The Truth About Cads and Dukes

Rescued from Ruin #2

by Elisa Braden

His plain Jane is about to discover appearances can be deceiving...

When a wager goes wrong...

Painfully shy Jane Huxley is the furthest thing from a diamond of the first water. Bookish, bespectacled, and, well, plain, she never expected to befriend a dissolute charmer like Colin Lacey, much less agree to help him retrieve a lost family heirloom. Fortunately, he is nothing like his cold, rigid older brother. Unfortunately, he is not above deception if it means winning a wager. And that puts Jane in a most precarious position.

A formidable duke will marry a plain Jane...

For Harrison Lacey, the Duke of Blackmore, protecting his family honor is not a choice, it is a necessity. So, when his cad of a brother humiliates the unwitting Lady Jane, Harrison must make it right, even if it means marrying the chit himself.

And a marriage of convenience will become so much more...

Her reputation hanging by a thread, Jane agrees to wed the arrogant Duke of Blackmore, although she’s convinced it will result in frostbite. Only after lingering glances lead to devastating kisses does she begin to suspect the truth: Perhaps—just perhaps—her duke is not as cold as he appears.

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Regency, Historical Fiction, Enemies To Lovers

293 pages, ebook

First published May 29, 2015

About the author

Reading romance novels came easily to Elisa Braden. Writing them? That took a little longer. After graduating with degrees in creative writing and history, Elisa spent too many years in “real” jobs writing T-shirt copy ... and other people’s resumes ... and articles about giftware displays. But that was before she woke up and started dreaming about the very unreal job of being a romance novelist. Better late than never.

Elisa lives in the Pacific Northwest, where you're constitutionally required to like the colors green and gray. Good thing she does. Other items on the "like" list include cute dogs, strong coffee, and epic movies. Of course, her favorite thing of all is hearing from readers who love her characters as much as she does.

If you're one of those, get in touch on Facebook (@authorelisabraden), visit her website (www.elisabraden.com), and - most importantly - be the first to hear about new releases, price specials, and awesome free bonuses by signing up for her email newsletter (bit.ly/ElisaNewsletter). It's easy, quick, and FREE.

Reviews

[Merry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many thoughts on this review. I own this audio version of books .5 to book 3 of the series. I read book 4 and really enjoyed it and have not liked another of the series since. I don't care much for Mary Sarah as a reader (she was better in this one though). The book started off and the plot grabbed me then came the next loooooong hours of my life listening to how plain Jane was, no waist, short, reader and wears glasses. Then she got married. Then some VERY well written steamy sex. Then I am my fathers son and I am cold and can't love. Then a few reminders that Jane is not very competent and is rather plain. Then HEA. My review. If this review bored you, that was how the book went for me. Many many others have loved it. So, it is a me not you kind of book.

[Carvanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had so many elements that make up a wonderful read for me. The plain Jane trope, marriage to advert scandal, a heroine who is bookish as well as a bit shy, and a hero who displays some swoony moments of jealous possessiveness. When you add in a broken hero, things can sometimes get a little sticky. That’s the point where an author can make it or break it for me. In this case, Harrison’s brokenness and the heroine’s consequent making him whole was fresh and unique in that it highlighted this shy, doomed to be a spinster’s inner strength. I absolutely loved watching her come into her own while avoiding all the common methods of doing so.

I absolutely loved this story, these characters, and even the secondary characters. The angst is a tad more than mid level in places and once I started I simply could not put this book down. This is romance at its finest.

Dual POV
Safe both H/h experience jealousy but neither have done anything to warrant it; H had a mistress prior to proposing to h – not made out to be a manwhore; h is a virgin; there is another woman but the H has never had anything with her but she is catty and mean to the h
Triggers no apparent triggers

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

“It is too much to describe. I am determined to give you everything. All I have inside. That is my promise to you, and I shall not break it. But please don’t ask me to explain, for I haven’t the words.” Lady Jane Huxley is the bookish daughter of Lord and Lady Berne. With her plain looks and shy personality, she had been relegated to the status of a wallflower. When charming Colin Lacey befriended her and asked for a favor, she couldn’t help but agree to help her new found friend. But things go horribly wrong when she discovers that it was a wager between Colin and his friends, and he used her. With a ruined reputation, no one would ever offer for her, and the scandal she caused to her family’s name will greatly affect her sisters’ marriage prospects. Harrison Lacey, the Duke of Blackmore is nothing if not honor-bound. In order to make things right and to make up for his brother’s faults, he offers the only thing he knows would make things right: marriage.

