I love stories where the heroes have a special need. Although it is not specifically cited, Edward, the Duke, has all the hallmarks of a person on the autism spectrum. This makes his character have an extremely dry wit and no sense of humor. Georgiana is not Duchess material but finds herself becoming one. The story has a deep sense of compassion for others who are different. Both Georgiana and Edward had things that made them different from others but made them perfect for each other. Being able to love each other and share their lives together gave them the opportunity to heal and grow.

This was my first Eva Devon book and it will not be my last. I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

The moment our main characters meet is such a fun scene, with great banter and delicious tense. Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Thornfield, is making his way to his private library for a moment of calm before he has to join the party going on. He finds a woman sitting in his chair and he gruffly asks her to leave.
Miss Georgiana Bly refuses his request. His shabby clothes make her think he's a servant. When she still refuses to leave, he promises to kiss her if she doesn't leave and before they know it they're wrapped up in their kiss that they don't notice Aunt Agatha in the doorway, proclaiming Georgiana the next Duchess of Thornfield.

Georgiana was content with her life as it was and had no plans of ever marrying. Now she must spend time with the icy duke learning how to be a duchess, and fighting their undeniable attraction,

My favorite scenes were when they met first met in the library, their wedding night, and when he takes her to meet the horses he rehabs and tells her why he is the way that he is.

Thanks so much to Entangled, NetGalley, and the author for this ARC to review.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.

This book was everything I hoped it would be, full of smoldering romance!
I completely pulled into spectacular story that Eva Devon has created. The two protagonists were easy to relate to. What a delightful read, I enjoyed it immensely.

Set in 1795, Edward Andrew Richard Stanhope, the sixteen Duke of Thornfield has so far been able to avoid many young ladies well laid plans considering matrimony.
His Aunt Agatha has taken thing into her own hands, she is determined to see him wed and ultimately produce an heir.
In a course of events Edward escapes to his private library. A place that that offers him comfort and solitude when his escalating rise of anxiety hits him.
But alas his sanctuary is occupied by a woman, who of things is sitting in his treasured chair. The situation escalates and in an unplanned moment caution goes out the window. In a series of events the two find themselves bond together.

A wonderful romantic, heartfelt book, that whisked me back time to another era. Through Eva Devon’s expert narration and detailed imagery I found myself lost within the pages of this delightful tale The fully developed characters come to life and are believable. The chemistry is off the books and the romance between the two protagonists was compelling. The heat was perfect and it will have flipping those pages long after your bedtime.

This was truly a absolutely gorgeous start to a new romantic book series!

This was my first book by Eva Devon and I will be reading more of them.
Aunt Agatha forces a house party on her nephew in hope of a forthcoming marriage. Out riding with guests, Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Thornfield, thwarts an attempt by a debutante to trap him into marriage after they landed in a muddy ditch. Stripping off his ruined coat, he runs to his private library. It’s his oasis from people and overwhelming sounds only to find an upstart woman in his favorite chair. He rather rudely orders her out.
Georgiana Bly may be a spinster and from a barely respectable family, but she will do no such thing. The very idea that a footman would treat her in such a manner is insupportable. She refuses and asks him to build up the fire. The Duke is half shocked and half amused so he threatens to kiss Georgiana if she won’t leave and follows through on his threat. Enter Aunt Agatha and a gaggle of debutantes to witness the ruination of Georgiana, unless of course, the Duke takes pity on her and announces their engagement.
Edward is clearly suffering from Asperger’s or a high functioning form of autism and can’t stand loud noises or being surrounded by people. He came off as an icy unfeeling man but underneath he cares deeply for his family and all he’s responsible for including the tenants on his land. His true character is slowly revealed in layers with hurt feelings on both sides. Georgiana thinks the marriage just might make it on mutual admiration, that is, until the wedding night ends with Edward working on the estate books.
It’s a wonderful story that reveals each character’s flaws and how they work out their issues.

It's a catastrophe.

It started with a chair.
Edward, the Duke of Thornfield, just fended off another desperate debutante trying to trap him, when minutes later, he is caught kissing Georgiana, a miss from the Yorkshire dales, in his library. Compromised, they must wed. But they both know it will be a catastrophe.

What I liked was that Edward is a bit on the spectrum, suffers from social anxiety in large crowds or groups of people. Ironically, Georgiana also actively avoids crowds and social gatherings. She's a spinster with limited social exposure.

