Look, I will just read whatever Lenora Bell puts out. I do miss that this series doesn't have such obvious pop culture references as some of her others, like the Disgraceful Dukes series.

This was an enjoyable book. The characters had a nice banter between them. The duke's sisters were fun secondary characters. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Viola is a music instructor to the Duke of Westbury's sisters and she's fallen hopelessly in love with him. Due to past misdeeds, he has to marry for money and Viola is not well off. But the heart wants what the heart wants. This is the 3rd installment in the Wallflowers vs Rogues series and you knew this pairing was coming from the previous books. A fun/easy read but not the most exciting.

The Wallflowers vs. Rogues series has been such a delight! The class difference trope is one of my favorites in historical romance and this is no exception. Lenora Bell has written such great chemistry between West and Viola! The angst, banter, and romance are top-tier. Definitely one of my new favorites!

I really enjoyed this and have started the series from the beginning because of it. I know I shouldn't like the governess/boss dynamic, but sometimes it is good -- in books!

This was an enjoyable read that started off strong. I thought Viola's characterization as being a hopeless romantic was lovely. West was fairly typical as the disillusioned wastrel set out to exist in infamy. While I didn't find anything terrible about the story, I also didn't find it very remarkable. It felt like there was a lot that happened to easily and other things that were unnecessarily difficult. I also noticed that there were a number of things that were just too convenient; no foreshadowing to make it feel like it could happen. On the flip side I saw the way West would regain his fortune to be far too easy to guess.

It just didn't leave a very large impression on me. And not enough to make me want to seek out the stories of the other characters either.

I was super excited to read Duke Most Wicked! At the beginning of the book, our hero Brandan has a bit of growing to do. He's still a bit immature, and that comes across in some of his early decision making. In contrast, Viola is amazing. Her father is a famous composer but has been going deaf for some time. To make ends meet, she has been composing in his name. She also works for Brandan as a music teacher for his five younger sisters. However, her roll with them is often maternal in nature. Viola is like a cross between older sister and mother for the girls, and is often their only advocate to Brandan when he makes questionable decisions (such as declaring that all five girls need to get married).

While I don't fully understand what Viola saw in Brandan before he began to get his act together, prior to the start of the book, she has been in love with him for some time. For Brandan, once he begins to see Viola for how amazing she truly is, he's head over heals. I really liked how their romance developed and how they solved problems together. Overall I loved Duke Most Wicked and will be reading whatever Lenora Bell writes next!

Woo-hoo! The Wallflowers vs. Rogues series is back! "Lovers" take your corners! On the hero side, we have Brandan, who must marry for money. On the heroine side, the lovely and talented, Viola. Attraction sparks but the situation is impossible. We just love those! Love must triumph, so I settled in to read this one. Excellent!

4.5 stars rounded up.

Brandon Delamar, the Duke of Westbury, must finally admit that his profligate ways have caught up to him. He’s gambled away all of his funds and with five younger sisters lacking dowries and needing to find husbands, he has no choice but to find a wealthy heiress to marry.

Viola Beaton is certainly not an heiress but her sunny disposition brightens the ducal household as she gives his sisters music lessons and generally makes their lives run more smoothly. She’s come to love the girls but unfortunately for her, Viola has also been unable to squelch her deeper feelings for the duke. He makes her dream impossible futures for them and compose the most outrageous sonatas, but she continues to remind herself that there can never be anything between them.

When West declares his intention to find a bride for himself and husbands for his sisters as well, Viola stands up to him to try to persuade him not to curtail what little freedom they might expect from their first seasons. He comes up with a scandalous bargain for her: he’ll allow his sisters their Season, but Viola must serve as their chaperone and keep them from causing any scandals. That’s all well and good for his sisters, but it’s soon clear that West and Viola themselves are the most likely ones to cause a scandal.

Viola has always been a helpful, supportive friend and confidante to those around her, but it has left her feeling a bit like a supporting character in her own life and I could relate to that sentiment so much. Thanks to that resonance, I adored seeing Viola come into her own, go after what she wanted, and refuse to settle for less than love. She helped West want to be better, to grow and face the pain he’d been carrying around for years, realizing that his father’s anger and bitterness still had a hold on him from the grave and that he didn’t need to live that way anymore. West wanted to be worthy of Viola and that made this a reformed rake story I could get behind, especially because she already loved him regardless and only wanted him to stop wasting his life on someone else’s misery. I’m not usually a big fan of wastrel heroes, but West had a good heart and he truly wanted to do the right thing, but he’d been told he was tainted and worthless for so long that he just needed someone to believe in him and not give up on him. Viola was that person for him and that made the trope work for me.

In turn, West believed in Viola and encouraged her to take credit for her musical compositions and I enjoyed seeing them support one another and grow closer in this aspect as something that bonded them outside of just her relationship with his sisters, though that was also charming. I loved seeing West pursue Viola after her believing for so long that her feelings were unrequited. West also gets credit for the most unique, outrageous, and surprisingly sweet grand romantic gesture. The last third or so of the book was crazy sauce but by then I was sold and was totally here for it. This was a story I greatly enjoyed, probably my favorite of the series so far, and I look forward to this author’s next work.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm a really big fan of Lenora Bell's but I didn't enjoy Duke Most Wicked as much as her books i've read before. I felt like Miss Viola Beaton and Brandan Delamar the Duke of Westbury or West didn't have much chemistry. It seemed like Viola spent most of the book wanting to be with West rather than interacting with him. The book also didn't have many chapters in West's pov, I would've liked to see more from his perspective and that might've made them falling in love more believable. That being said I will continue to read Bell's books, I'm looking forward to her future release.
I was provided an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review,

Cute, sweet, short easy read. They did not have any real conflicts to solve only the generic issues that seem to plague these types of books. It is part of a series. it does not have to be read in order. In fact, there is enough recap of previous books to make reading the previous book unnecessary. If you did read the previous book be prepared to be bored and frustrated during the summaries of what has happened already.

