The heroine and the hero met through the heroine's pet pig. The heroine's brother is forcing her to marry a stranger to pay off a huge debt, the hero came forward and pronounced that he was courting the heroine. As the charade of courtship continues, the hero and the heroine began to fall in love. But other such a false start to the relationship, will the hero and the heroine have their happy ending when there is an ending to their fake relationship.

This is the second book in THE DARING LADIES series by Tina Gabrielle. I enjoyed this historical romance with such a nice story vibe to it. I liked both the heroine and the hero as individuals and as a couple. I also liked the supportive cast of secondary characters that were there for the couple. I would have liked a bit more presence of the heroine's pet spread throughout the story. Also, there were some descriptions that were confusing and could have been fixed. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this Tina Gabrielle book and look forward to reading more books from the series in the future.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **

Daniel Millstone, Duke of Warwick, is in the country to work on his inventions. Lady Adeline Foster is trying to escape her half-brother and his schemes to marry her off to pay his debts. She is a healer. She learned Eastern techniques and medicines from her mother. These two meet when Daniel comes to her cottage to complain about howling hounds. They don’t seem to like each other at first. It didn’t that her “guard” pig ran him over. When her half-brother comes to rather aggressively demand she marry the loan-shark, Daniel steps up to say he is courting her, and from there, an idea is born. Now they are off to London to prove to his godmother, her half-brother, and the Ton that they courtship is real. This is a charming, character-driven story about two people who don’t fit the mold Society expects. Daniel is a genius and, along with his duties, throws his energy into his inventions. Adeline is an Arab/English lady who is just as keen on her medical activities. She provides help to people who can’t afford fancy doctors. Will they be able to fool everybody until the end of the season? Can their fake courtship become more? Their path to HEA is definitely not an easy one, but it is not impossible. A good read with interesting characters.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

3 1/2 stars. I wasn't quite as drawn into this book as I was by a previous book I read by this author. This had strong modern rom-com vibes, using the "pretend engagement" trope to kick off the plot. I enjoyed it enough, but I will admit that I didn't really feel emotionally invested in the MC's or their HEA. I did love the fact that Warwick is an engineering nerd and Adeline is a healer from a culturally diverse background; her mother is Egyptian. And I liked how they discovered more of each other's interests as the book went on, but I sensed more of a friends-with-benefits vibe than strong chemistry between them. The pacing is pretty mellow and the conflict Adeline has with her brother resolves pretty swiftly.

One thing that put me off in the beginning was Adeline's rather snarky attitude. This might just be me turning into an old curmudgeon, but it's a pet peeve I've developed after running into similar MFC's in a lot of HR's. I know she's supposed to be your typical independent, confident Regency heroine, but there are ways to portray strong women without making them rude. Honestly, I thought she was more arrogant than Warwick. Warwick's attraction to her seems mostly physical and unfortunately, after some interesting insights about him (he was bullied by her brother at school) he's not a character with a lot of dimension.

Bottom line: this is lighthearted, fizzy, and a quick read. Good if you're looking for a rom-com style HR.

I read an advanced reader copy of this book and this is my voluntary review. Opinions are my own.

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The writing style made it very easy to read and enjoy. I found the story itself to be very sweet.

Bc they are fake "dating" they were kind of forced to spend some time together. There was definitely an instant attraction between them but their feelings developed slowly. The more time they spent together and talking the more they started liking each other.

I really liked both characters. They were very passionate in their work, him as an inventor and her as a healer. What I liked the most though was how supportive they were of each other. Even when they couldn't understand what the other did they always asked questions and just seemed genuinely curious to know more about them.

I dislike her brother so much. The only good thing he did was bring them together besides that he could get lost and I wouldn't care.
Her sister Mary, I liked her character. But Finding out she was older than Adeline threw me way off. The way they cared for her and talked about her made it seem like she was way younger to me.

"How Not to Marry a Duke" is the second title in Tina Gabrielle's "Daring Ladies" series. It can be read as a standalone, though reading the first entry could add to a reader's enjoyment as that couple does pop up in this story, as well.

Daniel. the Duke of Warwicke, has retreated to the country to work on his inventions and avoid his godmother's pressure on him to marry. His stay is interrupted by the arrival of his new neighbor, Lady Adeline Foster - and her multitude of animals, including her pet pig. While annoyed by his neighbor, Warwicke is also intrigued by her, and the fact that she is half-sister to an earl whom Warwicke has long considered to be a personal nemesis. For her part, Adeline has come to live in the cottage left to her by her father after being cast out by her brother, who cannot get past Adeline's half-Arab roots. Her desire is to be a healer, a skill passed on to her by her mother.

