This is the best Erica Ridley book I've read so far - and I've read a large number! Why? Because I've learnt a lot of new things about life and shopping in the Regency age.
I had no idea that there were so many different weights and measures around in this time. and I've discovered the origin of why the American gallon is not an English gallon. All of which was very mysterious before.
So in real life there was an Act of Parliament in 1824 that laid down the exact weights for measures in the UK.
A gallon was to be measured as the volume of 10 pounds of distilled water weighed at 62 degrees Fahrenheit, with a barometer pressure of 30 inches or 277.274 cubic inches.
So very precise!
The old Troy pound was later restricted as being used only to weigh drugs, precious metal and jewels.
But it was not until 1963 that the rod and chaldron (who has ever heard of that?! But it was apparently a measure of coal being 36 bushels), were finally abolished.
Now isn't that fascinating?
But to add to the confusion, the American weights and measures guys adopted the units the English used before 1824. This means that an American gallon is based on the Queen Anne wine gallon of 231 cubic inches and is thus 17% smaller than the English. The Old English (Queen Anne) Wine Gallon was standardized as 231 in3 (133 fl oz) in the 1706 Act 5 Anne c27, but it differed before that, as an example the London 'Guildhall' gallon before 1688 was 129.19 fl oz.
And the US bushel is 3% smaller; with the American dry pint being .551 cubic decimeters and the English keeping the wet and dry pint the same at .586 cubic decimeters. Yes the wet American is the same as the English to confuse us all...
I do hope everyone followed all of that!
So for me, the story was in the usual good form of Erica with a great heroine and a somewhat bemused hero but for me, being a history buff, the weights and measures issue sent me off into research land which doesn't often happen these days. Well done Erica!

Very interesting book, I think that the wager that Cole agreed to was rather a cool twist to the book and that it was funny that Diana could match her clothes to any house in London :) Overall it was a great quick read, and I will read more by Erica Ridley. It will be interesting to read the other stories in her new series.
I volunteered to read this book from WebMotion in exchange for my honest feedback, the thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.

This was a fun read, I liked the witty humor, the sweet connection that took them by surprise. I could have easily read another hundred pages. Looking forward to the next book in this new series.

Erica Ridley and Darcy Burke are two of my very favourite romance authors, so when I found out they were writing a series together, I was over the moon! There are going to be 8 books in The Wicked Dukes series, with Erica writing the odd-numbered books and Darcy the even.

This is a really promising start to the series and a really entertaining romance! As always, Ridley’s hero and heroine make sparks fly immediately – the banter borders on aggressive at their first meeting, which is so much fun to read. The plot is pretty unusual: the Duke of Colehaven takes on a wager that he can get his friend’s unmarriageable sister married (though he isn’t allowed to cheat by marrying her himself). Though wagers are common to kickstart romances, I’ve not seen a hero actively meddle with a heroine’s love life before – it’s usually the other way around! Cole is rather flummoxed by the feisty Diana when he finally meets her, and it soon becomes clear that finding her a husband is not going to be as straightforward a task as he’d assumed.

Diana is a really fun heroine, largely because she has absolutely no interest in catching a husband – not at all, not even in the back of her mind. She has a scientific interest in numbers and a philanthropic interest in the everyday life of the lower classes. I loved how utterly frustrating she finds Cole’s insistence on spending time with her, and her slow realisation that she actually does like him is really well-sketched. These two are so good for each other, with their quick wits, and their life goals are actually really similar, which they would realise if they stopped to think about it. It’s great to see Diana stand up for her views, and for Cole to be so accepting of her unique attitudes.

The side characters are well-defined, and I really love the atmosphere of The Wicked Duke tavern, so I’m looking forward to seeing which of the friends get stories in the rest of the series! This book feels like a great read for a cozy afternoon in with a big cup of tea, which is everything I ask for from a historical romance, so it gets five stars from me!

