Seriously will always read an Anna Harrington novel because they’re just so easy to read. This one was no exception

This was such a delicious story on so many levels! It's a story of blackmail, a sister coming to the rescue of her sister and so many secrets. It kept you turning page after page to see what happened next. This was masterly crafted and who knew the blackmailer would fall in love with her victim. The more Jassamyn St. Claire dug into Lucien Grenier's business the more she discovered the real man under the mask he wore for society. I kept wondering how this story would work out all the impossibilities that were revealed but I should have known author Anna Harrington had a plan! You've got to read this book!!

Jessamyn St. Claire is riddled with guilt driving their alcoholic father from their home. She's determined to be there for her sister Amanda. Amanda finds herself in the family way and can't marry the father of her child. She tells her sister it was Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe because he's the blackest rake in London society. She deliberately sets him up so her sister could see a seduction that Amanda planned so she could pin it on him. In reality the father is a young agent for the East India Company about to be sent to India and unable to take a wife. Jess sets out to clean up Lucien's reputation by attributing good deeds publicly to Lucien behind his back. This is a problem as he has deliberately cultivated his black reputation.

Lucien Grenier is hiding his deceased father's many sins. His father with two other gentlemen ran just about any illegal scheme you could imagine with their criminal partner Josiah Horrender. Lucien and Devlin Raines ended the enterprises when their fathers died. They have kept the truth buried for years to keep their families safe. To keep others away from his secrets he pretends to be the worst scoundrel while secretly doing good deeds and making reparations to those who were hurt by his father. He frequents brothels' but in reality he's teaching the ladies to read, and he quietly donates to charity anonymously. Jessamyn is messing up things royally and he won't have it. They have a face to face and he denies being the father of Amanda's baby. The more they interact the more Lucien becomes fascinated and admires Jess. Eventually her sister tells Jess the truth. By this Lucien wants Jess for himself. Unfortunately Jess can't live with the idea of being a wife of a scoundrel for society. I love the extremes Lucien will go to, to make Jess his wife.

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

I very recently got into historical romances and let me tell you, this book was everything I expected it to be! I might just end up going back to read the previous book in the series (and maybe a few more from the author).

Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe is a proud wicked rake, at least that's what the world believes until rumors arise that he is donating to charities, making reforms, and even helping nuns?! He soon finds out that Jessamyn St Claire, the sister of one of the young debutantes he stole a kiss from at a ball, is the one at fault. And why you ask? Because she wants him to marry her sister! But slowly they fall in love with each other and all corrects itself.

Definitely a 3.5 for me, nonetheless I enjoyed the book.

I was really looking forward to Lucien’s story because I enjoyed his character in book 1 of the series. I do think that his story deserved a bit more. But nonetheless I loved him and Phillip. Jess could’ve used a kick or two in the butt. But it was all happily ever after in the end which was what I was going for in this situation.

This is the second book in the series and it was well paced. But Jess really wasn't the character I had hoped for Lucien to be with.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book given to me through NetGalley; all thoughts and opinions are my own

After the first book, I could not wait for Lucien’s story. There was a story there and I wanted to read it! I feel like Harrington does such a good job of writing mystery into her love stories. Lucien was a puzzle that I wanted to solve to find out his motivations and what exactly he is hiding.

Jess was a wonderful FMC that brought her own mysterious motivations to the story that I wasn’t expecting, but found interesting to unravel and discovered her to be the perfect complement for Lucien. I don’t want to give away any details, because I want readers to experience the unfolding for themselves.

Honestly, this whole series is really a hit for me. I love the fact that these dukes have history and reasons for living the way they do. The Duke of Deceit was a winner in all the ways with solid interesting characters, an unfolding plot line, the camaraderie with the deep friendship between the dukes I love, and the HEA love story with heat. I absolutely cannot wait for the next one!

This reverse ruination (un-ruination?) was a fun twist. Jess schemes against Lucien to improve his reputation so that he'll be worthy of marrying the sister she thinks he compromised. It was a little hard for me to get my head around the fact she was falling for a man she thought got her sister pregnant and then abandoned her, but over all, I liked the reverse ruination trope.

This is a most engaging read with wonderfully complex characters and clever banter. Lord Lucien portrays himself as a wicked and depraved character as sort of a smoke screen to protect his Downs Syndrome brother. Jessamyn, is also all about protecting a sibling as she seeks revenge on the Duke whom she believes ruined her sister. She seeks to gain him respectability in order to make him worthy to marry her sister. But as their relationship grows, and the sparks fly between them, it’s not her sister that he desires. This is such a well written and most enjoyable story!

Lucien The Duke of Crewe is a rake who has worked very hard at keeping his terrible reputation… well terrible. He doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him. Until her.

All Jessamyne wants to do is save her sister from her ruined reputation, a reputation that the Duke of Crewe ruined. She begins to unravel his precious reputation or lack thereof by giving money to the poor, taking care of orphans in his name. She does all of this so she can make him marry her sister so that she’s not ruined.

I enjoyed this book, and how Lucien and Jess finally admitted they loved each other. At times I was a bit annoyed by the fact that Jess kept trying to get Lucien to marry her sister even after she realized she loved him and that Lucien had nothing to do with her sister’s predicament but I still enjoyed the book.

This historical romance is technically book two in a series but can absolutely be read on its own. I hadn’t read the first book and felt like I wasn’t missing anything by diving into this book. I did enjoy the book enough that I’m curious about book one and plan on reading it at some point.

