This is a wonderul story and two great characters with plenty of chemistry and it’s easy to read. I loved the added science and art bits

However it is not a historical romance in anyway there’s no accuracy at all, even the bits about England are way off. I have to mark it down for that. But I sense that the author knows this and doesn’t care (in a good way). Maybe she needs to create a new genre or better marketing to explain her take on things. Because left me disappointed as I exp3cted historical romance and on that it didn’t deliver

A fun romance with the Christmas spirit. What more can one ask? Both hero and heroine are more than they seem on the surface. Penelope is a socially challenged scientist and Nicholas has the reputation of a rake but is so much more. Their developing relationship is both funny and touching.. A nice story for the holidays.

A sweet historian romance about magical towns with eccentric residents. Women of science were not recognized and not allowed to participate in the societies of the day and share their gifts. It takes a rare man to accept a brilliant woman. Can it happen here? You will need to read the book to know and will enjoy the trip through Christmas,

Whoohoo, another Duke from the 12Dukes series of Erica Ridley. This one is about Penelope, a female scientist, who doesn't believe in love. She does, however, believe in science and in her perfume which activates pheromones and therefore creating attraction between male and female.
Saint Nick is opposed to this appalling new fragrance for men: Duke. Now all men think they can have women swoon at their feet. But that is his game. And so he wants to stop the production of Duke.
When he finds out it is Penelope, who is the brains behind the perfume, he is determined to halt her work. What he didn't realize, was that Penelope isn't that easily persuaded.
Penelope wants to perfect the female version of Duke. So she needs a test subject. And who better to use than Saint Nick, the strange man who wants to buy all the rights of Duke to stop it from being produced. So, she decides to pretend she is thinking of selling, to be able to do her tests.
Penelope and Nick certainly have a chemistry going on... or is it the science of the perfume? Find out for yourself in this second read in the 12 Dukes series. Hopefully the other ten parts will be as funny as this one. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Celebrating a scientific breakthrough begins this amusing romance! Penelope, a scientist, doesn't believe in marriage. Nicholas, a rogue Duke, doesn't believe in it either. The writing makes the story flow and grabbed my attention! This is the second book in the series and I've enjoyed both visits to Christmas, England!
Voluntarily read ARC, from Netgalley and publisher, for honest review.

I loved it!! It was an enjoyable read from beginning to end. Kiss of a Duke is the second book in the 12 Dukes of Christmas. In this story we meet Penelope and Nicholas. Penelope is a bluestocking spinster in the town of Christmas. She is a chemist who has created a perfume called "Duke". It is this perfume that is creating havoc in the life of Nicholas who is a very well known rake in London. He has decided to put an end to the production of this perfume and therefore has traveled to the town of Christmas. When he meets Penelope he is struck by the way she is and how she is unaffected by his charms. In his task to convince her to end the production of "Duke", Penelope decides to use him as her test subject for her new perfume "Duchess".
It is during this time that they get to know each other and realize that they have some kind of connection. Their bantering was very fun to read. Nicholas' obsession with biscuits made for some funny scenes. I liked that they became friends first before their relationship went further. The presents he gave Penelope were so unique and sweet. They were both changing for the better without realizing it and with the help of each other. Love made them a different person and that took by them surprise.
In the end it was a great story! I'll continue reading this series!

**Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book through NetGalley.**

Okay, I loved this story. A great regency novel with a strong and smart heroine... count me in. I laughed while reading of the exploits that Penelope and "Saint Nick" got up to which each trying to have everything their way. I can not wait for the next in this series.

This is a well written book about a female chemist and a rake who she decides to experiment on with her new perfume that believed to bring forth desire for the person wearing it. It’s a very interesting concept, and while it is definitely expected that the heroine think like a scientist and behave like a scientist, I found it to be just a little too much and that made the story a little dull at times. Overall though, it was cleverly worded, and Ms. Ridley did a great job getting into the heads of both characters!

Penelope Mitchell's first perfume for men, Duke, is a success. It has become wildly popular among members of the ton, earning Penelope a lot of money and notoriety since she is a lady chemist. Since Duke has went over so well, Penelope decides to work on it's female counterpart, a woman's perfume, Duchess. Duke is rumored to have women swooning left and right over men. Penelope wants to make sure Duchess can do the same, but first she needs a test subject, and she has just the perfect one in mind, Nicholas Pringle.