Adeline's brother, however, finds use in trying to sell Adeline to pay off a debt. Warwicke steps in and a fake courtship is born, with real feelings quickly developing underneath. The duo travel to London to convince Warwicke's godmother and Adeline's brother, while trying not to convince themselves.

This was an enjoyable, fairly easy to read romance. Like another reviewer mentioned, I wasn't thrilled with how the moneylender storyline was resolved since that action could have been taken at any earlier point. I also felt like a few plot points were left open - was Henry really shot by a hunter? How was the breech baby safely delivered? Did Warwicke really invent the lawnmower? But definitely worth a pick-up.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers/forced engagement story! It was such a fun read, and how Adeline and Warwick meet and get together is an enjoyable ride. It is a standalone within a series, and I am very interested in reading the rest of the series! A fun, easy read!

This was an entertaining read and I did like the main characters of Daniel Millstone, the Duke of Warwick and Lady Adeline. Warwick was a scientist and enjoyed improving inventions. Adeline was a healer and the daughter of an earl. Unfortunately, her parents had died and she was left to fend for herself, due to the resentment of her older half brother. Daniela nd Adeline do not have a good first meeting but gradual respect for each other grows. Would this grow into something more or are they both too intent in carrying out their own plans for their future. There are some interesting secondary characters, particularly Daniel’s godmother. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While there was some rare moments of diversity within the regency peerage, we must not fool ourselves. This was a very white and very exclusive club. The recent move to try to make the world more exotic and more welcoming among romance writers feels forced. I am all for diversity but it needs to be authentic not forced to fill some sort of quota.

When Adeline Foster’s pig attacks Daniel Millstone, the Duke of Warwick, she knows that is not a good sign. Whilst he is handsome, he is arrogant and not to Adeline’s liking. When her half-brother demands she marry to save him from financial ruin, Daniel announces that he is courting her. Soon Daniel’s life is thrown into a whir. They must convince the ton of their feelings, whilst trying to avoid their feeling.
This book did tend to stall in parts and then it seemed that the romance, was rushed. Some interesting aspects to the book included the element of medicine and Daniel’s interesting inventions. A sweet story overall.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first Tina Gabrielle, and it was an enjoyable read. Warwick is a bit of a conundrum as our hero -- described as a bit of a mad professor, despite being a Duke, he is also "Tall, dominating, and ridiculously handsome" -- perhaps a little too good to be true, but then, if you can't have a little fantasy in your romance novels, where can you? Adeline, a half-Middle Eastern healer is a great heroine, though spends a bit too long dwelling on her background, particularly when there is Lady Drake with a similar background, also well respected within the aristocracy. The counterfeit courtship between these two unlikely heroes was fun to watch progress, despite the logical approach for them both. Thanks Entangled for the ARC -- I definitely recommend!

No ordinary earl's daughter...

Lady Adeline Cameron, the daughter of an earl and an Arab commoner, is in the country, bequeathed a country cottage from her father upon his death. She's a skilled healer and even has a pet pig named Henry.

Daniel, the Duke of Warwick, is an innovator, a genius focused on his "work" improving others inventions. He definitely has ADHD and avoids society for his work. He comes to Adeline's aid (very reluctantly) when her half brother demands she marry a moneylender to pay off his debt. Her half brother also happens to be his choldhood bully. They concoct a plan to fake a courtship for the season. Adeline so she doens't have to marry a swarmy moneylender and Warwick to avoid marriage for one more season to focus on his work.,

So, its off to town for balls and walks in Hyde Park and to face all the doubters.
Who doesn't love a duke who marches to his own quirky and inventive drummer who is unexpectedly charmed by the healer next door?
Highly recommend. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can highly recommend it.

Adeline and Daniel, the Duke of Warwick were so cute! I loved that they were both really smart and passionate about their their own professions; for Adeline it was healing and for Warwick it was inventing. They were both so supportive of each other and I loved that they really tried to be friends and advocate for each other. Case in point when Warwick was trying to make sure that Adeline wasn't stuck in an awful forced marriage I also appreciated how nice he was to Hasmik and not at all dismissive of their heritage and especially didn't look down on Adeline for her mixed heritage.

All in all this was a really enjoyable book, though I did think that the fake engagement dragged a little too long. Fortunately they both came too their senses and decided that they couldn't live without each other.

I received a free copy through NetGalley and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great title and it actually matches the story. Cute first meeting. I loved it, pig and all. I thought the first part of the book was really good and kept me reading at lightning speed. Then, the story kind of fizzled for me. I felt that the relationship between Warwick and Adeline was more friends that lovers through the majority of the story and I wondered if it would ever turn to love. While this is fine, I was expecting more especially after the first book in this series (which I loved). It is slowwwww burn if that is what you like. Some of the scenes seemed disconnected from the rest of the story and I am not sure why they were inserted into the story. The story does pick up and I really enjoyed the epilogue.

