ARC Review: The Lord’s Desperate Pledge (The Dukes' Pact #3) by Kate Archer
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Series: The Dukes' Pact #3
Author: Kate Archer
Published December 8th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Goodreads Synopsis
A Steely Lady and a High Stakes Lord
Book 3 in The Dukes' Pact Series—six dukes take dire steps to force their heirs to marry, while those heirs fight just as hard to remain bachelors. A sweet regency romance.
Lily Farnsworth is a resourceful lady. As well she should be, her father has spent years dragging the family’s estate from the edge of ruin and she’s always had to make do with little. A proper season and the gowns to go with it seem entirely out of reach. That is, until Lily discovers she has a particular skill at piquet. Pound by pound, she gathers the funds to pay her own way. Her aunt is delighted to play host in her modest London house and squire her niece to parties. Everybody is certain that one season will be enough to see Lily married well and with the means to help her sisters.
Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Duke of Dembly, may be in line to inherit a great estate, but that estate has recently tottered on the brink of collapse. He’s only rescued it through his skill at a card table. He’s a renowned gambler and he’s got firm opinions about it—the foremost being that women do not have the steady nerves for large bets. That is, until Miss Farnsworth challenges him in Lady Blakeley’s drawing room.
An uneasy acquaintance is born and neither party would much mind never again setting eyes on the other. Hayes may be drawn to Lily’s looks, but he has no intention of marrying just yet, which suits his friends in the dukes’ pact. Lily may be struck by Lord Ashworth’s person, but she does not aim as high as a dukedom, and even if she did, the lord is far too arrogant.
Despite their mutual dislike, it will not be so easy to escape one another. As Lady Montague connives, and a certain Mr. Shine schemes, Lily and Hayes will find that their acquaintance has turned from uncomfortable to deadly.
Neither of them knows who will win the final hand.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
After two of the members of the Duke's Pact have already found love and married, the other four heirs are getting antsy. They don't want to be the next one to succumb, but when Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth, comes across the lovely Lily Farnsworth, his time might just be up. For Lily, she's known hardship in the past, and is only able to have a season due to the charity of her friends with donated dresses, and her own skill at the piquet table. She knows the responsibility is on her to marry well, and be able to sponsor her younger sisters when they come of age. Hearing that there is a club open to both men and women, where she might be able to supplement her allowance even further, Lily is overjoyed. The only negative, really, is the arrogant Viscount Ashworth. After hearing him ridicule the idea that a woman could best him, the man known for being so adapt at cards, she challenges him to a game, and the gauntlet is thrown. After finding themselves victim to a wicked scheme, however, they learn more about each other's pasts, and start to consider the possibility of more.
I think this is my favourite of the series so far. As the time is running down for the final four heirs, none of them want to marry because their father has decreed it, and least of all is Hayes. He recently discovered how badly run his family estate was, and though he's still only the heir, his father has had to relinquish all control, and to find money to pay off the massive debts, he turned his hand to piquet. He's fully in control of the finances, and sees no reason to worry that his father will cut him off, but he still can't quite get over his attraction to Lily when they meet. They have a definite frosty first encounter, and the fact that Lily thoroughly beats him at what he's best at, doesn't endear her to him, no matter what she looks like. Again and again, they clash, but we see more of each other show through, and after falling foul to the devilish scheme being played by the wicked Mr Shine, the romance really blossoms. I feel as though the pair really see the best in each other, and their own similarities, and affection for each other. I loved them together, and seriously hope we see them again in the subsequent stories! I can't wait for book 4.
Dates Read:
November 22-23, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
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