4.5 stars!

It's been a while since I've read a Viv Lorret novel, but this book reminded me why I love her writing so much. She has such an effortless way of pulling you into the story and making you care for these characters that she weaves together. Magnus was such a great brooding and upstanding duke; he is simply trying to do his duty and provide for his family but is frustrated when his plans for advancement and self-control are repeatedly thwarted by Verity's wild spirit.

Verity is used to being overlooked and left behind in favor of her sisters but can't help her vexation and fascination with the stoic yet surprising Duke of Longhurst. I absolutely LOVED their witty banter and quietly sexy interactions that were smothered in sexual tension. However, my biggest complaint is the ending in which their separation felt drawn out and their reconciliation passed too quickly. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this first book and look forward to the rest of the series🖤

Tropes: frenemies-to-lovers, hate-to-love-you, brooding hero, misunderstood heroine, 'who did this to you' vibes, hurt/comfort, forbidden love, fake relationship, mild OW drama (no cheating), will they/won't they, slow burn, steamy🔥

If a girl lies about being engaged to the local duke, what harm can that cause, really? As it turns out, quite a lot. And it can set off a chain of events that involves some fake dating, some antagonists to lovers action, and hearts getting just a little too involved for anyone's liking.

Verity doesn't mean to tell her nemesis - and her family and everyone else who's around to hear - that she's engaged to the Duke of Longhurst. But she does, and then it's big news that makes it all the way to London where said duke is trying to secure a financially advantageous marriage. He heads home to sort everything out, only to find that Verity is a more difficult woman to walk away from than he anticipated.

There's a lot going on in this book, from Verity and Magnus's love story to the undercurrent of questionable investments and financial crimes, but it all comes together pretty well, making for a fun read with plenty of charm. Verity and Magnus have A+ chemistry the whole way through, especially when they're snipping at each other in the early chapters. If anything, the end drags a little, but all in all, a great time!

4/5

Gah I have to DNF this because I’ve tried so many times to read it and I just can’t. I can’t even explain why I just do not care and cannot get into it.

It Had to Be a Duke is such a great historical romance read! I loved Verity and Magnus's chemistry. I enjoyed the plot that made it so all the tropes I like were thrown in. And I loved Vivienne Lorret's writing style. She does such a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. I loved seeing all the growth for both of them. I am so so excited so see where this series goes next because these characters and side characters were all amazing. I loved that this one had a little bit of mystery and a little bit of drama, but we still got to see the characters fall in love.

Read this if you love:
- Family feud/enemies-to-lovers
- Forced proximity
- Fake engagement (sort of)
- Mystery
- Slow burn
- Monkeys

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This is a textbook perfect enemies-to-lovers, historical romance becoming one of my favorite reads of the year. Verity is a spinster at 26 when she lies about being engaged to the stuffy, grumpy duke Magnus, who also hates her family due to a past scandal. To save face, Magnus becomes a fake-fiance to Verity, but then catches feelings. A tale as old as time, but done so well by Lorret. This book balances great writing, banter, a fast moving plot, sweetness, and angst. This is how every historical romance should be: fun, engaging, romantic, and swoony. I just loved it, truly no notes or changes. I also think it’s worth mentioning that it is a fun book, there are some content warnings (family grief particularly) that are handled very well, as well as Verity’s insecurity. Again, just super well done, loved every word of it and read it in a couple of days (fast for me these days). I would even say this is a perfect gateway romance for getting into historical romance. I highly recommend this book for fans of historical romance, swoony romance, and great books.

When her boastful neighbor brags about her suitors, Verity claims she’s betrothed to a duke—her family’s enemy. Against all odds, rumors begin to swirl of their engagement. The duke discovers the source of the gossip and shockingly agrees to pretend to be Verity’s fiancé for one week. Will their false engagement turn into true love?

