Duke Most Wicked by Lenora Bell is a class story about choosing love over duty. The Duke of Westbury has four sisters under his care and a life of debauchery to make up for. Viola is more than just a music teacher to these ladies. She is a companion and mentor as well. This couple starts off at odds and eventually comes together as they both will do what it takes for those they love. Another overall entertaining read from Ms. Bell.

I received an ARC from Avon via NetGalley and this is my honest review.

This was a great addition to the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. It was definitely better than book 1 but not quiet as good as book 2. I liked the characters but would have appreciated more of West's point of view. He didn't have much growth in the story and that was a bit disappointing. But I enjoyed the story and I want to read the next book.

Lenora Bell is one of my favorite authors and each new book is an instabuy. The Duke Most Wicked is the third book in her Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. It would work very well as a stand alone but I highly recommend the series.

Viola Beaton is a character throughout the series and I was very excited to read her story. Viola struggles to keep her household afloat while her senior father finishes composing his most recent masterpiece. Viola herself composes music under her father's name but has taken a position as the music teacher for five sisters. The five sisters are cared for by their brother Brandan Delamar, Duke of Westbury. Branden is in search of a rich heiress to keep their family afloat. I love the depth of these characters backstory, THE BANTER, how they can't ever stop thinking of each other and when attraction hits! I did feel like there were parts I had read before (repetition of plot in pervious books in series) that lagged a bit. Overall I loved it and can't wait for more books by Lenora Bell.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Avon for the early read. All opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining, well-written historical romance. It was steamy, fun and held my interest. I wanted to find out what would happen. I enjoyed this historical romance and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Duke Most Wicked written by Lenora Bell from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Brandan Delamar, Duke of Westbury was mistreated beyond comprehension by his father. He is now grown and living a life of debauchery and sin to prove his father's words true that West was not a good person.
Viola Beaton, is a music instructor, hired by West to help his five sisters in the music and musical arena. As the two meet, talk, fight, the electric magnetism between them grows. Unfortunately, West is torn between duty and desire and must find a way to make Viola his.

Sometimes we really do want to be misunderstood...
He doesn't believe in love and she dreams of finding her own.

Brandan Delamar, the Duke of Westbury, has carefully cultivated his reputation as a profligate scoundrel and womanizer. He is determined to defiantly live up to the wastrel moniker bestowed on him by his father.
But now the coffers are nearly empty, and he has been so successful in cementing his scandalous reputation, it's likely his sisters will bear the brunt of it as well. They must marry, and without a sterling family reputation, or at least one that is redeemable, they may have to live their lives as spinsters. The only solution is for the wicked duke of Westbury to pull an heiress out of a hat - one who is beyond reproach and will rescue the family fortune.

The only problem with this plan is that the Duke can't keep his gaze from straying to his sisters' lovely, impoverished music instructor, Viola Beaton. But Viola has secrets of her own that she can't afford to jeopardize with a liaison. Even though she's been plagued with dreams of Brandan from their first meeting, she knows she's not what he needs to ensure the security and wellbeing of his sisters.

Some of the things I love about this book:
1. The hero's contrition is believable and his redemption arc evolves because he faces his inner demons of self-doubt.
2. The heroine blossoms under the hero's attention, and his adulation convinces her to pursue her own dreams - regardless of the consequences to her reputation.
3. A villain who reminded me of Wickham - I loved to loathe him!
4. "Touch her again and I'll rearrange your face."

Read this if you need a swoon-filled afternoon full of sweetness and surrender...
Recommended for fans of Lisa Kleypas' Wallflower series.

Parents sometimes show favoritism to one child. Regency aristocracy usually showed favoritism to the eldest male progenitor who would inherit the parents’ estate. Girls were sometimes ingnored and 2nd or 3rd sons as well. Poor Brandon Delamar (heir to the Duke of Westbury) was ignored by his father (if he was lucky) or verbally/physically abused. He grew up intending to be the most depraved duke’s heir possible.

Viola Beaton lived her 24 years in support of her father, a famous composer. She was forced to become a music teacher after her father was involved in a scandal. Viola was teaching Brandon’s (the duke) four sisters. She became more of a confidante to the girls and seemed to inject sunshine and harmony into the girls’ bleak lives. Viola and the duke fought their attraction to each other. The sexual tension and chemistry between Brandon and Viola was explosive. Much steam ensued.