I have read many of Tina’s stories and even though her writing is amazing, I thought this story lacked that umph it needed.

I clearly admit that the first line of the cover description for How Not to Marry a Duke (“From the moment her pet pig attacks him, Adeline Foster knows she does not care at all for the Duke of Warwick.”) I knew that I had to discover more about not only the pet pig but the lady who trusts her pet’s reactions to a man more than anyone’s. I’m so glad I took that chance, especially when I discovered that the author considers the stories within this series as stand-alone titles. I will go back to the beginning of any series, but if I can dive right in without that being necessary, then I’m going to without hesitation.

I had such fun with Daniel and Adeline’s story. Both have some interesting issues to be dealt with as in Adeline’s overbearing half-brother who intends to marry her off to a loanshark and Warwick’s matchmaking relative who intends for the reclusive, inventor, genius, Duke, to no longer keep the family waiting for heirs. When Adeline moves into the badly in need of repairs property next door Daniel is beyond annoyed at the racket her dogs make along with just about everything about his new neighbor that is unsettling his rather boring and settled life. He’s in for quite the surprise when he goes storming off to put an end to the noise and gets bitten by Adeline’s overprotective pet pig, Henry.

When Daniel steps in between the siblings to declare that he and Adeline are courting to save her from the fate her odious half-brother has in mind for her, he never considered that his life might suddenly be changed in a way that was not all that objectionable. I loved their bantering, the feeling of, well, if not true enemies but friends turning into lovers that finally find their forever love right in front of them. Oh, it’s not always an easy road to their happy ending, but it is a steamy, emotional, laughter-filled experience that neither had expected.

There were a few things that I questioned or wished had turned out differently, but none of those things made an overall difference to my enjoyment of Daniel and Adeline’s romance. If you love a romance where you’ll spend a lot of time laughing at the antics of the animals, where a Duke finally comes out of his mental locked kingdom enough to notice a beautiful woman’s charm and a lovely healer with a heart of gold captures the man of her dreams… then you’ll enjoy this novel.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Release date: April 25, 2023

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this ebook, and this is my freely given opinion.

Daniel Millstone, the Duke of Warwick, is not interested in the lifestyle that is generally expected of someone of his social status. He is very focused on his own passions, which are science and technology based. Most of his peers in Society do not understand this, and neither did his own parents - leading him to be disdained by his own parents and given the moniker of the Mad Duke by Society. The only person who seems to understand him and support him is his godmother, Lady Heywood. But even then, she is pushing him to join in the whirl of the Season and find himself a bride, and do his duty to the Dukedom. As such, he has escaped to a small town where he plans on spending time focusing on making progress on his various inventions.

Except his new neighbour is very disruptive and distracting. Her hounds bark and yowl all night, and she as a particularly pushy pet pig. Not to mention that Adeline Foster is exotically beautiful, but also bold, intelligent, challenging, and the half sister of his nemesis. But when her step brother, who has never accepted her or her non-English mother, finds her and tries to force her into a marriage to take care of his debt, Daniel intervenes. Not only is it satisfactory to thwart his old enemy, but he proposes a scheme for a false courtship between the two to keep her brother from selling her off to the moneylender he is in debt to, and will hopefully also keep Daniel safe from his godmother's matchmaking.

This was a bit unevenly written with some slow and dragging bits and other bits being glossed over. Adeline's step brother seemed to be a bit too one dimensional as a villain, but I felt that he has potential as a character with greater depth. Yes, he was a horrible jerk and prejudiced towards her and her mother - but then his resentment could have greater meaning. After all, his father did not appear to have a loving relationship with his own mother, and then married an Arabian commoner extremely shortly after his mother's death. I could understand where the brother would be quite resentful of the new stepmother and her baby. It just felt that more could have been done with his character and his relationship with Adeline, especially when it is shown that he can be protective and caring for his other sister, and that he is characterized as being intelligent and cunning. The sideline mention of her sister's book and romance felt rushed and tacked on. Especially considering Mary's publishing effort seemed to highlight one of the theme's of prejudice against women, I would have liked a bit more about her growth and success as an author.

But I did like having a heroine with a diverse background and bringing in diversity into a Regency historical, and the Duke's appreciation of her intelligence and endeavouring to support her own desire to learn and pass on her knowledge and skill. I enjoyed how they connected through their appreciation of each other's intelligence and skill. Daniel was definitely not a lovey dovey, affectionate romantic hero - he is quite arrogant and very focused on his own endeavours, but then it just shows that he needs a special woman to get him, and get him out of his own shell and singular focus. Adding the medical history aspects to the story, and the animals is a bonus for me personally.