The courtship between Verity and her duke is light and fun. But there’s a lot going on in this book beneath the surface, regarding the rift between their two families. The book is entertaining with a hint of danger and intrigue. The sensual tension is high.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I love an historical fake dating romance. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and I rarely see it in regency novels, where marriage of convenience is much more common. But Verity keeps finding herself in embarrassing positions and declares to her enemy that she’s engaged to a duke. And that sets in a motion a fake betrothal storyline that is such much fun.

Verity is such a lovely character because she’s so relatable. She feels overshadowed in her family. She sees her own faults all too easily and has a hard time seeing all her wonderful traits. Magnus, even when he hates her family for a long-ago scandal, can’t help but see in her something she can’t. Their flirting comes in the form of banter and arguments, but in a way that works. Though he hangs on to old prejudices too long, they’re never cruel to each other. Their forced proximity (initiated by his meddling grandmother) makes them start to see each other in a new light, their feelings progressing very naturally and leading to a lovely romance with great chemistry.

Magnus leans a little TOO stubborn and the “villain” reveal was a little underwhelming, but there’s so much to love here that all the rest is easy to go along with. The supporting characters, from Verity’s siblings to Magnus’ almost fiancée, are dynamic and fun, even when they’re being a bit irritating. Lorret is obviously setting up a series, and I’m so here for it.

We’ve all lied when we’re not having a good day, right? As did Verity Hartley who thought “It Had to Be a Duke” she entangled in a fake engagement in Vivienne Lorret’s first book of her newest The Liar’s Club series!

The book starts off crazy, hilarious, and strong! And, we get more crazy, laugh out loud moments throughout the book especially when Verity and Magnus Warring, the Duke of Longhurst, are bantering.

I enjoyed Lorret’s choice to involve an ex-family friend in her ruse because of Verity’s nemesis, which helps reveal and mend the past. I love the wholesome familial and friendship aspect of the book, plus the suspense aspect to uncover past scandal details.

The story does get a little wild considering who Verity’s new friend in town is. The connection is not ideal however I appreciate that both have different feelings for the third party.

What I really appreciate in this book is Lorret’s plot twists and giving each main character time for further reflection and growth. Then the book makes an amazing, unexpected full circle with the duke’s grand and public gesture!

If you want to read about ex-family friends who have no verbal sparring filter towards each other yet find themselves in compromising positions, then I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager US for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This was an entertaining, well-written historical romance. It was fun, sweet and kept me reading. I enjoyed this historical romance and look forward to reading more books by this author.

A fake engagement, enemies to lovers, and sexual tension that radiates off the page = the perfect recipe for a spicy historical romance.

Verity never thought her little white lie about being engaged to her neighbor, Magnus the Duke of Longhurst would ever get back to him. Of course, she was wrong. Now just when he was arranging an advantageous marriage with an heiress, he has to rush back home to squash engagement rumors. Instead of exposing her lie, they agree to a short fake engagement to save face and end up falling for each other despite how aggravating they find each other.

I love Vivienne Lorret's books and while this one isn't my favorite; it was still a solid 4 stars. It lost a point when after the leads finally got together, they broke up AGAIN. At that point I was just like, really? It felt out of character for Verity to fight so hard to get her man and then not forgive him for something he did years ago when he believed her brother ruined his family. It was harsh. To have overcome so much to get to the HEA and just when you think you'll get a more HEA scenes, there's ANOTHER obstacle. It was just one too many obstacles for me. Poor Magnus. I really felt sorry for him a lot in this book.

I'm really curious which secondary characters Lorret will feature in this series. I hope that sweet Anna & Magnus' mystery-man-of-intrigue brother are next! It also seems that Verity's sister and a local Earl were teased more towards the end. Either way, I'm all in for this series. Lorret is one of my favorite romance authors and a must read.

This was a solid romance! The chemistry between Verity and Mangus was felt from the first time they met. I loved the supporting characters and I also really loved the way the couple kept getting thrown together.

I think my favorite part of this one was the friendships that Verity was able to form in order for her to feel more confident about herself. Falling in love is all well and good, but being yourself is important!

