I'm a big Erica Ridley fan, and read many books in her holiday series last year, so it was a nice surprise to revisit her Rogues world this summer. I always enjoy her historical research, and this book's information about the 20,000 people of African descent living in London in the 19th century was no exception. I liked the characters' backstories and courtship, but somehow the character transformation didn't totally feel fleshed out and the conflict and resolution were very fast indeed. Not my favorite Ridley, but still a good read. ;)

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book was great fun. If you like Bridgerton, this book would fit perfectly into that series. Just what I needed for an afternoon of light reading. I have enjoyed multiple prior books by this author, and look forward to the next title in the series.

A lovely story that touched my heart. I truly loved Unity’s character and drive. Julian was her perfect counterpart. The only thing that bothered me is that the antagonist was off-screen per se. We never saw the interaction, only heard of it. I think that would have helped the story some.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erica Ridley, and Webmotion for the opportunity to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

It's an innovative novel for the period. being both bi-racial and aristo-commoner relationship
They are both really well portrayed, and I would say well matched. It's a light, fun and enjoyable read.

I received this book in exchange for an honest opinion and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

Absolutely adored this book! My first Erica Ridley book, and you can believe I’ll be reading more’. Just such a lovely, lovely book with all the good feels.

Julian, Duke of Lambley is a great character, hurt by the loss of loved ones, afraid to love, but who can’t help but love his friends and makeshift family, even if he doesn’t realize it. And Miss Unity Thorne, what can I say. Strong willed, clever, one of those characters you wish you could meet in real life because she is so lovely she’d probably make your life better. She’s risen from tragedy, from betrayal, always seeking her independence, not worrying about love.

Two excellent characters you can’t help but cheer along the way, and who get the HEA they deserve that leaves you, the reader, grinning.

This genre is one of my favorites, and Erica Ridley knows how to write books that entice the reader into the lives of the elite and common people of the times. Julian Newcombe-Ives, Duke of Lambley is one of the aristocracy that fits the usual description of uptight and snobbish. That is until Unity Thorne decides that she needs his help to set up a business of her own based on an exclusive, anonymous masquerade that he holds weekly at his residence. She quickly finds a way to make herself useful in his quest to be best, learning all the while for her own good. But just as quickly they find the way into each other's hearts. The Duke also enlists a friend to find out all he can about her past, sensing that there is more to Miss Thorne than that of a courtesan, as she suggests. This leads to a discovery that Miss Thorne is not expecting, and an ending to match. I wanted to like this book more, but for some reason it fell a little flat for me....I could not get invested in the characters as I usually can in Ms. Ridley's books. While it is a good story and many have truly liked it more than I, I look forward to reading other books in Ms. Ridley's series.

I was going to wait until September (#pgmseptember ) to read this one, but I was too tempted. I am very happy I was tempted. What a surprising and lovely read. 👏👏👏

Unity Thorne is “British mixed (caucasian and afro-something)”, currently poor, currently in a tiny shared apartment and currently desperate to use her previous success as a business consultant, to start her own, sure to be thriving, business. A business of masquerades. A more challenging venture than the gentlemen’s club and the gambling den she previously managed, without much recognition.

To ensure her future masquerades at her future club are top notch, she MUST learn from the best. Which means she MUST attend the scandalous and highly exclusive masquerade parties held by Duke Lambley. She MUST. She just needs to figure out how to get in, and once she does, she needs to figure out how to stay.

She will use her cunning wit, her charm and her brains to finesse her way into the Masquerade and dare I say, into the heart of a perfectionist duke.

(Sidenote: IF ANYYYY of the above tickles you with IT’S SO UNREALISSTTTICCCCCCCCC 😒, never read this genre again… because realism is NEVER present. Ehem-)

A story about friends that appreciate your differences and strengths and that help you overcome challenges. A story about love in unlikely places. A story about determination being one of the keys to success.

I WILL say that this young woman is beyond ‘modern’ she is practically FUTURISTIC. 😍

I wholeheartedly recommend. More at link below:

These two characters seem at first glance to be polar opposites, but they are made for each other. Justin, the Duke of Lambley, has an anonymous and scandalous masquerade party at his house every week. The guests vary from members of the ton to commoners to courtesans. Every detail - *every* detail - down to the music, the arrangement of the couches and tables, the menu, the placement of the dishes - was meticulously planned and inspected by him. Control is very important to Justin for reasons dating back to his childhood.

I had a couple of niggles about Justin. I thought that having the masquerade weekly was too frequent - I couldn't see how it would not become commonplace. I also could not reconcile his hedonistic masquerades with his starchiness. There were even rooms upstairs for the use of his guests for trysts.

Then Miss Unity Thorne presents herself at his house with the suggestion that she can help him improve on his perfect parties, and is rejected. She would like to create a similar masquerade for profit for commoners. I was very impressed by Unity, as she has everything against her but never gives up. She is of mixed race, female, poor, and alone in the world.

Justin refuses, but Miss Thorne is both determined and desperate and gets his attention by presenting herself at his masquerade gorgeously dressed all in red. Justin sets out to prove to her that his perfection can't be improved. My favorite parts of the book are when Justin and Unity are bickering and trying out fruits, and cookies. It was fun to watch Justin start thawing out and to see his ideas of his perfect future change.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley, and am voluntarily leaving this review.

