I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be checking out more from this author. The characters were charming, lots of humor and witty banter. It was a fun, easy, sweet romance.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book. The thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

This was such a fun read! I am used to reading stories where the hero is the grump in the relationship, In this case, the grump is the heroine and the sunshine is the hero.

Arabella is intelligent, bookish, and not considered a diamond of the first water and is in like her 5th season. Her dream is to maintain her spinsterhood, retire to the country, and read her life away. But her older sister decides to marry the family brood, ruining Arabella's and their younger sister's marriage prospects. So Arabella concocts a plan, she will approach a Duke who needs a legitimate heir but doesn't want the hustle of having a wife.

Siles, Duke of Whittsley, is funny, a prankster, and doesn't take life seriously. when he is approached by Arabella, her plan seems soundless, it's a win-win for both of them, but some rules must be placed to maintain the pact and the peace. The only rule they didn't follow was that they both fell in love and due to some miscommunication, lost some time.

It was a sweet and happy story, towards the end there is some miscommunication, but it's resolved quickly and they finally get their HEA. There is some drama with Silas withholding a family secret that is later resolved and accepted.

I had so much fun with this book!

Arabella and Silas are so perfect together! They both have a snarky sense of humor that was on full display as they negotiated the specific terms of the marriage of convenience that Arabella scandalously proposed. Their joyously combative and flirty approach to the rules they'd agreed upon made for some truly hilarious banter.

All this fun is layered over some seriously combustible chemistry and emotional vulnerability that leads exactly where we want this romance to go. The writing is stellar, keeping their relationship moving right along and sweeping us into the action as if we were part of the story itself. As happy as I was to savor their HEA, I was sad to see the book end. I really enjoyed these characters and will read this story again and again. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

A very fun and sexy historical romance that involves the tropes of forced proximity and marriage for convenience. It follows Arabella whose family's reputation is shattered, and the only thing she wants is to ensure happiness for her younger sister. Therefore she embarks on a mad scheme that involves herself getting married to the Duke of Whittsley for her family's social standing to revive. In exchange, she will give him an heir and then retire to the countryside and not bother him again while he would continue to live his life as he pleases.

The deal is struck but both of them got more than they bargained for when they made the agreement, and as they are being forced to share time together, they begin to doubt if it can be possible to see their deal through to the end without falling for each other.

I adored this book, the main characters had so much chemistry, and there wasn't a shortage of spice, banter, and the constant inner turmoil of their feelings, because who would think that it could possibly be forbidden to fall in love with your partner?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I want to thank NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for providing me with this eARC.

Rating: 4.25 ★★★★☆

Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke was my first book by Michelle McLean and I enjoyed it immensely. I believe this book is a stand alone.

Arabella Bromley tasks herself with repairing her family's reputation after her older sister elopes with a servant. She never pictured herself getting married, but to ensure her youngest sister gets a good match, she proposes a deal with Silas the Duke of Whittsley. If he marries her then she will provide him an heir and retreat into the country so he can go back to his playboy lifestyle. In return, he needs to help repair her social standing and use his influence to get her sister an advantageous match. The two devise a contract and must follow the rules that they set out for each other.

It was fun watching their playful banter. You could see their chemistry clearly from the very beginning. The conflict that takes place toward the end was a bit cliché. I'm glad it was resolved quickly and not super drawn out. I really liked this book and can't wait to pick up some more of Michelle McLean's novels.

Thank you to Michelle McLean, NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Arabella found herself in a difficult situation, her sister run away and married their groom which left their family open to scandal. Her youngest sister dreams of having a full season and finding a husband but that seems unlikely since their invitations have been not existed lately.

In order to help her family's position in society she comes up with a crazy but if works brilliant plan, she offers to marry the most eligible bachelor in society who has no plan to marry but needs a heir, Silas the Duke of Whittsley.

When Arabella falls literally into his lap, Silas can't believe what he is hearing but a marriage of convenience is the only way he can marry, have a heir and still keep his lifestyle.

This was a very fun book from the very first chapter. The romance was very lovely, I liked how the begun their marriage with a contract and how it subtle changed into more which begun way before they sharer their first kiss.

Silas had a carefree, devil make care attitude to life which made it easier to accept her proposal but he does care, he just prefer to hide it from the world. Arabella is a very loyal character, her love for her sister drives her to conceive this plan and her determination helps her execute it.

Arabella and Silas has the most wonderful banter and their conversations are very entertaining. I had a wonderful time reading this book.

* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

I love when a book from a new-to-me author is as fun and enjoyable as I found this to be! I hadn’t read any of McLean’s works when the description for this title piqued my interest; I’m glad that happened because this really was a delightful romance.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Michelle’s work.

Thank you Entangled Publishing and TLC Book tours for my arc in exchange for an honest review. I’ve never read any books by Michelle McLean, but I will definitely be checking her backlist out after this.

Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke is a perfect introduction to historical romance. It had some id my favorite elements; a smart wallflower, a slightly foppish but kind and loving Duke, and a marriage of convenience. I loved Arabella’s scheming to marry the Duke and help her family. I loved their sweet relationship and how quickly Arabella and Silas came to care for her. I loved the library storyline although I’m glad she didn’t me up there without him for long.

I couldn’t stop reading this and was sad when it was over.

I will update with the link when I share to my bookstagram page.

Really enjoyable light read. I really enjoyed the main characters although the conflict at the end was a little contrived. Arabella was great , it was nice change to have a heroine who was strong and independent and who rescued herself and her family. Overall I’d really recommend this book

Arc received from net gallery

My one and only complaint about this book was that it was too similar to Bridgerton. There is a large and obvious difference in the plot, but everything about the ton, seasons, and etc. screamed Bridgerton. Now, I’m not someone who’s read a lot of historical fictions, so I’m not sure how similar/ dissimilar other historical fictions are so that’s my disclaimer on that front.

Arabella Bromly has never cared for society’s rules until her elder sister ran off with a man below her station. Arabella, desperate to restore her family’s ruined reputation amongst the ton for her little sister’s sake, comes up with the most outlandish plan. All she needs is for the Duke of Whittsley to agree.

If he agrees to help restore her family’s reputation, she’ll give him an heir and retire to his country estate, going their separate ways. Never having had any intention to marry, the Duke can’t resist this offer, an heir without the inconvenience of having a wife sounds like the perfect deal. The last thing he expected was to fall in love.

I really enjoyed the book. I loved the main characters and I thought that Silas and Arabella were the perfect match. Silas had a great sense of humor and was very fond of breaking the rules. Arabella was more of a rule follower, but learned that some rules were made to be broken.

This book was such a fun, light hearted read with great banter. Once I got passed my Bridgerton comparisons, I couldn’t put it down. I always love a marriage of convenience trope and this one was no exception. It does have that miscommunication trope as well, but I’m glad it wasn’t something that was really drawn out to where it became frustrating. It was enough to draw me in and make my heart ache for the characters, but not be overly relieved when the characters finally expressed their real feelings for each other.

All in all, I’d recommend this book. It comes out on Valentine’s Day and it would be the perfect read!

Thank you to Entangled Publishing LLC and NetGalley for providing this arc!

After loving Hitched to the Gunslinger last year, Michelle Mclean has easily become an author I look forward to reading again and again. And Ten Rules did not disappoint! The banter was funny, the chemistry and friendships were on point, and you know I love a good marriage of convenience!!

Thank you Netgalley, Entangled Publishing, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke is a thoroughly enjoyable book, telling the story of the delightful Arabella and irreverent Silas, Duke of Whittsley.

The two of them decide to get married since they are both in the position to help the other. They come up with a set of rules to help navigate their marriage not expecting to be overcome with genuine feelings for each other which makes them question what they wanted for themselves to begin with.

I absolutely loved this book. I found the chemistry and banter between Arabella and Silas refreshing, entertaining and so much fun. They complemented each other beautifully and I thought the whole story was well crafted and well written. The secondary characters were great too and worked well with the main characters, rounding the story off nicely.

3.5 stars rounded up to four! Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke is a satisfying historical romance, if not groundbreaking. Arabella approaches the duke of Whittsley with a bargain: they will marry, she'll provide him with an heir and then get out of his hair. In return, he will sponsor her sister in Society and find her an appropriate husband. Anyone who reads romance knows that their marriage of convenience will soon blossom into a love match!

The banter is nicely written and the circumstances of their marriage make for a fun read. We would have loved a little more steam (McLean gets points for unexpected locations). The final conflict relies heavily on miscommunication, which can be frustrating. All in all, a low-key, satisfying romance without huge fireworks.