Verity Hartley is the eldest of three sisters. They and her parents, Baron and Baroness Hartley, all enjoy acting in their own productions. But Verity doesn’t care for it and does all she can to avoid it.

One day, her obnoxious neighbor stops by to brag about her wonderful Season she is having and has come home briefly to consider the three proposals she has received. Irked at her constant bragging, Verity blurts out that she is engaged to Magnus Warring, the fifth Duke of Longhurst. She immediately regrets her outburst, but it’s too late. The gossip spreads like wildfire.

Magnus has worked hard to keep the family’s property going since the death of his father. The man had been swindled by Baron Hartley leaving him penniless. Now, Magnus is hoping to win the hand of Anna Snow, daughter of Phineas Snow, a wealthy businessman known as the Button King. Anna’s dowry would fill his empty coffers solving their money problems. But Phineas is not happy because he has heard that Magnus is engaged to someone else. Furious, Magnus is heading to find out who told this lie.

Verity offers her apology for the lie to Magnus and his grandmother but they agree that it would look better if Magnus and Verity appear together in public for a week and then she can call off the engagement. Problem solved. But will it be?

This is a cute story with several sideline stories as well. There are lots of laughs and lots of heartaches as well, but certainly all is well done. I truly enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of the series.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was honestly so much fun. Their banter, and intense dislike for each other at first, was perfection.

My one disappointment was the ending. It felt so abrupt. I would have really loved an epilogue of some kind. Even so, the book was fantastic and an easy five stars from me.

This is the story of Verity Hartley the eldest daughter of the Baron and Baroness Hartley. Verity gets caught out in a lie she told to her neighbor and enemy, Nell Hunnicut- that she was engaged to marry the Duke of Longhurst, Magnus Warring. Their families are at odds with each other ever since an investment scandal was proved fraudulent and caused both families to lose money. What can go wrong when they meet when Magnus comes to town to sort out this problem before it causes another scandal between their families? Turns out, a lot after all of the secrets in each family are exposed. I really enjoyed reading this book- it started out as a slow burn attraction between Magnus and Verity but ended as a scorching love story. I am looking forward to reading the next story in the series.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving this review

This was a pretty good read by one of my favorite authors. Ms Lorret writes a funny and witty story about enemies to lovers from start to finish. The characters were fully developed with thoughts and feelings of their own. I like how a misunderstanding begins a total riot of cute moments.
Verity Hartley is a spinster who gets riled one time too many by her nemesis and blurts out that she's engaged to the Duke of Waring. This causes the real Duke to hear about it and confronts Verity about it. He needs to marry well to help his family. There is a feud between the families and well you can well imagined the outrageous of the situation. But they both agree to a fake engagement to offset the scandal. There is an attraction that builds between Magnus and Verity to a happy ever after and love is the key.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

This story yanked me right out of my book slump! The banter was delectable, the tension was explosive, and the chemistry was brilliant.

I was mesmerized by this story from the start. The enemies-to-lovers was crafted beautifully and that tension held on for at least half of the story. Speaking of tension, there were some amazing moments of heartache, loneliness, and longing. I am someone who loves angst, and I think this component not only played a large part in this story, but quickly renewed my fervor for reading.

I must add that this was not a complete five stars for me due to how the ending played out. I think a bit of momentum was lost. But I see what Lorret was trying to accomplish and understand the necessity of how she crafted the conclusion. With that said, my biggest gripe would be the exclusion of a much needed epilogue to round out the structure of the conclusion.

Overall, this was one of my favorite enemies-to-lovers romances. It was believable and the transitions in the relationship dynamics were natural. The secondary characters were entertaining and added to the story. And I am looking forward to diving into the next book in the series as soon as possible! Highly recommend!

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager via NetGalley for the opportunity to respond to this book with my honest opinions.