The truth about Cads and Dukes is the second book from Elisa Braden’s historical romance series, Rescued from Ruin. This book is about The Duke of Blackmore and Lady Jane Huxley, both of them introduced in the first book in the series. To be honest, I don’t know what I expected from this book but I decided to just read it because I am slowly making my way through this series.

Meet Lady Jane Huxley: She is the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Berne. Jane is bespectacled, she’s very shy: like embarrassingly so. She loves reading and her nose is always in her books. Because of her personality, she has no friends except Victoria. This is the reason why she had been the target of the newest wager between Colin and his wastrel friends. One of the reasons why she agreed to Colin’s favor is because the idea of humbling the Duke of Blackmore is appealing. She deemed the Duke as an arrogant man ever since he had the audacity to scold her in her own home!

Meet Harrison Lacey: He is the Duke of Blackmore. In the first book, he’s introduced when he killed the former Viscount Atherbourne. He is honorable, loyal and kinder than what the Ton might think. Because of his good looks, wealth and title, he is a fine catch indeed. To the people who do not know him on an intimate level, he comes off as cold and stuffy. As a Duke, he is responsible for his family and their name, which is why when his brother did something to ruin a respectable lady’s good name, he steps in to marry the girl, although he disapproves of her manners at times.

Lady Jane never had much luck with making many friends and it is no surprise. She’s very shy and would rather spend all her time reading a book. Her only friend is Victoria, which is why it felt good when a man such as Colin Lacey was making an effort to befriend her, her! The Plain Jane Huxley. She knows of his bad reputation, but the lord let her believe that he was changing for the better. When he asked for a favor concerning a lost family heirloom, Jane couldn’t say no to a friend who had become dear to her. Sadly, everything had been a ruse to Colin in order to gain money for he is in great need of it because the Duke of Blackmore cut his allowance. Jane was humiliated and now her reputation is hanging by a thread. Thankfully, the Duke of Blackmore is a better man than his wastrel brother even if he comes off as an arrogant know-it-all. Blackmore is making a sacrifice by marrying a woman who he wasn’t even interested in. But because of the doings of his brother, he had to fix the mess and marry Jane for she comes from a respectable family. Jane believes that the two of them are utterly mismatched. Marriage changes everything, including the way Jane views her now husband….and she discovers many things about the man who she once thought was the coldest man ever. For now she sees a man whom she loves, who sadly does not seem to feel the same way. Could the plain and shy Jane Huxley have her happily ever after with the Duke or will they let the insecurities, uncertainties and emotional baggage come between the two of them? Clue: It’s a HEA!

The heroine was okay. To be honest, I was quite worried how Braden would make this couple work because of how shy the heroine was. I think she was very naive regarding Colin, but that’s not her fault. To be honest, I couldn’t remember much about her. I was very busy lately and am now only writing this review, so that may be the reason. I remember her as a book-loving heroine, so in that sense she’s relatable. But aside from that, and I’m sorry to say this, she was boring. The author repeatedly wrote how plain she was and now I couldn’t think of anything about her besides that. Jane trying to help Colin out on his fabricated story about the family heirloom was not daring at all but stupid. She was also very insecure. And to be honest, I’m not much for insecure heroines. Don’t get me wrong, she’s cute but it seems the author gave her no personality aside from loving reading. I think it improved later on when she was trying her best to be the mistress of a grand house and such. She was also very sweet and understanding towards the hero too, which is why when she made that decision nearing the end, it felt out of character and so random? They were literally banging moments before that and the day after she was like: I’m leaving. Damn girl, give the man a break! Take things slowly and wait for him to come around at his own pace? It is harder for other people to open up emotionally and I’m so tired of characters who have no patience for that. I feel so mean, Jane was truly the type of heroine that I enjoy most of the time but I just couldn’t find anything to really love about her.

