Devil’s Own Duke is the latest in Lenora Bell’s Wallflowers vs Rogues series, and is so much fun! Hetty is the only child of a duke, and when a man turns up claiming to be the long-lost heir her father insists they marry. Ash Ellis is a gaming hell owner and scoundrel who wants to turn Hetty’s beloved vineyards into stables, and the two have absolutely nothing in common. Except for intoxicating attraction, of course.

I loved the repartee between the main characters, although the “falling” did seem a little fast. The inclusion of their very opposite cars was fun, as was the ‘mystery’ woven in to the plot. Overall I very much enjoyed this book, and can’t wait to read the next in the series!

Lenora Bell is one of my favorite historical romance writers so I was thrilled for the opportunity to read and review her book. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into this one.

The heroine, Lady Henrietta, is anxiously trying to push her somewhat elderly and reluctant father into re-marrying a younger woman - any younger woman - so that he can have a boy child who can inherit the dukedom. Her concern is that she will lose the land where she has a vineyard if her father dies without a son to inherit. I did feel that a lot of her love for the vineyard was that her mother had started it and she wanted to continue her mother's work.

Then out of the blue, an heir - an unlikely heir - shows up. His connection to the family is several generations earlier. Unbelievably, her father is thrilled with this unpolished brute of a man who runs a gambling hall and is enthusiastic about a match between his daughter and this stranger. She gets to keep the land, and he doesn't have to marry a much younger woman and start a second family.

The hero, Ash Ellis, has his own reasons for presenting himself as the heir to the dukedom, and some of them had to do with his own difficult childhood. I think the premise would have seemed more plausible to me if the title had been a lesser one, such as a baron or a viscount. The rank of duke is just two steps below the rank of king.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. These are my opinions of the book.,

The second book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series by Lenora Bell, reminded me quite a bit of the first. A heroine who wants to do her own thing versus be stuck in a loveless marriage of convenience, a hero who is not a titled gentleman, and a story that was pretty low angst given the storyline.

Henrietta (Hetty) needs to marry her father off so he can father an heir. That’s the only way they will keep their property and Hetty her beloved vineyards. The only problem is that her father isn’t all that willing. So when a mysterious man turns up out of the blue claiming to be a long-lost relative and heir to the estate her father jumps on his chance to get out of picking a bride, Hetty seems to be the only one dubious of this Ash Ellis’s claims. Especially when she finds out he is none other than the infamous The Devil’s Own Scoundrel, owner of the gambling den The Devil’s Staircase.

Ash Ellis has plans. Plans to change England’s child labor laws and hopefully keep the poor children of London from having to work in dangerous conditions from sunup to sundown. But he needs power and influence to do those things, so he devises a plan to steal a dukedom. Posing as the heir (or is he?) to the estate he cons his way in and is surprised when the current Duke all but accepts him immediately. Even going so far as to proclaim that Ash and Hetty should marry immediately to solidify the bond, something neither of them is too excited about.

This is very much a mix-up of the marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, and rags to riches tropes. There is even a dastardly villain from Ash’s past that lingers in the background of this storyline. One would think that this romance would be heavy on the angst, but it really wasn’t. Hetty wants her vineyards to be successful and is determined to have her sparkling wine known throughout the world, Ash wants to build stables for racehorses in their place so that he can make the estate profitable again. They butt heads but ultimately come up with an agreement so that Hetty can prove to him that their future lies in her grapes.

This was a slow read for me, but ultimately Lenora Bell’s writing pulled me in. I did enjoy Hetty’s passion for wine and making a name for herself and Ash’s desire to change labor laws. I also liked seeing some of the characters from this author’s previous books. While this wasn’t my favorite by this author, I do think historical romance readers will enjoy.

This is the second book in the Wallflower vs Rogues series and I liked it better than the first one. Lenora Bell is new to me with this series and I just love her writing style. The Devil's Own Duke is cute, funny and very sexy. Hetty's winemaking and the cats were a wonderful addition to the story. Ash becoming the Duke's heir was a bit unbelievable but I usually suspend all belief when reading historical romance. Anything goes, that's half the fun!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good story overall. It begins with Lady Henrietta Prince having an encounter with a mysterious stranger at a ball that she and her father were hosting. As it turns out, the mystery man is gambling den owner, Ash Ellis, who also claims to be the heir who will rightfully take over Rosehill, Hetty's vineyard.

Hetty will do whatever is necessary to keep her vineyard, even marry the scoundrel, whom she believes may be deceitful in his claim.

There was a lot of animosity that Hetty had toward Ash. The distrust and resentment lasted for so long that the feelings they had for one another felt rushed and not necessarily believable, especially on Hetty's part. After just accepting the feelings between the characters at face value and also from a valiant effort by Ash to show his esteem for his wife, the story wrapped up nicely in the end.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
I absolutely loved this book! With its feminist and headstrong heroine and it’s scoundrel hero it’s a marriage of convenience match made in steamy heaven!