It is said that opposites attract. That certainly is true with Julian, the Duke of Lambley and Miss Unity Thorne. Lambley, of course, being a duke is an accepted member of society, even though he avoids the usual ton entertainments. What is does do is host a weekly masquerade, where everyone is greeted as lord or lady, where one can indulge in a variety of activities, where everything is aesthetically perfect. Julian plans a perfect life, perfect wife, perfect children. What happens is Unity! She is an intelligent, full of ideas and spontaneity. She is not accepted in society, rather blue blood flowing in her veins, she has the blood of former slaves. That does not stop her from approaching Julian. The tale that follows is quite the tale. Although this is not among my Erica Ridley stories, it is not terrible. I don't think she could write a bad story. It is worth the read.

Entrepreneur Miss Unity Thorne has made other people their fortunes now it’s her turn own fortune. Julian Newcombe-Ives, the sixth Duke of Lambley is rich, arrogant, controlling and extremely handsome duke. He has weekly mask balls filled with debauchery and shenanigans, but he knows he needs to become respectable in societies eyes to find himself a bride and produce an heir. Unity doesn’t need a man to complete her life which quite intrigues Julian. A fun and captivating story of romance and intrigue with a few twist and turns with witty banter along the way between out Julian and Unity. I have voluntarily read and reviewed the excellent book.

I love Erica Ridley. I do. I know whenever she publishes a historical romance, I will read it and I will always bask in the awesomeness of her stories and her happily ever afters. Lord of the Masquerade is another gem. Now disclaimer, for those who are historically accurate purists, this may not be the book for you. However, for me, who reads to get lost in the possible or impossible, this story fits the bill, and features a woman of color heroine to boot.

Our heroine is none other than the brilliant entrepreneur Miss Unity Thorne. As typical, men reap the benefits of her genius and she's barely squeaking by.

But Unity has her eye set on creating a masquerade-themed assembly room for the commoners - one that rivals any the ton might present. But to do that, she needs to have access to these masquerade parties -

Thus she dons a new identity in order to gain access to the Duke of Lambley's masquerade balls. Even better, she becomes his partner. But Julian is not a pleasant man, and he definitely is not interested in Unity - who is a slew of wrongs - wrong color, wrong class, wrong personality, wrong family relations...

But perhaps, if he lets his guard down and takes off his mask, (see what I did there?) he'd realize she is everything right.

Julian and Unity’s story provides an interesting and fairly quick moving book—easy to read in a fairly short time. Unity is a heroine one can enjoy—strong and independent. Julian has issues—does Unity want to break through his defenses or does she just want to learn what she needs for her own success? I did enjoy the interplay with Julian’s friends which added a little variety. The masquerade theme is interesting and unusual, and I recommend the book for light, enjoyable reading.

Though this is the seventh in the Rogues to Riches series, I don’t think you need to have read the others to enjoy this - I haven’t read any of them, and I had no problem following along with the plot.

Unity Thorne might be one of the most driven romance heroines I’ve ever read. She knows she’s a capable businesswoman; she’s already helped create turn around two struggling businesses and make them wildly successful. Problem was, neither of them was hers… and the men running them weren’t inclined to cut her in on the profits, so she’s back to square one. Just hungrier and angrier and more determined than ever. Her plan; create a masquerade club for the merchant class. But first she needs to check out the most successful masquerade club in London, the elite one run by the Duke of Lambley. If she can get in!

Julian might just be the most OCD hero I’ve ever read. He takes being a control freak to a whole new level. Even the suggestion that something about his masquerade might be able to be improved upon is insultingly preposterous. It’s just that there’s something about the woman making the suggestions he can’t quite look away from.

There is some A-grade banter between these two, and I enjoyed the acknowledgement of London’s diversity in the era; the Black community to which Unity belongs is some 20,000 strong. This, however, is also where the story fell down a little bit for me, because despite this acknowledgement, and despite Unity thinking herself at a greater disadvantage due to her race, not one single person actually treated her any differently than if she had been a white woman. It’s diversity Bridgerton style. Which. I mean. It’s worked for Bridgerton. But if you want to read stories which more represent the real experiences of Black women in the Regency era, you might want to try Vanessa Riley or another Black author instead. WIth that said, of course, we are already suspending our belief in this Regency of young and handsome dukes willing to marry women from far outside their social spheres, so if you’re able to let it go and just enjoy the story, I think you’ll have a thoroughly good time. I did, despite the issue I’ve mentioned; Erica Ridley writes a ripping good yarn and this one is no exception. I’m happy to give it five stars.

I love Erica Ridley. She is one of my favorites when it comes to historical romance. I was getting fed up of historical romance and she reignited my love for them.

I'm delighted to see authors, particularly in historical romance, embracing characters of different ethnicity and backgrounds. It's about time. Race is a background issue in this book and could be a stumbling block considering the time period but I'm glad it was only given a passing mention. It doesn't matter what a person looks like or who and how they chose to love. It's about what makes you happy. Love is love and noone else should judge another's relationship.