After starting out feeling bad for Brandon’s early life, I laughed at his humor in Chapter one and throughout. He leant Viola belief in herself as a composer and she leant him hope that he could change.

I liked how his sisters were so close to Viola since they didn’t have any other elder female relations they could rely on. Viola had her friends in the womens’ group. I found the scene at Westbury Abbey bizarre in the graveyard. That wouldn’t be the way to win my hand! Lol

Couldn’t put this book down.

I received a copy of this book in advance for my honest opinion.

Viola and Westbury's story has been simmering for a while in the background of Lenora's prior books, so I was excited to be able to read this prior to publication and review it!
As others have mentioned, the first act is essentially West deciding to marry an American heiress to refill the coffers. I was concerned this would have an extremely annoying conclusion, but I was thrilled with how they tied it up, truly the only way that plotline could have ended positively.
The second half is really where the tension and romance ramps up, but the book was a quick enough read that it didn't bother me!
The longing in this one was so well done because it truly seems impossible for them to marry with West's money problems and dedication to his family. The resolution of these issues was awfully convenient but it was so late in the book that you knew it was coming and ultimately just wanted them to get together!
I definitely recommend this if you like YEARNING and LONGING !

P.S. when are we getting Rafe's book? Tell me more about the CHAIR??

A troubled past has left the Duke of Westbury scarred and cynical. It’s time for him to settle down and marry an heiress—yet he’s drawn to Viola, his sisters’ music teacher. Can they avoid a scandal?

I loved this story. West and Viola were sweet together and helped each other grow. There were some tense moments, but overall the tone was light and fun.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Miss Viola Beaton crushed on Brandan Delamar, the Duke of Westbury for years, but West has been wild and wicked for many more in “Duke Most Wicked” by Lenora Bell!

The prologue gives us West’s emotional back story and I could not read fast enough!

I love how family oriented this book is and we also get cameos from the Belliverse. The previous books in the Wallflowers vs Rogues mention West’s numerous sisters and they are all different, but love pours out of the pages. The love from friends also shine through and it is heart-warming!

I love the character development of each main character! For West, he struggles to become better, but he is remembering what love is beyond his love for family. Then at the end, I love how he took advice to find peace in order to pursue. For Viola, I love how more of her passionate nature comes out, for friends and family, for music, and for self-care.

If you enjoy close proximity, different social class, forbidden, reforming and wallflower romances to name a few, then I highly recommend this book! If you played (me) or play the piano, then this book will compel you to make music!

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager US for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Duke Most Wicked caught my attention on page one with its luscious characters, clever dialogue, and swoon-worthy romance! I love a jerk hero, and Brandon, Duke of Westbury or “West,” is the worse possible libertine. My first thoughts were, “he’s horrid; there is no way this one will find redemption.” Viola Beaton is West’s sister’s music teacher. Sunny, optimistic Viola is unconditionally, irrevocably in love with sinister, moody West, who doesn’t even call her by her correct name. I laughed every time West called Viola Miss Bedlam!

Both West and Viola evolve throughout the novel. They bring out the best qualities in one another. West finds he can overcome his past and find love, and Viola discovers she can step out of the shadows and shine. The passionate and intimate connection that grew between West and Viola developed organically and romantically. One of West’s gifts towards the end was…unique? I loved it! It was the perfect declaration for an unconventional couple.

Duke Most Wicked is the third book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. This book was a bubbly, warm, engaging romance that kept me reading late. Lenora Bell creates fallible, lovable characters that have you quickly turning the page to discover their happily ever after. Duke Most Wicked is a delightful confection of a romance sure to warm your heart!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book by one of my favorite authors. Ms Bell writes a suburb and fascinating tale of a wicked duke and a wallflower. The characters are fully developed with thoughts an feelings of their own. The story had me at first chapter and I couldn't put it down.
Brandan Delamar, Duke of Westbury must marry for money to support his five sisters. His deeds have caught up with him and now the devil wants his due.
Viola Beaton isn't rich or a heiress but she has a sunny outlook on life. She gives music lessons to the five sisters of the Duke of Westbury. She truly likes the girls and wants to help them with their esteem problems. Viola also has an affection for the Duke too!
When the Duke and Viola make a bargain to give the sisters a season in London, she will be there to guide them throughout the social scene. She will make sure no scandal will mar the girls chances for their own happiness and marrying.
Who will stop the these two lonely people from making a scandal of their own? Love takes over and a happy ever after is the key.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

