publisher synopsis: Andrew Macalister, oft regarded as the Stone Duke of Bradstone, hates his annual birthday ball tradition. He dislikes facing those around him who only see him for his title, and has given up on a chance to live a normal life. That is, until he spots Lady Clara Masson across the ballroom. Clara's twin sister is the woman who infamously jilted Andrew at the altar five years ago, but little does Clara know, Andrew had been smitten with her since childhood, and he finds her presence a ray of sunshine in a dreary dukedom.

When Clara's life is threatened by her evil brother, Johnathan, Andrew must do the only thing he can think of to save her: propose marriage. Between Clara's trust issues and Andrew's battle with societal norms, two find romance under dangerous circumstances.

Hard to put down book. Full of mystery, intrigue, shady characters, heroes, allies, romance, etc. Great read!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

I'll keep this review short. This just did not connect with me at all. No fault of the author, I just did not enjoy the story and found the premise somewhat unbelievable. I rarely can't finish something, but this was one. Not sure why.

Absolutely charmed...

... by this story of love, angst, betrayals and murder!
Lady Clara Masson has been emotionally abused by her brother for far too long. Ever since her twin sister eloped rather than marry the Duke of Bradstone, Andrew Macalister.
Deciding to attend the Duke's masked ball some years later, Clara finds herself shunned by polite society, banned from Almanac's and generally looked down upon. The rumors spread about her are diabolical.
Andrew has been half in love with Clara since he was a child. Her sudden appearance at the ball, her treatment by society has him exercising his ducal rights, scandalizing the gossipy ladies of the ton by not only dancing with Clara but leading her into supper.
It's when he visits the next morning that he finds the house in disarray and Clara unconscious on the floor, bleeding from a head wound.
Well events get even stranger and Andrew finds himself in quite a quandary. As the situation unfolds, a plethora of wonderful characters come into play.
An oft times fun, and definitely mysterious, read!

A NetGalley ARC

2.5 rounded up

I liked the "idea" of this book, but it just didn't really work for me in the end.

Lady Clara and Andrew Macalister, Duke of Bradstone have a history, once upon a time Andrew was friends with her brother Jonathan, Earl of Morton and he was engaged to her twin sister Christina. But when Christina jilts him and Clara is sent to the country to let the scandal die down, they lost touch. Now five years later, Clara is back - but she is no longer welcomed by the ton.

Rumors abound about her and she is barely tolerated, but that doesn't stop Andrew from wanting her. When he rescues her from her brother's rage, he informs her they will marry. Clara has no intention of marrying him, but goes along with the ruse.

These two will have a long, rough road ahead of them, they will endure rumors, scandal, evil relations, attempted murder, shocking revelations, kidnapping and their own doubts and insecurities before they finally achieve their HEA.

I thought the writing was good, but the story just had so many elements, too many in my opinion, and a lot of them just didn't seem believable, I don't want to ruin anything, but his reason for marrying her sister just didn't seem reasonable and her brother's shocking revelation at the end was just out of the blue and over the top. I wanted to like the book, but in the end, I felt dissatisfied.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*

The only thing you need to know about this book is that the villain turns out to be gay. Not only that, he turns out to be the villain BECAUSE he is gay. He disposes of one sister and tries to kill off the other (the heroine) because the hero admired THEM and not HIM.

I seriously cannot believe this got past an editor. You cannot, in this day and age, have the villain of your story turn out to be a member of a persecuted minority unless you want to get righteously slapped down for it by readers who don’t share your prejudices. Making the character the villain BECAUSE of their sexuality is 10 times worse.

People were horribly persecuted in the Regency era because of their sexuality; demonising them because of it in fiction is seriously beyond the pale. It’s not a clever plot twist. It’s demonstrating your homophobia.

You might enjoy this if you’re homophobic. Otherwise, you should run very, very far away.

No stars. Just horrified screaming.

Publisher's Description:

After his fiancée elopes with a footman, Andrew Macalister, the brooding Duke of Bradstone, is hesitant to trust any woman ever again. It is only fitting that the woman to melt his heart is Lady Clara Masson, the social outcast twin sister of the woman who jilted him!

When Clara's life is threatened, Andrew does the only thing he can think of to protect her: proposes marriage. Despite having been in love with Andrew since childhood, Clara only agrees to the engagement to buy herself more time to escape her brother's murderous plans.