I enjoyed the quirky personality and eccentricities that Diana had. She had a multi-dimensional ability in solving mathematical problems. Whether they be simple math, chess, household duties. She was also extremely efficient and strove to help others streamline their household to their best effectiveness. Her heart was in the right place although some may see her as over the top. But those who loved her, loved her as she was. Cole is a Duke. He began life in poverty before the title came to him. He felt he had to improve the life of all especially the working class. He takes his place in Parliament and House of Lords trying to make a difference. Even though he and Diana never met they had so much in common although went about it in opposite ways. The relationship between them began based on a wager that Cole would be able to marry Diana off before the season was over. An interesting read.

I will start by saying that I received an Advance reader copy of this book in exchange for this review. I enjoyed reading , One Night for Seduction. The Duke of Colehaven, who never turns down a challenge bets his friend, Thaddeus Middleton that he can find a match for his ward and cousin, Diana. Of course Diana doesn't want to find a match and does her best to avoid Colehaven. Diana has other ambitions and is more interested in her work than finding or having a husband who would limit her work. It is a test of wills and trying to decide what each desires out of life. The plot may be a little light but I found that I cared about the characters and that I wanted to see how they resolved their issues. I also found myself wondering which of the secondary characters would be in the next book as I cared about them finding happiness as well. As usual Erica Ridley made me care and pulled me in for a enjoyable read.

Erica Ridley is my favorite Duke-to-go-book-writer. She has the ability to write about historical facts, but make them swoon worthy. How cool is that? So yeah The 1815 Weights and Measures Act was real, but it wasn't the Duke of Colehaven who got the act passed through parliament. Who cares? Cole was probably a lot hotter than King George. And maybe King George didn't have a smart and witted woman named Diana Middleton to prove the necessity of the act. But then the story wouldn't have been as enticing as it was now. Diana is happy to live a double life: she secretly disguises as servants or commoner to ensure that nobody gets at the wrong end of a business deal as a result of bad measurements. However, in order to keep her double life, she has to stay out of marriage. Therefore being her ward is an almost impossible task. So when the Wicked Duke dares Cole to find Diana Middleton a husband, he agrees. How hard could it be to find a husband for the beautiful woman? Well... he is about to find out. Hurray for yet another wonderful series of Erica Ridley: the Wicked Dukes Club series. I'll be awaiting the other parts. Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

First of the Wicked Dukes series, One Night for Seduction features a heroine with pretty modern sensibilities who loves maths and measurements and an unlikely Duke committed to being a man for the people.

Diana is a self imposed spinster on a mission and the Duke is on a ten year wager winning streak who agrees to hook his friends ward/cousin up. But when Cole meets the wallflower, he realizes she is anything but…and sparks quickly fly.

This was a really quick read, enjoyable, with lots of great chemistry between the H/H and a sweet romance (although with a few steamy/vanilla scenes…they were pretty limited in detail, but definitely on the page). She is a virgin, and devoted to being a spinster, but not devoted to her maidenhead. When Cole seems persistent, she is suggests an alternative…thus the title.

More of a novella then a novel, this took a couple hours to read and was fun, light and took a bit of a suspension of disbelief. Although Ridley knows her stuff, she definitely plays with the era so that we have a heroine who is bucking convention…to say the least. Her motivations, perhaps, were unclear and so made her crusade to bring accurate measurements to the Kingdom a bit unbelievable. But it also made her romance more interesting, so I found myself lowering the raised eyebrow and relaxing into the story.

Cole was not supposed to be the heir, and so has had to work doubly hard to feel legitimate. He really is the stuff of dreams…handsome, wealthy, and really kind. Maybe a bit arrogant, but confidence can be an aphrodisiac. He also has a nice little learning curve where he learns to appreciate his lady as an equal partner.

Readers ready for a short, sweet and optimistic romance will cherish this shorty that serves up a bit of history with a limited angst romance.

★★★★★★ 4 out of 6 Intellectuals and philanthropes fall in love

http://www.regrom.com/2019/04/23/erica-ridley-one-night-for-seduction/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2796265199?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This was a great start for a new series. I loved how their story starts with Cole thinking he can match Diana off to some other gentleman, but ends up falling for her himself. Diana is a strong woman worried about losing herself in a marriage, I was happy to see Cole come around to seeing he was trying to change her into what he thought she should be.