Edward is very constrained by societal norms and expectations while managing his condition. In plain words, he's no cad and does the right thing, even though he was a rake at Oxford. Georgiana knows herself and is very comfortable in who she is as she is forced into her role of duchess.

Witty banter, attraction and verbal sparring make for an engaging read.
Recommend.

The Spinster and the Rake is an enemies to lovers, forced marriage romance. The Duke of Thornfield has a reputation of being not only a rake (a regency f-boy), but for being cold and aloof. Georgiana was happy to live out her days with her nose in a book and no plans for romance, until a steamy kiss locks them both in a marriage they don’t want.

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Ⓘ ⓁⒾⓀⒺⒹ
+Georgiana was a fun female protagonist to read about, she was an intelligent, book loving, feminist, who wasn’t afraid to hold her ground in a time that would be frowned upon.
+Edward read as neurodivergent and I loved to see the representation in a regency romance. I really enjoyed the character development for him.
+I laughed multiple times throughout this story, it was a great light hearted regency romance. I absolutely loved the epilogue!

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Ⓘ ⒹⒾⒹⓃⓉ ⓁⒾⓀⒺ
+I wish I could’ve seen more backstory to Georgiana, I feel as though her “spinsterhood” was hardly touched on and I would’ve loved to know more about why she felt that way.

This was a charming romance, clearly inspired by Pride and Prejudice, It was not a total parallel to that classic, imagine a Darcy with a condition akin to Asperger's Syndrome and you have an idea. I really liked it. I thought the writing was very good, the characters were three-dimensional, and the love scenes were fun.

If you want to read a book that seems to just fly through your fingers then this ones for you. The characters are so awesome and and entertaining. They make you cheer for them and make you get so mad that you just want to spit. On the other hand you just want to pick them up and give them a big bear hug. Do I recommend this book, oh with everything I can tell you! Run out and grab it!

The Spinster and the Rake as the first in Eva Devon’s Never a Wallflower Series. It’s a fun little trip through the ruination, education, and unlikely courtship of Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Thornfield, and Georgiana Bly, a spinster determined to remain one. The story is charming, with fun secondary characters that make this book a great rainy day read.

Edward is a rake, though he really didn’t come across as one to me. He seemed more awkward than anything, but I believed his character had anxiety issues which controlled his behavior . Not that he was a jerk or anything, just a bit out of his element, especially when dealing with husband-hunting women and the mothers that raise them. Which totally explains his reaction to Georgiana.

Georgiana is more comfortable surrounded by books than people. Having failed in securing a husband a few times, she’s settled on remaining unmarried and only runs into Edward because of her dislike of the whole social game. She’s high handed and snooty at first, which made me wonder if I’d like her at first. But through the story, she shows her intelligence, determination, and willingness to roll with circumstances. My favorite line from the book:

"If you must train me to be a better duchess, I must train you to be a better man."

There’s a bit of insta-lust in the beginning of the book, but that’s expected in these kind of books. This is a slow-burn romance that leaves the reader waiting, then extremely pleased with the results.

Ms. Devon’s books have never disappointed me and this one keeps that record solid. I really enjoyed this book. it had everything I wanted: fun characters, interesting set-up, and great writing to pull it all together. Can’t wait to see what’s next in the series.

When I saw the tag line for this book, I KNEW that I absolutely HAD to get my hands on it: “The marriage game is afoot in this clever blend of My Fair Lady meets Pride & Prejudice.” I remembered really liking Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (the play that the musical My Fair Lady is based on) and Pride & Prejudice is one of my all time favorite books. Plus, there is a dog in this book, and I love when there are pets!

The opening scene of this book is so funny, and the humor doesn’t disappear as the story progresses. We first meet Edward, our grumpy-doesn’t-like-company duke, as he’s throwing a house party that he is thoroughly displeased about. After a mishap, he finds a few spare moments to relax in his personal study in his special chair. However, he is in for a shock when he realizes his chair is already occupied.

Georgiana somehow found herself at the duke’s house party, an invitation that was a bit surprising as her family is more on the outskirts of the ton. She doesn’t get out much in company and doesn’t really possess social graces, so she slipped away for some quiet time alone. What follows next shows off her personality so well. She’s sassy, determined, and a quick wit.

Their relationship is sweet and passionate. They take the time to get to know each other even though they were thrown together under circumstances neither wanted. Watching their love and intimacy grow throughout the story was such a delight. I loved how they are both some patient with each other. They were both so into the other person and it was so refreshing that neither were trying to hide it. It was made clear between the two of them what they needed to make this relationship work. I loved the work that they both put into the relationship. TBH Edward is a really swoony hero!

