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.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #TheDukeofDeceit by Anna Harrington in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read by Anna Harrington. It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I have not read book 1 in this series and there were no holes in the story that I missed because I hadn't read book 1. Jess is a bit over the top with her vindictiveness to get her sister married to the dissolute duke but if you don't have it too seriously, it can be fun. I loved Phillip and was interested to see the inclusion of his character. TBH I wasn't sure how Harrington was going to get Lucien to come clean with his secrets and still be a satisfactory HEA but she did it and in a way that was believable. Shortly after reading this book, I found book 1 and a pre-order of book 3 and got them both.

This is an original and well written love story. A lie and misconceptions lead to trying to upheave a life as a method of getting their way. After that, the plan backfires due to emotions and truths told so a relationship begins. The characters are delightful and likable. I enjoyed the witty banter and humorous incidents that led to a beautiful love and a happy life. I highly recommend reading!

A delightfully unique storyline where Jessamyn St Claire is out for revenge against Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe because he ruined her sister. One of the things I adored about this story was how ingenious Jessamyn was while ruining Lucien. The constant friction between them really gave the story the extra umph needed for this to be an outstanding read.

There were so many interesting things about Lucien’s character and when the reader finds out the real reason behind his behavior, they will fall in love with him like I did. I love how the author added an element of surprise around Lucien and then at the very end of the book she explains in detail some facts about the secret situation.

It is really hard for me to not give more detail about this book without giving it away, but I will say it made me cry and it made me happy. Her explanation at the end is true because I have experience in this area. Will you read this book and let me know if you agree with me?

Read Author Anna Harrington’s book it will delight you and make you think.

Overall I liked the romance and the Duke was such a lovely man … but - Jess was just so self righteous and annoying and I really don’t like the whole “I think you ruined my sister but let me fall in love with you while I try to ruin you “ trope . So really I wish the book kept some of the overall story line and dialogue but had a better heroine

My rating 3 ⭐️

I expect there are two more stories in this series and hope to read them as well

Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe has worked hard to develop a wicked reputation that keeps marriage minded debutants and their pushy mamas at bay. In fact, most of polite society gives Lucien a wide berth. That is of course until Jessamyn St. Claire’s sister gets pregnant and informs Jessamyn that Lucien is the father, and he is refusing to marry her / acknowledge the child. Jessamyn decides to see her sister wed, the baby acknowledged as the heir apparent and Lucien, the doting father / husband. She did witness her sister in a passionate embrace with Lucien at a ball before she stepped in and stopped it from progressing further.

Jessamyn decides the best way to “ruin” Lucien is to whiten his black reputation, something he guards at all costs. She proceeds to donate money to orphanages, sponsor bibles, donate to various charities, all in his name to make him more acceptable to the ton.

I did not enjoy this book much and thought the plot dragged on a little too long for my taste. I liked that Lucien was so protective of his brother, who has a mental and possible physical disability, and is the rightful duke. Lucien is a nice person, committed to his brother, caring and loyal. Jessamyn’s character was frustrating, and I did not feel the connection between the MCs. I also could not understand why her sister needed to name Lucien as the father of her child when the actual father was there!

I received an ARC from the publishers and NetGalley and submit my honest review voluntarily.