What begins as an engagement of convenience quickly turns to a passionate battle of wills between the stubborn duke and his distrusting fiancée. With fate giving them a second chance at love, Andrew and Clara fight to trust in their love, and each other, before they are torn tragically apart.

My Thoughts:
There is nothing like a Regency romance that includes a Duke who wasn't the original heir but inherits after his older brother dies.
The man can't seem to make up his mind and he vacillates between brooding and charming.
This well written book makes me wish for more by this author who I discovered through NetGalley.
Andrew was previously engaged to Clara's twin sister but after the disappearance of that lady and the obvious fact that Clara may be in danger, Andrew asks Clara to marry him to keep her safe.
What starts out as a convenient engagement is not so convenient after all. It turns to suppressed passion and mistrust between the engaged pair.
Even though she has been in love with Andrew for most of her life Clara intends to break off the match before the wedding.
This is an engrossing read.
I gave this book 4.25 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 3.5 of 5.0 flames. Our heroine ends up frustrated more than satisfied when our hero subjects her to bouts of heavy petting that doesn't culminate into full lovemaking.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read and review.
This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Curious suspenseful, historical romance. This story is witty, heartbreaking and troubling. The Macalister family is filled with heartwarming characters (as is Clara's brother Luke and the Duke's friends). The suspense was somewhat dragged out. The leads showed strength and weakness but were too often conflicted.
First reading of author. Much potential here. Would like reading about families and Duke's friends. 2 1/2 stars.
Voluntarily read ARC for honest review.

London - 1813

Andrew Macalister, the Duke of Bradstone, also known as the Stone Duke, is not looking forward to the Macalister Birthday Ball. His mother had loved this annual event that celebrates all of the Macalister siblings’ birthday which occur in May. This year, the ball is being held on Andrew’s twenty-ninth birthday and he is ensuring that the balls will be continued in his mother’s memory. Therefore, he is hosting 500 of London’s haute ton to a masked ball, and he dreads it. His younger brother, Luke, finds it amusing that everyone is wearing the same mask as they were sent out with the invitations.

The one thing that Andrew enjoys tonight is the presence of the lovely Lady Clara Masson. They have known each other since they were children. While he is attracted to her, he wants to appear uninterested in no lady because he does not want to marry.

Lady Clara is being insulted by Lady Laura as Clara has been ousted from Almack’s. Clara’s twin sister, Christina, had jilted Andrew at the altar and eloped with a footman. Shortly afterward, their father died requiring Clara to retire to the country for a year of mourning. A year later, she learned that Christina had died in childbirth along with her baby. Clara went back into mourning for another year. The haute ton finds it hard to believe that Clara has been in mourning for two years and decides to assume something bad has kept her away from London.

Clara’s brother is Jonathan Masson, the Earl of Morton. For some reason, he hates Clara and after she returns from the ball, he yells at her that he wants her out of his house. Before she can pack her things and leave, he hits her knocking her out. Andrew arrives with flowers for her and finding her on the floor bloody and unconscious, he beats up Jonathan. He then brings Clara to his home to heal. There, he proposes marriage to her. As they enjoy getting to know one another more, their love grows. When Andrew investigates why Clara’s brother hates her so, he is shocked at what he finds.

There is so much more to this story. It is very intertwined so I wanted to set out the basic plot to readers to entice them to read this story and find out the reasons for these events. I think readers will enjoy what they find. The author has done a great job on writing this story and I enjoyed it very much.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I do like to read of siblings and their interaction and there was an abundance of this in the story. Although some weren’t pleasant, it did add to the storyline. Clara had such a troublesome life and she needed to be a strong character to withstand all she had to put up with. Andrew had also had his share of heartache and responsibilities and he needed someone to bring him some light in his life. There were a number of interesting secondary characters and I hope they may have their own stories. This was a book I had to keep reading until the end. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m going to admit, I read the reviews for The Perfect Duchess before I decided to review the book. With the majority of the reviews being favorable, I decided to take my chances with it. While I am glad that I read it, I was left feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that went on in the book. I felt that some of the action should have been cut. The storyline with Clara’s abusive brother was more than enough to carry the book. Anything else cluttered the plotline and dragged it down.

