I have realized that any book that centers around horses is not for me. There is endless talk of horses and this bores me to death. Other than that no matter how much I tried, I could not like Lord Cabot.

While this is a stand alone book, if you haven't read the other books in the series, I encourage you to do so. The Duke's Pact Series is a fun series to read.
This is Penny and Henry's story. They share a love of horses, and have much to talk about when together. However, Henry makes some hurtful comments to Penny at a ball, which is heard by others.
At the Newmarket Races, Henry has been invited to be a house guest by Penny's father, which makes things awkward for Penny. Add in an evil moneylender, the other bachelor heirs trying to make sure Henry remains single, and you have a very entertaining read.
I highly recommend this book.

The Baron''s Dangerous Contract will hold you captivated from the moment you begin the journey until the very end as six wily old Dukes make a pact to see their sons married. Six carefree sons make a pact to not marry! But three have already have found themselves married to their love of their lives. Now the fourth one, Lord Cabot is racing to prove himself to Penny Darlington but along the way he will hurdles to overcome come. Penny Darlington has been hurt by some careless words Lord Cabot spoke to her during a ball. As the two travel a cautious path to finding their happy ever after two of Lord Cabot friends work to break them up. Kate Archer has written a wonderful story and  filled with characters that are well thought and out come off the pages and pull you into their tale, heartfelt dialogue and an enjoyable plot that bring this read together perfectly!

I thoroughly enjoyed Penny and Henry, Lord Cabot's, story. Once, more than friends, they now no longer speak due to a cruel slight to Penny unintentionally made by Lord Cabot. Set at the Newmarket races, the eclectic cast of characters keeps this story moving. Enjoyable short read!!
Thank you Kate Archer, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Six Dukes cut their heirs off to get them to marry and settle down; Henry Cabot is the 4th one to go down in this series. The book starts with a synopsis of a scene from the previous book where Lord Henry Cabot, dismayed at seeing friend #3 fall in love, lashes out at the woman, Miss Penny Darlington, that he unknowingly loves.

This book is about Henry's quest to get back into Penny's good graces after falling out. Both are equestrians and bonded in previous books over their love of horses. They meet up again at a house part Penny's father is throwing for a weekend of horse races. Despite his many efforts to apologize, Penny rebuffs Henry.

To evade his father's edict (one of the 6 dukes), Henry decides to borrow money from a moneylender to put his horse in a race. The moneylender tries to sabotage Henry's horse, and Penny comes to the rescue.

In this book, a lot is going on, very descriptive, and lots of awkward misunderstandings and misdirections by well-meaning friends. Honestly, it reminded me of Jane Austen, and in the book, Penny compares herself to Marianne Dashwood.

Overall I liked it. Normally I don't love a lot of side characters, but it really worked here. I even enjoyed the servants' revenge machinations. It's not a steamy book, and there's a kiss at the end that feels mostly off-book. I loved the epilogue and how everyone gets an ending. If you are in the mood for a dense read, charming dialogue, and well drawn-out characters, this is the book for you. It's not going to be for everyone. Personally, I really like this series, but it's not your typical historical romance novel.

A quick regency romance that isn't set during the Season and doesn't have much to do with Ton. There's horse racing, depts, and everything ends up tied in a nice little bow!

Unkind Words, Horse Races, and Villains

Unkind words, horse races, deceit, and treachery are the overarching themes of this story. I found it difficult to follow the book for quite some time. Then, things started to pick up at about chapter twelve. Nothing excites the mind like villains and treachery, I suppose. Even though this is a romance, much of the book was about horse-racing and plotting against the hero. The book did not resonate with me, but if you like Regency romance with horse-racing and a hero who must redeem himself, you might enjoy the story. In the beginning, Henry was a blackguard, and his excuses for uttering unkind words to Penny were utter rubbish. Could Penny ever forgive him? Would he ever redeem himself? Some might say that Penny was too sensitive, but as someone who takes words to heart, Penny had my sympathy. Even though unkind words can be forgiven, it is important to remember that what is said can never be unsaid.

Miss Penny Darlington had high hopes that Lord Cabot might be her Prince Charming because he didn’t seem to mind that she was smart. He loved horses and she not only could ride like a dream, but she was so knowledgeable most of the lords were intimidated by her knowledge, actually jealous!

