Lord of the Masquerade
Series: Rogues to Riches #7
Author: Erica Ridley
Published August 6th 2021 by WebMotion

Goodreads Synopsis
A fun, fast-paced interracial romance full of banter, scandal, and devastating secrets, from a New York Times bestselling author:

Entrepreneur Miss Unity Thorne helped two different men amass their fortunes—only to end up on the street. She’s scraping by at the theatre, but this isn’t the show she plans to star in. The next fortune Unity builds will be hers alone. Her masquerade-themed assembly rooms will rival the ton, but to do so, she’ll have to apprentice the most dangerous rake of all.

The arrogant, sexy-and-he-knows-it Duke of Lambley’s weekly masquerade parties are decadent odes to excess: unlimited food, drink, dancing, romantic gardens, and private pleasure rooms upstairs. Everyone loves his balls, and he likes it that way. He’ll take a wife someday, but it certainly won’t be the pretty termagant who challenges him in the ballroom and the bedroom…

In the Rogues to Riches historical romance series, Cinderella stories aren’t just for princesses!
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Miss Unity Thorne has been able to bring two clubs back from the brink, using her knowledge and expertise to first help her cousin, and then her friend. But what she wants, even more so after her cousin betrayed her, is to have her own business, and not be at the mercy of a man. She decides she wants to create a masquerade-themed assembly rooms, and the rakeish Duke of Lambley hosts the best masquerades in the ton. Unity poses as a courtesan to gain entrance to Julian's home, and is pleased when he agrees she can attend the events, and 'help' improve them - though he has no intention of changing anything. But, as they get closer, Julian is more and more attracted to Unity, but she isn't someone who could be his Duchess, or is she?

This is the first book in the Rogues to Riches series that I've read, so I've probably missed some of the context, especially around Julian and his friendship group. Even so, this read well as a standalone book, and the relationship between Unity and Julian was nice to read. Unity had a wonderful life as a child, but when she was orphaned, and sent to live with a cousin who looked down on her for her mixed race heritage, she soon became his servant. It was only when his business manager left at his club that she was able to take on some responsibility, but once it became successful, she was thrown out with nowhere to go. Losing her security has made her need to have something for herself, and not be at risk of the same happening again, so a well planned masquerade would be the perfect option. I liked seeing her growth and strength as she went toe to toe with Julian, as well as Julian's growth too. He lost his entire family when he was a child, and had to be beholden to his cruel uncle until he came into his majority. Now, he won't relinquish power for anyone or anything, and his weekly events have been planned so perfectly, nothing really needs changing. As Unity makes her way under his skin, and into his heart, Julian starts to second guess everything he had thought of before, and realise that the perfect duchess may not be a member of the ton, but in front of him. All in all, this was a decent book, and a very quick read.

Dates Read:
August 14, 2021

Rating
3 Stars