Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke by Michelle McLean

Are you looking for historical fiction with that is weighty and philosophical? Not this book
Are you looking for a feel-good story that makes you smile? This book
Are you looking for characters and a plot that make you happy? This book
Do you want to dip into what does/doesn’t make a relationship work? This book

Well…that didn’t work…I was trying to make it short and pithy but really, even though this book may be short on pages, it is not short on plot, depth, character development and chemistry…not at all.

So…a bit more about the book…

We learn that Arabella Bromley’s sister selfishly chose to do what was best for herself without giving much thought to how it would impact her younger sisters – she ran off with the groom…and he became HER groom/husband. Wanting to fix things for her family and younger sister, Arabella hatches a plan and then seeks to implement it. She could care less about the Ton but does want her younger sister to have a successful season and make an advantageous love match. She does her due diligence, finds the perfect Duke to further her goals and accosts him (yes…accosts him) to see if she can make her sister’s dreams come true. And from that point…from leaving the carriage and a singularly interesting meet-cute that leads to time with Silas and her friend in his parlor…well…I started chuckling and caring and thinking the couple could have a future…but I also knew they would definitely hit a few bumps in the road, have some stellar times with ascents to spectacular heights and some less fun time wallowing in lows.

And…with that…I will stop her and say…

I loved reading this book
I would gladly read another by this author
This book had me smiling more than once
It was witty and charming
And the characters definitely grew to be a couple I adored.

Would I recommend this story? Yes
Will all agree with my assertion? Probably not…but then…they are not me.
Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review

5 Stars

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author.

This is the first book I read by Michelle McLean and I’m glad I found her!
Ten rules for marrying a duke is a fun historical romance with a witty heroin, Arabella, that strikes a deal with Silas, a seemingly childish duke. She needs to restore her family’s reputation, he needs a heir. A wedding seems to be the perfect solution. They both enter a marriage contract solely to get what they want that instead leads to unexpected twists and consequences.

Arabella is a relatable heroine that prefers books to balls, a sweet mix of determination and shyness; Silas is charming, maybe a little too childish at times. They fit each other well despite their differences and the chemistry between them is undeniable.

Once married, they can’t keep their hands off each other and I would have liked to see a little more steamy scenes, though I still got a few. I liked that there’s consent talk, not just about sex, and Silas always treats Arabella as an equal, a true partner rather than a trophy wife.

The plot is simple and enjoyable, the ending is perfect for the couple.
To be fair, there are a couple of scenes that break some convention of the time and could impact your reading experience if you really care about historical accuracy.
I also would have liked to see some more character development for Silas.

I think you’ll like this book if you like: fun reads with banter, historical romances with consent talk, arranged/fake marriages.

Arabella is a wallflower bargaining with Silas Spencer, Duke of Whittsley, to help launch her youngest sister in society and find her the perfect match. In return, when married, she will give the Duke the heir he needs. First there must be rules. Ten rules that will make sure that each get what they want out of the marriage. Fortunately rules were made to be broken. Until a secret does more than break a rule, it breaks two hearts.
What a fun read with witty banter and lots of heat.
On the down side, it has it's share of misunderstandings.
It all works out for a happy ending!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was clever and steamy. It held my interest and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

This was such a fun and flirty historical romance! Arabella Bromley proposes an unconventional marriage of convenience to Silas, Duke of Whittsley. Silas is surprised but intrigued and the two decide to formalize their agreement with a list of rules.

One of my favorite parts of any romance is the banter and I can count on this author to deliver it. I enjoyed watching Arabella and Silas match wits and fall in love. Silas comes off as a bit of a rake but has a good heart. A running theme was Arabella's preference to curl up with a good book instead of participating in social engagements and I could relate to that! This was a wonderful romance with a bit of steam and a nice epilogue. I definitely recommend giving it a read.

Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy of this book.

Simply delightful and full of humor and witty banter, it doesn't get much better than this!

What do you do when you need to get married quickly, due to a scandal your sister just produced?
Why find a ducal man to marry and that is just what Arabella does! After all, she is good at rules and is ready to agree!

Silas, Duke of Whittsby, was enchanted by Arabella's suggestion. It was time he married and if she was going to produce an heir and then they can go their own way, why not?