Nicholas is known among Society as "Saint Nick" for a reason. Nick earned his reputation as a rake with hard work and Duke is destroying his advantage. Nick seeks out Penelope to get her to stop it's production. He has no idea what he's in for! Penelope appeals to him as no woman ever has. Suddenly, he finds himself ready to shed his bad boy reputation. Find out what happens in KISS OF A DUKE.

KISS OF A DUKE is the second novel in author Erica Ridley's 12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS series. It is witty and brilliant! I loved the references to Nick being "Saint Nick"... him being up on the housetop, bringing gifts, always eating biscuits (cookies), etc... If Nick is Santa then certainly Penelope is his Mrs. Claus... wearing her aprons, baking for Nick and constantly feeding him. KISS OF A DUKE is a magical holiday romance that readers are sure to love.

Erica Ridley has done it again! She wrote a fun, sweet, romantic story set in the snow covered village Cressmouth. This story centers around a female chemist and a notorious rake.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I just loved this book! I think it is now my absolute favorite! The author's characterization skills are phenomenal. She has the knack of being able to make her characters very realistic. No cookie-cutter characters here. They are not all sweet and full of fluff. No there are some mean ones, some very stubborn ones, some pathetically clueless ones, as well as strong and forthright ones. This just makes the conflict in the story that much more real, which, in turn, makes the resolution of the conflict Thank you Netgalley for letting me read it

I really enjoyed reading this book by Erica Ridley. I read within one sitting basically. I wasnt sure to begin with, whether I would enjoy the dynamics of the book, but stick with it, its actually pretty good.

Lady chemist Penelope Mitchell took England by storm with Duke, a perfume for men that has women swooning at their feet. To prove the same aphrodisiacal potency of her upcoming version for ladies, the new perfume must cause a rake to fall in love with her in ten days.When I started reading I couldn't put it down. Erica Ridley is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

I adored this book! Yes, it is historically inaccurate, and you should not expect much in that regard. But if all you are looking for is a short, funny, adorably sweet romance with two truly amazing leads and can ignore the silliness of the premise, this is the book for you.

"Running out of biscuits is like running out of…" "Oxygen?" she guessed. He shook his head. "Hot chocolate." "Humans can live very long lives with no consumption of chocolate," she informed him gently. "But without chocolate, are we truly living?"

I loved Nicholas, our hero. Hardened rake that he is, he is appalled when he finds out someone has created a perfume that sort of levels the playing ground by making men irresistible (don't ask… Read the author's note and just go with it) and sets out to convince the creator to cease producing it. He's not prepared to find the one woman who wants nothing for him, and it was so cute to see him fall hard for logical, scientific-minded Penelope. They had a Booth/Brennan relationship, and their bickering was just the cutest!

"But other people-" "The opinions of strangers are irrelevant. Live for yourself."
I LOVED Penelope. She was scientific and logical without coming across as silly, off-putting, or annoying, and I loved seeing her falling in love for the first time, despite trying very hard not to. IT was heart-warming and made for a perfect story for cozy evenings!

There should be a new genre created for many of the new 'historical romances' coming out nowadays. It should be called "Fantasy historical romance'. In the fantasy historicals, characters wear cravats and corsets, are constrained by social norms only when it is convenient to the story, and they talk like modern day people. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but if you've been reading historical romances for a long time, it is frustrating that there is no distinction between the two types of stories.

Erica Ridley typically markets her books as the light-hearted, unrealistic, fairtyale brain candy so I was not surprised when I went into this story that there was very little focus on the historical aspect. I wanted something silly and fun in a novella format to start getting into holiday romances and she delivered. The historical focus is non-existent. The characters are not constrained by social norms, can interact alone at all hours without anyone in the made-up town of Christmas gossipping, can call each other by first names immediately upon meeting each other, can get married without any interference from family (the hero's father is a duke), and can make heavy-handed sexual innuendo jokes in mixed company without anyone batting an eye.