The Perfect Duchess was set in my favorite era, Regency England. Like I have stated in other reviews, I love this era. Something about it calls to me. I enjoy reading about the exploits of the ton. I love it when the bluestocking gets the Duke, Earl, or Count. I love reading about the different activities that the upper class did. I find reading about the Season fascinating. If you can’t tell, I have a passion for this era.

I liked that the author made Clara the underdog in the book. Her reputation was in tatters because of horrendous (for that time) rumors. She also carried the scandal of her sister jilting Andrew at the altar. So she was persona non grata in the ton, even though she was the daughter of an Earl. I thought that she handled the abuse thrown at her with grace. I know that I wouldn’t have been as gracious as her if I heard what people were saying about me.

I couldn’t get a handle on Andrew for a good part of the book. The author chose to make him unreadable. I don’t have a problem with that but she made him so unreadable that when he did certain things, it took me by surprise. I also didn’t get how him becoming a Duke had an effect on anything until Clara and Andrew had a talk about her brother. Then the lightbulb went over my head. I don’t know how I didn’t put two and two together.

I actually felt bad for Clara’s brother, Jonathan. I know, feeling bad for the bad guy. He didn’t ask to feel the way he felt and it was bad timing that things happened the way they did. I couldn’t imagine being gay during that time. But, my feeling bad for him only lasted through that part of the book. He did some awful things to Clara and her sister for money. Any pity I had for him was washed away when it was revealed exactly what he put her twin through.

Clara did drive me up a wall. I could understand her trust issues. But there was a time in the book where I was eye-rolling and going “Seriously“. I did like her but still. She should have trusted Andrew. She knew that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

I loved the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter of the gossip rag. I laughed at how the full names of everyone talked about were not used. But you knew who they were. I did feel bad for Clara. It was like she was living her life under a microscope and this column was picking her apart.

I didn’t get the storylines of Clara’s sister, her secret and the inheritance being introduced so late in the story. While it showed why Jonathan was doing what he was doing, I felt that it dragged the book down. Made it murky and confusing. I had to reread those parts to get them straight in my head. That is not something I like doing.

The sex between Clara and Andrew was hot but I felt that it was also a bit forced. I would have been fine with them not having sex and letting their chemistry continue to the end of the book. I do feel that them having sex did let some of the oomph out of their relationship.

The end of The Perfect Duchess was your typical historical romance ending. An HEA (which I liked). I am wondering which sibling the author will write about next!!

What I liked about The Perfect Duchess:

A) The excerpts for the gossip magazine

B) Set in Regency England

C) Clara’s underdog status

What I disliked about The Perfect Duchess:

A) Plotlines introduced in the last half of the book.

B) Mark was too unreadable

C) Sex killed the chemistry

I would give The Perfect Duchess an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is violence. There is not any language. I wouldn’t let anyone under the age of 21 read this book.

There are trigger warnings in The Perfect Duchess. They are: abuse (emotional and physical) and bullying

I am on the fence if I would reread The Perfect Duchess. I am also on the fence if I would recommend this book to family and friends. If I did recommend, I would give a heads up about the trigger warning.

I would like to thank Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Perfect Duchess.

All opinions in this review of The Perfect Duchess are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Andrew Macalister stopped trusting women after his fiancee left him for the footman. There is an annual birthday ball, which he hates, but it's at one of these that he sees Lady Clara Masson, the twin sister of his former fiancee and a social outcast. Her brother Jonathan is threatening her, so Andrew proposes marriage to save her life.

Jonathan is described as "evil" in the book's summary, but the more accurate term for it is abusive. He is dismissive of Clara, verbally threatening and demeans her whenever he can. It finally escalates to physical abuse when he throws her out of his house and hits her hard enough to bruise and to knock her into furniture, leading to a head injury. We discover more about his motivations later on in the novel, and they're no less despicable.

Andrew's marriage proposal literally saves her life, because she has nowhere else to turn to and needs a place to recover. As a duke in his own right, Andrew has a large number of siblings to maintain, a large household and various country estates. He developed a tendency to be harsh and demanding at times, a persona dubbed the Stone Duke by friends. This persona frightens Clara at times, but she had been drawn to him since they were children.