Of course in all the rules they had agreed upon, the word "love" was not to be found. Fortunately rules are sometimes made to be broken, so who knows what will happen?

Pure enjoyment and not to be missed!

Michelle McLean's historical are the only historical books I read. She does such a great job with dialogue and crafting a wonderful story. This book had solid character arcs and great conflict. It was entertaining and so much fun, including the first meeting of the two main characters. Opposites attract and fake marriage stories are two of my favorite tropes. I was smitten from the first page to the last. Huge thanks to Entangled publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Fun Story
Ten Rules introduces us to Arabella and Silas, she is a quiet woman who doesn’t care to be amongst the Ton, while Silas is considered a Rake who only wants to have fun. Set in Regency England, it helps if you know a little of how Society worked. Arabella’s oldest sister Alice has created a scandal which is now affecting their youngest sister Anne’s chances of marrying successfully. Arabella decides that to give Anne the best chance of finding her happiness, Arabella will have to find someone who is so high up the social ladder that they will be able to counteract the damage done by Alice. This man needs to be at least a Duke, and Arabella settles on convincing Silas, the Duke of Whittsley, to be the solution. The rest of the book deals with the interactions between Arabella and Silas, who come up with the Ten Rules near the beginning of the book. As in most romances, the road to the finish isn’t always easy, and their journey isn’t easy. My only “complaint” is that the book seemed to take a long time to get to the ending. It is well written, with interesting characters. I enjoyed Michelle McLean’s Hitched to a Gunslinger and this book is equal to that one. If Regency romances are something you enjoy, then this book will make you happy. I received this ARC from Entangled Publishing through NetGallery, and this is my honest opinion.

Bookish Arabella has no plans to marry—until the older of her sisters elopes, creating a scandal. Her youngest sister's prospects for a suitable match will be ruined unless Arabella can salvage the family's reputation.

Enter the Duke of Whittsley. The man has no desire for a wife, but he needs an heir. So Arabella strikes a bargain with him: she'll marry him to provide an heir, then retire to the country. In return, he'll help her sister find a husband. They lay out ten rules to govern the marriage. But the most important one goes unspoken: never, ever fall in love.

This book is so much fun. I like how the duke is charmed by Arabella from the beginning, instead of getting high-and-mighty with her. The banter and the chemistry between them keeps the tension high. This is a flirty story between two likeable characters who get more than they bargained for.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I found this book to be a fun relaxing read with some chuckles. The interactions between Arabella and Silas are not deep but I did find them to be entertaining. They get married as was expected at the time, then start the get to know each other stage after, which leads to miss communication. This was another one of those books where you are pretty sure you know where it will lead to, but you have fun watching it play out.

I’m trash for historical romances and this one did not disappoint! I was hooked from the very first scene where Arabella meets Silas. Ari is bold and unconventional who would do anything for her family. The chemistry between Silas and Ari is fire. Will definitely be recommending this one!

Thank you NetGalley Ms Entangled Publishing for an advanced copy.

This is exactly what I wanted and more. A fun and heartwarming historical romance!
I loved Silas and Arabella relationship and their detailed and quite opposite personalities. Of course, I love a character who loves to read, but I also appreciated the fact that Arabella was never described as boring or annoying because of it.
Silas is the perfect blend of roguish and cute, and he is appropriately infatuated at the right time.
The side characters could have been a little more developed for me, they lack a little substance compared to our main couple.
All in all, a great and quick read!

I was gifted an ARC of this book.

How did I feel about this book in one word? Delightful. I grinned right along with Silas, the duke at their outrageously funny first meeting and bargaining session. I found the whole book delightful especially Silas and Arabella's non-courting courtship. Over time Silas observed that Ari as he called her might be shy but she had a backbone of steel. She also was able to make him laugh which was something he hadn't been doing a whole lot of. In fact dealing with Ari was the most fun he'd had in a long time. The ten rules also made things interesting.
Arabella really wasn't like the society desiring woman that most women were. She really had more guts, heart and loved her peace and quiet. Oh and books, plenty of books and time to read them. She really had to push herself to meet the requirements that she helped draft.
There is of course some emotional drama that stirs things way up. However, the H.E.A. with a sweet Epilogue winds everything up.

" I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book through Netgalley. And these are my honest opinions about it.”