If you let go of this set-up, then the rest of the story's components are quite fun and the reason I gave it 4 stars. I thought the heroine, Penelope, was a throwback to Dr. Temperance Brennan from the tv show Bones, as a hard core scientist obsessed with her perfumes (and their biological significance), her lack of belief in love, and her rational approach to life. I thought her friends Gloria and Virginia were hysterical (especially Virginia and all her bird analogies that seemed random but somehow made sense) and the presence of delicious biscuits throughout the story is always lovely. The hero, Nicholas, and his brother Christopher are both charming as well. Nicholas, for his gradual transition from rake to a man who starts to understand what love is, and Christopher, for his complete faith that love exists even though he has never seen it. The differences between the two made for some fun dialogue and I'll definitely be reading Christopher's story when it becomes available. As you can probably guess, the hero's name, obsession with cookies, his secret workshop, and at one point being on the roof, are all pretty heavy-handed references to Saint Nick for the holidays. I found this to be a bit much and stupid on occasion (cookies and the name would have been enough for me) but again, since the interactions between he and Penelope were so silly and fun, I did not lose interest in the story.

At it's core, the romance was strong. I believed the transition from logical scientist and lifelong rake into a couple in love. The fun dialogue was the strongest point. Was it historically accurate? No. But it was fun to read all the same. I loved the little gifts the leads gave each other and I loved the short format of the story. This amount of silliness would not work in a longer format, but it was a perfect morsel for this time of year.

In a nutshell, only read this story if you're into braincandy and have no expectations for an actual historical going in. Read it because you want fun dialogue and some themes that will get you in the holiday spirit and make you smile. I think that's all Ridley really intended and she does deliver on that score.

Second in Erica Ridley’s Twelve Dukes of Christmas series set in the small town of Christmas, the hero of this one isn’t actually a duke. It’s a perfume, well technically a cologne for men, called Duke, invented by the heroine. And it’s taken London by storm; even Prinny is wearing the new cologne with the near-magical ability to make women take an interest in even the most unassuming of gentlemen.

Our heroine Penelope knows there’s nothing magical about her perfume at all. Just excellent science. Chemistry is her passion, and now she’s proved her abilities with Duke, she’s ready to turn her attention to Duchess, the version for women which will make even the plainest Jane fascinating to gentlemen. What better subject to test it on than herself, especially when one of the most handsome rakes in England is in Christmas?

Nicholas Pringle, known as Saint Nick for his rakish ways, is disgusted by the very idea of Duke. He’s worked hard to be known as the worst rake in England! Bypassing all that hard work with a mere perfume is just laziness, in his opinion. He wants it off the market, by any means necessary. Penelope just doesn’t seem susceptible to his normal charms, though. And he’s finding himself inexplicably fascinated by her. Maybe there’s something to this chemistry business after all?

These two were absolutely hilarious together. There were any number of laugh-out-loud funny moments, most especially when Penelope cut off Nick’s attempts to charm her with her no-nonsense attitude. My only regret about this was that it was too short; I could have read another couple hundred pages at least of these two! Five stars for a funny and charming read to keep you in the Christmas spirit all year round.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.

I found my self smiling throughout this whole book. All Penelope wants is a kiss to prove her perfume works and all the Duke wants is a one-night stand. Should work, right? These two are my favorite so far. Love their story in Christmas town.

‘Kiss of a Duke’ was a delightful story with quite a novel storyline. Penelope Mitchell, a female chemist, has discovered the ingredients behind a scent, that will make men more attractive to women. The aptly named perfume ‘Duke’ has men, who would not have been considered ‘rakes’, irresistible to the ladies of the ton. Nicholas Pringle, has taken offence to this concoction as he is considered a rake, and believes that the perfume makes a lie of his talents. He soon sets about to purchase the perfume from Penelope, who decides to teach Nicholas a lesson; however, she soon finds herself, learning an invaluable lesson herself.
I so enjoyed the interaction between these two characters. This was a lovely book to read.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Wow wow wow. Loved this book. It was full of emotion, romance and lots of humour. There is not much to say but it is my favourite book in a long time and one I will go back and read again, something I don’t usually do. It was just plain lovely, beautifully written and you are left feeling good. I loved the secondary characters and look forward to seeing their story as they are all amazing characters. There is sure to be lots of fun and mayhem to come. I received this book as an ARC.

These bonds just get better and better. I feel in love with the village of Christmas just as much as Penelope and Nick. This book will bring readers into the Christmas Spirit!