Duke Most Wicked

Sometimes we really do want to be misunderstood...
He doesn't believe in love and she dreams of finding her own.

Brandan Delamar, the Duke of Westbury, has carefully cultivated his reputation as a profligate scoundrel and womanizer. He is determined to defiantly live up to the wastrel moniker bestowed on him by his father.
But now the coffers are nearly empty, and he has been so successful in cementing his scandalous reputation, it's likely his sisters will bear the brunt of it as well. They must marry, and without a sterling family reputation, or at least one that is redeemable, they may have to live their lives as spinsters. The only solution is for the wicked duke of Westbury to pull an heiress out of a hat - one who is beyond reproach and will rescue the family fortune.

The only problem with this plan is that the Duke can't keep his gaze from straying to his sisters' lovely, impoverished music instructor, Viola Beaton. But Viola has secrets of her own that she can't afford to jeopardize with a liaison. Even though she's been plagued with dreams of Brandan from their first meeting, she knows she's not what he needs to ensure the security and wellbeing of his sisters.

Some of the things I love about this book:
1. The hero's contrition is believable and his redemption arc evolves because he faces his inner demons of self-doubt.
2. The heroine blossoms under the hero's attention, and his adulation convinces her to pursue her own dreams - regardless of the consequences to her reputation.
3. A villain who reminded me of Wickham - I loved to loathe him!
4. "Touch her again and I'll rearrange your face."

Read this if you need a swoon-filled afternoon full of sweetness and surrender...
Recommended for fans of Lisa Kleypas' Wallflower series.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Accommodating. She was that. Like a portmanteau stuffed so full of items that the seams were stretching and beginning to fray and the whole thing was in danger of ripping apart. She was responsible for so many things.

“Courtship doesn’t have to be all about roses and sonnets. My dear friends have been courted in unconventional ways, to very effective ends. Mr. Ford Wright built my friend Lady Beatrice bookshelves and taught her how to use a sledgehammer to knock down walls.” “Very enterprising of him.” “Bookshelves are a surefire method to a bookish lady’s heart. And Mina, the Duchess of Thorndon, was shot at by smugglers but Thorndon risked his life to protect her.

He wanted to say that he’d missed her. The night at the pleasure gardens had seemed empty and cold without a smile that glowed brighter than lanterns strung in trees. And when the famous fireworks had splashed the night sky they’d been colorless without green eyes to reflect them.

He didn’t know what to say to her. He cared deeply for her but he was all wrong for her. She was a romantic who believed in love. He was broken, tainted and lost.

You’re not meant for fleeting pleasures. You’re a forever kind of girl. You’re sunshine and buttered toast. I don’t want to hurt you.”