This is my first read by Michelle McLean and loved this book from the very start. The chemistry betweeon the hero, Silas, and the heroine, Arabella, is great and I adored their banter. Arabella is very introverted and seems to suffer from social anxiety, which I found highly identifiable. I loved the ease that Silas brought to her and their playfulness as a couple. I loved Arabella's description of Silas when she realized she had fallen in love with him.

"Never in a hundred years would she have thought she'd prefer the company of a rule-breaking, flippant, hedonistic libertine to the pleasures of solitude and a magnificent library, but...here she was. Pining over the man."

I had expected a lot more steam, but it was low on this factor. I ended up giving it four stars, not because it was lacking in this area, but because I wanted to see their relationship in that light more. The writing is so well done in every other aspect though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the above opinions are of my own.

I absolutely adored Silas and Arabella's story!! It was so much fun to watch these two start with a marriage of convenience with neither of them having had plans to ever marry to finding their forever love!

Bookish Arabella Bromley never gave a fig for society’s rules—until her elder sister Alice ran off with the family’s groom. Now Arabella is desperate to restore her family’s ruined reputation so that her younger sister Anne can have the season she deserves. Ari will have to marry quickly and well. But in order to carry off her plan, she needs a duke and she has just the rakish fellow in mind. Silas Spencer, The Duke of Whittsley has an ungentlemanly tendency to disregard the rules. Unfortunately, a sense of mischief doesn’t excuse a high-ranking noble from family duty—especially where it concerns producing a son. And that’s where he can’t quite resist Arabella’s distinctly outrageous plan: if he saves her family, she’ll give him an heir. Now the deal’s been struck. They have one year to achieve their goals and ten iron-clad rules to keep them on track.
A very well written, entertaining book with strong characters & a well paced plot. I loved Ari the bookish wallflower. I found Silas to be puerile at the start of the book but I grew to like him more & more & his words to Ari in the church had me loving him. I was totally invested in their road to a HEA, which wasn’t easy but was hugely entertaining. I loved the ten rules, which were negotiated & how they were stretched & loved the epilogue with the new rules. I highly recommend this captivating read

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Arabella Bromley has decided on a scheme to propose to the Duke of Whittsley to help salvage her family name for herself and her younger sister after her older sister ran off with the groom. Silas was quite intrigued by Arabella and was being pressured to marry by his grandfather anyways and this young woman was offering to sire him an heir then move off to the country to enjoy his vast libraries in his country estate. Well why not?

Once they agreed on rules as to not overstep since neither of them wanted a relationship they set about a courtship, quick betrothal and marriage. Though with two such personalities to enter into such an arrangement and can they keep their heart out of it?

Oh my! I just loved how inexperienced Arabella was making rules and Silas was agreeing to them like a cat that got the cream. She didn't even know what boons she was giving him.

Though there were some secrets that they both had to overcome and the fact that neither of them wanted to share their feelings because of the Rules and the contract they drew up.

This book definitely helped lighten my mood from some of the other books I have been trying to get through and starting other books lately. It is fitting that is is releasing on Valentine's Day, a very sweet romance that will make you laugh!

Read if you like:
🌹Witty banter
💌Marriage of Convenience
🌹Rakish dukes that fall pretty hard

Thank you tlcbooktours entangled_publishing and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Our main character Arabella Bromley is desperate to rescue her family's reputation. She entails the help of a duke but has trouble following the rules of their arrangement. This standalone is perfect for fans of historical romance and Bridgeton. These characters are extremely likeable and I very highly recommend this book!

What would you do to save your families name? That’s essentially what Arabella did. In this book Arabella throws herself into the arms of the Duke of Whittsley and they devise 10 rules in which they will follow in their marriage contract.

Just like most romance novels what the characters thought would happen and what happens are not the same things and love prevails. The store was cute. I would say it’s a good easy read. If your looking for a good beach read with a slight amount of steam this is your book.

The reputation of Arabella’s family has been tarnished by her older sister. UArabella is desperate to restore her family’s previous good standing. She approaches the Duke of Whittsley, who is desperate to produce an heir, with an interesting idea. If he will help restore her family’s good name, she will give him an heir and afterwards they can go their separate ways. A fun and entertaining romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.