"Duke of Deceit" is a cute, fairytale Regency romance, with a heroine named Jessamyn—an apt choice for the era—and her counterpart, the duke, Lucien. The story is well written.

However, often several rounds of plot explanations slow down the narrative flow, reducing engagement and inducing frustration with the story's advancement.

Jessamyn's character is probably supposed to be an independent, self-made heroine, but she ultimately comes across as impertinent and meddling. Jessamyn continues to act on her impulses, driven by her regrets over her father's departure and without communicating or discussing her decisions, leading to the main confusion in the story. Also, Jess's mind is "swirling" quite a lot and frequently, leading to the question of how she gets through her day.

Of course, this is a romance novel, so the story is more of a fairy tale than a historical tableau. Nevertheless, some plot "twists" are unnecessarily cheesy. It gets steamy around the third part of the book. Again, not necessary to the plot, but probably to the genre.

In summary, "Duke of Deceit" offers a cute romance set in the Regency era (probably for the purposes to include a duke), but offers no real character development, which makes it difficult to build a relationship with the characters. It can be read as a stand-alone. While it may satisfy readers looking for a light HEA, those seeking deeper character relationships may find it lacking.

I was provided a free advanced reading copy by NetGalley. This is my honest - and voluntary- review.

Is Lucien really the rake everyone believes him to be? Or is it just a facade?

When Lucien’s father , the Duke of Crewe, passes away Lucien makes the decision to behave in the opposite manner of his father while also hiding that reputation to do nice things for the less fortunate.

Jess, our artist, believes that her sister was taken advantage of and decides to force both their hands by “changing his reputation”.

This is my first book by Anna Harrington and I loved it, I would still call it a slow burn with MC’s who cannot keep their hands off each other. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

This book was absolute perfection. The pacing was spot-on, the characters were well developed, the plot was unpredictable (which I love), and it had just the right amount of spice. My first from this author, Anna Harrington has now become an auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait to dive into her backlist.

Jessamyn and Lucien love story starts as enemies. Jess wants to make Lucien marry her sister since she believes that he has compromised her. She starts to wage a campaign against him that starts to make him honorable. Along the way, they battle as they declare war on each other while their attraction to each other grows. Secrets are uncovered and they have to become vulnerable to come together.
As much as I loved them coming together, I believe that Jessamyn’s final requirement of Lucien was too much and that she wanted him to change everything. I understand way but still seemed overdone.

Second book in the series did not disappoint. Loved the male friendships in this series. I enjoyed Joe easy it was to fall in love with the characters and how they fell in love with each other.

"The Duke of Deceit" by Anna Harrington is a captivating Regency romance that follows Lucien Grenier, Duke of Crewe, who maintains a notorious reputation as a rake to hide his secrets. Jessamyn St. Claire seeks revenge against Lucien for ruining her sister, only to discover layers of complexity in his character. As she works to reform his image, she finds herself drawn to him, complicating her original intentions. The novel masterfully blends themes of redemption and unexpected love within a richly woven historical setting

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of Lucien, the deceitful duke, and Jess, an artist and fairly middle class nobody. It truly starts out as an enemies situation with lots of great banter. But it doesn't take long until Lucien is totally entranced by Jess's take no prisoners attitude.

Despite really not being able to keep their hands off each other, this is a slow burn, but they certainly have some hot and sweet moments together. The development of their characters is lovely as they make the changes in their lives and attitudes that will allow them to be together.

This is part of a series about a group of four dukes (of course!) who have been friends since they were children. There is nothing better than a band of bro friends in a romance so I would have liked to see more of the friends together in this story. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Thank you Dragonblade Publishing and Netgalley for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a reformed rake with a heart of gold and a heroine who can hold her own, look no further than this delightful romp through London’s scandalous high society!

Lucien Grenier, the Duke of Crewe, is the bad boy with a wicked reputation, or so he desperately wants you to think. When whispers start circulating that he’s been doing the unthinkable—helping charities, children, and (gasp!) even nuns—he’s got a lot more to lose than his title. Enter Jessamyn St. Claire, who’s on a mission to ruin Lucien’s life… by redeeming it. Eight months ago, he ruined her sister, and now Jess wants revenge. But what starts as a clever plan to hit Lucien where it hurts—his bad-boy image—quickly becomes something much more complicated.

As Jess peels back Lucien’s many layers (spoiler: they’re all surprisingly soft and good-hearted), she finds herself falling for the very man she swore to take down. Suddenly, it’s not her sister Amanda that Lucien’s looking to marry—it’s Jess, and she’s got quite the decision to make.

This book has all the fun of a reputation-destroying scheme gone wrong, with plenty of witty banter, unexpected twists, and a leading duo whose chemistry practically sizzles off the page. If you love a good enemies-to-lovers tale with some heartwarming redemption, this one’s for you!