Give the devil his duke by Anna Bradley

Lady Francesca Stanhope and her mother Lady Maria had been ruined by the now deceased Duke of Basingstoke and left penniless and now lived in Herefordshire. Lady Francesca has now returned to have her first London season and has a run in with the darling of the ton Giles the now Duke of Basingstoke. Follow the turbulent journey of sworn enemies Franny and Giles who is currently betrothed to Franny’s cousin Lady Susanna Stanhope . Follow the gossip, scandals and lies that plague the triangle between Stanhope and Basingstoke households to find out how the story plays out.

Very well written tale with intrigue and many twist along the way and a bit of humour too. 4.5/5

I couldn't do it. I tried, but I just couldn't finish this book. The storyline was incredibly boring and there was no chemistry between the hero and heroine. I've enjoyed this author's books before, but not this one.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Anna Bradley is back! I mean, she didn't really ever leave but I think she has focused a lot of her time on her Swooning Virgin Society series, which I adore, so some of her romance books have been shorter and lacking some of the character development I have been wanting. Have they been bad? No. They're good, but this harkens back to her early romance series and the ones that got me hooked onto her writing. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, and even though she really likes the misunderstanding trope, it doesn't bother me much in her books because everything else I want is there. She added a little dash of a mystery and set up for the next book nicely, and it didn't take away from the relationship at all. The romance was the real winner in this story, and it just makes me so happy to see her back to her to her original romance roots. Overall, a really nice beginning to her new series, and can't wait to see where it grows from here.

4.5 stars rounded to 5

Just some notes on why it didn't get to 5 stars from me: Anna really loves the word sweetheart, a lot, and sometimes it grated on me. She should try some other pet names, but hey that's me nit picking. Also, the radish storyline was pretty goofy, but it worked for the story!

There were three solid sex scenes in here too for anyone wondering.

Loved this book! Franny and Giles story had such humor and clever writing that it’s definitely a reread. Giles is a gentleman first and foremost and determined to be everything his father wasn’t. Franny is determined to save her mother from an increasingly desperate situation and will face the devil himself to do it. The path to their HEA is delicious! You won’t want to put this one down!

I enjoyed this book immensely and probably have a little lit-crush on Giles, the Duke of Basingstoke.
I'm not sure if we're supposed to hate Giles in the beginning (especially during that strange and awkward scene with not one, not two, but three of his mistresses), or the author was trying to set up how "roguish" he was, but really, he mostly came off as a teddy bear. Even his insults were funny and childishly silly. He had a great relationship with his mother and sisters. He really fell hard for Francesca and did grand yet meaningful gestures to prove himself. I didn't feel the "love" quite as much from Francesca, though I still liked them together.

I liked the friendships in this story, and can't wait to read the upcoming books, and maybe even a book about Francesca's cousin and how her story played out.

I wanted the Aunt and Uncle to suffer more. I also think the big elephant in the room was NEVER addressed - Giles's father forced himself on Francesca's mother, causing her mother to be ruined and Giles's father killed Francesca's father in a dual. This was really glossed over and I thought more would have been made of that.

I liked the mixture of humor and emotional depth, though there were a few aspects I wish were fleshed out more.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

Give the Devil His Duke, is a wonderful romance novel. Beginning I hurt for all the Francesca had to endure. It is very clear that Giles is confused by his feelings for her. She really makes him work for it though. He's even more confused because no one has ever told him no before and she does so often.

Francesca Stanhope meets Giles Drew, the Duke of Basingstoke while trying sneak in to see her cousin. He rescues her and they find out that their families have a longstanding scandal between them.

This is a well written, captivating story. I loved both characters. Giles was so arrogant and endearingly confused as to how anyone could possible refuse his advances. Franny was a delight, for once we have a character who actually detests the MMC to begin with and stands by her ground. Giles is motivated to get out from the scandal that his father left them with and Franny just wants to secure a better life for her mother. I enjoyed their courtship, although I thought it was a bit fast when Franny agreed to her proposal given her stance throughout the beginning of the book.

All in all an enjoyable reading. This is the first time I've read this author so I'm excited to try her other stories.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

Received copy for review
I usually enjoy an unconventional beginning to a historical romance. Seeing the hero in bed with multiple people who are not the heroine is definitely that. Good for you, old boy, get all you can before you are tied to anyone. However, this hero is just so not a hero.
This one just didn’t work for me.