I love Lenora Bell! I also love a woman supporting herself, being an artist, and finding love. I love this series and I enjoyed this book so much.

It took me a few chapters to get into this slow burn romance as West was rather unlikeable in the beginning, though reasons for that were eventually revealed. Viola was a lovely musical heroine and I enjoyed seeing her tell West off a few times. Their banter was great and I loved her warm relationship with his sisters.
Lenora Bell’s writing is perfect for those who want a light and steamy time!

Lenora Bell is one of my favorite historical romance authors. She brings the reader in to the book and she never disappoints! This book is no exception. Brandon had 5 younger sisters and needs to marry for money. Viola is an instructor to his sisters and has a deep attraction to the Duke. When she agrees to chaperone the girls for one season, Brandon and Viola are the ones who find true love.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a wicked duke who has gambled away his fortune must be in want of an heiress."
Well, that's a fantastic way to draw a reader like me to a book. I want to know how he lost it, how he thinks marrying will fix it if he's in risk of gambling it all away again, and how the woman is going to fix his devilish ways. The chemistry between the characters was spot on and who does not enjoy a good scandal between the two characters. The book was a fast and enjoyable read that I will gladly recommend to my fellow bookworms.

THE REVIEW

Brandan Delamar, Duke of Westbury had a rough childhood spent trying to please his father, only to be demeaned and beaten constantly. His mother was loving, although absent most of the time. His father desperately wanted another boy but only received five girls. Until finally, a son was born. That same day, West was called into his fathers office, told he was not his fathers son and sent off to boarding school. It ripped West apart and he still carries the shame and anger with him now years later. Sadly, his brother died in a riding accident and his father died shortly after that. Last left West as the Duke and in charge of his sisters, but he simply continued his rakish, wasted life.

Viola Beaton is the daughter of a once famous composer who is now forced to work as a piano tutor for West’s sisters. With her father losing his hearing, she has been helping him compose music for commissions to help pay for their expenses. Slowly, West starts to reform so his sisters can have good matches and he can improve his properties. Of course, it’s all because of Viola and her sensible ways that guide him and his sisters.

I really liked the premise of the book; he is a tortured Duke and she is a ray of sunshine musician whom everyone just loves. But it felt kind of silly in parts and the dialogue was awkward at times. I also didn’t completely believe the feelings between West & Viola, especially Wests.

TROPES
Historical Romance, Damaged/Tortured Hero, Illegitimate Hero, Pugilist/Fighter Hero, Rake Hero, Protective Hero, Titled Hero, Bluestocking Heroine, Spinster Heroine, Musician Heroine, Virgin Heroine, Governess/Nanny Heroine, Class Difference, Secret Crush, Piano Steam, Three Star, Three Flame

This was a great historical romance novel, that I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I enjoyed this installment of the wallflowers and rogues series by Lenora Bell. If you haven't picked these books up, consider doing so. Duke Most Wicked is book 3 in the series and while I recommend you read all, I don't think you would miss anything if you picked this one up as a standalone.

The characters were well developed and the story was well written. I'll definitely pick up more from Bell in the future.

For some reason, every book in this series has been a slow read for me. Maybe it’s the low angst, maybe it’s the pacing… I’m not quite sure. It took me a month and a half to finally dig in and finish reading.

This is the story of the Duke of Westbury and his sister’s music teacher, Viola Beaton. Westbury is rogue and a scoundrel and a wastrel. He pretty much gambles, drinks, and parties all the time. He even manages to gamble away his sister’s doweries. But after overhearing some outrageous gossip about his siblings he decides he needs a rich wife to boost his finances and get them married off.

Viola is the girls’ music teacher and the caretaker of her father, once a great composer, but who is slowly losing his hearing. She cares for the girls and is attracted to Westbury, but he needs a rich wife and she is the farthest thing from that.

They like each other, but the progression of their relationship is S L O W moving. She pines for him, he is nice to her, then develops an attraction… and of course, they fall in love and have a HEA. But I really wasn’t heavily invested in them as a couple. I do hope Westbury’s sisters get their own series, they were great secondary characters.

Just the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump! This book was a sweet slowburn with lovable main characters, meddling sisters, and tropes that make it such a fun read.

Brandan Delamar, Duke of Westbury, was told his whole childhood how wicked he was by his father. Now grown, West had no other choice but to live up to that wicked title and gambled away his fortune. Now he is in need of an heiress, but with never feeling loved his while life, he doesn't believe it exists.

Viola Beaton is the duke's sisters' music instructor. She's a sunny personality who not only has accepted the roll of a wallflower, but also has a secret hidden in her love for music. While she might not be an heiress, she can't help being drawn to the dastardly Duke....

I loved this slow burn romance so much. The characters were so well developed, including the side ones, that I could not put this book down. West is my favorite kind of hero, the grumpy kind with a troubled past but still cares for those around him. And Viola was also such a sweet sole who keeps the peace and eventually learns to do things for herself. They made such a sweet couple and I'm glad I picked this up when I did!!

Thank you to netgally for an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts.