Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke (Scandalous Brides, #3)

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Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke (Scandalous Brides #3)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 557 ratings · 69 reviews

SHE BREAKS ALL THE RULES…

Sophia White knows she will never marry into polite society. The illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, she works at the Tantalus Club, a discreet establishment for gentlemen—and her only suitor is a pastor who wants to save her soul. So when Sophia is invited to spend the holidays at the estate of Adam Baswich, the devilishly handsome Duke of Greave...more

Paperback, 343 pages

Published September 25th 2012 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

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A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

2012 Historical Romance Novels

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Nov 04, 2012 The Window Seat rated it 4 of 5 stars

The newest title in Suzanne Enoch’s Scandalous Brides series moves the action away from London and the gaming tables of the Tantalus Club and gives us a more personal look at two characters that on the surface seem so wrong for one another, yet when they are matched everything becomes perfect.

Sophia White, a dealer at the Tantalus Club, presents herself as just another pretty face and rarely allows the patrons of the club see her true personality. As the illegitimate daughter of a Duke, Sophia h...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Dangermousie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aaangst, period-romance, reforming-a-rake, romance

Sophia is an illegitimate daughter of a Duke who is neither a member of the upper classes nor fits comfortably in the lower. She finds employment with the Tantalus Club, a somewhat scandalous institution that employs women. But her father doesn't like notoriety and blackmails her into marriage with a zealous vicar - if she refuses, the club, which is a refuge for a lot of women, will get shut down. Sophia agrees, but allows herself a last indulgence - attendance at a lavish Christmas house party...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Very exciting and entertaining book. Sophia's character was very nice and humble. I loved how she was always free regardless of what anybody else though or said about her. That type of freedom is not present in most of us today; we are all trying to please someone else with our actions. It was about time I read a book in which the character was not the quintessential society lady that abides to everyone's rules and is shy and mostly fake about who she really is. This was like a mouthful of fresh...more

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Oct 25, 2012 KarenH rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: angst-level-mild, audiobook-5-stars-plus, definitely-worth-your-while, different-classes, excellent-love-story, feisty-heroine, forbidden-love, great-dialogue, groveling, heroine-with-issues, keepers, narrator-extraordinaire, promised-to-another, regency-wales, sexually-aggressive-heroine, sweetest-hea, tortured-hero, worth-listening-to, wrong-side-of-the-blanket, tortured-heroine

Another great book in Suzanne Enoch's Scandalous Brides series, focusing on the women of "unfortunate circumstances" that work at the gentlemen's gaming establishment known as the Tantalus Club.

Sophia White, the bastard daughter of a duke, has been forced to quit her employment at the Club because her father has surfaced for the first time in her life and demand she marry a country vicar he has chosen, thereby removing the blemish on his "good" name. Fortunately, Sophia has a short reprieve bef...more Another great book in Suzanne Enoch's Scandalous Brides series, focusing on the women of "unfortunate circumstances" that work at the gentlemen's gaming establishment known as the Tantalus Club.

Sophia White, the bastard daughter of a duke, has been forced to quit her employment at the Club because her father has surfaced for the first time in her life and demand she marry a country vicar he has chosen, thereby removing the blemish on his "good" name. Fortunately, Sophia has a short reprieve before her impending doom and has been invited to a Christmas house party being hosted by Adam, the Duke of Greaves. On her way to the party, a bridge leading to the estate collapses and Sophia's carriage plunges into an icy body of water. Sophia is rescued by the Duke and taken to his home; however, she is his only guest for 2 weeks, as the fallen bridge makes it impossible for the other partygoers to join them.

Adam has arranged this Christmas party for the sole purpose of finding a suitable wife - not that he wants a wife, mind you - but he will turn 30 in less than 3 months and it is stipulated in his father's will that he must marry before then or lose all of his holdings to his sister's 9yr old son. Sophia is far from a suitable wife but Adam invited her on a whim one night at the Club. She is a beauty, after all, with her brilliant red hair ...but it is her uninhibited, carefree nature that pique's Adam's interest. Deliberately ignoring Adam's attempt to adhere to social propriety, Sophia treats him as if he was her equal...shocking him when she shows up in a pair of borrowed trousers and - gasp! - pelting him with snowballs. Eventually, Adam relaxes and truly enjoys the fortnight he spends with Sophie...both in and out of bed.

Unfortunately for the new lovers, the bridge is repaired and their idyllic paradise is interrupted by 20 now-unwanted guests. Working at the Tantalus Club has saddled Sophia with the false reputation of being a woman of ill repute and she is given the cut direct by all of the attendees except for Cami & her husband Keating (H/h from book #2). Sophia tries to remain unaffected by all the snide remarks from the ladies and the lewd advances from the men, but watching Adam parading around with his potential brides-to-be...loving him yet knowing they both must marry others...the light in her eyes is soon distinguished. Making matters worse, Adam sets his cap on the most beautiful of the purebred ladies and then asks Sophia to be his mistress. Terribly hurt but resigned to her fate, Sophia slips away from the estate on Christmas Day and sets off for Cornwall where the unknown vicar resides.

As always, Suzanne Enoch breathes life into an interesting cast of characters with a worthwhile story to tell. Sophia is lighthearted and fun...one of the few heroines that I've truly enjoyed. She brings the best out of Adam when they are together, and for the first time in 30 years he is content and enjoying life. Therefore, when he realizes the horrible truth of what his actions have done to Sophie, he kicks all of his guests to the curb and tears up the countryside is his quest to find her, beg her forgiveness and bring her home.

Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke is historical romance at its finest. Highly recommended!

5 stars

The Duke of Greaves - off to bring back the woman he loves(less)

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Dec 26, 2012 Azra Radhwa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: suzanne-enoch, romance, so-good, humor, historical-romance, good-read, chick-lit, adult

I knew I'd love this book! The story was really absorbing that I actually stayed up all night just to finish this book (how do I get rid of the dark circles around my eyes?). Loved this book!

Adam Baswich, the Duke of Greaves
I'd loved Adam from the moment I first read about him in the previous book. I loved him even more in this book! He was a great man. He was caring, funny, handsome, sexy, generous and so much more. I loved, loved, loved him! He was so kind and passionate towards Sophia I just...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Mari rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: series, historical, winter

i fell in love with the book from the first chapter. the story was woven so well that you just fall into the setting and feel the love story. although i dont ever get winter i love stories set like that. and winter is so nice in that way.

weve met adam and sophia in taming of a rogue ( which i loved! keating!) here we get to know more about them. sophia as we know works in the tantalus club formerly with cammy. her reputation is tainted and precedes her in that many think she's a walking scandal...more

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May 07, 2013 Sharyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite in the series so far. Could not put this one down. Although I knew they had to end up together in the end, I did not know how they were going to get there. The Duke of Greaves has been a mysterious character in the 2 previous books, and I couldn't wait for his story. He and Sophia had been sort of thrown together in the previous book, and I was hoping for their pairing. Sophia, the unacknowleded illegitimate daughter of a Duke, has been working in the Tantalous club. Adam, the Duke o...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Lelyana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ngeri dan deg2an bacanya, takut ga suka sama heroine nya

Ini ceritanya tentang 2 orang yg kepepet kawin,karena keadaan dan warisan blablabla, Adam harus kawin sblm usia 30, 2 bulan lagi, biar dia tetap jd Duke dan warisannya gak lari ketangan ponakannya, sementara Sophia mesti kawin dan keluar dari pekerjaannya yg hina di klub kalo mau di aku anak sama bapaknya yg Duke juga, secara dia anak haram....nah...the power of kepepet ini yg akhirnya mempertemukan 2 orang yg kasian deh ini....hihihihihih...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Cass Morris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, historical-regency, romance

Full review at the Incurable Bluestocking.

Well, this is one of the best historical romances I’ve read in a long time. I really mean that. I tore through this in about 24 hours because I just couldn’t stand to be parted from it.

Sophia is exactly the sort of heroine I have been yearning for: cheerfully independent, even in the face of difficulties; not a virgin and not ashamed about it; knows what she wants sexually and isn’t afraid of her passions; good-natured and forgiving but not a pushover; d...more Full review at the Incurable Bluestocking.

Well, this is one of the best historical romances I’ve read in a long time. I really mean that. I tore through this in about 24 hours because I just couldn’t stand to be parted from it.

Sophia is exactly the sort of heroine I have been yearning for: cheerfully independent, even in the face of difficulties; not a virgin and not ashamed about it; knows what she wants sexually and isn’t afraid of her passions; good-natured and forgiving but not a pushover; decisive and undeterred from pursuing what she wants out of life. Of course, the reason she can get away with being all of these things is because she lives a life outside the bounds of the good ton. Sophia White is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessey, sired on his wife’s maid. Raised in obscurity, Sophia eventually finds a comfortable place at the Tantalus Club (a gentlemen’s club owned by a woman and staffed entirely by ladies, if you haven’t read the earlier books in the series or my reviews of them) — and she appears in both of the previous books in the series as a supporting character. This was going along well for her until her father randomly chose to care about her existence again — not to acknowledge her, but to threaten her. Tired of being ribbed by his peers about his by-blow’s occupation, he’s arranged for her to marry an alarmingly pious vicar in Cornwall; if Sophia doesn’t agree, he will use his power to destroy the Tantalus Club and everyone Sophia cares about.

Adam Baswich, Duke of Greaves, unwittingly provides Sophia with an opportunity for one last hurrah before her sentencing. He invites her to a Christmas house party at his estate in Yorkshire, ostensibly to keep Camille and Keating (see Taming an Impossible Rogue) company. But as Sophia is traveling to the estate, the bridge over the river collapses, dunking her in it. Adam rescues her, but that leaves them as the only people on the correct side of the river until the bridge is repaired, except for Adam’s unbelievably snotty elder sister. … So Adam has to settle for Sophia’s company. And what company it turns out to be.

The most excellent thing about this book is that Adam and Sophia are so beautifully well-suited for each other. Their interactions while they’re alone at his estate are just gorgeous — warm and funny, passionate and teasing, thoughtful and challenging — everything that a marriage should be. But they can’t see it, bless ‘em. They do build a real friendship, which is so important and honestly pretty rare in romance novels. … The sex scenes throughout this book are magnificent, not least because we don’t have to deal with any of that “teach the virgin to accept pleasure” nonsense. Nope, Sophia knows what she wants and grabs at it, quite literally in a few cases. It’s so refreshing.

… I knock half a point off because the end is a little unsatisfying — it all crashes together very quickly, with literally no denouement whatsoever. … And I also dock for an unflattering portrayal of Cornwall, which really is a lovely region with gorgeous landscapes and the nicest people I’ve ever met anywhere in the world. On the whole, though, Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it.(less)

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Mar 01, 2013 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

A beautiful fire-haired Tantalus girl, Sophia, is thrown into the river and nearly drowns before being saved by Adam Baswich, Duke of Greaves, whose Christmas party she was traveling to. The party promises to be her last chance at happiness before her father has her, his illegitimate daughter, wed off to a cruel victor.

The collapsing bridge results in most of the Christmas party guests being caught on the far side of the river while Adam and Sophia make their way back to Greaves Park. Sophia lo...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Jessi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, 2012-challenge, appealing-characteristic-story, historical, part-of-a-series, romance

Sophia White is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful duke, one who is threatening the only family she's ever known, the people she works with at the notorious Tantalus Club, unless she marries a man of his choosing. She knows that her father is vindictive and has never loved her, so this preacher must be a truly awful man, but she is determined to save her friends. At the same time, she is determined to go into this truly hideous marriage with at least some good memories, so she accepts an in...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Dottie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another exciting, sexy tale from author Suzanne Enoch, the third book in her Scandalous Brides series. Taken from my review at RomanceJunkies.com:

Sophia White knew that the Duke of Greaves had only asked her, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessey, to his house party to stir up things, but she had been unable to turn down a chance to experience this one last magnificent holiday. She was looking forward to seeing her friend Camille Pryce Blackwood, whose husband was a good friend of t...more Another exciting, sexy tale from author Suzanne Enoch, the third book in her Scandalous Brides series. Taken from my review at RomanceJunkies.com:

Sophia White knew that the Duke of Greaves had only asked her, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessey, to his house party to stir up things, but she had been unable to turn down a chance to experience this one last magnificent holiday. She was looking forward to seeing her friend Camille Pryce Blackwood, whose husband was a good friend of the duke’s. She and Camille became close friends when they both worked at the Tantalus Club, a gentlemen’s club that hires well-educated females, some of whom are from good families. After all, scandal draws customers. Being the illegitimate daughter of a duke and a maid, Sophia is subject to the prejudices of society. But now Camille is married to Lord Blackwood and the two friends have not seen each other in six months. Sophia has much to discuss with her old friend, like her current dilemma. She had been living a happy, independent life at the club until a fortnight earlier when her father made a rare appearance. He made it clear that unless she married a certain vicar in a small town, away from London society, he would close down the club. Since the club was the only home some of her friends knew, she could not let this happen. So she had agreed to the blackmail and regarded the house party at the duke’s home as her last adventure, building memories for her dark days ahead.
Setting out, despite plenty of advice against it, in the middle of a snowstorm, she soon finds herself in freezing water when the bridge they are crossing collapses. Everything, including the Christmas turkeys, is tossed into the half-frozen river, Aire. But the last person she expects to come to her rescue is her host, the duke. With the bridge out and a raging snowstorm, it looks as if the duke’s house party will be a very intimate one…just the two of them.

According to the terms of his father’s will, Adam Baswich, the Duke of Greaves, has until his thirtieth birthday to marry or he will lose much of his wealth to his sister, Eustace’s, twelve-year-old son, who is also Adam’s presumptive heir. Adam and his sister do not get along, but he agrees to serve as his hostess. She makes no pretense about preferring him dead and despising his guest. With his thirtieth birthday just weeks away, he decides to throw the annual Christmas party at his family estate, inviting mostly potential brides. He has also invited his good friend Lord Keating Blackwood and his wife Camille, as well as Camille’s best friend, Sophia White. Part of his reason for inviting Sophia though had been to stir things up. But for now, until the bridge is repaired, she is his only guest. He had already made her acquaintance at the club, but spending time with her now, he is delighted to find that she is witty, interesting and tempting.

With all of her possessions washed away in the freezing river, Sophia finds herself at the mercy of the servants who help her find clothing to wear. The duke offers to buy her some dresses, which she declines, so he devises his own plan. He has dresses made by the local dressmaker and has the housekeeper hide the dresses throughout the house to be discovered as hand-offs that Sophia can use. For a fortnight, it is just the two of them besides the servants and Eustace, who stays to her own rooms. As they indulge in a flirtation, the duke finds a serenity and contentment with Sophia that he has never felt before. But how can he keep her in his life and still wed someone suitable to be his duchess? Can he save her from the vicar who is determined to save her soul and destroy the woman he has come to love?

A delightfully exciting tale, RULES TO CATCH A DEVILISH DUKE, the third book in talented author Suzanne Enoch’s SCANDALOUS BRIDES series, is a witty, sexy historical romance that is sure to steal your heart. According to the ton, Adam and Sophia do not suit, but in reality, they could not be more perfect for each other. I could not help detesting the self-righteous Eustace, who is not reluctant about letting Adam know how she feels about him, although he is her brother. The fortnight long interlude spent alone between Adam and Sophia is a magical time and proves how good they are for each other. I could not help rooting for them. The antics of the servants as they set out to protect and help Sophia is a delight and adds a great deal of appeal to the story. Filled with humor, subterfuge, sexy situations, a holiday party, interesting characters, clever banter, romance and love, this story is absolutely delicious. Fans of this series will be delighted to be reunited with the characters from these two books. I highly recommend this story and look forward to the next exciting book in this series, THE HANDBOOK TO HANDLING HIS LORDSHIP, due out March 26, 2013. Although RULES TO CATCH A DEVILISH DUKE can be read as a standalone, I also advise reading the other books in this series, including A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO RAKES and TAMING AN IMPOSSIBLE ROGUE, just for the pure enjoyment of it.

Dottie, RomanceJunkies.com

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Feb 15, 2013 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book three of this series was great. The Duke of Greaves was a mysterious character in the first book what with the connection between himself and the Duke of Haybury not being clearly explained until we meet him more closely in book two with the friendship of Blackwood. But enough of that. The beginning of the story with the further acquaintance of him and Sophia I just love. He saves her when he comes upon the carriage going under the lake and Sophia is going under the frozen water. He ends up...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Janine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, romance

I listened to this book and would have loved to give it 5 stars, but I didn't like the ending. I felt like the book ended WAY too abruptly. The Duke of Greaves asked Sophia to marry him, she says yes and it's finished. The ending would have been much better if the Duke would have arrived with a special license, made the self-important, pretentious Vicar marry them, then put him on a ship to India and put his mother in a convent. They introduced that nasty young Vicar and then nothing. Greaves sh...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Lord Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-historical-romance, era-regency, romance, social-gap

I have a decided soft spot for duke and serving girl stories. And for the most part, I quite liked this book. For the majority of the story, the solution to all dilemmas was pretty obvious (to the reader), though, so I kind of wanted to strangle the hero. A lot.

Why is it that whenever heroines (in historicals, at least, but often in contemporaries, too) have affairs, they usually think of them as mistakes, whereas heroes have long strings of mutually pleasurable experiences? (And where are all t...more I have a decided soft spot for duke and serving girl stories. And for the most part, I quite liked this book. For the majority of the story, the solution to all dilemmas was pretty obvious (to the reader), though, so I kind of wanted to strangle the hero. A lot.

Why is it that whenever heroines (in historicals, at least, but often in contemporaries, too) have affairs, they usually think of them as mistakes, whereas heroes have long strings of mutually pleasurable experiences? (And where are all those ladies that heroes have affairs with?) At least in this book, the heroine seems to have at least had pleasurable affairs, even if she does think they were mistakes, and they weren't made a big deal of.

I really didn't get a good sense of time while reading this. Days would pass without mention, and suddenly it will have been weeks when I feel as if I've only seen days. The number of years between events in previous books didn't seem to quite match up with what I remembered.

And the author (who apparently lives in Southern California) obviously has no concept of snow. You cannot make snowballs out of powdery snow. They fall apart, and even if you manage it, they don't throw well and aren't particularly satisfying upon impact. (If there's one thing Michigan has plenty of, it's snow, so I feel I can claim to be something of an authority on its applications.)

Also, "She was bouncing on him enthusiastically" is not a particularly sexy description for a sex scene. And as I just read The Wicked One, which had pretty much the exact same line, I ended up giggling, usually not the reaction looked for during sex scenes.

There were slight issues with the inheritance as laid out by this book. There is no way the sister's son could inherit the dukedom. It is possible that there is an earldom or barony attached that the sister could inherit, but it would go to her before it went to her son. All other titles would go to direct male line descendants of the original duke's.

Anyway, I'm far better at listing all my problems with books than saying what I actually liked about them, so while this review may not sound all that positive, it is, really.(less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Lynne Tull rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: regency-romance

Yawn...I thought it would never end. There were two parts to this book. Each part could have been maybe 30+ pages shorter. I got the picture and connected with the H/H a long time before the second part of the book began. It drug on and on before the end. Then, the 'happily ever after' was there and gone in an instant. There is another book coming in 2013 so I guess that is when I will find out what happened with the H/H of this book. It sounds like a publisher ploy to get me to buy the next boo...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-2012, romance-regency

Why did I love this book? I don't really know except I stayed up well into the night to read it! Another (and by far the best) Tantalus Club book. Sophia is a dealer there and Adam, the Duke of Greaves is a friend of Keating (previous book) and was once a good friend of Oliver (husband to the owner). They have met before and he enjoyed her company so he invited her to his Christmas house party. She goes because her birth father has threated everyone she holds dear so she will marry a vicar an dl...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Shea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

This is my favorite of the Scandalous Brides series so far. For me a story lives and dies by it's characters and I love Sophia White. She is the illegitimate daughter of a duke and so she has been snickered at and abused by the ton her whole life. This frees her to be exactly who she wants to be and she embraces life with a positive attitude. Sophia would do anything for her friends, who act as her family, all the while treating everyone she encounters kindly and with respect. Adam Baswich, the...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Mia rated it 4 of 5 stars

At times funny, sensuous and heart-rending, this novel is an honest to goodness "Pretty Woman" tale. Looked down upon because of her illegitimacy and occupation, Sophia White nevertheless captures the attention and love of Adam Baswich, the Duke of Greaves. Now, will the Duke have the courage to show Society just how much she means to him or will he sacrifice their love on the altar of propriety?

“And I’m not like anyone else. At least not anyone else you know. I never will be. I don’t want to be...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Linda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-library

In Camille's story, Adam treats Sophia with courtesy and respect any time their paths cross including some of what we'd call double dates. In Adam and Sophia's story that some public kindness is less obvious until nearly the end of the book.

I really like this heroine but for most of this book she seems more spineless than before. Again, at the end all is fine. At the start, she allows Adam to walk in on her in the bath--something he would never do to any other lady and from there on it just rank...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Kaz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this book. Couldn't put it down. The relationship between Sophia and Adam was a delight from the start and evolved in all the right ways given the situation censure and restrictions of both their births. You knew what the ending was going to be but Enoch reached it by writing it in a realistic and heartfelt way that had you believing it could happen. You read these books cause they are fantasy and this is a good example that will give you hours of feel good mindless enjoyment from the usua...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Erin H rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dukes

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 05, 2012 SidneyKay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-regency

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The mail must go through!!!

Oh, that trickster, Suzanne Enoch, one of my favorite authors. Sometimes she's at the top of her game and sometimes she's not so close. With Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke, Ms. Enoch is at the top once again. I'm a happy camper because so far I had been less than enchanted with her Scandalous Bride series, but this one is a charmer.

This romance is for Adam, the Duke of Greaves, and Sophia White, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessy. This is their time to s...more The mail must go through!!!

Oh, that trickster, Suzanne Enoch, one of my favorite authors. Sometimes she's at the top of her game and sometimes she's not so close. With Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke, Ms. Enoch is at the top once again. I'm a happy camper because so far I had been less than enchanted with her Scandalous Bride series, but this one is a charmer.

This romance is for Adam, the Duke of Greaves, and Sophia White, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Hennessy. This is their time to shine and shine they do. These two characters were in the previous books in the series, but, honestly, I don't remember them. I'll remember them now because I loved this story and I found Adam and Sophia truly magical.

Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke is a tale that can be divided into two parts - before the bridge is fixed, and after. Even though there was a most definite difference in the emotional punch each part delivers, I loved both. In the end they joined to make an enchanting story.

Here is a short plot: Adams has to get married before his thirtieth birthday or lose his inheritance. Sophia has to marry to save her friends. Adams has a party, invites eligible women and, on a whim invites Sophia (not eligible.) Sophia accepts. Bridge collapses. Sophia almost drowns. Adam saves Sophia. Adam, Sophia, his maniac sister and a plethora of servants are trapped at his estate. The only thing that gets through is the mail, which puzzled me and made me go back and do some rereading. Apparently, there is time to create an elaborate pulley system that can be used to deliver the mail, but there's no time to fix the bridge.

The story in the beginning has a slow, gentle, almost dreamlike feel about it. Our couple is almost alone except for the aforementioned sociopath sister and the peripheral servants. This is the time we fall in love with the effervescent Sophia. What a wonderful character. She's funny, strong, honest and she is able to break through the cold shell that surrounds Adam. In this part we get to watch a slow build up of friendship, and then eventually they become lovers. Both Adam and Sophia know their relationship can't last, but they hold on to their dream as long as they can.

And, then their world comes crashing back in and the bridge is fixed. All those nubile girls and so called friends invade the estate. Their brief interlude is over and they are forced to return to their old ways. Adam returns to his ways with a vengeance, not really able to understand what has happened to him. Sophia, as it turns out, was always delightful.

The one problem I had with this story was the abrupt ending. I wish we would have had a nice long epilogue to enjoy and get a feel for how this couple was adjusting to their new life, because we all know Sophia and Adam are going to be socially unacceptable. But, then I have to ask, just how many "friends" must a duke have to be happy?

Both parts of this novel connect into a brilliant love story. What a wonderful couple. I highly recommend Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke
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Oct 17, 2012 PoligirlReads rated it 1 of 5 stars

I am cheap, and Enoch is one of the few authors that can get me to crack my wallet open. Unfortunately, I should've just stuck with the public library waiting list. This one was a real clunker. How can you mess up a story that takes place at Christmastime?! Everybody loves a good seasonal read.

Neither hero nor heroine are particularly likeable. It's repetitive, especially at the beginning. Yes, we get it: Sophia just wants to have one more wonderful Christmas before getting hitched to the vicar...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Annie the Destroyer *Leather Lust* rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, books-i-go-rabid-over, favorites, author-suzanne-enoch, books-i-own, drinks-on-me, king-of-the-harem, genre-historical-romance, my-hottie-harem, review-requests, read-in-2012, under-the-covers-with-marron, series-scandalous-brides

Posted on Under the Covers

Sophia White was born into the world as an illegitimate daughter of a duke, so her tarnished reputation precedes her. Living her entire life under that stigma has caused her to find refuge at the Tantalus Club, an establishment for gentlemen. Yet Sophia is able to make friends and find people to call her family there. Unfortunately, society still deems her unworthy and to save her soul, a vicar has volunteered to marry her. Horrified yet optimistic, Sophia is determine...more Posted on Under the Covers

Sophia White was born into the world as an illegitimate daughter of a duke, so her tarnished reputation precedes her. Living her entire life under that stigma has caused her to find refuge at the Tantalus Club, an establishment for gentlemen. Yet Sophia is able to make friends and find people to call her family there. Unfortunately, society still deems her unworthy and to save her soul, a vicar has volunteered to marry her. Horrified yet optimistic, Sophia is determined to make the last few weeks of her freedom count before she is forced to marry someone she does not care for.

When she is invited to spend the holidays at the Duke of Greaves’ estate, Sophia is thrilled at the prospects of seeing her friend Camille Blackwood again. However, her trip to Adam Baswich’s estate soon turns into an embarrassing accident. The bridge they travel on collapses, causing Sophia and the coach she is in to submerge into the freezing, icy water. Adam is there to save her, but it is in that time that Sophia notices much more than Adam’s warm embrace. She realizes her time with him alone may lead to trouble.

Adam and Sophia are absolutely amazing together. Despite the fact that Sophia is dreading the coming weeks of her life, there is this spark in it that makes present company smile. She has such a zest for life and each page that Enoch writes, you see it more and more. Adam is a hard man, but while in the presence of Sophia, he seems enlightened, teasing. Enoch weaves together a spectacular love story within the first half of the book. It will have readers melting with its romantic elements. And yet, the latter half of the book will have readers rooting for the hero and heroine, hoping that true love has what it takes to prevail.

Enoch really captured my heart with this book and transported me into the Duke of Greaves estate. When the book was finished and I wanted more, I found that Enoch managed to evoke a myriad of emotions from me. Suzanne Enoch is easily becoming one of my new auto-buy authors!

Readers will be thrilled to note that Keating Blackwood and Camille are very much present in this book. Enoch writes such memorable characters that I couldn’t help but let out an excited squeal whenever she mentions Blackwood. He certainly brings forth a dark menacing aura to the book, yet the things he does and says are comical and makes me love him more.

Humor, heat and heart – Suzanne Enoch has it all in RULES TO CATCH A DEVILISH DUKE! Fit for the holidays, this red hot read is sure to keep you warm through the winter months!

*ARC provided by publisher(less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

3rd attempt to get GR to take my review without a force close.

I'm giving this a "squeaked in" 3 stars because the 1st scene is amazing. Maybe just read that if you don't want to read a 2 star book.

Spoiler aler:

The plot is overused winter holiday country house party of a Duke. Yawn. The characters typical. A must marry by 30 noble man (or all goes to the nephew) & a spunky illegitimate woman, who just doesn't have the decency to die to save society the embarrassment of her existence. A comm...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Keri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read, romance-historical, suzanne-enoch

While I love this series and the women of the Tautlus House, this book didn't work as well for me. I liked Sophie, Adam didn't work as well for me here. I liked him in the other books, but here in his own story, he came off as rude and borish. Sophie after being given an ulitmatium from her sperm donor father, the Duke of Hennessey, that she is to marry a vicor out in the hinterlands or he will destroy the Tautlus House. Sophie can't have that so she agrees, but he has given her until the new ye...more While I love this series and the women of the Tautlus House, this book didn't work as well for me. I liked Sophie, Adam didn't work as well for me here. I liked him in the other books, but here in his own story, he came off as rude and borish. Sophie after being given an ulitmatium from her sperm donor father, the Duke of Hennessey, that she is to marry a vicor out in the hinterlands or he will destroy the Tautlus House. Sophie can't have that so she agrees, but he has given her until the new year to get married. Adam has invited her to his hourse for his Christmas party and Sophie wants some sweet memories to take with her to her new life.

Adam for his part has to be married by his next birthday or he looses everything to his sister's son. So he also invited some eligible ladies to look over as well. But a freak accident leaves Sophie and Adam there at the house practically by themselves. They enjoy themselves and start to deepen their relationship that had been sparking for awhile. Adam loves Sophie's zest for life and falls into making her holiday bright. Once everybody else shows up though Adam reverts back to being a Duke instead of loving all the sides of Sophie.

Keaton and Cammy are also there and are trying their best to come up with someway to save Sophie from her fate. Even Adam is wracking his brains to come up with a way, but his only solution is one that Sophie can't live with and soon leaves to meet her new life. Of course it is the worst sort of hell on earth for Sophie as she meets her fiance. But soon Adam wakes up and realizes that there is only one solution that will allow Sophie to stay in his heart and life.

Things that didn't work for me was the love scenes were at the 10,000 feet level and not SE's usual attention to that kind of detail. The ending was also extremely short and abrupt. I wanted to see Sophie to tell her fiance to go suck the Devil's toes and take his troll of a mother with him. But I am just mean like that. Plus Adam needed to do a bit more groveling in order for me to believe in his redemption. Still looking forward to the next in the series. (less)

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Feb 25, 2013 Layssa Hart rated it 4 of 5 stars

An entertaining, if predictable, storyline. Characterisations were well done in terms of the hero and heroine and the titled and 'suitable' young lady hero's sister favored. The sister was an unripe lemon, and frankly, there was nothing about her that suggested she was a woman. She seemed more like a genderless zealot.

It was nice to see Keating and Cammy again, though I have to say they didn't have anywhere near the same life or impact - probably just as well given that this wasn't their story.

A...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Jean rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, romance, england, 2013-az-challenge

I like the concept and very much liked Sophia. She was strong and faced adversity. The circumstances that she faced were not glossed over and she was still very much hurt by the pettiness of others. However, I really didn't like Adam. He seemed too callow and self-centered to deal with Sophia's emotional depth. He would have moments of redemption but they would only be moments. Although you want Sophia to have her HEA and are rooting for her, Adam just seemed like a total train wreck.

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Apr 02, 2013 Joan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ej-jq-challenge-2013

This was the third book in the series and I have enjoyed all of them so far. The story was great and kept a good pace at the beginning but got bogged down abit at about 2/3's of the way through. The ending was abit rushed and not as complete as I like but that is my happy ending thought and wish! Like the sense of friendship and trust that comes across in this book. A really good read

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About Suzanne Enoch

Suzanne was born in Southern California sometime in the latter half of the 20th century. In the way that some people are born knowing they want to be astronauts or cellists, Suzanne always knew she wanted to be a writer. Early dreams of becoming a zoologist and writing true stories about her adventures in Africa were crushed, however, after she viewed a television special about the world’s most po...more Suzanne was born in Southern California sometime in the latter half of the 20th century. In the way that some people are born knowing they want to be astronauts or cellists, Suzanne always knew she wanted to be a writer. Early dreams of becoming a zoologist and writing true stories about her adventures in Africa were crushed, however, after she viewed a television special about the world’s most poisonous snakes; she did NOT want to write about how she’d been bitten and lost a limb to a cobra. Thankfully at the same time the movie “Star Wars” premiered, and she realized that she could make up adventures and write about them, and not be eaten by deadly predators while doing research.

She dabbled in romantic fantasy writing for a year or two after graduating with a degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, until her affection for traditional Regency romances led her to write one for fun. After several encouraging rejections from publishers, she snared the interest of the world’s best and most patient literary agent, who advised her to revise the manuscript. This ultimately led to the publication of her first book, The Black Duke’s Prize, from Avon Books in the Spring of 1995. A second Regency, Angel’s Devil, followed that Fall.

When Avon folded its traditional Regency line, Suzanne was encouraged to try her hand at historical romance. As she remained keenly interested in England’s Regency period, she decided to attempt another manuscript set in that time. Lady Rogue hit the shelves in March of 1997. She wrote a total of 29 books for Avon, including two anthologies and a five-part contemporary series which received a pair of starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. One of those books, Twice the Temptation, was named one of the five best romances of the year by PW in 2007.

In 2002 her well-known love of all things “Star Wars” led to an invitation to appear on the E! channel in the television special “Star Wars: The Force Is Back”, where she discussed the romance in the movie series and ended up with more air time than George Lucas.

In 2010 Suzanne left Avon Books for St. Martin’s Press, where she continues to pen historical romance novels. Her 31st book, Taming an Impossible Rogue, is set to arrive in March 2012.

Suzanne is known for her humorous characters, sexy bad boys, and whip-sharp, witty dialogue. She currently resides in Placentia, California with several hundred guppies and various other tropical fish, and handful of very loud, spinach-loving finches. And her collection of action figures and statues from “Star Wars”, “Lord of the Rings”, “X-Men”, and “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Everybody needs some inspiration, after all.

www.facebook.com/SuzanneEnoch
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Books by Suzanne Enoch

London's Perfect Scoundrel (Lessons in Love, #2)

England's Perfect Hero (Lessons in Love, #3)

The Care and Taming of a Rogue (Adventurers’ Club, #1)

After the Kiss (Notorious Gentlemen, #1)

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“You're a damn dog," Adam finally snapped.
"If you're good enough to fuck someone, be a man enough to take responsibility for the result” — 4 people liked it

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Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke (Scandalous Brides #3)

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