This book didn't work for me. There was no connection or chemistry between the characters. The plot itself was boring.

Regency Romance with a Bit of Intrigue

Isadora wants to belong to the Wicked Ladies Club; she does not want to get married. Thomas wants to rent the same space Isadora is looking to rent for her club; he also decides Isadora will do just fine as his duchess. Can he convince her? The duke wants a wife, but he is not interested in love. His work for the Home Office is quite dangerous, Wagers, intrigue, and romance follow. I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to those who like Regency romance with intrigue.

A strong, ahead of her time, striving to remain single and the Duke striving to change her mind. What's not to love? Very enjoyable read.
Thank you Rachel Ann Smith, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

This was great, I love a woman who wants to avoid marriage, and this was also a well done spy plot, which often can be weak, this was not
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Another wonder from Dragonblade. This publisher houses the best love stories. So different and so good. This one is about Lady Isadora, who wishes/needs to remain single is our heroine. Our hero is Tom, the "Duke of Aces", who wishes/needs her to NOT remain single. Let the games begin!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After seeing her younger sister marry, many would expect that Lady Isadora Malbury hopes for the same this season. However, Isadora wants to continue to be a part of the Wicked Ladies Society, a secret group, where membership is dependent on marital status. As the leader for this season, it's her duty to rent their headquarters, and when the secretive Duke of Avondale, the brother of the lady she is scouting to join, bids on the premises, it's war. Avondale has a secret, and not many people know he is an agent for the crown. He knows Isadora has secrets, but she seems to be the perfect woman to be his Duchess. But will he be able to convince her of that?

I liked that the series has taken a turn with this book, and there's more of a mystery element to the plot. Avondale and his sister, Charlotte, are agents for the Foreign Office, and there's not many people they can trust other than each other. Charlotte wishes to join the Wicked Ladies Society and discover more about the ladies who are a part of the group. Isadora is sent to see whether Charlotte would be able to keep the truth from her brother, and in turn, she learns more about the Duke. Though they don't have many interactions at first, Avondale decides he wants her, and sets out to make her his duchess. I liked that she didn't back down easily, and forced him to realise that a marriage of convenience is not for him, and he wants love in his life. We learn more about Minerva's dream for the future too, and I can't wait to see her find her happiness with Drake!

Loved everything about this story. Tom & Isadora are fantastic, as is the rest of the cast. The story was interesting, unique, and filled with all the good stuff. I thought it was fast-paced and could not put it down. Well done.

The Duke of Aces by Rachel Ann Smith is the second book of the Ladies of Risk. I enjoyed this story more than book one, but just barely. In book one, “An Earl Unmasked” I became very frustrated with the lack of plot and character development - sadly I must report this book is written the same way. I characterize these stories as fluff romance—nothing too deep or emotional throughout the story. I think the books could have been much better if the author had just dug a little deeper. This is my second book I have read by Rachel Ann Smith so I am not sure if all of her books are so emotionless but this series definitely fits that description. Inevitably I found myself completely indifferent to the characters - whether they live or die, are happy or miserable, fall in love or not - I couldn’t make myself care.

The overall premise of the story is Lady Isadora Malbury is part of the Wicked Ladies Salon, if she wants to remain that way she must remain unmarried. The Duke of Avondale, also known as the Duke of Aces, decides he needs to marry. He is a secret agent and his bride must be trustworthy. So, because he is drawn to Lady Isadora he decides she will be his wife. Then comes her period of indecision…they wager…they marry. The end.

Nothing fancy or extra.

Another beautiful book cover 😉

📚I received a review copy from Dragonblade Publishing - all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for the opportunity to read. 🦄

Quite enjoyed this book. It's part of a series but stands alone. I found the whole Wicked Ladies Salon a little far fetched but it was a fun read. I liked Isadora though and I like plot mechanisms that brings together groups of friends like this Salon does. Avondale is involved with the foreign office, great at cards and sets his sights on Isadora quite early on. This does avoid any sort of tortured "oh but I never want to get married" shenanigans you get in a lot of these books which can feel quite tired. Isadora's sister is interesting too and I'm hoping there's a book about her coming up!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

I read this after reading Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon and it was interesting some of the similarities between the stories. Both had strong, intelligent women who valued their independence and supporting other women, and both had male characters who valued and supported strong independent, intelligent women.

Isadora Malbury is selected to lead the secret ladies group, the Wicked Ladies Salon, for the season, and to be a member, one has to stay unmarried. She has successfully kept her unmarried status for 2 seasons, and is determined to stay that way. She has told her older sister, Minerva, that she is determined to marry only after Minerva has married, and Minerva is the Malbury who has issued the challenge that she would only marry someone who can beat her at chess - and no one has been able to so far.

Tom, the Duke of Avondale, has determined that he would wed this Season, and after observing Isadora from afar, has determined she would make a good duchess. He and his sister are spies for the Foreign Office, and he determined Isadora is intelligent and independent enough that he would be able to continue his efforts with the FO, and she would be able to keep his secrets and manage the duties of a duchess well. It would be a good marriage of convenience.