Duke Most Wicked by Lenora Bell is the third book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues historical romance series. This time around the book is focused on Brandan Delamar, the Duke of Westbury, and Viola Beaton, who has been mentioned previously as a supporting character in the series as a friend to the two previous protagonists. Viola is working for Westbury as the music teacher for his sisters, but soon enough he realizes that she’s doing so much more for the household that he knew about, and of course comes to see her in a whole different light than before.

I was truly curious in relation to the matter of why the wicked Duke of Westbury was acting as he was in the previous books and why he didn’t have a care in the world about anything else. So, if you want an explanation for that, this book does answer it for you but I have to add that it didn’t do anything for me. I did understand his character more with this book, but I don’t think that every one of his actions can be forgiven only because of what he was going through.

Viola was a good lead in this one. I loved to see how focused she was on her relationship with music, but it was sad sometimes to see how she let go of things she wished for because she was thinking of others and not her. I also liked her close relationship with Westbury’s sisters, it was almost as if the girls knew they were meant to end up being family and it was adorable to see how they all cared for one another.

Now, the romance. I liked the actual interactions of Viola and West, all of them were pretty good when it comes to being charged with intentions from each other. But, I have to say that sometimes the story felt like it wasn’t delivering enough on the romance and the actions that come with it. While it is true that it was a little bit of a slow-burn romance because of the duke having to marry and the two of them having to suppress their feelings for one another.

It was a good story with great characters that were easily enjoyable and I cannot wait to see what Lenora Bell has in store for the upcoming books in the series!

*ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (varies)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 If you are GENEROUS. 2 are very close together and 1 is quite short (about a page)
Humor: Yes, a bit, though maybe not as much as her prior novels
Perspective: Third perspective from both hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This one is okay if you don’t mind a plethora of previously introduced characters having page time. She does connect her various series in the same world (for example, Indie has some page time and she’s from For the Duke’s Eyes Only (book 2 of the School for Dukes series) as well as the previous heroines from this series, Wallflowers vs Rogues)

Basic plot:
Viola has longed for the duke while teaching his 5 younger sisters music but knows it’s never to be. Now she also has to watch him pursue an heiress to save his sister’s reputations and their finances.

Give this a try if you want:
- Musician heroine
- A bit of sunshine and grump feel
- I don’t think the heroine is full figured necessarily but she describes herself as ‘too short and too round for current fashion’
- Regency time period (? exact year unknown)
- London setting
- Medium steam – it’s all concentrated at the end of the book with 4 scenes if you’re generous (2 are close together and another is quite short)
- Hero needs an heiress
- Employer/employee relationship – heroine teaches music to the duke’s 5 younger sisters
- Unrequited love – heroine has longed for the duke while employed
- Working women – heroine has her own career that she expands in the book

Ages:
- Hero is 28, heroine is 24

My thoughts:
Wah, I am not sure what happened here. Honestly I think it was the expectations. I was just so excited for this book! I love the cover, I was seeing fabulous reviews everywhere, and unfortunately it flopped for me a bit.

This novel really is great. It just has a few things that I bemoan in a romance novel. The big thing for me was I felt like they were hardly together in the first half of the book. I was drowning in secondary characters. (view spoiler) I actually kept track and they are only on page together 19% of the first 50%. And that really killed it for me. In the entire book I think they were on page together about 53%. Which was just not enough for me to really love them and feel their tension and longing together.

I will say the second half was MUCH better for me. But by the time I was starting to get into the story, it was over. So I am sad about all that. I don’t think it will bother most people though, so let’s talk about what’s good with it!!

Oh I really enjoyed Viola. She’s got dimples and she’s a musician and she’s so cute and fun and already has a great relationship with West’s entire household staff. She’s just lovely. She helps take care of her aging father, who is also a composer, and he’s losing his hearing so it’s quite an emotional toll on her to be his caretaker. Viola grows over the course of the book – her career takes off through her hard work and as she develops more confidence and starts living for herself you can see her blossom.