Lord Cabot did a horrible thing to Miss Darlington, but she figured that she would disappear for a short time and it would blow over. Then her father goes and does something totally unexpected!
This book has some interesting moments that will keep you wanting to know what happens at the end. It is somewhat predictable, but it does have a few twists.

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

Thanks to Netgalley, dragonblade Publishing and the author for an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Once again, I have to say that this author brings her characters to life with humour and empathy in such a delightful way. This fourth instalment of the series is no exception.

Penny and Lord Cabot have always gotten along - their mutual love of horses getting them through more than one boring ball. But when Lord Cabot makes a comment that the secretly sensitive Penny cannot shrug off, their friendship seems irreparably damaged. He thinks he can save things when he comes to stay at her house but finds himself pit against other suitors who seem to value Penny's worth. And since when did he become a suitor? Isn't he part of the Heir's Pact who are sworn not to marry until they are good and ready?

He has a horse in an important race and is up to his eyeballs in debt - now is not the time to be thinking of winning Penny's affections back. But Lord Cabot's heart has other plans.

Lots of fun and a bit of intrigue make this an action-packed read with a wonderful ending.

What a fun read!

Henry, Henry, Henry.... I wonder if the phrase "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." was around then. While Penny and Henry share a love of horses, he is behaving more like a jackass and he has to find a way to recover, all while his friends are conspiring to keep them apart (for his own good of course). Throw in a loan shark and it seems like to world is crumbling around him.

Such an entertaining story!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is the 4th book of the series and while it can be read by itself, it is so much better when you read the other three first. But this series is well worth the read and you will not want to put it down when you start them.

Lady Penny Darlington has been happily flirting with Henry Roland, Lord Cabot for two seasons, she is hoping it turns into something. Until, in a fit of frustration, he insults her. His words hurt her more than he ever realized. When he does he grovels, begs and does everything in his power to get her to forgive him. His friends are trying to tear them apart to try to "end the pact" about them all having to marry. I did enjoy this book, and am excited for the next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a clean romance, set in the Victorian horse racing world. Penny and Lord Cabot both share a passion for breeding and racing horses. When Lord Cabot looses his temper and insults Penny's equine knowledge, she simply can't forgive him and takes that as a sign that he was feigning his respect and admiration for her over the last two years, and she kicks him to the curb. Lord Cabot knows he didn't really mean a word he said during his tirade, and can't believe that Penny refuses to forgive his one lapse in all their friendship. Little does he know that his friends have been feeding Penny mis-information, thinking they are saving him from a marriage he does not want. The problem is, that as time goes on, he misses her companionship and realizes that she is the only woman he could ever love, or want to marry. He broke her heart and broke her trust and is now in for the fight of his life to win it all back.

Vexation and frustration cause Henry Roland, Viscount Cabot, to lose his temper and embarrass Lady Penny Darlington at Lady Hathaway's Tudor Ball. She left in tears. Not smart Henry! He thinks she will easily forgive him, but Henry has another think coming. Horses, horse races at New Market, moneylenders, jockeys, lies and misunderstandings, make it very difficult for Henry to pursue Penny and make the right apology....and confess his love. Snicker, chuckle, laugh out, a clean traditional Regency romance.
This series is super entertaining!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

The Baron's Dangerous Contract by Kate Archer is another in the series, The Duke's Pact. Penny Darlington had just received a very rude public set down by Henry Roland, Lord Cabot. She was beyond aghast. She had thought they were friends, with their common interest in horses and all. Then, to add insult to injury, her father invites him to stay at their home during their time in Newmarket for the races. Could things get any worse? It seems they could, and did. Henry because of the Duke's Pack, had not had the money to enter his horse in the race, so after being turned down by his grandmother, he went to a moneylender. This particular chap decided to make more money off of Henry than the usury he charged and set about rigging the race. It turned into a huge mess with all kinds of ramifications.

Being without money when one is used to having it, can make for an interesting story. One of the funniest things in the book is the confusion caused by three young men living together. Unused to managing for themselves, two of them not having valets allowed for all kinds of messes, including an entertaining game of, "Whose cravat is this?" Penny was still so angry she could hardly see straight. And her friends agreed. Her father, who didn't pay attention to society workings, didn't even know. That made it all worse. The apologies were the best, though. Several unaccepted apologies. This was a good story with a fairly fast-paced plot and excellent characters. There is nothing a woman likes less than to be insulted about her knowledge on a subject in which she is extremely knowledgeable. It was witty and humorous and I enjoyed every minute.