It's nice to see how Andrew and Clara's relationship develops over time. We have a large cast of siblings and friends in the Macalister circle, and Clara gets a chance to interact with almost all of them. She has a great sense of humor, especially if you are familiar with Regency England's society and mores.

I can see one sequence in particular, with all of Andrew's sisters talking with her, as if it was in a movie. There are certainly some cinematic levels of interactions and reveals for motives and a few twists along the way. Andrew and Clara do well together through these trials, and their relationship is a fun one to follow. With so many other Macalisters, I'm sure we'll see more of them in future novels as well.

I'm giving The Perfect Duchess by Erica Taylor a 3.5/5 stars. This book was rather entertaining and I did enjoy it, though it was nothing spectacular. I liked the relationships between the characters and seeing a window into 19th century society. The writing was good and definitely fit the time period very well. Still, I felt like I wanted a lot more from this book.

Andrew has been known as the Stone Duke because of his handling of social affairs. This helped him avoid the matchmaking mothers. When Andrew rescues Lady Clara, a social outcast, from a social set-down, Andrew's heart and appearance are lighten. When Andrew goes to Clara's family home the next day, he finds that her brother has beaten her and thrown her out. Andrew also learns that Jonathan is behind all the nasty rumors about Lady Clara. Andrew takes Clara home for her to heal. Andrew decides Clara needs to marry him to keep her safe from her brother. Clara spends much of the book torn on whether she should marry Andrew. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would read more by this author. Even though there were some improbabilities and inconsistencies in the book, I like this book. The book contains suspense, romance, and a few steamy scenes. This book was given to me by the publisher through Net Gallery.

4.5 Stars
Andrew Macalister, the Duke of Bradstone, also known as the Stone duke for his demeanour hates his annual birthday ball tradition. He dislikes facing those around him who only see him for his title, and has given up on a chance to live a normal life. That is, until he spots Lady Clara Masson across the ballroom. Clara's twin sister Christina is the woman who infamously jilted Andrew at the altar five years ago. When Clara's life is threatened by her evil brother, Jonathan, Andrew must do the only thing he can think of to save her: propose marriage.
A lovely read of two people learning to trust & to be themselves. The characters are well portrayed Clara is lonely, rejected by society & feels unloved & distrustful of everyone, after all her own brother hates her but she’s loved Andrew since she was a young girl. Andrew was never meant to be the Duke, he was the second son but tragedy struck when highwaymen killed his father & older brother Sam. He feels everyone, apart from a few close friends & siblings, only see the Duke not the man. Little does Clara know, Andrew had been smitten with her since childhood, and he finds her presence a ray of sunshine in the dreary dukedom. He just needs her to learn to trust & she needs him to be just Andrew not the stony duke. The pace of the story is very good & there are twists & turns along the way. I’m pleased there are so many Macalisters & hope they all have their stories.

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This author has certainly gotten off to an impressive start as a writer. This is her second book and both have been excellent. While it is part of a series, you could certainly read it as a stand-alone. Frankly, I would recommend reading this as the first book in the series and then go back and read the first one. I have no idea what makes authors and publishers decide on the order of books in a series, but, in my humble opinion, this should have been the first book in this series.

At one time Andrew MacAlister and Jonathan Masson were best friends. Andrew often went home with Jonathan on school breaks and was intrigued by Jonathan’s younger sister Clare because she was so intrepid. When she was ten years old and Andrew was about sixteen, she told him she was going to marry him someday. On the day Andrew’s father and older brother were killed and he inherited the title, Jonathan developed an abiding hatred for Andrew. Andrew never knew why – but he never saw Clare after that. At least, not until she and her twin sister had their debut – and then shortly after that Andrew became engaged to Christina, Clara’s twin. You’ll learn all about that in the story, so I won’t tell you about it – but, to me, it makes Andrew look very, very weak-willed!

Everyone who was ever supposed to love Clare Masson left her, except her older brother Jonathan, and he hated her with every breath in his body. Things got really bad after her father died and Jonathan inherited. Wild, untrue rumors about her were floating throughout the ton and she was forbidden from attending any entertainments. Then, on the night of the annual MacAlister birthday ball, she decided to sneak out and attend. That set off a chain of events that almost caused her death – until Andrew saved her.