West, I’ll admit I didn’t like as much. I think I could have! But he kind of noticed Viola in THAT way but then I wasn’t convinced of it when we got into the book. I wanted some more pining from him.

The sexy scenes were fabulous. I loved it and thought it had a good emotional pull but for me it was just too little too late to really love their love story or feel like they would be totally happy forever. West came off to me a bit immature instead of Wicked, a bit naïve. Not purposefully hurtful but just not the amazing husband I wanted for Viola.

So ultimately these two just got lost a bit for me with everything else going on in the book and I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. But it’s a lovely novel worth giving a try!

Imagine the Sound of Music but in a historical romance! Viola is a music teacher to a bunch of sisters and she falls in love with their older brother, who's an irresponsible rake.

This book was all over the place. The inconsistency of character and style made this novel a bit disjointed.

I was most disappointed about how Viola's characterization played out at the end. She suddenly became reckless and foolish when she came into money, and I just couldn't understand why. Her issue the entire novel has been that she doesn't have enough money to be considered at match for West, but when she comes into money, she insists on gambling it, doing the very activity that she's been deriding West for doing the entire novel. Of all the ways she could grow as a character, this was not it.

Now for the gambling: gambling is in a lot of historical romance novels and it usually serves some sort of narrative purpose. But it's usually relatively on the periphery, or part of backstory, for good reason. When faced with how devastating a gambling habit is, I found it overpowered the other aspects of the plot.

I will give props for the duel NOT HAPPENING because this really showed West had reformed.

However - the wild, last minute detail about West forcing the villain to marry the girl he knocked up...? Hard dislike. If he's so reformed and respectful to women now, why is he forcing a woman into a marriage with a bad man without her consent? It's such a huge plot point that happens in about a paragraph. I can't help but wonder if this is some sort of set up for the next book or something.

Because Viola is a musician, there are so many descriptions and metaphors that are music related. I was over it so fast. It was too much, too on the nose. We get it, music is her whole life and personality. (The word "sonorous" will forever remind me of this book.)

Also, The American heiress fiancé was a character at best, a clown at worst. She did not need to be that extreme for the point to be the same.

Overall, did not really enjoy.

4./5 - Duke Most Wicked by Lenora Bell by Lenora Bell, book three in her Wallflowers vs. Rogues series, is a “class” difference romance between a “wicked” Duke and the music teacher he hires as for his sisters. Brandan Delamar, Duke of Westbury, has lived a reckless life after being hurt and scarred by a dark secret. With 5 younger sisters to support and financial troubles, Brandan must marry for money. Viola Beaton is the music teacher to the Duke’s sisters and definitely not an heiress. When West announce that he that he will choose a bride for himself, as well as grooms for his sisters, Viola steps in. She has grown to adore these bright young ladies and doesn’t want their husbands chosen for them; and the sisters respect her. Unfortunately, she’s also developed a forbidden passion for her wildly attractive employer. She strikes a bargain with West: if he’ll allow his sisters to attend the Season and choose their own suitors, Viola will chaperone and keep them safe from scandal. Now West and Viola are spending more time around one another and he is finding that no heiress lives up to the feelings he has for the music teacher. Viola and the duke are the ones most likely to cause a scandal.
Along the way maybe Viola will help West reform some of his wicked, rakish ways.

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

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Bell has done it again!
I absolutely loved this. It definitely had some The Little Mermaid vibes, which is a personal favorite of mine, so I smiled whenever I picked up on the Easter eggs.
This is for readers who love pining and angst. The hero can be hard to like at first (he isn't paying Viola after all), but he does redeem himself. Viola was such an interesting heroine. I liked her from the very start and rooted for her to succeed and get the guy.
The romance felt one sided at times (due to the duke being oblivious most of the book) but when they did get together, I found the romance to be very sweet and unexpectedly steamy!
Lenora Bell delivers a grand, fun time in Duke Most Wicked. Would recommend for readers who like angst, workplace romance, class difference romance, opposites attract, pining, employer/employee romance, and historical romance.

As much as I wanted to love this book it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

There were bright moments of humor, genuine emotion, and sexy tension - particularly in the first half of the book. For being a wastrel - Brandan, Duke of Westbury (aka West) was pretty funny and it kinda endeared him to me (a little). I felt for Viola and the crappy situation she found herself in. I didn’t quite get why she was so hot and bothered for West, but I loved her relationship with his sisters. Sharing her love of music with his sisters was really sweet and lovely. I really enjoyed those interactions with them all together.

