To Steal a Marquess
By Maeve Greyson

I have read many series by Maeve Greyson and am a big fan of hers. This is a wonderful series, she has a way of making you contact with the characters who are always well writen. This is the 1st book in The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies series and I can't wait for the 2nd. It keeps you guessing with twist and turns and just when you thought you knew, you did. A wonderfully writen story.

Lady Cecelia Tuttcliffe and her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Hasterton are living a lie. Safe in Germany, they must travel to London to tie up loose ends. The one man they fear the most is the newest partner in the London law office of Parkerton, Hodgely and Kane, Lord Elias Raines. Many questions and no answers from the Dowager Duchess and Cecelia makes Elias suspicious, but love can be blind. It's an illegal lie that can destroy a life and a career. Geez, this is complicated with surprises and a twist. A slow start will gradually pick up the pace. Open bedroom door.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This is the first book of a captivating new series, The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies, and what a delightful start it is! The Duke of Hasterton, while the title is real, the man behind the title is fake. After her father's death, Cecelia poses as the heir, with society none the wiser. The Duke is suspiciously always unavailable and elsewhere while his twin Cecilia lives with their mother in Germany. When Cecilia's mother falls ill, she wishes to go to London and Cecelia travels with her posing as her companion, Celia. When in London, they become acquainted with the very successful and sharp solicitor who is handling the "Duke's" affairs, Lord Elias Raines. After the Dowager duchess makes a request and also seeing the Duke's files, Elias becomes very suspicious of Celia and her mother, but at the same time he is very captivated and taken by her. His attraction to her draws them closer, and he tries to get Celia to tell him the truth. He must then decide whether to help the ladies or expose their lie and lose Celia.
A passionate and entertaining story that was well-written and captured my attention from the very start. The characters were intriguing and likable and I enjoyed following their story. This was a brilliant start to the series, and I can't wait to read more!
Thank you to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Such a great book!
The duchess of Hasterton is pregnant when her husband dies. The child ends up being a girl, not a boy. To protect both of them, the duchess says she has twins. Many years go by and mother and daughter, under ''Duke Charles'' name, has done many lucrative business and live quite comfortably in Germany. Until the dowager duchess gets sick. As a last wish, she asks her daughter to go back to London one last time. Celia, doesn't agree, if they go right now she will have to be presented to the ton and the marriage mart. To avoid that another scheme starts, Celia will pose as her mother's companion and help her finish all her business in London, which includes arranging her will with their new solicitor. Everything is fine, until the solicitor, Elias Raines, starts making lots of right questions.
It was so well written. I would love to read more from you!

A wonderfully written story of Elias and Cecilia. Cecilia and her mother have for years pretended that she had a twin brother, the infamous Charles, Duke of Hasterton. He is an extraordinarily successful businessman who is well respected for his cunning business acumen that has enabled the family business to grow rapidly. Unfortunately, reality was different from there was no Charles and the brains behind the business was at first Cecilia's mother and when Cecilia came of age, she took over the running of the business from home.

Everything runs smoothly till the mother falls gravely ill and is dying and wants to make a final trip to London to have a new will put in place that leaves everything to Cecilia. They engage the services of Lord Elias Raines who is keen to finally meet Charles only to disappointed when he learns that he is travelling and only the mother and her companion, Celia are there to meet him.

Both mother and daughter must walk a fine line keeping secrets from everyone and revealing some of them to Elias in the hope he will assist them with their plans.

An excellent story worth the read and kept me interested to find out what happens.

I received an ARC from Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley with thanks and submit my honest review.

Oh my word!! This did NOT end like I thought it would. The main climax was a total surprise to me. Okay, so I'm not just saying that. I loved the up and downs and the intrigue. Such a fun book to read!
I really enjoyed the everyday life of this book and rags to riches on both parts. It was wonderfully entertaining and feel good book. So sad to see the end of this series. I would enjoy seeing it continue with other ranks.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with guidelines.

