I loved this story! Amelia and Nicholas were the perfect couple.

It started out as a typical lady wanting to find a Duke to marry. I so appreciated that she didn’t end up with one. Amelia was fun and likable. She had spunk and kindness. You couldn’t help but be on her side from the start. Once Nicholas entered, you knew it would be a different kind of story. He was such a villain! He was coarse and nasty. The author did such an amazing job writing this character. He was so unlikable, but somewhere along the way, I found myself rooting for him and cheering him on. It was such a fantastic discovery for me to have as the book moved along. He was not your typical rake.

This is a beautifully written book with a fabulous MMC. Just read it!

Amelia's love story is so perfect for her! She was a real free spirit in the previous book (this works as a standalone, of course, but it's more enjoyable if you read Hugh and Christiana's book), always ready to break the rules when it suited her, especially to help the people she loved. I loved that in this book she found the perfect man for her, who doesn't want to stifle her spirit and understands her. Nicholas is a very intriguing character, who doesn't experience emotions like all the other people and for this reason he considers himself incapable of love. Of course he will change his mind! But the journey will be long and difficult... I ADORE MacKenzie's writing and I can't wait for the next books (Amelia's friends are waiting for their love stories!).

Amelia knows exactly what she wants as she enters her first social season, she only wants a duke. Unfortunately, eligible dukes are in incredibly short supply, forcing her to pivot to the next best thing, the son of a duke. However, at a ball, Amelia finds herself caught in a compromising situation. This leads to her being blackmailed by Nicholas, the second son of a duke. Nicholas is protective of his older brother, Richard, who has unfortunately set his heart on a supposed "fortune hunter" named Miss Eliza. All Nicholas wants Amelia to do is step in and steal Richard's affections away from Miss Eliza.
Of course, while they're working together to pull off this scheme, the unexpected happens, they end up falling for each other! Seriously, their chemistry was insane. I was actually kicking my feet reading them come to this realization. It was great seeing Amelia discover that she didn't actually need a fancy title to find true happiness. And watching Nicholas willingly give up his rake lifestyle just to provide for Amelia and keep a smile on her face? Absolutely adorable.
I also have to add that the spice in this book was definitely in the slow-burn territory. This was such a hard fought relationship, and I loved every single minute of it! I will absolutely be reading the next book in this series, which looks like it will follow one of the girls in Amelia's friend group.

thank you to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the arc.

The determined debutante and her self-reforming rogue.
Amelia – a duke’s sister set on hooking her very own duke. Should be easy enough. Except, eligible dukes aren’t a dime a dozen. Lecherous cads, however, are.
Nicholas – a shameless libertine spare who lives to rile his parents, but loves his brother – and that’s why he’ll save the man from the fortune hunting hussy he’s in love with. But how?

A very public ball, a library and a servant’s door. He’s already hiding when she storms in for that same purpose. There’s nowhere left to run... ruin awaits on either side.
Until he learns her name, and she becomes the answer to his challenge.
Win-win blackmail. Amelia seduces his brother, gets her future duke, and Nick won’t tarnish her pristine but delicate reputation. Simple, clean, efficient. Yes?
No! It’s messy and confusing.
Lia soon understands one brother is a lost cause, and the other an infuriating, coarse, caring, captivating arse. And the more Nick pushes her into Richard’s arms, the more obsessed he becomes with his haughty, mouthy, utterly irresistible dove.

This story covers every Season shenanigan you can imagine; balls, musicals, picnics, promenades, Almacks, Vauxhall, even a carnival – and every event reveals another layer of these two complex characters.
Lia is strong, insightful and clever but also sheltered, too trusting to navigate Society – and he never misses an opportunity to point that out. Or to save her.
Incapable of love, thus unlovable himself (or so he’s been told since childhood) Nick made social callousness an artform – for everyone, except her. Only her. [MELT!!!]
The push and pull, the inability to stay away; that slow burn sizzled most delectably!
Their chemistry, possessiveness (yes, both of them!) and verbal sparring are exquisite!
But the thing I loved most was undoubtedly how Nick was an unapologetic, loud & proud, bad-to-the-bone rake – almost an anti-hero – and she never once asked him to change. She took him just the way he came. The rest was his idea.
I gobbled this book up, and I have no regrets!

Amelia only wants to fall in love and marry a duke. Nicholas a rake and a future duke's brother, wants her to marry his brother. The more time he spends with Amelia he finds he cannot resist her. Can he give her the love she insists on? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.