I love historical fiction romances, and this one was one of the best I've read.
The characters were great; cheered for some and rooted against others. The plot was fun with a dose of romance, family, and settling old scores. Eagerly read from cover to cover, and while the ending was predictable , it was still enjoyable.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Giles, the Duke of Basingstoke is a rake, but he is looked upon as the pillar of society by the ton. Upstanding, careful to never let his escapades get captured in the papers or on the gossipy tongues of members of the ton, he strives to uplift his family's reputation after his father, a notorious rake in his own right, and down right ruthless and heartless brought devastating scandal upon the whole family. Giles tries to present the clean, above reproach façade to the gossips of the ton. Francesca Stanhope is the daughter of an Earl, who is banished to the country with her mother when disgrace and scandal take her beloved father to his death and her mother's reputation in tatters. Her mother is sickly and not getting any better, living on a pittance in a cold and drafty cottage, never enough firewood or food, Francesca comes to London to beg her uncle, the new Earl of Stanhope and her father's brother to please give them the funds to survive. She is caught when her cloak gets caught on a fence post in her uncle's backyard where she has been creeping about in the dark. Here starts this delightful romp of opposites, and a topsy-turvey relationship develops between Giles and Francesca.
This is a funny, adventure packed, quick witted enemies to lovers romance that I recommend to all regency romance fans! 5 stars for sure.
Thank you to Kensington Books and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Giles Drew, the Duke of Basingstoke, the golden boy of Society, wants nothing more than to put an old family scandal to rest, and when he is betrothed to Lady Susannah Stanhope, he believes he's done everything he can to rectify that situation. That is until he rescues Francesca Stanhope from being stuck on an iron fence outside the Earl of Stanhope's townhome. Francesca is feisty, and Giles is bewildered when the young lady will not reveal her name. But Giles cannot forget those stunning blue eyes and is shocked when he finds out she's the cousin of his betrothed. Now he can't stop thinking about Francesca when he's supposed to be courting Susannah. Can he honor the contract to marry Susannah, or will he risk another scandal by jilting the young lady?

I absolutely loved Francesca. She was smart, independent, and outspoken. I especially enjoyed the scene where she refuses to dance with the duke. Francesca is trying to rectify a serious wrong done to her family and wants to confront her uncle (Susannah's father) about his lack of funds to support her and her ailing mother. Unfortunately, Lady Crump, Francesca's sponsor for the Season, has given Francesca a wardrobe of bright pink gowns--every gown is the same garish pink. There was no hiding with the wall flowers in that color, and when Giles makes an offhand comment about her dress resembling radishes, Francesca loses all hope of staying invisible until she can confront her uncle. The gossip sheets are having a field day with these two, and the old family scandal resurfaces. Giles was a less likable character, although I did like to see him humbled time after time by Francesco. He does redeem himself later on in the book when he puts aside his ducal airs.

Ms. Bradley does a good job of teasing out the details of what caused the scandal, and the plot moves along nicely. One important critical error in the story is that it is supposed to take place during the London Season, which starts in April and goes through June. In the middle of the story, suddenly it's November, and then it's back to the Season's spring timetable again. That was certainly a major error, in my opinion, and cost the author a star.

4.5 Stars! I really enjoyed this book. It’s the first in a new series ‘Drop Dead Dukes’. The main characters are Giles Drew, The Duke of Basingstoke and Lady Francesca Stanhope. I loved Francesca from the beginning. Giles, however, I didn’t really care for, until the last few chapters of the book. I didn’t care for a ‘sexy times’ scene that included Giles & 2 other women. That just made me dislike him even more and I kept thinking, ‘they really need to burn that bed’. I wish the history between Giles & Francesca’s family’s was explained a bit more. Shame on all of them AND “the ton” for how they never helped Francesca & her Mom. Other than my dislike of the main male character, I loved this book. This seems like a really interesting series and I’d highly recommend this book! I can’t wait for the rest of the series! Anna Bradley is such an amazing author! She gets me so invested in fictional characters that I laugh, cry and get angry over their fake stories! Seriously, who does that?!
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