Ms Ridley does not create stereotypical characters. They are people who chose their own path. There are still lords and ladies but 'Society' is not something the characters particularly care about. There are characters from all walks of life who are brought together. Her female characters are independent and her male characters are drool worthy. There is humor, drama and plenty of heat.
I highly recommend this author and this book in particular. It was a great read that I couldn't put down.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is definitely a Cinderella story (and Cinderella didn’t start out as a princess either) and a little of Sleeping Beauty.. There are some excellent summaries of the plot so I am just sharing a few impressions. Unity is an amazing heroine, and to me she is really the hero of the story, awakening Lambley not just with her beauty or a kiss but with her intelligence and wit. Recently I have been reading more traditional Regencies written by modern writers such as Alicia Cameron and Mary Kingswood but it was fun to read an Erica Ridley story again. After the sort of “insta-lust” beginning I started to enjoy the development of their relationship. I’m glad that Unity didn’t stay angry with Lambley for his interference in the issue of her inheritance because I dislike lengthy misunderstandings in romance novels. I’m also not a fan of lengthy sex scenes but I could see that it showed Lambley letting go of the need to control the situation. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC.

Miss Unity Thorne has been able to bring two clubs back from the brink, using her knowledge and expertise to first help her cousin, and then her friend. But what she wants, even more so after her cousin betrayed her, is to have her own business, and not be at the mercy of a man. She decides she wants to create a masquerade-themed assembly rooms, and the rakeish Duke of Lambley hosts the best masquerades in the ton. Unity poses as a courtesan to gain entrance to Julian's home, and is pleased when he agrees she can attend the events, and 'help' improve them - though he has no intention of changing anything. But, as they get closer, Julian is more and more attracted to Unity, but she isn't someone who could be his Duchess, or is she?

This is the first book in the Rogues to Riches series that I've read, so I've probably missed some of the context, especially around Julian and his friendship group. Even so, this read well as a standalone book, and the relationship between Unity and Julian was nice to read. Unity had a wonderful life as a child, but when she was orphaned, and sent to live with a cousin who looked down on her for her mixed race heritage, she soon became his servant. It was only when his business manager left at his club that she was able to take on some responsibility, but once it became successful, she was thrown out with nowhere to go. Losing her security has made her need to have something for herself, and not be at risk of the same happening again, so a well planned masquerade would be the perfect option. I liked seeing her growth and strength as she went toe to toe with Julian, as well as Julian's growth too. He lost his entire family when he was a child, and had to be beholden to his cruel uncle until he came into his majority. Now, he won't relinquish power for anyone or anything, and his weekly events have been planned so perfectly, nothing really needs changing. As Unity makes her way under his skin, and into his heart, Julian starts to second guess everything he had thought of before, and realise that the perfect duchess may not be a member of the ton, but in front of him. All in all, this was a decent book, and a very quick read.

Loved this story. It was so different.
Julian, a Duke who has OCD. He controls everything in his life, even down to the size of his sandwiches.
Unity, an orphan, of a mixed race heritage who has had to fight for everything she has.
Two people who couldn't be more different. Yet they both strive to do the best and be the best they can.
Their meeting is cute and you can feel the attraction between them. But as with everything in his life, Julian must have the perfect Duchess. Unity does not fit that description. But she makes him feel and do things he normally wouldn't do, be spontaneous. He cant stop thinking of her and eventually realizes he can't live without her.
This addresses both social and racial class issues.
5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great story, love the characters. The Duke of Lambley, Julian is a control freak, a perfectionist, everything must always be his way. He started to host Masquerade, first monthly, than weekly. The Ton was shocked and yet dying to be included in the wild parties.
Unity Thorne is a fighter, nothing was ever handed to her. Orphan at 7 years old and living as a ward to her cousin who made her life miserable. She finds her place years later helping her cousin manage his gentleman’s club. Once it was successful and turning a profit her cousin kicks her to the curb at the age of 18. That didn’t bring Unity down, she went to his competition’s gaming hall and turn that place around. Causing her ungrateful cousin to lose his customers. She is tire of turning profit for others and she now has a dream to own her own place. A Masquerade hall, but she needs to save her money and do research on it. The best in the business is Duke of Lambley. The question is how will Unity manage to get a invite? She is a nobody in the eyes of the Ton, plus being also half African even though she is light skin is another challenge for her.
Unity is a strong female character that doesn’t let life bring her down, she is determined to meet the goals she set for herself. Julian is hardheaded perfectionist who doesn’t let anyone get close to him. That is until Unity walks thru his door.
I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story.

We always buy Erica Ridley for our library. Our patrons love her books. She's witty and writes a compelling story.

I quite enjoy picking up a novel knowing whatever path the story takes, I'm going to enjoy it. This was the perfect read for my mood last night and was equal parts adorable, humorous, and sexy. I loved the interplay and needling between the characters and appreciated the fine line between presenting a decadent, scandalous lifestyle and explicitly showing it chapter on end. Overall Ridley delivers another enjoyable romp with all the elements I've come to enjoy in historical romance.