However, he has to overcome her desire to stay unwed. Luckily they both like a challenge and he depends on his luck and skill at gambling to win, and offers her a series of wagers. They both want to rent the same property for their various activities, and he uses that as incentive for their gambles. If he wins, he can court her... if she wins, she gets the lease on the property.

The closer they get, more more they learn about each other, and Beatrice realizes there is more to Avondale than she thought, and they become closer. Avondale finds that she is perfect not just in her intelligence and independence, but he is growing fond of her, and trusts her, and her sense of adventure makes her a more than perfect match for him.

I enjoyed the development of Isadora and Avondale's relationship with each other. Their banter and challenges to each other was fun, and I liked how they grew to appreciate each other. I quite liked his history and his family's history with the FO, and how he was recruited to work for them, as was his sister. I almost wish there was more about that, though that may have bogged the story down. I was befuddled and intrigued by Minerva's storyline too, and how/why the odious Mansville is obsessed with her, and what is with Drake and Minerva, and the mystery about Drake and his actions and background and why he doesn't move forward with Minerva. Also, why is Minerva not part of the Wicked Ladies? She knows about it, is a single lady, etc. I hope these are clarified in a future story.

4 stars out of 5.

Two individuals with secrets match wits in this story. Lady Isadora has been put in charge of the Wicked Ladies Salon this year; and Thomas, the Duke of Avondale is a secret agent for the Foreign Office. They both want to rent Wembly Hall for the Season, so they enter into a competition with the winner renting the hall.

Great characters! Rachel Ann Smith continues to give us information about the Malbury family. I am really looking forward to reading the next book!

This is book 2 in a series and I did not read the first book. One reason I did not read it was because I don't like to read historical books that are centered on being a spy for the crown etc. I thought this story would be more about balls and house parties and not on spying etc. It turns out that it was not what I was looking for and expecting. That said it was well written and the story was interesting, its just not my cup of tea.

In this book we meet Lady Isadora Malbury who enjoys a laidies club where to stay part of the club she must stay single. The Duke of Avondale, also known as the Duke of Aces marry. He is an spy and needs a wife who can keep secrets and so he saw Isadora at a house party and thinks she would make a perfect wife. And so he has to convince her to give him a shot when she wants to stay single.

The second book of Ladies of Risk series, this one captured my attention and held it all the way just as the first one. Thomas is a duke, and a spy for the Home Office. He has decided it's time for him to marry and when he meets Isadora, he decides she would make the perfect duchess. Isadora is a member of the Wicked Ladies Salon and the requirement to belong is that she be single. The only way she would give up the Wicked Ladies is if she married for love. When her and the Duke enter into a wager, both get more than they bargained for and both are at risk of losing their hearts.
This was another delightful read and a great addition to the series. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Good read, quick and enjoyable. First book from this author that I have read. Good for fans of Bridgerton

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.

This is an historical romance there is this "club" of unmarried women, our protagonist has made "peace" with the fact that she hasn't married, and she is okay with it, she makes a wager with "the duke of Aces" and chemistry does what does best, find them and link them.

It was an enjoyable read, recommended for those who love historical romance.

I really enjoyed Thomas and Isadora's story. I really enjoyed watching these two navigate their way to their HEA. Thomas was set in his course, but really had to work hard to get Isadora is buy into it. Which of course cause all kinds of antics, LOL!

The Duke of Aces by Rachel Ann Smith is the second book of the Ladies of Risk. Lady Isadora Malbury must remain unmarried if she is to continue to be a member of the Wicked Ladies Salon. She has survived two Seasons without a proposal, and she sees no problem surviving another, until she begins a wager with the Duke of Avondale, also known as the Duke of Aces. The Duke has decided it is time for him to marry. He is an agent of the Foreign Office, so he needs to make sure the woman he chooses to be his wife can keep this secret. He is drawn to Lady Isadora. He wants to make her his wife, and he knows the best way to make it happen is to wager with her.

This was a quick read. I enjoyed the secretiveness of the Wicked Ladies Salon, and I thought the couple were a nice match.

3 stars

Didn't really work for me. First the hero didn't want to marry then he did. The heroine was part of the wicked ladies who didn't really seem to do much. There was the use of the word intel, which my kindle dictionary tells me is a 1980 abbreviation.and the more common stoop which I don't think we have here in England. I thought it was going to be interesting when the authorities were going to send the hero to france (though why they'd send a duke and not a less prestigious target baffled me) but this didn't happen and they just got married.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Isadora Malbury is going to lead the Wicked Ladies Salon which is secret that too many people seem to know about. She has to stay single and that will be easy as she plans not to marry before her sister, Minerva But the Duke of Avondale has decided to wed and she is his choice. How can he convince her that is the question. The more he thinks about it he is falling in love and she is in love with him. How does she make the promise she has made to herself. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read the story.

I skipped so many pages of this " steamy story". Obviously, I did not do a good enough job scouting out the type of book this is. My poor review is not just the sexual content, as much as it does not flow properly. There are ways to write sensual stories without being this graphic.
I cannot recommend. Thank you.
carolintallahassee