Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bennett (the Aphrodite's Club series) launches a new series with this zippy Regency romance. Vivienne Tremeer, the ill-reputed daughter of a baronet, pleads with gambling hall owner Gabriel Cadieux to forgive her wayward 18-year-old brother's debt, but she is unsuccessful. Gabriel reconsiders, however, after learning that he is the heir to a dukedom and, in this unexpected new role, must take up guardianship over six rambunctious half-sisters. Neither Gabriel nor his siblings knows how to behave in polite society, and with his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Grantham, insisting he restore the family's honor, Gabriel turns to Vivienne for lessons in navigating upper-crust circles. In exchange, he'll wipe her brother's debt clean and take him under his wing as his apprentice. Dancing practice and watercolor lessons prove the perfect conduit for the blossoming love between the well-suited protagonists--but Gabriel's grandmother insists his future bride have a sterling reputation, and Vivienne doesn't fit the bill. Though the third act's grand romantic gesture does not feel quite as grand nor as romantic as readers might hope, it's impossible not to fall in love with these lovable misfits--especially Gabriel's audacious sisters, who steal the show. This spells good things for the series to come. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Vivienne Tremeer has fled to London with her brother Will in the hopes of avoiding an unwanted marriage and leaving her scandalous past behind. Will, however, quickly accumulates debt at Cadieux's Gambling Club. Vivienne will do anything to help her brother and avoid further scandal, even if it means working with the new Duke of Grantham, Gabriel Cadieux, the owner of the gambling club. As their paths become intertwined, they must navigate high society and their deepening feelings for one another. This Regency romance, centered on forbidden love, will keep readers engaged until the very end. The plot is fast-paced, character-driven, and brimming with romantic tension. Bennett creates this tension between the protagonists using simple, mature language that quickly moves the plot forward. With multiple obstacles and plot twists, readers will be kept in suspense as to whether or not Vivienne and Gabriel will confess their love. VERDICT Set in 19th-century London, this romance is perfect for fans of Christina Britton and Sophie Jordan. The first in Bennett's (Meant To Be) new series; romance lovers won't want to miss it.--Jenn Laskosky
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A duke not to the manner born meets challenges with some new ideas. Gabriel Cadieux, the owner of a London gaming hell--he won it playing cribbage--doesn't know he's a duke. Sent to a foundling home at age 3, he's since made a name for himself. Vivienne Tremeer, the daughter of a baronet, has fled to London from Cornwall with her younger brother, Will. She's a virtuous woman, but through a scandal not of her making and "certainly not her fault," her reputation is "ruined beyond repair." Her stepfather, a drunken spendthrift, is pressing Vivienne into a loveless marriage so he can steal her dowry. As the story begins, Will has fallen in with bad friends, gambled recklessly, and lost more money than he can pay Gabriel. Fearing they may lose everything, Viv begs Gabriel to forgive the debt. To which, of course, he says nothing doing. But they impress each other; there's a frisson. She's especially surprised to see The Wicked Prince and His Stolen Bride, a romance she wrote with her cousin, on Gabriel's bookshelf. Not long after, a lawyer arrives to tell Gabriel he's not an orphan. His father has just died, and Gabriel is, in fact, the sixth Duke of Grantham; a guilty priest has confessed that his father, the former duke, secretly married his mother, a poor Frenchwoman, before he was born. The fifth duke's second wife is now a mistress, their six daughters are illegitimate, and if Gabriel rejects the dukedom, they will be left penniless. So Gabriel takes the high road. To prepare his eldest half-sister for her debut, he hires Vivienne. She can work for him and pay Will's debt that way. The predictable problem: Though they love each other, he cannot fulfill his aristocratic duties by marrying a fallen woman and she cannot believe a duke would ever want a woman with a soiled reputation. With the encouragement of his six new sisters, Gabriel thumbs his nose at convention and rides to Cornwall to propose. All the duke romance conventions are here, and Bennett also makes her lovers into friends. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