Andrew brings Clare into his home and places her under his protection by becoming betrothed to her. While he fully intends to go through with the marriage, she doesn’t because she has such trust issues and she wants him to love her, not just feel protective of her. They both have trust issues, but he works through his much quicker than she does and becomes truly committed to the relationship.

Clare is in constant danger until her brother can be found and dealt with – but – where is he? Nobody can find him. Then there are more attempts on Clare’s life. Will they finally get their HEA – you’ll just have to read the book to see. Oh, and at the end -- there is quite a twist.

I read an ARC of this book and it was very unpolished at the time. I do truly hope that many of the errors I saw are fixed prior to publication. There is a lot of more modern phraseology as well as some incorrect word choices, etc.

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

This book tells the story of Andrew, second son, who only inherits his dukedom when his father and elder brother are killed. Andrew Macalister is now the Duke of Bradstone and he dreads the annual birthday ball until he notices Lady Clara Masson across the ballroom. She of the ruined reputation and twin to the lady that jilted him at the altar five years ago. But all is not what it seems.
Although I enjoyed this second in the series I found it difficult to like Lady Clara, at times I thought she was just foolish. Unfortunately, when it comes to romance stories it is important for me to like the characters.

Andrew Macalister, oft regarded as the Stone Duke of Bradstone, hates his annual birthday ball tradition! He dislikes being a duke; hates the sycophants who only see him for his title; and hates that he has given up a chance to live a normal unencumbered life. He’s simply biding his time until he can possibly slip away without anyone noticing. However, when he spots Lady Clara Masson across the ballroom he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. Clara's twin sister is the woman who infamously jilted Andrew at the altar five years ago, but little does Clara know, Andrew had been smitten with her since childhood, and he finds her presence a ray of sunshine in a dreary dukedom.

However when he notices another ‘Lady’ scornfully harassing Clara over the innuendoes her brother has been passing around to try and destroy her reputation, Andrew has to step up and save her. They danced and for the first time in a long time Andrew felt himself actually smiling.

Because Clara had disobeyed her brother Jonathan in going to the ball, he was furious and tried to throw her out of his house with the clothes on her back. A fight ensued and physical blows were rained down on Clara when he knocked her down and she passed out from the severe bump to her head. It was at that time Andrew arrived to call on Clara when he realized Clara's life was being threatened by her evil brother. Andrew did the only thing he could think of to save her; propose marriage. Between Clara's trust issues and Andrew not caring a fig for what the ton thought, as well as Jonathan’s continued attempts to murder Clara, Andrew needed to discover what was going on in a madman’s mind!

Bottom line: A GREAT read - loved the excitement and suspense of what was behind all of the mystery surrounding the Masson twin sisters!

Marilyn Rondeau

Let me begin this review the same way I have began many others. Although this is book number 2 in a series, you do not have to have read the other novels in order to enjoy this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel in this series, A Suitable Affair, so I was very excited to be chosen to read this one as well. Unfortunately, while this was a good story in its own right, it didn't have quite the same appeal as the first. There was still an element of danger, and the unknown, and I quite liked how the author was able to bring those different elements together, and there was definitely some chemistry between Andrew and Clara, but my goodness did those two get on my nerves!

Its understandable to an extent why they were guarded around each other, but after awhile, I found myself quite annoyed with Clara. Andrew tried again and again to prove his feelings for her, while she consistently doubted him. Given their history, I wouldn't have blamed Andrew if he had washed his hands of her entirely.

I do believe this author has a strong and engaging writing style, and I do highly believe this novel will still appeal to those who enjoy historical romance novels. I will read more from this author in the future!

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This is the first book by Erica Taylor that I have read. I really enjoyed The Perfect Duchess and look forward to reading future books from this author. This book has kidnapping, attempted murder, blackmail, abuse, second chance at love, family loyalty, romance and much more. I am happy I am given an advance reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book!

Andrew Macalister, the brooding Duke of Bradstone, is hesitant to trust any woman after his fiancé runs off. However he cannot keep his eyes off of her twin sister, Lady Clara Masson, the social outcast twin sister of the woman who jilted him! When Clara finds herself beaten and needing help Andrew offers marriage. The story of Andrew and Clara is one that touches its reader right from the start. Clara and Andrew have to learn to trust and love again. This book is a book you won't be able to put down.