I love Anna Harrington´s stories so much!
Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe, prides himself on his reputation. Or, at least, that’s what he wants everyone to believe. What better way to keep society from discovering his secrets? But when rumors arise that he is doing good deeds for charities, children, reformers—even nuns—he has far more to lose than his wicked reputation; he might just lose his dukedom.
Jessamyn St Claire is determined to hit Lucien where it hurts most—his black reputation. Eight months ago, he ruined her sister, and now Jess wants retribution. Her plan? To take Lucien from rakehell to respected peer unless he marries her sister. But as Jess works to rehabilitate his character, she discovers that Lucien’s bad reputation is mere pretense. The more she ncovers, the more she learns of his goodness…and the more he captures her heart. Soon, it isn’t Amanda whom Lucien wants to marry but Jess.
OMG this book is so sweet and witty! It was soooo good! Anna’s books are all so beautiful and romantic and sexy! But also emotional and heartbroken. Both characters are strong and resilient, and the secondary characters are really well developed too. Great reading!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Jessamyn St Claire, you would have loved Deux Moi. In an attempt to force notorious blackguard Lucien Grenier into marrying her sister, she starts a series of public rumors of how...good he is. Little does she know, it's his wickedness that is the act. As these two spar, they realize they might be better for each other than anyone else.
There were a few pieces of this that felt a little overdone to me ( I guessed the sister's secret right away), but I loved the brother storyline and how tender these two are by the end. If you already like historical romance, this will scratch the itch and make you smile.

I would give this book a million stars if I could. I loved the way the main characters sparred against each other almost the entire time. Jessamyn will make sure that her sister is saved from ruin at all costs. She embarks on a quest to change the reputation of the Duke of Crewe (Lucien) from being a rake to being good. She plans to blackmail him into marrying her sister, but he won't go down without a fight. There are some great steamy scenes in this book. And then once Jess and Lucien tell each other the truth, and start to trust each, it becomes a real love story. There's also a very beautiful relationship between Lucien and his brother, who has Down's Syndrome. I couldn't recommend this book more.

Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe, is many things, he is the Duke of Disgrace, Deceit, and (light) Dirty-talk. He may be my new favorite historical book boyfriend, the entire character development and arc for this character was perfect. I loved how Lucien presented the world with a very carefully crafted image, but was actually an entire different person in order to protect someone who cannot protect themselves. Then there is Jessamyn St Claire, who will do anything to tear down Lucien's image in order to defend and save the future happiness of her younger sister. Having two characters that were motivated to protect someone else added a layer of complexity to the plot and really drew the readers. This was amazing read and would highly recommend to anyone looking for a historical romance with a strong plot and amazing chemistry between the main characters.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this eARC! I thought that this was a pretty basic historical novel with classic rake and heroine roles. I didn't really enjoy that aspect where it didn't seem like there was much depth with the characters and the relationship as well.

This book was everything i could of possibly asked for, definitely hot and steamy. Love the characters so much. Lucien and jess are a great couple.
Tropes: Enemies to lovers
Miscommunication
Spicy scenes
Was a historical setting!

A Delightful Historical Romance!

The Duke of Deceit is a captivating tale that weaves the story of Jessamyn, a spirited heroine determined to protect her sister, and Lucien, duke of Crewe, a misunderstood hero fooling everyone in the ton in the attemps to hide a dark secret.

What Lucien is actually hiding, though, as Jessamyn will soon uncover, is a heart of gold.

With unexpected twists, sizzling chemistry, and sharp, witty dialogue, Anna Harrington´s book keeps you hooked from start to finish. Perfect for fans of sass, secrets, and swoon-worthy romance!

I just love a good historical romance. It's more in the angsty side but I'm here for it.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are of my own.

The absolute drama in this historical was fantastic, and balanced so well with the comedy of ruining a man's hard-earned reputation by improving it.

Lucien Greneir, the Duke of Crewe, has many secrets. One so bad, that if the public were to know about it, his life would be destroyed. This is why he can never marry. But when Jessamyn St. Claire starts to spread rumors about him being a nice, charitable Duke, he’s furious as this can lead nowhere except to his ruin. But what is he to do except to turn the tables on her and announce their engagement.

This was such a sweet story and also heartbreaking at times. This is the first time I have read a story with this storyline (not giving away any spoilers). I loved the banter between Lucien and Jessamyn and how their relationship slowly developed into more than they expected or maybe even wanted. What Lucien did to overcome his past truly showed how much he loved Jessamyn that he would risk everything in order to marry her. Very nice story. I’m looking forward to reading about the other dukes.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

This book was so fun to read as Jess is convinced that she needs to protect her sister from being ruined when she turns up pregnant. Lucien has some huge secrets to hide but they are for a very good reason and to keep them hidden, he needs to project a false character.

Jess keeps working to make Lucien look like a good guy which he really is but he can't have that side shown to the world! She is so inventive of "gifts" in his name that I couldn't stop laughing!

I really was surprised that she won't allow any secrets in her life so even though she knows Lucien has good intentions for keeping secrets, she turns him down. Wow, what he went through to prove to her that he really wanted her was amazing and I won't give any spoilers away! You have to read it. At first, I was thinking, what good would it do to expose all the dirty laundry when there could be pretty negative impact on some others but I can see Jess's point that those secrets were a heavy burden to bear and what a load to remove the secrets.

Now, I have to read the previous book with Jess's friend and the following book!

Lucian, the Duke of Crewe, is known for having a bad reputation. But underneath his disguise, he is the total opposite. The question is why?Jessamyn St. Claire will do whatever it takes to force Lucian to marry her sister. After all he seduced her and left her expecting a baby or did he? Jess decides the best way for him to marry her sister is to reverse his reputation as giving and benevolent. Lucian has his reasons for being a rake, but it's a secret that puts the dukedom at jeopardy. An emotional rollercoaster ride from the beginning to the sweet ending.
Descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.