4.5 ✨’s

Verity, tired of being the “plain” one in her eccentric family, lies and says she is betrothed to Magnus, a duke who is no longer friendly with her family. Magnus is about to be betrothed to an heiress when he has to agree to a pretend engagement with Verity so there is no scandal involved. While it was supposed to last only a week, they are both loathe to breaking it off. Can they ignore their attraction? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Avon for my honest review.

This is what I've been looking for in a historical romcom hate to love story! Our hero, Magnus, has hated the Hartley family since a business deal went awry years ago and his father withdrew from the world and lost their entire fortune. Our heroine, Verity, has been avoiding Magnus' family as much as possible even though his grandmother still socializes with her mother despite the animosity. Verity is more reserved than her rambunctious theatrical family and is known as the "less attractive sister" as her younger siblings are exceptionally beautiful. After a run-in with her (for lack of a better term) bully, Nell, she accidentally blurts out that she of course is engaged to the Duke of Longhurst, why else would his grandmother be paying them a visit? This white lie reaches London where Magnus has been brokering a marriage deal with a rich man known as The Button King for his daughter Anna's hand... and her exceptional dowry. Hijinks ensue as Magnus agrees to a week-long fake engagement with Verity to save face for both of them. They get into quite a few spats and oopsy scenarios, which I adore. This was fun in an actual ridiculous, but not cheesy way. It wasn't trying overly hard and the story really balanced out the hijinks with some more serious topics. Verity has panic attacks and probably claustrophobia (there is a few different scenarios where the claustrophobia comes into play, so if you have that please be aware. It doesn't linger too much on the topic, but it is depicted) of which both are taken seriously, which was nice to see. Magnus' father is implied to have been dealing with depression. So I appreciated how these things were just part of the story and their lives. Overall though I think we had a really good balance of serious topics and more comedic scenarios. I loved the interactions between Verity and Magnus for the most part. He tried the "you're mine" kind of controlling thing, but it really wasn't working for him and also was just a little out of character so I'm glad it was just a comment here and there and not him really being overbearing and controlling. That's really not my jam. Though to be fair, Verity, didn't really play that game either. She did want she wanted and pushed back all the time. I loved her. At one point she befriends Magnus' intended, Anna, and it was a delight. I hope we get to see Anna's story. I have thoughts about who she may end up with in the end.
Honestly, this was a delightful book. If you like hate to love, enemies to lovers (in the traditional sense of the families are enemies) I think this would be a fun book for you! There is also an underlying plotline happening in the background that wraps into the whole story very well. I highly recommend!

It Had to Be a Duke
1st book in "The Liar's Club" Series
Rating: 4 stars (very close to a 5)
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

It Had to Be a Duke was such a great read!! It was very entertaining to see how a little lie, told out of desperation, could bring two people together to find love with the last person they wanted to fall in love with. I enjoyed every moment these two tested each other's patience. LOL Longhurst and Verity fought their feelings for each other for most of the story. I think Longhurst had the most difficult time admitting to these feelings because falling in love with the daughter of the man who brought ruin to his family was the last thing he thought would happen to him.
There were moments in the story that brought tears to my eyes. It was so sad to see Verity doubt herself and feel unseen. It took a man who since the first time he saw her was drawn to her and placed her at the forefront even if it was to constantly have a battle of wits and all this while pretending to be engaged.
I wish this would have been a 5 star read for me but after the reveal of who really was behind the ruination of Longhurst's family ( along with others) the story seemed to drag. The rest of the story really did not put Verity in a good light for me. I actually felt bad for Longhurst...and why, why did she accept the Reverand Tobias attention when she was supposedly heart broken?
I look forward to the next one in the series!

It starts with a lie...

Verity tells a whopper of a lie, she sort of had to.
Magnus, is the neighboring duke, who burns with animosity for Verity's family. He had plans, you see. He was doing the easy thing of marrying a wealthy heiress (not Verity) to save the family estate. Not, going along with Verity's lie. But reputations matter.

I enjoyed Verity and Magnus and the progression of their relationship. They are engaging and they each have their own issues and purchase.
Highly recommend.