Our heroine is the daughter of a duke who also runs the estate’s winery. All of this comes in danger when a stranger (and scoundrel club owner 😉) claims he is the heir of the dukedom and puts her business in danger. Her father decides that they should get married (they are VERY distantly related) and although both vehemently disagree at first, the heroine decides if she marries him she will convince the hero to fall in love with the winery and the estate. As for the hero…. Well our heroine is very hard to resist.

I loved seeing a business woman heroine willing to fight for her hard work but also made vulnerable in her interactions with the hero. She has her guard up at the start but he slowly works his way past her walls without her even realising it. The chemistry between the two was hot🔥🔥🔥 and I couldn’t wait for the clashing of wills at every turn. I also loved the winery plot- because I love wine and I loved seeing the heroine’s passion for it as well.

Ash Ellis is a gaming hell owner with a dark past that includes thieving and child labor. He deeply desires to reform English politics, but is powerless to do so without a title. Fortunately, he is the long-lost heir to a ducal title that could grant him the power to make the changes he desires. Lady Henrietta Prince is the daughter of a Duke. Instead of focusing her efforts on getting matched and married, she is focused on developing the perfect English sparkling wines to compete with the well-known French wines. The two meet at a ball and share a sordid kiss. After learning Ash's true intentions to steal the dukedom (and, therefore, control her future and the future of her vineyards), she swears to avoid the man. After deep thoughts and logical reasonings by her friends, she changes her mind, decides to marry him, and use her "status" as his wife to sway him to her reasoning to leave her beloved vineyards alone. She never believes love is an option.

This book had tropes that I absolutely love and adore in romance novels. I love reading about heroes with difficult pasts, gaming hells, and vineyards. That said, something about this book fell absolutely flat for me. I think it may be the implausibility of it all, as well as the shallowness of the characters. Regarding the implausibility, the MCs were caught alone and kissing in a garden by the heroine's father, yet he does nothing to pursue managing his daughter's reputation. Instead, he marries his mistress (also unlikely) and moves away leaving the heroine on her own. Another implausibility that was difficult for me was the heroine's quick change of heart about marrying the hero. He goes from being her sworn enemy and "evil" to being marriageable in the span of a couple of pages. Finally, there's the whole "really distant relative" thing about obtaining the dukedom. I don't even know where to begin about that. About the shallowness of the characters, the heroine's mind is easily change and swayed. She just has no depth. The hero also has no depth. I think I found myself rolling my eyes more reading this book than I have most other books.

I just didn't love this book nearly as much as other Lenora Bell books. It took me much longer to read than most romance novels. That said, I still love Bell's books and will definitely give her another chance.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. This did not sway this author's opinions in any way.

I really enjoyed Hetty and Ash's story! I loved that Hetty stood up for what she wanted and would do anything to make sure that it happened, even if it meant marrying a man she didn't trust! What a wild ride!

A great addition to Bell's Wallflowers vs Rogues series with one exceptionally determined heroine and the absolute scoundrel who turns her well-ordered life upside down.

I think this would have been a 4 star read if I read it in one sitting but I kept getting pulled away and distracted by other books. The plot line was one I enjoyed. Hetty is a duke’s daughter and when her father is left heirless, her future and her vineyard is at risk. Ash shows up a her ball and the attraction between them is so strong that they end up kissing. However, it is revealed that Ash is the distant heir to the dukedom. The claim is so distant and tenuous that the potential family relation between Ash and Hetty isn’t weird. Basically, Hetty and Ash get pushed into a marriage of convenience, which happens to be one of my favorite tropes. I liked both Hetty and Ash as characters and I thought the attraction between them was well done. They both had admirable goals, especially Ash with his desire to reform child working conditions, which was his reason for pursing the dukedom. Hetty and vineyards was interesting and I’m enjoying Lenora Bell’s cast of unconventional heroines. Overall, it was a decent read and I’ll continue the series but nothing really made it a favorite read.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I adore how Lenora Bell weaves bits of fairy tales or pop culture into her books. The Devil's Own Duke has a generous dollop of gender swapped Cinderella retelling and it was so much fun picking out the little Easter eggs of Cinderella content. Like Ash Ellis, Ash = Cinder, Cinder-Ellis... See? SEE? And he's got a cat called Lucifer, and his mates are Jax and Gus, haha. Those are the only ones I'm giving you, you'll have to unearth the other jewels on your own.

