Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Marrying a Mabry series. Loosely modeled after the March family of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, we start the series with Joanna, who is in the process of stealing a book from an arrogant and pretentious duke. Unfortunately, that book has a false cover, and she doesn’t realize that she has stolen a book of scandalous illustrations and tutorials. When James finds that his book has gone missing, he suspects Joanna of the crime. These two banter and debate and talk around the stolen book, but Joanna thinks that he suspects her of stealing it. There’s lots of discussion of the roles of women and what constitutes a good match in society, and Joanna enlightening James on the intellect and goals of women. Add in James’ dislike for society, the perfect lady he’s half-heartedly courting, his all-too-knowing aunt, plus a cousin making her debut, and we’ve got lots of moving pieces in this story. The flirtatious banter was great, even when both characters don’t even realize they’re flirting or genuinely enjoying each other’s company. Looking forward to reading about the rest of the Mabry clan in future books.

Lady Joanna Mabry is very opinionated about women's equal rights. Taking an immediate dislike to James Huntington, the Duke of Northwick, for his antiquated thinking,
she feels no guilt in taking his book on feminine education. Only the cover hides the real book. James sets out to prove she took the book, but Joanna proves to be an equal at side stepping his questions. Invigorating debates are the root of attraction. When Joanna accuses him of betraying her trust, James has to figure out a way to prove to the woman he loves that betrayal is something he would never do. I might've missed this one if it hadn't been on my list to review. The next book in the series is on TBR.
Heat level 4.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Lady Joanna Mabry and James Huntington, Duke of Northwick, have seriously different views on the role of women in society. His are traditional, old fashioned, and hers are progressive. Joanna’s quirky habit of “borrowing” books from the libraries in the homes of peers she visits brings them together when he discovers one of his “not-for-ladies” books missing, and suspects (rightly so) that she took it. Opinions are challenged, sparks fly, and these two polar opposites find they have common interests, including in each other. This is an amusing and enjoyable story with likeable characters (except Lady Caroline). I loved the reaction Joanna’s father has to James’s library. This is the first story in a new series, and I look forward to more.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Lady Joanna Maybry has a habit of "borrowing books from other people's libraries. The person whose library she is raiding this time is very set in his opinions for what is suitable for women to learn.
Our heroine is lucky enough to have a family that encourages all their children to follow their passion for learning. Each have different talents.
James Huntington, the Duke of Northwick needs to be in London for the season to help his cousin . Its a place he hates, the sooner everyone does what's needed to sooner he can go home to his books.
A very amusing historical romance with fabulous characters. Even the most intelligent of people can be confused when feelings interfere.
This is the first book in a new series. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest. This is an interesting family we are learning about.
Good fun.

From the moment I picked this book up, right to the closing chapter, I found that I was unable to put this romance down. Both Lady Joanna and the Duke of Northwick have definite views on the primary role of women in society. In an era dominated by men, and where, for the most part, women just accepted that they had no other options, it comes as a surprise to James to discover a lady who dislikes him based solely on his strong views of the place of women in society. He quickly learns that Joanna is every bit as intelligent and quick of wit as he is and debating with her becomes his primary focus. That, and proving that she has stolen a book from his library. Mutual attraction, respect, and appreciation for one another develop until it starts to become obvious to everyone around them. I loved the main characters in this novel as well as most of the supporting characters, although the burgeoning romance does not make everyone happy. A Duke is a huge prize on the marriage mart, after all. Once all the misunderstandings are overcome, the novel comes to a beautiful and romantic conclusion. I received a copy of this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This story begins with Lady Joanna Mabry stealing a book from the Duke of Northwick's library. After all, Joanna deduces that the duke-James-is a stuffy man who believes that women should stick to their assigned roles as deemed by society. Due to said stuffiness, James most likely is not enlightened and therefore he does not use his extensive and jaw-dropping library. So he won't notice if she takes a book on the education of women, will he?

James-Duke of Northwick-reads like a version of Mr. Darcy. And Joanna is inspired by Jo from "Little Women". They had a nice dynamic of opposites attracting and I really enjoyed how these two fell in love with one another's intellect before anything else. The slow build of friendship to something more was delightful.

There were a lot of really interesting threads to this story and it was well written. Unfortunately, some of the threads seemed to be left at loose ends or pop out of nowhere. I would have liked James to be a bit more fleshed out earlier in the story as it kept me from connecting to him when all the interesting bits about his characterization were revealed towards the very end.

While this book begins with Joanna finding a book on seduction, this is not a steamy story. It is an extremely slow burn with a few scenes later in the book. I am absolutely okay with steam or no steam as long as there is a swoon worthy connection between the main love interests. I sort of felt that here, but I wasn't completely convinced. I still really liked watching the interactions between these two characters and I would pick up another book by Lexi Post and give it a read.