I adored this book. It was well written and kept me entertained throughout the whole book. This is the first time I have read a book by Anna Bradley, but I feel like I have been reading and enjoying her books forever. I must tell you I really loved these two characters. Francesca has come to town for one main purpose, to help her mother. Giles, a Duke, is trying to keep his reputation intact and to do that he has decided to marry. His future fiancé’s cousin is Francesca, Franny, from the moment he meets her, their lives are intertwined. I loved their chemistry and the witty bater. I enjoyed how Giles would think he was a Duke so no one would say no to him, that is until he met Franny. I can not wait for the next books in the series and to read about the next Dukes.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and I am leaving my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this story of Francesca and Giles - two likeable characters who are adorable. We meet Giles who is adored by everyone for his "golden" good looks and seems to be a little clueless about this. His focus is to live as exemplary a life as possible so as not to bring further scandal to his already tainted family name. During a conversation with the Earl of Stanhope, where both have been drinking excessively, he agrees to marry his daughter. The beautiful Susannah with the signature Stanhope blue eyes.

At the same time, the "original" daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, Francesca, is trying to scale her uncle's wall in order to persuade him to part with some much-needed funds for her and her sickly mother who are both struggling with their severely reduced circumstances following the scandal that rocked both their family and the Duke of Basingstoke's family - Giles. They meet when Francesca gets stuck on the gate and needs to be assisted down.

The comedy of errors and the determination of the duke to win her over, given that he IS a duke after all and much sort after by every marriage minded debutant and her mother has its funny moments - especially when Francesca goes from being just another wallflower with really ugly, loud pink outfits to the bell of the ball after a careless comment made by Giles about her sets tongues wagging.

I enjoyed this and would recommend it. I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher and Netgalley. I'm writing this review voluntarily, and it reflects my honest opinion.

Perfect from start to finish. The tug of war between the Duke and Franny will have you in stitches as they try to out manoeuvre each other in order to achieve their opposing goals. Her sharp tongue and quick whits lead this Duke on rediscovery of himself and what it takes to find and hold onto love. This book will be a delight to those who like a strong heroine and a redeemable rake.

Honest review given in exchange for ARC.

Giles & Francesca. He is the Duke of Basinstoke. His father seduced her mother (Maria) and her father ended up challenging his dad to a duel for his wife's honor. Her father was killed in the duel causing a major scandal. With her husband deceased his estate transferred over to his brother, Edward. Edward banishes Maria and Francesca to the country to get away from the scandal. They had been living in a shack of a cottage in the muddy country. The dismal living conditions was worsening her lung condition. That combined with them barely scraping by living had Francesca returning to London for the season. Her plan was to get her uncle to financially assist them.

Given that they were impoverished a family friend agreed to host her for the season. The friend's daughter had ordered her wardrobe for the season but ended up marrying prior to the start of the season. The family friend loans the wardrobe to Francesca to wear during the season. Seems her friend's daughter had interesting taste and ordered some bright pink gowns that were not appropriate for her to wear to society events. She didn't really care because she was there for show only and had other plans.

When his father passed away, Giles became the new Duke of Basingstoke. Their prior history and him being overheard calling her a country radish got the society tongues wagging. His sister is out in society so a scandal/tarnishing the family name would affect her ability to attract a husband. He was engaged to her cousin (the diamond of the season) but she ran off and elopes with the Marquess of Ornesby (sp?). Francesca's plans to get aid from her uncle fall through and she returns to the country not realizing that she was ruined in the gossip mags for being accused of being with Giles. With his fiancé disappearing, his sister's season in shatters because of his scandal with Francesca he realizes that all can be saved by marrying Francesca. He's off to the country to get his bride.

Blah blah blah they end up married and then she finds out about the ruination and she's pissed because he didn't tell her prior to getting married. She questions his motives. He realizes he loves her and does a bunch of things to make her happy and get her back in his bed. They end up with their HEA.

My thoughts...this was just OK. I wasn't super impressed with the characters, storyline, or the barriers to their relationship. Now I don't feel like I wasted my time reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this story and this is my freely given opinion.

Francesca Stanhope is the daughter of an Earl, but she and her mother were relegated to a rundown cottage in the country after scandal rocks her family, and her father is killed in a duel for the honour of her mother, 10 years prior. They mourn the loss of her beloved father, but his heir, her Uncle Edward, blames her mother for his brother's death and the scandal in the family, and they are forced to live an impoverished life in penury. Francesca, now a young woman, manages to be sponsored for the Season in London by a family friend. But her goals are not to enjoy the social whirl, or to gain the notice of a wealthy man seeking a wife. What she hopes is to gain some leverage to see her family and try to gain some funding from her uncle, to help her ailing mother.