A quick list of some other things I really enjoyed about this book: Captain, the dog, obviously. I wish we saw more of him even though I understand why we wouldn’t. Aunt Agatha is brittle and witty and a blast to hear from whenever she’s on the page; truly an icon. This book is actually a perfect blend of its two comp titles. Neither the aspects of My Fair Lady nor of Pride & Prejudice overtook the plot of this story. The inspirations were clearly there, but this book isn’t a retelling of either story. I really liked that!

I think that if you like historical romances or either of those comp titles, that you would enjoy this book! It’s fun, pretty light in tone, and the relationship is so soft.

**Special thanks to Entangled Publishing, LLC and Netgalley for the eARC! I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy of The Spinster and the Rake by Eva Devon. All thoughts and opinions are my own!**

This is the first book by Eva Devon that I have read and I totally enjoyed it. I loved the way Georgiana is a strong woman who speaks her mind and is not afraid to share her knowledge. Edward, the Duke of Thornfield didn't know what he had gotten himself into when he was found kissing Georgiana. He likes his life in a certain manner. Everything in it's place and everything done a certain way. One great kiss just blew up his orderly ways. I can't wait to see what is next in this series.

When Entangled Publishing asked me for a review of another Eva Devon historical romance, I couldn’t pass it up. After all, when a daring kiss leads to an unwanted marriage, the sparks will fly.

Edward Andrew Richard Stanhope, sixteenth Duke of Thornfield, is a private man with a very public title. His chilling and stoic temperament as well as his reputation as a rake is legendary so when he finds himself in a predicament with a spinster of questionable intentions and way beneath his station, it’s either ruination or marriage. One is out of the question and the other is going to be a challenge. Regardless, the woman is a menace and very enticing.

Miss Georgiana Bly just wanted to be by herself tucked away from the ball in the Duke’s private library, but because of mistaken identity, she accepts a challenge and is now to wed a very beautiful and overbearing Duke. “She’d rather join a convent than marry a man of his importance”, but it is what it is and Georgiana is prepared to “rule the room”. He plans to train her how to be a better Duchess so she will train him how to be a better man.

The interaction between Georgiana and Edward is volatile and tantalizing. His superior attitude and her bold talk are a fiery combination that starts as a slow burn and ends in an unexpected morning after. Edward is an honorable and unusual hero who is much more than what he seems. His control is important, but it is a façade. His struggle to tell Georgiana about his true self is heartbreaking and very revealing. Georgiana is extremely confident and smart and watching her rock the Duchess vibe is fun. However, it’s her love and acceptance of Edward that is truly her best trait.

The supporting characters are fun and essential to the growth of the main characters. Edward’s Aunt Agatha is essential for Georgiana’s training and Edward’s sanity. Georgiana’s mother is her strength and her buffoon of a father is reckless for whom Edward makes a selfless sacrifice. Of course, Edward’s one true friend, Andrew Althorpe, Laird of MacLiesh, Earl of Montrose, is great teasing comic relief and a nice love interest for Georgiana’s wise sister, Elizabeth.

I recommend this lovely historical romance with intriguing and awkward main characters who overcome their insecurities to make their marriage work.

Thank you to Ms. Devon, Entangled Publishing, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

I did like the characters very much, even though they were the complete opposites in some ways but very alike in others. They both enjoyed peace and quiet and a shared love of books. They obviously come from different spheres of society, although Georgiana’s mother was the daughter of an earl. I loved the way that Georgiana was open, honest and very intelligent. She had a daunting task ahead of her, learning how to be a duchess, but she had her mother’s example to help her. Edward, the Duke of Thornfield, was a complex person, he had the outward persona of an arrogant aristocrat that he showed to the world but that wasn’t his true self. The scene at Richmond was particularly endearing. This was a very engaging read. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Books like this are the reason I love historical romance so much. It's perfection; interesting characters, interesting times, and the scenes that will warm your heart, make you smile, and make it impossible for you to put it down. I loved every second and enjoyed every moment.
Georgiana simply wants to find a quiet place to hide. She hates social gathering and balls are the worst. Unfortunately for her, things took an interesting turn when she encounters a handsome man.
Edward wants a few minutes to himself. That's all. He doesn't expect to find an intriguing woman sitting in his chair and refusing to leave just because he asked. Not very nicely at that. But then, he doesn't do nice.
Now the two find themselves engaged which something neither of them want or need. What will this not-so-happy union bring? Well, that's anyone's guess.
A very well-written story which I highly recommend to the fans to historical fiction. You really don't want to miss this one.

