but only because people have been willing to donate and loan items of clothing. She also is a phenomenal card player. It becomes known that she is a card player and Hayes makes light of a woman player.
The match is on and Lily wins and he is not a happy camper! At their second encounter things heat up in more ways than one!

Kate Archer does not disappoint with this Pact book. Without giving away any spoilers, this is a impressive storyline! I was immersed into the characters and how they all developed and came together.

I can’t wait for the other Pact books and see how they all fall down!

I would definitely not only recommend this book, but the entire series!

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

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

After two of the members of the Duke's Pact have already found love and married, the other four heirs are getting antsy. They don't want to be the next one to succumb, but when Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth, comes across the lovely Lily Farnsworth, his time might just be up. For Lily, she's known hardship in the past, and is only able to have a season due to the charity of her friends with donated dresses, and her own skill at the piquet table. She knows the responsibility is on her to marry well, and be able to sponsor her younger sisters when they come of age. Hearing that there is a club open to both men and women, where she might be able to supplement her allowance even further, Lily is overjoyed. The only negative, really, is the arrogant Viscount Ashworth. After hearing him ridicule the idea that a woman could best him, the man known for being so adapt at cards, she challenges him to a game, and the gauntlet is thrown. After finding themselves victim to a wicked scheme, however, they learn more about each other's pasts, and start to consider the possibility of more.

I think this is my favourite of the series so far. As the time is running down for the final four heirs, none of them want to marry because their father has decreed it, and least of all is Hayes. He recently discovered how badly run his family estate was, and though he's still only the heir, his father has had to relinquish all control, and to find money to pay off the massive debts, he turned his hand to piquet. He's fully in control of the finances, and sees no reason to worry that his father will cut him off, but he still can't quite get over his attraction to Lily when they meet. They have a definite frosty first encounter, and the fact that Lily thoroughly beats him at what he's best at, doesn't endear her to him, no matter what she looks like. Again and again, they clash, but we see more of each other show through, and after falling foul to the devilish scheme being played by the wicked Mr Shine, the romance really blossoms. I feel as though the pair really see the best in each other, and their own similarities, and affection for each other. I loved them together, and seriously hope we see them again in the subsequent stories! I can't wait for book 4.

I am in love with The Duke's Pact Series. Kate Archer has done a fabulous job on the settings and characters. The Desperate Pledge may be my favorite so far. I am now desperate for the rest of the series. I have to admit I stayed up way to late because the last few chapters were so good I could not put it down.
I was excited to read Ashwood's story because he was so arrogant in the previous books. I knew it would take someone special, like Lily, to change him. I don't want to share any spoilers so I won't say too much. Characters are top notch. Plot was fantastic. I also like how 2 other's stories were thrown in for more information.

Historical romance with danger thrown in. Lily and Hayes both need the money they win from gambling to help their families, their initial dislike is overturned when they are kidnapped and then blackmailed, finally they meet back at the tables, the wager is to win or lose and gain his hand in marriage, which will Lily choose. Great story.

Lily and Hayes are both trying to refill the family coffers. They both had an unusual way to do it. Gambling.
They fell dislike at first sight.
Lily, was likeable character, doing all she could to help her family.
Hayes, had to grow on me but he won me over