The chemistry between Ash and Hetty is really lovely, with just a bit of that enemies-to-lovers spice along with a dash of marriage of convenience. The descriptions of the wines are lush and made me crave a glass of wine, haha. At times the winemaking information got to be fairly heavy, so those who love learning all the technical details about out-of-the-norm hobbies/professions in their romances will appreciate and that and those who don't, well, probably won't. They're easy enough to sort of skim over if you're not into info-dumping. There were also a couple of cringe-y moments, and the pacing seemed a bit off, which I'm not sure was actually a book problem or a me-trying-to-read-through-a-reading-slump issue - ymmv.

It was interesting that while this is the second book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series, it also has several side characters from both the first book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series, Love is a Rogue, as well as the characters from Lenora Bell's most recent School for Dukes series. I REALLY hope book 3 will be about Isobel, because I love a good woman disguised as a man trope!!

This is the second book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series, and can be read as a stand-alone with some minor spoilers for both the first book in this series as well as some of the books in her School for Dukes series. FINGERS CROSSED for book 3 to be about Isobel!!

The Devil’s Own Duke by Lenora Bell, book two in her Wallflowers vs. Rogues series, is a mixture of tropes that creates a wonderful story. Lady Henrietta Prince is dedicated to turning her family vineyards into a profitable sparkling wine business. Ash Ellis, a gaming den owner, claims to be the heir to her father's title. These two have an instant spark, at least until Hetty learns who Ash is. In order to save her vineyard, Hetty is forced to marry Ash, vowing that he will never have her trust or love. Ash and Hetty are a very sweet couple who loved to butt heads. Both were very stubborn and were determined to stick to their conventions about what they wanted in their marriage. It was enlightening to see them both discover how wrong they were. Early in their marriage they begin to realize that there is room in their hearts for love, a love they both deserve. There's wine tasting, child saving and an evil villain that come to play an important role in the story. Despite not having a perfect marriage, but Ash and Hetty are able to work out their problems because they end up loving each other.

Ms. Bell wrote an emotional and wonderful story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with sizzling chemistry, amusing banter, and strong characters, giving Ash and Hetty a chance at true love and a forever together. I highly recommend The Devil’s Own Duke to other readers and look forward to the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I love Lenora Bell's book, they are always funny and light and this is no exception and I deeply enjoyed this book.
It was so original and fun, I loved the setting and I'm all about the wine!
One of my favorite things was the relationship between Ash and Lucy 😻
I hope that the next book is about Westbury and Viola

The Devil’s Own Duke by Lenora Bell
2nd book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. Historical romance. Can be read as a stand-alone. The couple from the prior book appear in at least two scenes but you don’t need to know them as both are large groups with several names dropped.
Lady Hetty is happy in the country working the vineyard and caring for the tenant families. Unfortunately she’s not aware the accounting books are incomplete and that even if her father gets married, it won’t save their estate. Ash Ellis claims he is a long lost heir and threatens the land she loves. There is attraction between Hetty and Ash but can she believe his claim?

Rags to riches for Ash with a heart and determination to help overworked children in factories of the time. A time to be proud that the laws were eventually passed and sorrow for the children that weren’t saved.
I learned, I laughed, I sighed with the romance and sweetness of Ash. He has a goal and a tender heart.
Hetty was a bit wispy and uncertain even though she is a member of the woman’s club that supports each other. I know that’s how she was expected to behave but I wanted to push her.

Three short excerpts of Ash:
“She kissed me.”
“She kissed you?”
“At first. Then I kissed her. Quite thoroughly.” It had been more than just a kiss. Something had happened to him out there on the balcony. The earth had shifted beneath his feet.
She’d made him feel like the king of the world.”
—————————————————
“I’ll be a different breed of nobleman. One who never forgets his dark, twisted roots. Who never stops attempting to right life’s inequities for those less fortunate, those less privileged.”
————————————————-
“I’ll change the nobility from the inside out. I’ll be just as ruthless as they are, but for the benefit of the child laborers.”
Excerpts from The Devil’s Own Duke by Lenora Bell

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

In the beginning, I was amused to find not Cinderella, forced into a ball with a midnight curfew but a young woman giving her widowed father that 12 am deadline to find a new wife and hopefully save their family property. This amusing start is derailed when instead Hetty is forced into a marriage with the surprising heir claimant who steals her family's title and lands out from under her.

The marriage of convenience has some enemies-to-lovers/opposites attract/whirlwind flavors. Hetty's new husband, Ash, rose from a factory worker to a pickpocket to a gaming house proprietor to now nobleman. She offers to tame him for success in society if he will allow her to continue overseeing her family vineyards. The romantic plot was alright, but it didn't make me swoon or sigh or squeal with delight. I think the power dynamic between them was part of what I found off-putting. I tire of romantic plots where the fiery woman fights for respect from a dominant man and thereby wins his love. How exhausting it is to be a woman seeking space to exist from a cishet white man. But true love? Yeah, ok.