3.5 ✨'s

I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this eARC thanks to Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Stealing a Duke. To start off I would like to say that the character Caroline, should be saying thank you to God that the powerful women of today were not in their prime back then. That is all I have to say about that specific character. Oh and one more thing. If it was me at the ball, I would of slung that trollop by the hair out the side door, right into the Cupid fountain.
I enjoyed reading this book. I like that the author added the main character as a woman who saw her dreams before her and worked hard to make them come true. During these moments Joanna had to be a buffer between her family the Maybrs and the ton, as well as the proprieties of the ton. The life line to Joanna’s chaotic world is Jason. Lord thank you for Jason.
That man, that man. His character moves through the book oozing with charisma, swagger, passion and sexual desire. He was my favorite character. I thought that his character was written rather well. The same could be said for his aunt. She was the Grace to both families.
Joanna and Jason are two people who worked so well with the background story to the romance in the book. The political moments are pointed out among the book, but they were not as heavy or dominant in the book. The writer did a good job of applying these moments to the book to enhance the closeness between the two main characters. During these moments I didn’t get bored with the book or lost in the points that were to be made. All the characters were great.
I liked that they had their own unique stories added to the main characters stories. I loved the entertainment as well as the romance of the story. Who new having books could cause so much chaos in a book lover’s world. Until next time my fellow readers… read on! I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Entertaining Hist/Rom that has some great characters and wonderful chemistry.
Very enjoyable to read ,and I think it is the first of many, for me, from this author.
Her characters are very endearing and full of life.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

3.5 Stars
Lady Joanna Mabry has many flaws, one is her penchant for stealing books from her peers’ homes. James Huntington, the Duke of Northwick’s outspoken views on a proper woman’s education have left her bristling. So in this case, she’s pleased to have taken his book on what is sure to be an antiquated view of the female species. James dismisses Lady Joanna’s odd behaviour until he discovers his book on “feminine education” is missing. Guessing she has it, he’s highly amused since the cover concealed the real title, The Illustrated Pleasures of Seduction. He soon finds himself putting off his proposal to another woman as he attempts to trap Joanna into revealing her theft.
The start of a new series which was inspired by a classic, I enjoyed the book but didn’t love it. It was an entertaining read but I didn't burn to continue reading & so I found myself taking a few days to finish it as I kept putting it down to do other things even reading other books. The characters were well portrayed & again I liked them but didn’t love them, the paced is good. I liked both James & Joanna & whilst there was chemistry it didn't sizzle. So for me an OK read
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Joanna is quite content to become a spinster and in the meantime she has fun stealing books from other peoples libraries and returning them at a later event. James the Duke of Northwick is another matte entirely he's such a pompous ass that he simply deserves to have a book stolen because of his ridiculous views on women's education. The book she steals says it's about educating the female species but is really an illustrated copy of pleasures of seduction.
Joanna can't believe what it is she wound up with and as she gets to know James more and realizes he's not as bad as she thought it becomes a game of does she have it, should she return it, etc...
In spite of the fact this is inspired by little women, which to me is boredom in book form, this was entertaining, this is a fairly low spice book though so if that's your preference be forewarned, I was glad I saw someone else's warning otherwise that might have bothered me.

A fun quirky story which was an entertaining read with likable characters. This was the first book by Lexi Post that I have read and look forward to reading more. This was well worth the read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Like other reviewers, I expected something different than I got based on the blurb describing "Stealing the Duke" by Lexi Post. I expected lots of flirting and at least some spice. Instead I got somewhat standard getting to know each fare and an almost clean romance.

The book is not bad, necessarily, just not exciting. FMC Joanna likes to "borrow" books from the homes of the ton. An outspoken champion of the rights of women, she has no compunction about taking a book from the library of MMC James, the Duke of Northwick, who very much believes in the separation of the sexes. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Joanna, James is also compulsive about his book collection and knows immediately that one of his books is missing.

As James attempts to get Joanna to admit to the thievery, the two spend more time together, eventually proving that old adage, opposites attract. There is little chemistry between the pair, however, and their interactions feel a little staid. The third-act separation is wholly predictable and the reunion anti-climactic. The book did, however, make me want to try marscapone cheesecake.

2 stars. Thank you to Dragonblade and NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read. Historical fiction oh yeah.