To Steal a Duke by Maeve Greyson is a departure from her recent books, many time travel. Lady Cecelia Tuttcliffe is the daughter of a duke. Sadly, he died before she was born. Her mother had loved another but followed the dictates of her family by marrying. She and her mother had had a good life, but they had never returned to England, rather living in Germany. First her mother, and then she, when she got older, ran a business empire from their home that was the envy of many. Little did those people know it was two women and not the duke they thought it to be, for she had been born a girl, not a boy. There was no duke. But, to escape poverty, they had been pretending for years that there was a duke. Now her mother lay dying and she wanted to return to London. Could they do that and maintain their secret? Then they met their London lawyer Sir Elias Raines and Celia became convinced that they could not keep their secret from him.

Wonderful characters in this book. Clever and insightful as well. Well-written and well-plotted, their fraud turned into an even larger one, largely perpetrated by Elias, who had insisted he would turn her in for fraud and see her hanged. But, he loved her and he had to find a way that they could be together and that she would not hang. He had an older brother who was a duke, in whom he confided. His brother was very clever and used things that happened to make things work the way he wanted them to. This was an excellent book, very well done, with excellent pacing. The theme of being a strong woman who lived outside society’s norms has become a common one for Regency romance when in reality it is probably little more than wishful thinking. But, what a wonderful story it makes.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of To Steal a Duke by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #MaeveGreyson #ToStealADuke

3.5 stars

Looks like the start of a series. Three dowagers have had to be clever with the truth to ensure that they aren't left in penury. The first one was pregnant and gave birth after her husbands death in Gemany. She has a daughter and an imaginary son, who has inherited the dukedom. Between them they have enhanced the estate and syphoned off some of the unentailed property into an account for Celia. Celia's mother is ill and wants to return to london. Celia goes along as her companion but has the same name as the daughter? why? Our hero is a solicitor as well as the second son of an earl. He wants to meet the duke and is reluctant to do the dowager duchesses wishes as he correctly suspects fraud. There's a bit of insta passion and anger on Celia's part as she isn't getting her way (The Cover defintely shows a stroppy heroine). There are the other characters who I assume will follow in other books. It was Ok. I didn't wholly buy into the premise.

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

Love and a Dangerous Secret

Cecilia and her mother are hiding an extremely dangerous secret. Her brother, the duke, does not exist. How long can they keep up the façade once they go to London? Elias is one persistent solicitor, and something does not seem right about the duchess and her companion. For one thing, Celia looks too much like the duchess. Elias is an honorable man, and he must get to the truth. However, he is falling in love with Celia. The truth is dangerous to her. Will love or honor win in the end? There might be an unexpected surprise that takes the decision out of their hands.

This is a delightful story. I loved it and would recommend it to those who like historical romance with secrets. This author never disappoints. Her books are delightfully entertaining.

To Steal A Duke is the first book in The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies series.

Lord Elias Raines has admired Charles, Duke of Hasterton for his keen ability to turn a profit in all of his businesses and investments. Elias has been summoned to meet with the Duke's mother after arriving from Germany with her companion. He is hoping to meet with the Duke and spend some time with him but no one seems to have ever met him. To his dismay he finds the Duke is abroad traveling and his sister remained in Germany and is not well. The Duchess informs Elias that she wants him to draw up a will with very specific instructions. Afraid that she has days left to live she expects him to return in two days with the new will. She sends Celia for the list and when she hands it to Elias, he reviews the list and cautions her against making her companion full beneficiary. Telling her that what she wants will be contested by her children and likely overturned. She replies that she knows what she is doing, her children already are well taken care of and if he does not do as she requests, she will find another solicitor who will. Elias suspects there is more to the story than he has been told and is determined to get to the truth but agrees to her wishes.

Celia is not her companion but actually the Duchess' daughter. They are keeping a huge secret which could be considered fraud. Celia has no twin brother Charles and all the business decisions have been made by her mother until she was of age and took over after her. Cecelia who goes by Celia was born in Germany after her father died. Her mother fearful of losing the title, wealth, and power of the Dukedom created the lie so she would be able to make her own choices instead of being at the mercy of a man who may or may not be generous with her own money.

Lord Elias Raines investigates Celia but finds nothing to justify not complying with the wishes of the Duchess. When he returns to see her, Celia tells him that she will bring it to the Duchess to review since she is not feeling well, Elias states he must witness the signatures along with witnesses. But the Duchess arrives and tells Elias she wishes to speak to him alone. Slightly put out, Celia leaves. The Duchess reviews and signs the new will. She asks him to take care of Celia when she dies. Elias agrees, but she says do you understand what that means, and he replies he does. She says good and tells him to go spend time with Celia.

