When the Wicked Duke dares the Duke of Colehaven to find a suitor for an unmanageable ward, Cole immediately accepts. He’s on a winning streak, and besides, how unmarriageable can a pretty young lady be? He appoints himself bodyguard and duenna, only to discover his own desires may be the greatest danger of all.
Supposed wallflower Diana Middleton lives a double life, bringing dishonest businessmen to justice. Shaking off a meddling duke should be child’s play. Yet the more they lock horns, the more she wants to lock lips. Her scandalous secrets would derail his political career. But surely there’s no harm in one little seduction…
Meet the unforgettable men of London’s most notorious tavern, The Wicked Duke. Seductively handsome, with charm and wit to spare, one night with these rakes and rogues will never be enough…
First of the Wicked Dukes series, One Night for Seduction features a heroine with pretty modern sensibilities who loves maths and measurements and an unlikely Duke committed to being a man for the people.
Diana is a self imposed spinster on a mission and the Duke is on a ten year wager winning streak who agrees to hook his friends ward/cousin up. But when Cole meets the wallflower, he realizes she is anything but…and sparks quickly fly.
This was a really quick read, enjoyable, with lots of great chemistry between the H/H and a sweet romance (although with a few steamy/vanilla scenes…they were pretty limited in detail, but definitely on the page). She is a virgin, and devoted to being a spinster, but not devoted to her maidenhead. When Cole seems persistent, she is suggests an alternative…thus the title.
More of a novella then a novel, this took a couple hours to read and was fun, light and took a bit of a suspension of disbelief. Although Ridley knows her stuff, she definitely plays with the era so that we have a heroine who is bucking convention…to say the least. Her motivations, perhaps, were unclear and so made her crusade to bring accurate measurements to the Kingdom a bit unbelievable. But it also made her romance more interesting, so I found myself lowering the raised eyebrow and relaxing into the story.
Cole was not supposed to be the heir, and so has had to work doubly hard to feel legitimate. He really is the stuff of dreams…handsome, wealthy, and really kind. Maybe a bit arrogant, but confidence can be an aphrodisiac. He also has a nice little learning curve where he learns to appreciate his lady as an equal partner.
Readers ready for a short, sweet and optimistic romance will cherish this shorty that serves up a bit of history with a limited angst romance.
4 out of 6 Intellectuals and philanthropes fall in love
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Limited mentions of sex and intimacy | |
| Intimacy | |
| A couple of scenes but vanilla and light | |
| Violence | |
| Nope | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Good for most readers not afraid of a little sexual content | |
*I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a review. No other compensation was provided.