I have not read this author before and there were some good points to this story.
(This review may contain spoilers.)
The story opens with the heroine in the library of an insufferable duke. Apparently, the heroine has a kleptomania disorder where she 'borrows' books and reads them, then returns them to the general area. My concern is that this is called stealing. You can't 'borrow without consent'. And if the book is not returned to the owner itself, or placed back in the same place it was taken from, then is it still stealing. I thought it was laughable that the heroine said she is"...making an effort to get it back to the correct house, or nearby at least." This is not returning a book!! This is treating the book as disposable goods. How is this in anyway something that can just be overlooked?.
The heroine describes the hero as the most insufferable man she has met since her debut 4 years prior. But then this man has read every book in his collection, yet is still closed minded about certain things. This doesn't make sense. Knowledge is supposed to open the mind, not close it.
I find that the author takes too much creatively liberty and creates fantasty. I want a historical romance that will make sense. If it doesn't make sense call it fantasy or sci-fi. I want to read about characters that I like, and I did not like these characters.
I also found that the story contained a lot of introspection and there was a lot of unnecessary musings that I just skipped over because they were redundant and did not add to the story. I felt that the author was trying hard to make the characters opposite of each other, but similar enough so they could fall in love and this was not sucessful. I felt that the characters were so opposite in their thoughts and ideas that there is no common ground to meet on.
I do not recommend this book. The premise was there, but I felt that the relationship was forced. The heroine was able to meet the hero in terms of lust,but not much else.
I give this book 2 stars.

A lovely tale about two smart people who love books and learning, one conventional and the other modern. The cat and mouse and baiting is really funny and witty until they met in the middle. It’s funny, witty, steamy with some action all at once. Excellent read!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

This book was an entertaining read with likable characters. Had i not had a headache, i would have read it in one day. This was the first book by Lexi Post that I have read and look forward to reading this series. I love a quirky family series.
I received this book from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for an honest review.

The Waltz, Books, Ice Cream with a Bit of Romance:
My first time reading this author and I found the plot intriguing along with two emotionally driven characters.
It is a wordy story that has lots of ups and downs. James family history was interesting,
At the 40% mark I was starting to dislike the very argumentative banter between Joanna and James. I did skim for a while. The story does get better around the 60% point. The romance kept me interested through most of the rest but then the last few chapters seemed to be thrown together to get to the ending.
The one intimate scene for me was disappointing as far as Joanna's hurried up behavior. I didn't get the feel of any charisma or connection. between the couple.
Some of the characters left me with questions that will maybe be solved in the continuation of the series.
Pretty cover✔

Okay, so this did not go as expected. In reading the blurb, I thought it would be a fun romp regarding the naughty book that Joanna absconded with and James trying to figure out if she was going to give herself away. Well, it is kind of, sort of, but not really. While I love a lot of dialog in a book which this does meet that requirement for me, it got to be boring. Yes, we can all agree that ladies have just as much right as men to learn but this diatribe just went on and on and on with overlooking what I really wanted the book to be about. I did like that Joanna and James could talk about the issues and see each other’s perspective most of the time and how their relationship developed from enemies to friends. Steam almost nonexistent. I have not read Lexi’s books before so I don’t know if this is the usual or not.

Joanna "Jo" Mabry is a self-certified bluestocking and lover of books. She "borrows" books from aristocratic houses she visits with the intention of learning everything she can and returning the book at a later date. She borrows a book titled "Educating the Female Species" from James Huntington, the Duke of Northwick. What she doesn't realize is that the book cover is actually false and the true title of the book is "The Illustrated Pleasures of Seduction." James immediately notices that his raunchy book is missing, assumes Jo took it, and he sets out to convince her to confess. In the process, the two butt heads but learn they are more alike than imagined and share a passion for not only knowledge, but also each other.

This book is loosely based on Little Women. I enjoyed the brief appearances by all the sisters and Teddy. I was expecting more steam based on the synopsis; there was only one sex scene and it did seem a little rushed. Like most regency novels, there is an obsession with propriety and chaperones, which I thought this novel accurately portrayed, but I was a little confused that Jo's lower aristocratic family would so openly interact with a duke. There were some great historical references and it was a fun read for fans of bluestockings and spinsters. Overall 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book was a delightful read, particularly the relationship that develops between Joanna Mabry and James Huntington. The author's inclusion of women's place in society and the challenges of understanding another's point of view made the story feel more realistic. While the story started off a bit slow, it picked up pace as I progressed further into it. I would have preferred more focus on the "naughty book" that Joanna steals and a bit more spice, as suggested in the description. Nevertheless, the scene where they finally come together was so well-written that I found myself punching my pillow in excitement! This is not your typical historical romance, as the language and actions of the characters feel true to the time period. I am eagerly looking forward to reading Amelia's love story, as I am sure it will be just as fantastic.