This book was a refreshing change for me and the first book I've read from this author. I'm going to continue with this series when the next book is released (fingers crossed it's about her sister). Georgiana is a strong character, she's honest about her faults, realizes when she's intimidated and bravely faces her fears. Other than her father, her family was understanding and the women ahead of their time. Without spoiling some of Edward's character, it was the first time I've read a romance book during this time period with a character who faces some of the issues he faces, but once I read it, I realized that of course it was possible.

The Spinster and the Rake is the first book in Never a Wallflower by Eva Devon. A steamy historical romance that is sure to keep you turning the pages. The gorgeous dress on the cover does not do justice to the steamy undeniable chemistry between the characters. Once I started reading, I could not stop! I was drawn in from the beginning and could not turn the pages fast enough.  The epilogue was fantastic! I can't wait to read the next book in the Never a Wallflower series.

I am new-ish to historical romances and am always excited when I find a new author I like!

Georgiana and Edward's story was such an entertaining read. It was fun seeing their relationship grow and change as they got to know each other better. The plot was well paced and made it hard to put the book down.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and I am really looking forward to reading more books from the author!

The title of this book should already give you an idea of what’s to come in The Spinster and The Rake. While attending a ball at the Duke of Thornfield’s estate, Miss Georgiana Bly decides to take a break in the library. Only, she doesn’t realize that she entered the Duke of Thornfield’s private library. After a disastrous ride outdoors, Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Thornfield, enters his private library to relax before attending the ball his aunt is hosting. When Edward sees Georgiana relaxing in his favourite chair with a book, he asks her to leave. Georgiana does not realize that he’s the Duke and she refuses to leave. There is some banter and then BAM! They are making out LOL. To conclude, they get caught by his aunt, so now they are forced to get married even though they don’t know each other beyond one makeout session.

This was a pretty good historical romance, if a bit slow-paced. The timeline is very tight. Right after Georgiana and Edward are compromised, their betrothal is quickly announced. Georgiana is reasonable and logical and understands that this is the only way to save her family’s reputation. So she does not fight against her circumstances, but rather accepts her fate and makes the best of it. We spend time with Georgiana as she learns the duties and roles of a duchess and polishes herself before the wedding. At the same time, Georgiana spends time with Edward and while marriage may be unwanted on both sides, there is mutual desire brewing between them.

“If you must train me to be a better duchess, I must train you to be a better man.”

Edward is on the spectrum and because of that, he has a reputation for being icy and rude. Georgiana doesn’t see him as rude and icy at first, but at a certain point, she starts to see why society perceives him as cold and rude. I think the author did a great job developing that aspect of their relationship. Georgiana could not understand why Edward acted a certain way and Edward could not understand why Georgiana was hurt by his behaviour. There’s a solid metaphor that the author incorporates to help both Georgiana and the reader understand Edward intrinsically. There is quite a bit of insta-lust happening with Georgiana and Edward in the beginning, but they do have a good relationship development.

The final conflict is spot on and fits the narrative perfectly. However, I am not 100% sure how it was resolved in its entirety. We know what the conflict is and we know the results of the solution…but how did we get here? What happened to the other families that were affected by this conflict? The resolution happened quickly and I am still confused about it.

P.S. Continuity error: in the beginning, the heroine is described as having dark hair, but it is later revealed that she indeed has blond hair, as depicted on the cover. Hopefully this continuity error is fixed before publication.

One mistake can change the course of your life in an instant and for Georgiana Bly finding herself in a library belonging to a Duke doesn’t seem so bad. Edward isn’t your typical Duke. He’s closed off, not well liked, and misunderstood for lack of a better word. When he finds a young woman sitting in his chair threatening to kiss her is the last thing he should be doing.

A simple kiss can change everything. It’s a good book and enjoyable to read. I liked it a lot! I want to have Elizabeth’s book!!!

I absolutely loved this book. I loved these two characters, Georgianna and Edward, and their relationship. I really enjoyed the focus on the two of them getting to know each other and understand each other. This story has a forced marriage trope, and because of this the people are absolute strangers to each other. They maybe physically attracted to each other, but it takes a while for each of them to be comfortable opening up. Also, I really liked the dialogue. I thought the banter was superb. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author as I really liked the writing and the character interactions.