I was invited to read a free ARC of The Baron's Dangerous Contract by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #thebaronsdangerouscontract

Miss Penny Darlington is the daughter of a famed horseman and loves her life around horses. Growing up she has acquired a lot of knowledge of racehorses and is confident in her understanding of them. So much so, when Lord Mendbridge, Henry Roland, was stating his thought, she voiced her opinion. Even though, they have spent the last two seasons happily flirting with each other; Henry was not pleased and showed her just how trivial she is. Then he accepts an invitation from her father to spend time at their estate. Just how will she handle that? But poor Henry has other problems he needs to solve. How to get the money to pay his horse’s entry fee for the race to be run. With his allowance cut in half, he visits his grandmother and finds no salvation from her. When he finds a money lender that gives him the money, things start to change and not for the better. What an adventure these two have, great characters and a plot that you will want to know how it ends.

Lord Cabot and Lady Darlington have spent the last two seasons flirting until Cabot lashes out and says some things he does not mean. When he is invited to stay at Darlington's home by her father they must figure out how to deal with each other, Cabot is set on making amends and returning to normal but Darlington wants nothing more than to avoid him.

The book switches perspectives from Cabot, Darlington, various servants, and other characters to give a refreshing view of what is going on. The characters all have depth and emotion though, making it easy to relate and follow along.

While the book is not that long nothing in the plot feels rushed, the drama and issues they face as well as the emotions and romance. Overall it's a very great romance with a great plot with everything resolved nicely in the end, without feeling rushed or forced. I cannot recommend this book enough and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!!

Thank you for the opportunity to review!

Review Posted Today March 10th:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3882994263

This book was a wonderful kind read. As a horse crazy girl I loved the main characters being horse crazy as well.
Lord Cabot has sworn off getting married any time soon,and after saying some harsh words to the lively Miss Darlington,he realizes that there just might be a young lady he is interested in. Can he fix the damages done? Especially when she seems to dodge every apology he gives her?

Excited to visit the series again and this time with Lord Cabot and Penny Darlington. Unfortunately Cabot is not happy to see his friends succumb to the marriage mart and meet the demands of the pact. Thus, he leveled a scathing remark to Penny and she had taken off.

Penny had spent time with Cabot for the last two years. They had a mutual love of horses and conversed on the subject regularly. One remark from Cabot though, really hurt her feelings. In she was in today's world, hopefully she would have blasted him!

But as fate intervenes, as it often does, these two wind up back together as Penny's father has invited Cabot to stay at their home for a house party while they are at the races! What's a girl to do?

An entertaining story that will keep you turning the pages to see how it would turn out. Of course, you need to read and you will be pleasantly surprised!

Six Duke’s agreed to pact to force their son’s to marry, they want grandchildren. They want their sons to marry and produce an heir. Since the decree was established three sons have since married and there’s three to go. The toughest three are left and the Duke’s decide to tighten the purse strings and see what happens.
Henry Roland, Lord Cabot has been flirting with Miss Penny Darlington for the last two seasons, so when insults her at a ball she’s humiliated and furious that she’s wasted so much time on him.. She thought he like her mind and her knowledge about horses after all she’s the daughter of famed horseman, Lord Mendbridge and his famous horse stables. Unbeknownst to her, her father invites Henry to his estate for the duration of the Newmarket horse race. Henry knows he needs money for the entry fee any way he can get it even from a moneylender. His actions have lasting effects he could not foresee as the moneylender has his own agenda. A good story of two people attracted to each other, who understand each other, and they have their love horses in common. Penney’s servants and her aunt are fun secondary characters in this story. But Henry does not want to marry to please his father the Duke so will love change his mind? I have voluntarily read and reviewed the excellent book.

I really struggled to get into this story. I just couldn't find a reason to care about Penny nor Henry. Finally towards the middle of the book the characters began to grow on me. The story tho, left a bit to be desired. It's a romance but it wasn't romantic. The plot was good, with some wonderful secondary characters who actually saved the story for me! I love Ms Archer's writing and so glad she gave us the servants and stable hands to add so much to this story.

Thank you to Dragonblade, NetGally and Ms Archer who gifted me with this book in exchange for an honest review.