Three and a half stars

Diana Middleton is a singular young lady. Obsessively interested in order and justice she masquerades as a barrister's clerk testing weights and measures in local shops. She has campaigned (anonymously) for reform of the anarchic weights and measures system in the UK which has 27 different definitions of a bushel.She knows her eccentricities could cause her cousin, and guardian, Thaddeus Middleton to suffer the scorn, ridicule and perhaps ostracism from the ton, should they be known. In order to avoid having her activities curtailed or prohibited she is determined not to marry and has deliberately made herself into a wallflower.

Thaddeus is one of three founders of the tavern and brewery known as the Wicked Duke, one night he laments to his two best friends, the Duke of Eastleigh and the Duke of Colehaven that his ward is unmarriageable and dares the Duke of Colehaven to find her a husband by the end of the season.

Colehaven finds Diana to be a world of contradictions, dressed in such a way that she blends into the wallpaper at society balls, she nevertheless has a keen mind and proves more than capable of engaging him in wide-ranging discussions of politics and sexism and weights and measures (of course). Pity Diana's outspokenness and appearance preclude her from being the Duchess of Colehaven ...

I'm always a sucker for a brilliant heroine, constrained by society who teaches the hero a lesson, especially when he thinks he's rescuing her and this is no exception. However, I felt the novel was too short and didn't really have time to develop the romance between them.

I received a free copy of this book from the author, via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.

I hope the rest of this series is as good as this book. I am new to Erica Ridley’s writing but so far
I really enjoy it. Her characters and story line are unique and interesting but also believable. Diana is a saucy “spinster” working hard to make sure town vendors are not overcharging the townspeople. She refuses to change her ways or be “owned” by a husband. Colehaven is a duke that has not lost a wager in 10 years. He was determined to find Diana a husband. I really enjoyed the twists and turns their story took. I am so looking forward to the next book.

One Night For Seduction is the first book in the Wicked Dukes Club series. The Wicked Dukes in question being a tavern owned by two dukes who met at Oxford and a place where all are welcome no matter what their standing in life is. One of the owners is Caleb Sutton, the Duke Of Colehaven, (Cole) a man who never expected to inherit a dukedom and therefore feels he is being judged on his behaviour and so, in historical parlance, has to make a better fist of it than someone who was born to the role. The one thing he can’t resist though is a wager and when one of his friends dares him to find a husband for his cousin, what else is he supposed to do but accept the challenge. Diana Middleton, a twenty-five year old self-proclaimed spinster has no interest in marriage and is fixated on her quest to single-handedly bring order to the weights and measure system and the dishonest tradesmen who use the confused system to swindle the unsuspecting public.

While I liked the character of Cole I just couldn’t find anything about Diana that made me warm to her. She came across as quite a selfish and self-absorbed person who thought that no one but she could care about injustice. She was blind to how much her cousin cared for her and couldn’t see that he had her best interests at heart and only wanted to see her happy. At first I thought my dislike was because she was a ‘modern day’ character set in a historical setting but when I thought about it some more I realised wouldn’t have liked her any more if she had been a character in a contemporary novel. I did enjoy the character of Lady Felicity, Cole’s sister and I’m hoping that she might end up with her own story one day. I do enjoy Erica Ridley’s writing and my dislike of one character won’t prevent me from reading the rest of this series.

ONE NIGHT FOR SEDUCTION is the first book in the Wicked Dukes Club series. They are meant to stand alone, but I believe it is always best to read the first in any series first as it sets the tone.

There was never any doubt that Colehaven, Cole to his friends, was going to lose the wager and win the prize of a lifetime, Diana. How they got there was a game worthy of a master chess player.

He may be in his thirties, but it took maturing to realize how to woo the lady to be his duchess. Sigh! This story was adorable, sweet, at times maddeningly obvious, but all together perfect. I couldn’t think of two people more meant to be together. Until the next two people that Erica Ridley presents to us, of course.

I love the idea of this series, and Darcy Burke is a new-to-me author, so I’m looking forward to the next book to see how she writes.

Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC via NetGalley, my opinions are my own and are given freely.


Title: ONE NIGHT FOR SEDUCTION
Series: Wicked Dukes Club #1
Category /Genre: Historical Romance
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing: received as an unedited ARC / errors excused
Received from: Erica Ridley (as an ARC gifted copy)

Charming, warm and excellent company are words that apply to both the characters and the book. If you love Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Mary Balogh then this is definitely one for you. Shut out the modern world and enjoy some historical romance. Thanks to Webmotion and Netgalley for providing me with this free ARC.

I read this over a few days since time was an enemy of mine. I just couldn’t seem to manage more than a bit here or there. I think it took a little something away from the story as I prefer to read all in one sitting when possible. I really enjoyed this book dispite the limited amount of time per sitting.

It’s a very sweet and nearly completely clean read. Only mild petting. Definitely PG rated. As with all of the books Ms. Ridley writes the character extremely well and very believable. I always enjoy reading previous characters that pop up in her current books. It makes it seem like I’m reading about family.

I received this as a free book from Netgalley and I am voluntarily giving my opinion.

ONE NIGHT FOR SEDUCTION by Erica Ridley was such a fun and - surprisingly -informative book! I received a pre-release copy and have offered to provide this review, which was not difficult, since I enjoyed the book very much.

Diana Middleton is a spinster and she’s perfectly happy with that. Her guardian/cousin, Thaddeus, is not. Over many mugs of ale at The Wicked Duke tavern, Caleb Sutton, Fifth Duke of Colehaven, agrees to the wager that he will find this unmarriageable girl a suitor by the end of the season. After all, he, Cole, is known for always winning his wagers. How hard can this one be?

Well, after his first meeting with Diana, it didn’t seem that one of the wager’s stipulations was going to be a problem: the specification that HE could not be the suitor. Cole certainly was not attracted to dowdy girls who could be mistaken for a shy maid. However, after spending more time with her, an unusual thing began to happen. He found that, somehow, the tables had been turned and by her very uniqueness, Diana seemed to be always on his mind.

I found the book to move briskly - no dragged out scenes in this one - and truly had fun learning about some issues very specific to the times. Not only that, I was absolutely floored by the sweet ending that showed that love truly comes in all types of forms. This is an absolutely winning way to begin a new series, Wicked Dukes Club. It promises to be a great !

When I first started reading this book I thought I would not be able to put it down ....but as I got into it I found it slowed down. I did finish it but it took longer than anticipated now don’t get me wrong I did like the story I just found it a bit slow.

This book begins the Wicked Dukes series and the story centres around Caleb Sutton, fifth Duke of Colehaven who along with two other Dukes, Thaddeus and Valentine, have been meeting up in a tavern, known as the Wicked Duke for 10 years. The plot of this novel centres around Cole taking on a bet to marry of Thasseus's ward, Diana; Cole naively thinks this will be a quick and easy task, until he actually meets her.
Diana, from the moment they meet is a cause of upset and confusion, she's intelligent (with her study but not with people), passionate, has a strong mind and the determination to make changes in the world. This I must admit is the aspect that frustrated and eventually bored me. The 1815 Weights and Measurement is a real piece of legislation, and although it's interesting to see the importance of having a simpler system, Diana is obsessed with it and very repetitive; so she just well... bored me. The Duke of Colehaven saved the day, as his character was fun and his reactions humorous.
I don't read a lot of historical romance novels, so maybe my expectations were wrong. Overall, it was okay and there were entertaining moments, but I think my disinterest in the principal female character stopped my enjoyment. I'll read more Erica Ridley books and certainly won't be put off by Diana.

I immensely enjoyed this latest steamy Regency romp from Erica Ridley. Sparks and passions fly as a wallflower with a penchant for disguise matches wits with a duke out to win a bet. His grace has a ten-year winning streak to protect! How hard can it be to find a husband for an unmarriageable spinster?

A fun, witty, sexy and engaging romance filled with interesting charters and heart pounding twists. Was a great adventure from beginning to end and was so fun to read. Loving this series and look forward to reading more adventures from the Wicked Dukes Club.