My main issue comes from messaging. In regards to women's rights, our group of supposedly shockingly liberal women insists the only way to seek change is from within the system even though that very system in this instance forcing a woman (their friend) to marry to preserve her passion and life's work. And ew. Because if people only worked within a broken system, we wouldn't have many if any of the big overhauls that grant more people the rights they should have had in the first place. It's peddling a version of feminism that doesn't actually stand for anything.

The approach to class is similar. Ash rises in the ranks to be a duke's heir to use his newfound influence to change child labor laws. The idea is again reinforced that only if he joins the elites and takes on their persona will he be able to make this change happen which A) tells a false tale of one man enacting widespread social change vs requiring collective effort B) perpetuates the idea that you can't make social change from a marginalized position and C) allows Ash to reinforce some heinous gender norms by claiming to be "unmanned" during his makeover montage.

To be clear, I know we all sometimes work within the system to keep ourselves safe or with an earnest attempt to enact change on one of many levels, but trying to convince readers this is the best or even the only way is infuriating in its counterproductive inaccuracy. Yes, Hetty's eventual visibility as a woman vintner helps women, the couple's dedication to ethical manufacturing practices is admirable, and their mutual funding of schooling for children of all kinds of backgrounds is awesome. But the harmful assumptions about how lasting change can be launched still stand.

This was my first Lenora Bell book, and I’m looking forward to reading many more! The Devil’s Own Duke is actually the second book in Bell’s Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. Typically, I would NEVER read books out of order; however, I received an eARC of this book (thank you @netgalley and @avonbooks) and I wanted to read and review this as close to the book’s pub date as possible (9/28/2021).

The Devil’s Own Duke would maybe fall under “enemies to lovers” or even “opposites attract.” Ash Ellis, co-owner of a gaming hell, claims to be the next in line to the Prince dukedom. Lady Henrietta Prince, whose father is the current duke, needs an heir. How convenient! 🤔 Lady Henrietta is suspicious of Ash, but also wants to keep her family vineyards 🍇 alive and thriving. But Ash might have other plans…

I loved the chemistry between Hetti and Ash, and they had some 🔥steamy🔥 scenes! What I love most about historical romances are the strong female characters, and the men who, as it turns out, will do anything for them. Ash, as it turns out, has a social justice streak, which makes him even more swoony!

Lenora Bell's books are always fun, and this one is no different. I loved Hetty's winemaking and the cats (whose personalities mirrored those of the humans). Ash I mostly liked, but I got really tired of his self-loathing by the end. That's a particular pet peeve of mine, though, so I'm sure others will like it more. The book is fast-paced and easy to read in tiny spurts (short chapters) or all at once.

Lady Henrietta has a goal: not losing her precious vineyards to the Crown. Because that’s exactly what will happen if her father doesn’t remarry and sire an heir. She’s dedicated all her life to her dream of making the best wine in England, to the cost of sacrificing everything else. But then unexpectedly someone claims to be the long-lost heir to the dukedom and threatens all she has worked so hard to built. Ash Ellis, known as the Devil’s Own Scoundrel, is an uncouth man, who has risen from the slums and owns a gambling hell. And now he’s set his sights on the dukedom…
That’s the very intriguing start of this book and I was captivated by it, but not as much as I would have liked. I think that the author tried to throw in too many things (feminism with the Boadicea Club, child labor, gangs of young pickpockets, con artists, but also wine making) and the result was a little bit confusing. I liked Henrietta very much for her strength and courage, but sometimes she was… too much, too obsessed with her goals. As the same goes for Ash, even if his past maybe justifies his actions. And there’s a Dickensian villain as well, a trifle too cartoonish in my opinion. All in all, an enjoyable book and I’ll certainly try other Lenora Bell’s books, even if this is not the best book that I read recently.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked the premise of this book. I also liked it a lot better than the last book which I gave a 4 also because it was sweet. This one drew me more into the story. It is far away from ton events and a woman vintner, who knew?!? Okay, so what was catnip for me was the gambler. Give me a gambler every time. There are a good many twists which you can guess but still you wonder how will it all work out. I assume some of the secondary characters will get their own stories and I look forward to them.

Isn't it scary and just a little magical when a kiss with a stranger turns your world upside down. Lady Henrietta Prince works hard to get her family's vineyards up to the standards where they should be and not to mention profitable. But when she kisses a stranger her world goes a little topsy-tervy. Not only is he a stranger, but also the distant heir to her father's dukedom. Now Ash Ellis isn't really about the hard work, more like no work and all play, basically Henrietta's complete opposite. Tropes you'll find- do opposites really attract? slow burn forced marriage of convenience, and oops I've fallen in love with my spouse.