Elias is attracted to Celia and tries to get her to tell him the truth by telling her he will keep her safe and protect her. Celia also is drawn to Elias but in spite of that she is afraid to share her deepest secrets and fears. Elias must make a choice to help Cecilia and her mother keeps the secrets they have kept for years.

This is a wonderful twist on the lack of women being able to be independent. I really liked this story of these crafty women which were ahead of their time. It was fun and very creative.

A fun, lightweight, simple read that can easily be finished in an hour.

The plot has the main character inventing a brother in order that she and her mother can survive. Alas, the charade begins to unravel, as her ‘brother’s’ solicitor starts to suspect all is not as it seems.

Can the two main characters find love and romance among all of the lies?

The first book in the new series.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in return for my honest opinions.

The captivated panther falls for the secretive lioness!
Hooked in by the unique, intriguing, premise of having to invent a male relative to survive. The compelling subterfuge that followed had me swept up and continuously pulled back in.
Celia presents a puzzle and to an intelligent solicitor and perceptive inquisitor, like Elias, draws him in like a moth to a flame. Challenging his need to hunt out what has his teeth on edge, that's sending his instincts and suspicions twitching and blaring all over the place. Creating a conflicting internal war between a burning desire to protect the beautiful enigma against his itching duty to reveal all her guarded secrets.
You can feel Celia's fear of exposure, to palpable degree, mingled with an aching longing to trust, open up and connect, while subsequently terrified of the consequences. That radiates with a cocktail of befuddling frustration, for Elias, as despite the mutual depth of desire so obviously, blooming hot, between them, she is forever erecting insurmountable barriers to push him away. Making for some engaging, passion lead bouts, that bounce from sass and blunt boldness to icy steel as passions run high, forever navigating a current that swiftly alternates between blowing hot and cold.
Coloured by Elias' integrity as a solicitor and painful childhood that sets his moral compass to black and white, the fear of retribution for their dangerously risky charade being uncovered, coupled with the society rules, restrictions and inequalities for woman at the time...not to forget, the captivating subcharacters that fuel the fun, bring warmth, enlightenment and counsel, expecially Monty and Celia's mother....makes for an enjoyable, sparks flying read that had many an unexpected twist and turn towards its conclusion, with the power to even evoke tears.
Looking forward to seeing where this series leads! A highly intriguing series opener!

Charles, Duke of Hasterton, admired and respected for his cunning business acumen both at home and abroad has an astounding secret. He is imaginary. But his brilliant twin sister Cecilia is quite real.. Cecilia and her mother cultivate the ruse of the fictional duke quite nicely. But when Cecilia’s mother falls victim to a grave illness and begs to visit her beloved London one last time everything could fall apart. So, she poses as her mother’s companion. Lord Elias Raines might be the second son of a duke and the youngest solicitor in his law office, but he’s proven himself so capable and talented that when his mentor dies, he’s promoted to partner and assigned to the rich, influential clients cared for by the man who taught him everything he knows. he discovers some peculiarities in the Duke of Hasterton’s file but his requests for the duke to review the oddities have, so far, gone unanswered. Luckily enough, he discovers the duke’s mother is in London.
The start of a new series & it was different. How things have changed in two hundred years! I loved Cecilia, a strong, intelligent woman who will do what she must to protect her family. I also loved Charles another strong intelligent character. I loved the chemistry between them & how their initial attraction grew & deepened. I just loved it & devoured it in a sitting, roll on book two
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Charles, Duke of Hasterton, is admired for his cunning business acumen both at home and abroad. Yet what no-one realises is that he is imaginary, created by his mother and his brilliant twin sister Cecilia. After Celia’s father died before her birth, the only way to protect the title, wealth, and power was to create the duke. Yet when Celia’s mother becomes ill and wishes to return to London, Celia cannot refuse. So, she poses as her mother’s companion to ensure their elaborate farce remains safe. However, Lord Elias Raines, the second son of a duke and the youngest solicitor in his law office, is intrigued by Celia. Whilst his dearly departed advisor failed to mention some of the peculiarities in the Duke of Hasterton’s file, Elias is suspicious of Celia, particularly given the generous endowment that the dowager duchess is providing for her. Soon, Elias is more than just intrigued by her but falling in love.
This was quite a unique story and well crafted. Both Elias and Celia are two fascinating characters who are instantaneously drawn to each other. I loved that Celia tried to protect Elias, but that Elias was determined to do all that he could to pursue her. A great start to a new series but several very clever women who will do all that they can to preserve a façade, and keep the title close to them.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love that this book took on how unfair laws were that only allowed wealth and titles to only be given to male heirs. The female characters in this book prove how smart and good with business they can be. Of course, Lady Celia and her mother had to create a fake male twin due to some stupid laws.