While it was a super slow burn - it did pack a punch with some steam near the end. I enjoyed the tension and the chemistry between the main characters. I do wish they would have had a little more time together romantically because it felt like the last 25% of the book was a little on the rushed side.

I felt that once the romance happened late in the book the conflict between them felt a tad unnecessary. I started wanting to skim ahead and get to the resolution. I didn’t like the semi-redemption arc of her father - he seriously let them live an impoverished life and forced her to work while he just did nothing. Honestly the men in this book were pretty cringeworthy and so selfish. I know that they tried to redeem themselves at the end, but I left this thinking women just deserve better.

When Brandan Delamar, heir to the Duke of Westbury was a child, he did all he could to make his father proud, but to his dismay, nothing he did was good enough for the Duke and he made his displeasure with his firstborn known. But it wasn’t until Brandan was 12 and his mother, after giving birth to five girls finally had another boy that he learned the truth of why his father hated him. And in that moment, he swore that as hard as he had tried to impress the Duke, he would now pour all his energy into being as wicked as the Duke proclaimed him to be and he succeeded. He was as wicked as wicked could be, even after his mother and his brother died, and even after the old Duke died and Bradan became the Duke. So immersed in his debauchery, West didn’t realize his actions were hurting his sisters, until after waking up in his friend Rafe’s rooms at his club and overhearing some men talking about his sisters, did he realize the extent of his selfishness. He vows, not to reform, but to make things right for his sisters and since he had gambled and frittered away most of his fortune (including the girls' dowries) he decides the best thing he can do is marry an heiress. He finds an American heiress, proposes, and then informs his sisters of their change in fortune and is shocked when they are not overjoyed that he has not only solved their money problems but found husbands for two of his sisters, eliminating the need for them to have a season.
Viola Beaton, the daughter of a disgraced composter, is the Delamar girls’ music instructor and a sort of companion to them is just as shocked as they are when West makes his announcement. Viola has secretly been infatuated with West for years, but knows that nothing can come from it and has tried her best to bury her feelings, but upon hearing that he is to marry, she can’t stop the pain she feels at the loss of her dream. She buries her disappointment and promises the girls that she will try to reason with him, and convince him that the girls should have a season. But when he refuses to budge, she gets angry and quits.
West is intrigued by Viola, he has always noted that she is pretty, but as his employee, she is off limits. But when she confronts him, he can’t help but wonder how he didn’t notice how passionate she is. He feels like he is seeing her for the first time, but it doesn’t matter, he is to be married and it is probably best that she isn’t around to distract him. But when his sisters mutiny, he is forced to give in to their demands and begs Viola to come back. Now all he has to do is marry his heiress and forget about Viola – simple right?
This was a very interesting read, and it was not what I was expecting and not nearly as clichéd as I had anticipated. The book has a lot going on, yet it didn’t feel busy or scattered, it was, for the most part, a light, fun read, but had a deep undercurrent of emotion running through it, that kept the story from becoming “fluffy”. The book has wonderful characters, witty banter, steamyish love scenes, a spectacular lover’s reunion, music, secrets, surprising twists and turns, a botched proposal, and finally a HEA that didn’t seem possible. I enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would, but there were some things that just didn’t work for me. The ending was a bit too perfect, and I couldn’t get over the fact that West gambled away his sister’s doweries, and I was surprised that the author doesn’t seem to know that ALL the duke’s daughters have the honorific of “Lady”, not just the eldest. All in all, it was a fun and original read that I am happy to recommend. This is the third book in the series, but it is loosely connected and can definitely be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Viola and West had a really fun relationship. Viola is the daughter of a famous, but shamed, composer newly hired to teach music to the Duke of Westbury's sisters.

West is the wicked Duke. Who has lived a life of sin and depravity since his father confessed the damning nature of his birth to him.

Now financially ruined and seeking to repair his reputation so his sisters make appropriate matches, West finds himself in need of a wealthy Heiress for his potential new Duchess. Which immediately excludes Viola.

But Viola has pined for West for a long time and can't help falling in love with him, while West desires her physically for most of the book.