3.75 stars out of 5

4.25 stars!

This novel was exactly what I needed to get me out of my book slump! I've always loved the historical romance genre for its ability to transport me to another time and get me out of my head, and Tina masterfully accomplished that with Warwick and Adeline's story. I loved how both Warwick and Adeline were both unconventional in their roles amidst the ton; Warwick preferred machinery and his workshop over social events while Adeline felt most at ease surrounded by her herbs and helping others. Their courtship began as a way to gain some freedom for societal expectations but soon transformed into something real as they both spent more time together.

I enjoyed the many different elements Tina blended into this story as we don't often see them in the HR genre. My biggest complaint is the slow burn nature of Warwick and Adeline's courtship, but overall this was a fantastic read🖤

Tropes: fake relationship, frenemies-to-lovers, POC heroine, scholarly hero, class difference, will they/won't they, SLOW BURN, steamy🔥

I really love a fake relationship historical romance, and this one didn't dissapoint. This is the second book in a series but can be read as a standalone, they are connected through the MMCs in both books, and it's nice to see the characters from the previous book appear in this one.

When I first got this ARC, I read the first book in the series first, but in a was this was my first book by this author and there are a lot of things I enjoyed about this series. This books is not your typical fake dating story, it all happens accidentally after the Duke of Warwick meets Lady Adeline in the most unexpected way, they appear to be new neighbors as Adeline just moved, trying to get the farthest away from his brother and star a new life. But when her brother tries to marry her off that is were the Duke comes in, announcing he is courting Adeline therefore she cannot be married to anther, and that is how their ruse starts.

In order to pull of their charade they start spending quite a bit of time getting to know each other, and are plagued by their mutual attraction but both feel that they cannot do anything by it, while the build up was a little slow at the start of the book, I felt like the story picked up in the last 40% as Warwick and Adeline became more invested in each other and struggled with what to do about their feelings. Overall a great read and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Rating: 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // Spice: 2 🌶️🌶️

Thank you so much to the author and to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a sweet historical fiction romance set in Regency England. Adeline moves to her father's country home after he dies and her despicable half-brother inherits their father's title. Adeline's mother was from the Middle East and was not accepted by the ton, and Adeline is not accepted much either. Daniel is the Duke of Warwick and has retreated to his country estate to work on his inventions. When the duo meet-cute courtesy of Adeline's pet pig, it starts them on the path of a fake courtship for the remainder of the Season; Adeline to avoid a forced marriage by her half-brother, and Daniel to escape his matchmaking godmother and finish his work.

I liked the interaction between Daniel and Adeline, especially how much he appreciated and encouraged her academic pursuits. Despite being a very staid and proper gentleman, Daniel would rather get lost in scientific experiments than drink, gamble and chase women. Because of this, Daniel is surprisingly progressive in his attitudes toward woman and non-aristocratic people. Adeline wants nothing more than to use her medical training to provide much needed care to those who cannot afford it, but oftentimes people are leery of accepting help from a Lady. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, so I was down for that part of the story. Unfortunately, there is also some miscommunication in the story as well, which is my least favorite trope. That didn't override my overall enjoyment of the book, however, and the book is a quick and easy read to wile away an afternoon.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

An interesting and wonderful story to read. Danielle is an unusual Duke and Adeline is an unusual Lady. The author used the plot of a cross cultural relationship to describe fascinating details of their life and foods. The characters are wonderful and interesting. It is page turning worthy read where the princess is swept off her feet by her prince.

3.5 Stars
From the moment Harry her pet pig attacks him, Adeline Foster knows she does not care at all for the Daniel Millstone, the Duke of Warwick. But when her scoundrel half brother demands she marry a stranger over a failed investment, the duke does something shocking…he announces he’s courting her. One moment, Daniel is enjoying tinkering with his inventions in his quiet country home with relative anonymity. The next, he’s courting the wilful Adeline. However what began as a way to vex her half brother—his childhood nemesis—turns into something else. Now Adeline and her faux beau must convince the ton and their families that they’re courting. It doesn’t matter if they can barely tolerate each other. It doesn’t matter that scandal is only a touch away.
The second book in the series but it’s very easily read on its own. I really liked both Daniel & Adeline, they’re both intelligent, strong, stubborn & perfect for each other. It did take Daniel a long time to realise but as we got to know him it was understandable. I thoroughly enjoyed their road to a HEA but my quibble was that the villain didn’t get their comeuppance & I was up in arms as to what happened. When reading a romance I want a HEA & the villain to be punished & when either one of these doesn’t happen I feel let down
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read