Elias was the new solicitor for the ladies and falls for Celia. So many secrets gradually come out, but will it ruin the romance or even send the ladies to the gallows.

I really liked the portrayal of stong women willing to risk it all for their livelihood and love. The resolution to dealing with "imaginary" brother Charles in the end was pretty creative. So many struggles that women should never have had to deal with throughout the years. I hope the next book in the series is as good as this one.

Thank you to Dragonblade and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

This story had a really interesting premise. Celia had an imaginary brother who was a duke. She and her mother had been able to live with this lie for 20 years by living abroad but her dying mother wanted to return to London. Elias is their solicitor and the brother of a duke. How Celia and Elias manage to overcome the lies and live happily ever after makes for good reading.

Cecelia and her mother ( Duchess of Hasterton) have carried a huge secret all her life. Now because her mother wants to see London one last time , they are in danger of discovery.

Lord Elias Raines is the younger brother of a Duke and works as a lawyer. He has been trying to get a meeting with a client. That client's family is coming to town, so he will get answers at last.

This is the first book in a new historical romance series about extremely clever women who have protected themselves and their families. The secrets put them in grave danger. You should be able to read each book separately without spoiling any of them.

I loved every page in this story. The characters are unique and interesting. The way our heroine and her mother solved a huge problem might have been illegal but it is justice. I can't wait to find out how the others solve their's.

Great fun.

*DISCLAIMER: this book was generously received for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own*

I was pulled in by the synopsis and was intrigued by the premise of the book. The discussion over women being unable to inherit is usually briefly discussed in other historicals, but to fully explore how women and girls are left to fend for themselves once close male relatives have passed? I was excited to see how this would go!

Overall, I think the main plot, premise and resolution were well done. Also, the writing was easy to read and flowed very well.

If there’s one thing that I’m not sure about with this book, it made me feel a bit like Scrooge. The leads were confessing their love and acknowledging it around 30% of the way into the book (the ARC would only show loc numbers and a percentage, not actual page numbers to go by). After looking further, this book is sub-300 pages. Therefore, it did feel a bit like insta-love which isn’t my thing. I prefer feelings to get recognised later and built up a bit more.

Additionally, the ‘main’ conflict (what I considered it to be), occurred around 60% of the way in. Which had me wondering what else could happen or how the story would continue past its resolution. This was answered by another issue that popped up later on, which seemed kind of abrupt and out of nowhere.

I liked the cast of characters, main leads and side characters and felt that they all had personality. I did cringe a bit at how the leads would speak to each other and be all lovey-dovey and such - bahhh humbug (lol). But I think that’s probably more of a personal preference which is why I decided on a 4 star rating, as I feel that it wasn’t necessarily 100% for me, but I can see other people loving it.

This was a exceptional story. Celia is powerful, smart, lonely and in pain. Elias is amazing, determined, strong and knows what he wants. By themselves, the story would have been great. Yet, this author had the creativity to add a plethora of characters who added depth, humor, loyalty and drama to the story. Everytime Celia cried, I cried with her as her emotions were so real and relatable. My heart hurt for one of the characters because the story was written in such a manner that you never see the twist at the end. Fabulous, fantastic, page turner! When is the next one coming out is what you will want to know as you finish this one.

First in the new series and already an excellent read. She is brilliant and loyal and would sacrifice for the people she loves. He is a man of integrity, tenacious and knows something is amiss. And then they met. The world turns upside down until their love, with support surrounding them, made everything right! Lovely tale, with funny quips and some action as well.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.