Giles, the Duke of Basingstoke, has a handsome face and form, and has earned a sterling reputation. He has worked hard to live down his father's reputation, despite having his own hidden sins. He hopes to further live down the scandal of his family's past by marrying into the Stanhope family, wedding the Diamond of the Season, Susannah Stanhope, Francesca's cousin. His father had ruined the prior countess, Francesca's mother after assaulting her, leading to her father fighting a duel with the previous Duke for her honour, leading to the Earl's death. Giles is hoping to improve their family's reputation by wedding Susannah, thus repairing the rift in the families, and the family reputation, allowing his sisters to wed well.

Francesca and Giles have a meet cute at the beginning of the story, with Giles not realizing that he has met the wrong Stanhope girl, and when he later sees Francesca at a ball, he is caught unawares, making derogatory comments about her which become public and further causes more scandal for both families. Giles puts his foot into it further when he tries to fix things, but gives Franny the leverage she needs to force her uncle to give her the funds she needs to help her mother, because he very much would like to see his daughter become the Duchess of Stanhope. Too bad Susannah has other plans...

When the betrothal of Giles and Susannah fails to occur, Fran returns to her run down cottage, having failed to gain the funds to help her mother. But Giles, realizing that he is attracted to Franny, and that he could still right the wrongs by marrying the other Stanhope, chases after her and convinces her to marry him. Franny thinks she may be starting down the road to her happily ever after, until she discovers that Giles may have only married her to stave off further scandal.

This was rather a cute story, with Franny and Giles being rather likeable characters, despite a rather awkward group sex scene with Giles at the beginning of the story. That sets him up as a rather shallow character, who doesn't have to think or work hard to get what he wants. But I did not find it really believable that there was not more angst or objections since he is the son of her mother's rapist, and his father killed her father. Also, knowing that history, why was his first thought to marry the cousin, the current Earl's daughter, rather than the daughter of the family his father most wronged?

3.5 stars out of 5

Lady Francesca Stanjope’s mother had been wronged by Giles, the Duke of Basingstoke’s father. Fanny is determined to make the most of her London season by obtaining from her uncle what is owed to her mother and herself. The more Fanny is in Giles presence she finds him to be nothing like his cruel father.

This is a well-written, emotional, sizzling read. Enjoyed the witty banter/chemistry between Fanny and Giles. Had me laughing out loud during certain scenes, Well done.

Funny, I read this a while ago because I was lured in by a blurb…and I don’t remember much. It’s completely blank in my head regarding this book.

So I’m gonna share what I hastily wrote on Goodreads as my review:

It was a little slow burn, smut-wise.
The ending was a little off, I saw what the main conflict will be from the miles but then I felt like it just didn’t deliver as I hoped to because honestly, I didn’t see it as a conflict.

(SPOILER ALERT: He didn’t tell her they were portrayed badly in a gossip newspaper when he courted and later married her)

BLURB: One should never judge a duke by his cover. As far as London society knows, Giles Drew, the Duke of Basingstoke, is everything a proper aristocrat ought to be. But when a notorious scandal sheet publishes details of Giles’s questionable bedroom antics, only one bride can salvage his reputation.

Prim and penniless, Francesca Stanhope has resigned herself to a season full of the ton’s snickering—until the Duke of Basingstoke’s dizzying courtship transforms her fate. Yet wedded bliss quickly turns into a clash of wills as Franny realizes her handsome duke is a devil in disguise.

But beneath the newlywed’s skirmishes lies scorching heat. And while each attempts to tame the other, the truth is that this unconventional union may be all either could ever desire.

REVIEW: I found this book rather odd. It is written well enough to be enjoyable, I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters.

There is history between Francesca's and Giles' families, although the reader is never informed fully about what actually happened, it has led to their families hating each other.

Francesca is a likeable enough character, but Giles is plain vulgar. His days seem to be taken up with sitting around gossiping about wallflowers. When Francesca arrives back in town to beg her uncle for financial help, she finds herself mixed up with Giles, her cousin, and lots of judgemental people.

Why she would even be in the same room as someone who destroyed her family is beyond me. Despite the serious lack of chemistry between Francesca and Giles, they eventually end up together.

This book never grabbed my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this in return for my honest review.