Caroline is a Gothic thriller writer and the sole breadwinner for her family, which includes her gambling father and two brothers, but the creditors are always just around the corner. So she comes up with a plan to blackmail Gabriel, the Earl of Rockford, into marriage in order to solve her family's money problems. At first, he is irate, but as he gets to know her, he becomes intrigued and enamored by her quick wit and boldness. They may have each found their match and I the process, risk falling in love.

This was a cute romance read with a little bit of spice. I enjoyed Caroline's banter and Gabriel's devoted demeanor once he realizes she is the one for him. There was a lot of character development with both of them, and the author also did a great job with the world building. Each book in the Debutantes of London series is a stand-alone, and I can't wait until the next one is written!

This was such a delightful read! I am partial to regency era romances and now Lydia Drake will forever be in my preferred authors for the genre.

Ive been waiting for a new Lydia Drake book for over a year! I wasn’t sure if she was coming back but when I was offered her latest ARC I was shocked and so very excited!

Caroline’s family (specifically her father) are running out of money and she is soon becoming a spinster. So she does the only thing that will save them all. She blackmails the Earl of Rockford into marrying her. We love to see women is me dominated fields!

Lord Rockford, Gabriel, is very much not going to take this blackmail lying down. So he does his best to make Caroline not want to marry him but all he does is successes in getting to know her and fall for her.

Loved it!

She was desperate and he was strangely attracted to a woman who was blatantly blackmailing him into marriage.
And for fiction reasons…they begin to understand, respect and fall in love with each other.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good book. The premise was intriguing and from the start, I enjoyed how straightforward and no-nonsense Caroline was. I liked all the discussions about feminism and the unfairness with which women and men were (and unfortunately, still are) treated. I liked the Earl, I am a big fan of grumpy MMCs, and it was great to see that he had some character depth. The "fake courting" aspect was entertaining, and I liked most of the side characters (although I really don't like her father).

For me, the main reason that I have only given it 3 stars is that I just didn't care much, I did not get invested in the story. It was well written, the characters and the story line were okay, there was nothing wrong but also nothing that excited me and made me want to keep going as soon as I stopped reading. I expected a more dragged-out enemies to lovers, but they are fully in lovers territory before the 50% mark, and I just didn't know what else was left for the remaining 50%. The book was too long, and some of the drama felt like it was there just to have more pages. I will say though, I quite liked the ending, even if I was frustrated about the whole situation, I liked that Caroline had some time for herself and was able to pursue her dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and Lydia Drake for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When you’re up to your eyeballs in debt and have no way of getting out of it, what can a girl do? Blackmail a lord into marrying you of course! A witty tale of blackmail that turns to love.

This historical romance captivated me with the premise of flipping the script on the marriage entrapment trope. Caroline Devereux was embodying “women in male fields” with that one. I loved her spirit and willingness to call out the Earl of Rockford out on all the double standards of society. The relationship that developed while they were trying to thwart the other’s plans was heartwarming. They couldn’t help themselves! I loved it. Without spoiling anything, everything to do with Caroline’s writing and the earl was dreamy. Forget everything else, I would have folded then. This book was a treat that any romance reader would love!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Drake's The Duchess and the Wolf and was so excited to get to read this one early. Her writing is fast paced and always has phenomenal banter. A favorite microtrope of mine is when one character writes gothic novels or pamphlets. Caroline has been writing gothic stories to pay the bills, but when the money stops flowing, she results to blackmail. Gabriel is so funny. He's confused and intrigued, even when he wants to be mad. And the banter was delightful, just a constant back and for that made me kick my feet. Such a delight!

Entertaining read!

I enjoyed reading this book. The main characters, Caroline and Gabriel, are marvellous. Their relationship is beautiful, and we sensed their attraction from their first confrontation. We are witnessing twists and turns.
I found the plot original. It gives a witty and entertaining romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was my first read by Lydia Drake, but it won't be my last! I really enjoyed The Writer and the Rogue and look forward to reading about some of the supporting characters that have their own books.

Caroline is a gothic writer using her profession to support her family. Her father has gambled away most of the family funds and Caroline is the only thing keeping food on the table. Unfortunately, her writer earnings aren't enough, so in a stroke of luck, she turns to blackmail! After discovering a damning letter about the Earl of Rockford, Caroline blackmails the rakish earl into marriage! The Earl of Rockford made a promise to his older brother to restore the family's good name after their father ruined their respectability, but blackmail just won't stand. However, Caroline takes his breath away from their first meeting and after a while, he decides that maybe marriage won't be so bad if it's to the lovely Miss Devereux.

I loved the banter and push/pull of Caro and Rockford's relationship! From the beginning they were both so into the other but fighting it for various reasons. They eventually give in and allow their feelings and emotions to rule and it was so steamy! It was so enjoyable to see these two wrestle with their feelings and external pressures and finally give in! However, it can't just be that easy right? Ugh. This is were it got dicey for me. There is a third act break-up that just felt way too overdone! There are so many absurd miscommunications and backstabbings that happen in such a short amount of time it was difficult to keep up. I was so frustrated at many characters for their roles in all of this and honestly, I didn't feel like the resolution was all that great. It was wrapped up so quickly after such a huge build up that it was really a bit of a let down. If things had been resolved sooner and/or we got to see more of Caro and Gabe's HEA maybe I'd feel differently.

My favorite part of the entire book is when Caroline gives an emotional monologue on what it's like to be a woman. It was beautifully written and many aspects still apply to today's world which made it hit that much harder. And Rockford's response? Perfection!

While the ending really bothered me, this was still a solid read and I'm definitely keeping my eye out for further Lydia Drake books. I'm hoping a certain tall green-eyed debutante gets a book soon!!

Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary arc. All opinions are my own.

Instead of sleeping on my 7 hour flight I devoured this book. I loved the banter between Caroline and Gabriel. The drama due to a meddling monster in law added to the blackmail trope.

Thank you to Entangled for my gifted eARC. My opinions are my own.

Lydia Drake is back with her second Debutantes of London book. This one features Caroline Deveraux, the daughter of a Baron who has gambled all their money away, so she has been penning stories to keep up the appearances that everything is fine, but when she suspects that creditors are sniffing around, she does the one thing that she thinks she can: blackmail the new Earl Rockford, Gabriel Kane.

Read this for:
- he falls first
- blackmail done badly
- smart writer FMC
- scandal
- gift giving love language
- hot masquerade scene

My thoughts:
I read this in a single day, and was entertained the entire time. Laughing at Caro’s observations, Gabriel and Caro’s dates, (writers doing research while on dates is hilarious), interfering (bumbling) family members that are sweet in their motivations, and a side romance for the side characters.
It’s an enjoyable fast read with some delightful steamy scenes.

Recommend for historical romance readers who like unconventional leading ladies.

I loved this story. Caroline is a strong heroine who does everything she can to keep her family afloat, but she goes too far when she decides the only way to make enough money is to blackmail the Earl of Rockford for those funds. At first upset with Caroline's blackmail attempt, the Earl becomes intrigued with Caroline's determination and intelligence. Caroline, in spite of having an older brother who should be helping her, feels she alone can take care of their financial problems and take care of her father, both brothers (including a darling younger brother who becomes a willing accomplice to the Earl's attempting to steal back the letter Caroline is using to blackmail him. The story of how these two fall in love and manage to work out their problems, financial and love life, is a fun read and another Lydia Drake great tale. I heartily recommend this book for fun reading and true romance.

First off, thank you to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and Lydia Drake for this enchanting love story.

Gabriel and Caroline are exciting and amazing characters. I enjoyed their banter as they argued and especially enjoyed the sexual tension.

I won't give away anything more. The story is full of ups and downs, unexpected twists and turns and has an amazing ending.

I am ready to read another one of Lydia's books!

Five stars.

A delightfully charming historical romance!

The witty banter had me laughing, and I always enjoy a good slow burn romance. This was my first Lydia Drake novel, and I didn't realize it was part of a series, but I still enjoyed the book and think it makes a good stand-alone read. I actually liked it enough that I also grabbed the first book to read later.

I gave it four stars, but only because I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope. Great book overall, and I'm looking forward to the next!

Absolutely loved!

Caroline and Gabriel's story was an absolute delight. I'll admit I was a teensy bit skeptical when she first embarked on the blackmail plot, but as we got to know her and her situation better it even started to seem like a good idea to me ;) I loved that Gabriel didn't let his preconceived notions get in the way of really seeing Caroline as a person either--it really didn't take him much time to figure out what her life was really like and start to respect her for what she had been doing to try and make life better for her family.

And of course falling in love with her is the logical next step... :)

Things were going so swimmingly for them that I almost forgot that we needed to have some sort of obstacle thrown in their way before we got the their much deserved HEA--not going to lie, I was really temped to just stop reading before getting to it, I was dreading it so much. But I powered through because I needed to see them get there almost more than I needed to breathe--and it was worth it! I swear my heart feels happy two days later, just thinking about it now. All the happy sighs at the end.

The Writer and the Rogue is the second book in the series, and it worked just fine as a standalone. But you'd better believe I'm going to be going back and reading book 1 ASAP!

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This was a very entertaining historical romance.

This book follows Lady Caroline Devereux. She is the lady of the house and struggles to make ends meet because her father, Baron Devereux, has a gambling problem and keeps gambling away all their money. Lady Devereux blackmails Gariel, the earl of Rockford, into marrying her so she can keep her family from struggling.

I really like Caroline's strong and independent character. The banter between Caroline and Gabriel was perfection. I will absolutely be reading more from this author.

Favorite quote:
Caroline- I've no practice with these sorts of things, so I shall come right out and say it: I am blackmailing you. Again, please do not take the blackmail too hard. I assure you, it is nothing personal.

This book was ok. The writing was very formulaic, and the story predictable. I found I didn't have any connection to the characters. I think it could have used more description and imagination.

I love a hood historical romance and this didn't disappoint! I enjoyed Caroline and Gabriel's stoty. It was cute and funny, perfect for a Sprint day.