My Divinely Decadent Duke

3.5 stars "My Divinely Decadent Duke," is the first book I have read by Sandra Masters and I enjoyed the book. There were definitely some plot devices and situations that didn't make very much sense for the time period and sometimes I really wanted to read more action and less conversation.
Cassandra is being jilted by her fiance and realizes while he is throwing her aside Gordon is eavesdropping, unintentionally of course. Cassandra wasn't in love, but she has a ward, Alicia, who is eight and her fiance agreed to be this young girls ward. Some of the ton gossips that Alicia is actually Cassandra's illegitimate child, but she isn't. Here is one of the first unbelievable situations, no single woman would have a ward because of the scandal it would cause. Not sure if a woman could even be responsible for a child not legally her own during that time period.
Cassandra wants to get married and take Alicia from her brother's home because her brother's wife is horrible to her and the child. She asks Gordon if he will marry her and he refuses. Gordon is a rake and isn't ready to settle down, especially to a woman who does the asking.
Gordon's mother has had a medical event (sounds like a stroke) that has caused her to have problems speaking. His mother really likes Cassandra and is happy when she visits. Cassandra cooks up an idea that, again, Gordon should marry her, she will take care of his mother and he will become Alicia's ward. After some convincing, Gordon agrees, it is supposed to be a marriage of convenience.
Now we come to the part of the book that a couple of simple conversations would have cleared everything up. They don't know if they will sleep together or not, they have no idea what the other person actually wants from this marriage and god forbid they actually ask the other person. This did become tedious, too many conversations and internal thoughts that led to nothing.
Cassandra also designs lingerie and is a gifted nursemaid to Gordon's mother and has her speaking in complete sentences and going to balls in only a month or so, two more ideas that are highly unlikely. There were some passionate love scenes between the characters and there is plenty of chemistry. Even though Gordon is supposed to be an unrepentant rake, he is basically a good guy and he cares about Cassandra, dogs and children. I will probably read another book by this author.

Loved this book, a lot of ups & downs, but very likable characters. Story line moved well and they found their HEA.

This was a well written, descriptive story, with likeable, though frustrating, characters, the initial story involves the "marriage of convenience " proposed by a young lady with a renowned rake hell Duke . Though he's attracted to her, he initially resists, then agrees to it. She is in love with him, he is "fond" of, and charmed by her. Eventually they consummate the marriage and she becomes pregnant . She has helped nurse his mother back to health from a severe illness , and decides it's time to remove herself from his home, since he is not in love with her. Losing her forces him to realize he does love her, and he acknowledges his love and she agrees to return. He, however, had acquired malaria in a past trip to the Caribbean and becomes I'll. She nurses him back to health. Then, her young ward is kidnapped, he arranges and coordinates the rescue of the young lady. The h is kind, caring and very likeable . The H is beyond stubborn , bordering on unlikeable . Though it's obvious he loves his wife, he refuses to acknowledge it until he almost loses her. Then, when she's nursed him back to health, though pregnant, he's mean to her again,, in front of family and staff! Fortunately , she's of a doormat variety, and forgives him. This would have been a good time to end the story with a HEA, but then there is the added kidnapp and rescue of the young ward, which seemed like a piece of contrivance to add some danger and drama to the story. It really was an unnecessary addition, actually a distraction and annoyance . Overall, I enjoyed the story, liked the couple, and would recommend the book, but didn't feel the kidnapping was necessary . Also felt the Duke could have shown more affection for his wife earlier in the relationship ,

A very interesting historical. Enjoyed it. THe plot was intriguing and romance was good.

Fabulous story. Cassandra is in desperate need of a husband and a guardian for her niece. She proposes a marriage of convenience to the Duke of Althorn. She has fallen in love with the Duke. She wants his love. There are many hot sex scenes. I will read more books by this author.

The story of Lady Cassandra Montgomery started with a spark as she meets the Duke of Althorn after her rejection by her fiance. However, any romance between the couple staggered after she proposed marriage. I felt the language that existed between the couple was stilted and any earlier connection, failed to develop. The story was interesting but the ending felt like a bit of an add-on.

Devinely Decadent Duke is a historical romance of a slightly different bent. There is a "business, arranged" type marriage of Lady Cassandra and the Duke of Althorn. He agrees to safeguard her ward and she agrees to aid his mother's recovery of her speech. The Dowager Duchess has suffered a brain injury and has lost her ability to speak. Cassandra uses various exercises to improve her ability to speak. The story it self was somewhat slow, but the characters were well developed and you understood their viewpoints of the situation. The Duke liked Cassandra and had wanted to pursue their relationship when she jumped in and proposed the marriage of convenience! This annoyed his male ego and increased their conflicts in the story. Once they get past this, ward Alicia is kidnapped and they use a scent dog to assist in finding her; which is unusual for that time period. Overall I liked the story, but it could use some editing and tightening.

I liked this story. Didn't realy warm up to Cassandra's manipulative personality. She was like a little selfish girl, albeit she did do a great job taking care of her MIL and the kids. Gordon was confusinga big too, though at least he showed he cared about Cassandra. The ending plot was too fast....didn't get to know what happened to a lot of the characters.