Dare to Love a Duke
Series: The London Underground #3
Author: Eva Leigh
Published July 25th 2019 by Mills & Boon

Goodreads Synopsis
The outrageous new book in the Scandalous Ladies of London series that's perfect for fans of Poldark and Vanity Fair.

For a dashing duke and the proprietress of a secret, sensual club, passion could lead to love…

Thomas Powell, the new Duke of Northfield, knows he should be proper and principled, like his father. No more duelling, or carousing, or frequenting masked balls. But he's not ready to give up his freedom just yet.

Lucia—known as Amina—manages the Orchid Club, a secret society where fantasies become reality. Yet no member of the club has ever intrigued her…until him, the masked stranger whose heated looks sear her skin. After months of suppressed longing, do they dare to give in to temptation…?
Goodreads

Review
After his father's recent death, Thomas Powell knows he needs to change his ways. As the new Duke of Northfield, he should be moral, proper, and an upstanding citizen, and the first thing he needs to give up from his old life is the frequent visits to the notorious Orchid Club. For about a year, he's gone nearly every week, to meet with the manager Amina, who intrigues him, and who he wants to know more. On his final visit he convinces Amina to spend the night with him, and reveal her true name of Lucia. When a visitor appears the next morning, and it's none other than Lucia claiming that Thomas's father was the owner of the club - meaning he now is - he's more than shocked. He agrees to keep the Club running as it is, and as much as he tries to, he can't stop himself from returning again and again, and meeting with Lucia, who's more than meets the eye. Lucia doesn't want to be in charge of a sex club, but is saving up to fund a girls' school to help those in the East End be educated, and not have to sell themselves when money is tight. It's an admirable pursuit, one Thomas fully agrees with, but he's got another Duke on his back, forcing him to agree with what he says, or else Thomas' sister will lose the man she loves, and the truth about the Orchid Club will be revealed. Can Thomas do what he knows is right, or will he be forced to be a different person?

My 7th Eva Leigh book, and I love it as much as I did my first. All of her characters, her plot lines, and her world building are perfect, and I beg you to read her books if you haven't already! This time, with Thomas and Lucia, I knew I would love their relationship, but I was still blown away. We first meet Amina and the Orchid Club in Temptations of a Wallflower, and in the rest of The London Underground series, the attraction between Thomas and Lucia is wholly apparent. Lucia has never taken part in the displays going on in the club, and as Amina she needs to remain aloof, and above it all. However, since meeting Thomas, she's always wished she hadn't made that promise, and when he announces that this will be his final night at the club, she'd be stupid not to agree to it. From then on, both are lost, and I loved the somewhat domestic aspects of their life we saw, especially as Thomas decamped to the club was a few days and helped as if he was just a member of staff. We saw a completely different side to him, and it was just perfect. This book, with all of it's twists and turns, to it's final climax, was outstanding, and it may be my favourite of Eva's of all the ones I've read. Now I'm up to date on her back catalogue, I'm looking forward to Waiting for a Scot Like You when it's released in April!

Dates Read:
August 8-9, 2020

Rating
4 Stars