**Received a copy for review.**
This book is AMAZING! Finding new historical romance authors is such a joy and this author now has a new fan.
There is a marriage contract, forced proximity, wit, and great banter. The hero is such a cinnamon roll in the body of a sort of rake. The heroine is a bookish beauty whose older sister ran away with the groom and is in desperate need of reputation repair so that her younger sister can marry well.
From the moment Arabella "falls" out of her carriage, this story just jumps off the page. I adored every single aspect of this book. The writing of the contract, with her poor friend as scribe, is full of so much wit & charm. Both of these characters are just perfection.
It is rare to find a book that I wish I had more stars to give. It is the best historical I've read this year and I expect it will on the best of the year list for me.

5 - "Life with you will never be boring... will it?" Stars!

Outstanding read.

Michelle McLean always manages to pull me into her historical stories and Arabella and Silas's had all of the things I have some to expect from her writing.

Wit, emotion a great story-line and cast of characters and I pretty much read it in one sitting!

Arabella needs to marry well and fast. Her older sister married below their station and now the ton has declared her family ruined, but if Arabella marries the right man, she can save her family's reputation and pave the way for her sister making a good match. But as Arabella never planned to get married, she wants a safety net in the form of contract. There's only one high-ranking noble that might agree, Sylas, the Duke of Whittsley, who doesn't want to marry and disregards society's rules. Sylas is tired of the marriage mart and his grandfather's nagging to marry. So when, Arabella makes him an offer in marriage, it's the most fun he's had in awhile and she's more interested in his library than nagging him, so that really helps. But as the two get to know each other, they may find that the rules that they made to protect themselves may cost them their chance at happiness.

This was fun! I love marriage of convenience plots and banter, which this book had. I really liked how Sylas and Arabella's relationship developed (& how this novel showed both POVs - hello mutual pining). I also really liked how they both pushed the boundaries of the ten rules that they agreed to.

All in all, I really enjoyed this! Also, Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke's official release date is 2/14/2022 aka Valentine's Day, which I think is pretty neat.

Special Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled: Scandalous for this eARC! I really enjoyed reading this!

This one was really cute and has some good banter. I love a good marriage of convenience and that its a bonus when a contract is involved. I think its something that both Silas and Arabella both have secrets/ruined reputations on both sides. I just wanted a bit more of of the problem in the climax to last a bit longer? It was over too quick for me, then the ending was already coming up. I still enjoyed it and look forward to more.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Arabella is the middle daughter and feels responsible for fixing her older sister's mistake. In order for her younger sister to find a husband, Arabella offers to marry and bear the heir for a duke. The duke doesn't want to marry but needs an heir. At first glance, the offer is intriguing, until he realizes she is intriguing.

This is a fun, light read with wonderful characters.

ARC via Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

I read Hitched to the Gunslinger by this author last year and had a fun time with it. So when I saw this new regency romance, I couldn’t wait to jump into this marriage of convenience historical romance.

Bookish Arabella Bromley never cared for society’s rules, until her older sister married below her station putting the family’s reputation in ruin and harming any chance of their younger sister marrying well. To restore their ruined reputation, she must marry well—preferably a Duke—and fast! Enter Silas Spencer, Duke of Whittsley. The story kicks off with Arabella purposefully falling into his arms and getting an invitation into his home. He quickly realizes she is not injured and there for a reason, so Arabella jumps right into her deal…if Silas will marry her to help save her family, she will produce an heir for him and then leave him to his devices. They have one year to achieve their goals and ten iron-clad rules to help them stay the course…now if only they don’t break any rules along the way.

This was a cute read. It’s on the shorter side being just under 300 pages and I flew through it. The banter and chemistry between the couple was a lot of fun. I personally like a little more depth in my historical romance reads and this one was very surface-level, while I thought their banter was fun and cute at times, I was never emotionally connected to the characters and a lot of things are glossed over. I would say this is a good starter historical romance read or maybe when you want a lighter read. Moments I liked: a spectacle-wearing heroine who’d rather curl up in a corner reading a book than attend a ball, the setting up their rules and plan, the hero’s gift giving, how important family is to both of them.

Thank you to the publisher (Entangled) for an e-ARC via NetGalley, I am voluntarily leaving my honest thoughts and review. Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke has a publish date of February 14, 2022.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

New to me author Michelle McLean pens a nice historical romance. Arabella confronts Silas with her plan for them to wed to save her reputation and provide him an heir. Usually these marriage of convenience stories have a difficult man involved, but Silas surprises with his easy charm and acquiese to Arabella's plan. As they hash out their rules for marriage they both seem to be learning each other's personality and temperment and easily flirt and tease each other.

I enjoyed getting to know these two.