The Devil's Own Duke (Wallflowers vs. Rogues, 2)

I loved it

It was funny 😁

Bell blends elements from: Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist and Shakespeare's: Taming of the Shrew.
The ending is a little rushed.
The villian pops up without explanation

The Devil’s Own Duke is the latest in Lenora Bell’s Wallflowers vs. Rogues series (the first book being Love is a Rogue). We do see the couple from the previous book in this one as the heroines are friends. This was another adorable, fun, super sweet romance that I’ve come to expect from Bell’s writing. I do personally enjoy more angst and emotions in my reads but sometimes it’s nice to have a low-stakes charming, fun read.

✨Heroine is a vintner and is very involved with her vineyard
✨Marriage of convenience; heroine’s father needs an heir for his Dukedom, hero shows up saying he’s the long lost distant heir
✨Hero has a princess of a cat, Lucifer/Lucy, who he swears he loathes but secretly adores. Heroine has a cat that roams for rodents on the property.
✨Class difference, hero was raised in an orphanage but now owns a gaming club with his friend and heroine is the daughter/only child of a Duke
✨Hero is very involved in a boarding house for former child laborers (he even finds their schooling) and advocates for the reform of child labor laws

Once it’s settled (rather quickly) that Ash is the heir to the dukedom, Hetty’s father decides it makes sense that Hetty and Ash should marry to produce heirs. Hetty is determined to save her family’s vineyard, while Ash comes in and wants to turn the land into stables. She makes a deal with him to give her 6-months to prove that her wines are a viable business venture, and along the way she’ll play the role of a loving wife who helps him get in with society. Ash is convinced he won’t fall for her and is only there to gain access to the dukedom and lands…but of course, along the way they both fall.

Thank you so much to Avon Books for sending me an early copy.

Wow! This book is phenomenal! It is gripping, romantic, heartbreaking, heart-warming, full of twists and turns, quite steamy at times, hopeful, and so much more. Whenever I picked up "The Devil's Own Duke", I was whisked back in time, and went on such an emotional journey with this enemies-to-lovers story.

Lenora Bell is such an amazing author! Her writing style is visceral, vivid, engaging, and every element within the story she is telling jumps right off of the page. She brings the world of her book to life right before the reader's eyes, and I had such a difficult time putting this book down.

Lady Hetty, a woman who is kind, intelligent, hard-working, and an extremely talented vintner, is trying to arrange for her father to re-marry a woman of his choosing in order to have a son who can become the heir to the dukedom. Furthermore, she wants and needs to keep her vineyards growing, as she absolutely loves what she does, and wants to continue to honor the memory of her mother who passed away.

Ash had an extremely difficult and hard childhood. He puts on a front that can seem cold and controlling, but, those who really know him know that he is kind, and has a heart of gold. Ash wants to protect as many children as he can, and wants to do all he can to ensure no children suffer the hardships and abuse he did growing up.

When Hetty arranges the evening where her father is to choose a bride, never could she have imagined that Ash will show up claiming to be a long lost heir, and how her life will be changed forever. When Hetty's father forces Hetty and Ash to marry, they come to a marriage-of-convenience arrangement. Never could either have imagined that their relationship could grow into something much more.

(Possible Spoilers!)
I found myself pulling for Ash and Hetty to find happiness together. Both are understandably guarded in many ways, and watching their relationship grow as they continued to support each other was beautiful to read. These two challenge each other, and are really able to bring out the best in one another as they fall deeper and deeper in love. They help one another to learn to trust and open their hearts again, and I hope we see them again in future books.

OH MY GOODNESS! Lucy and Bacchus! And kittens!! So cute!!

If you enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend this book! It kept me turning the pages into the very early hours of the morning to see what would happen next, and I can't wait to read what Lenora Bell writes next!

Thank you so much to Avon for the ARC of this book, it is incredible! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Devil’s Own Duke features a bluestocking winemaker in Hetty and a gambling house owner who’s clawed his way up from the orphanage in Ash. The pair are well matched, both stubborn and determined to be successful in their own ventures. The secondary story about growing and processing grapes into wine helps make the book more unique than most regency romances, and is probably one of the better things about it. There were many times throughout the book where I admittedly found myself exasperated by the characters. Ash decides to pose as the heir to the dukedom of Hetty’s father, an action that sets up some tedious and silly interactions between the characters. Hetty’s father is a careless drunk that’s mismanaged his estate and treats his daughter like the solutions to his problems so he doesn’t have to take responsibility. Hetty makes stupid decisions to keep Ash away from the estate but makes little effort to take serious actions to do so. Ash meanwhile comes off as flamboyant and unprepared on follow-through once he actually becomes duke. Merely my own feelings on the characters, and other readers may feel differently, but my annoyance with them was difficult to overcome for a plotline that’s steady, if not spectacular.