The hero was the usual aristocrat who has daddy issues and emotional baggage. He thinks he’s different from his father who was very cold to his family and then the old Lady Wallingham goes telling stories and suddenly he’s like: I’m just like my father. Literally what. Honestly, I found the idea of Harrison ready to kill anyone who harms Jane very sweet but hey, that’s just me and perhaps I need therapy because I find things like that cute when I shouldn’t. Harrison is just like Lucien except he’s a Duke and doesn’t have a revenge plan. He’s possessive, obsessive and in denial. Actually, he’s an okay hero. When Jane first discovered why the rumors regarding her humiliation stopped, I too, was like: woah wait maybe If I was Jane, I’d love him too. Sadly, he's the type of hero wherein I just felt like: I’ve read about him before but in a different font so nothing about him was particularly exciting to me. He does not stand out. But this does not mean that he was a shitty hero. In fact, he was actually such a sweet and thoughtful husband. He cared for Jane even in the early days of their marriage. I like how thoughtful and protective he was over his wife. However, he’s also a dumbass. Of course, what would a romance novel be without a hero who would suddenly act cold in order to protect their heart and build back the wall that the heroine is slowly melting? He cares for and is very fond of Jane but somehow he has this belief that he must stay away from her which of course sends the wrong signal to the heroine. He’s sweet, thoughtful, kind, honorable but he could also be annoying. I did not fall in love with him but I did not dislike him either. He was just okay like the heroine. Bearable enough for me to keep reading.

The chemistry between the hero and heroine….Hmm. Was there any? Perhaps. But it’s not overwhelming. It wasn’t that feeling wherein you can feel your heart pounding because the chemistry is totally off the charts. I did not feel many roller coaster emotions but perhaps I’m being unfair because I’ve only recently read two books back to back with main characters whose chemistry was totally insane. So it might’ve affected my feelings towards this pair. I did not fall in love with either Jane or Harrison so it is no surprise that I did not fall in love with them as a couple.

My complaint about the first book is the pacing was so fast. Victoria and Atherbourne got married immediately and it felt like the readers were just thrown into it without further details. Now my complaint is that this book was slower in terms of pacing. The chapters containing Jane and Colin’s friendship bored me to tears. I was almost tempted to not finish this book but I persevered because it intrigued me how Jane and Blackmore would work when they clearly could not stand each other. I remember Blackmore scolding Jane in book one and I was sure she’d hold a grudge because of it. Ha, perhaps I’m not that wrong. Thankfully, it got interesting the moment the author finally decided to let the hero have his time to shine. Why did it take so many chapters before he appeared? I couldn’t care less about Jane and Colin now please move it along! The book was definitely dull in comparison to some of the books I’ve read but Jane and Blackmore make a somewhat interesting pair although they could come off as boring at times. Also, I dislike how Jane just assumes things but then it’s not her fault when Blackmore is sweet one moment and then cold the next. Still, many things could’ve been easily resolved if they just knew how to communicate and find a solution for their problems. Also, why was a Duke so mad over chocolates? He’s literally been described as someone who’s very wealthy and yet he was angry at his wife because of her sweet tooth. Does not make any sense! It was such a silly excuse for them to have sex. It’s just not believable someone as rich would be that mad because of a price increase. But, we move on.

Jane Austen’s popular quote, “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.” is the perfect quote to represent these characters and their relationship dynamic. I think it’s obvious Braden got inspiration from that when she wrote this couple, especially as that specific quote was mentioned in this book. I personally loved this. You ever love someone words aren’t enough and your profound feelings scare you? Yep, that’s basically Harrison regarding his feelings for his wife. It’s one of the few things I enjoyed about this book.

Next book is Colin’s and I have no idea if I’m interested in reading it. Honestly, he’s the type of hero I enjoy. A scoundrel. That’s my shit right there. But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s penniless heroes. You can’t expect me to root for someone who doesn’t even have money of his own. Ruins the romance as all I could think about is how he would be able to feed the heroine. Love can’t pay bills! But I must say, he was an interesting character and it would be nice to see what Braden would do with him, so perhaps I might read it after all. Also, Chatham is a shitty friend but I am still intrigued and will most likely read his book because it seems like it’s a fan favorite and there must be a good reason why. As usual, the dowager marchioness of Wallingham’s quotes at the beginning are funny. I really enjoy her character.

Hmmm….I feel like I’m writing so many words yet I’m not making any sense. Many friends enjoy Elisa Braden. Sadly, I still am not that impressed. Fingers crossed that book 4 would be the book that would make me want to try more of her work. But thus far, I am lukewarm about this series. There’s just something about the way she writes that is not satisfying me but I can’t yet pinpoint what it is. But then again I read a Goodreads friend’s comment yesterday saying, “Some people's yuck is other’s yum.” In conclusion, If I don’t enjoy the next Elisa Braden book then it means she just might not be for me.

Some quotes:

“She is not plain. She is extraordinary.” The dowager dismissed his statement with the wave of her wrinkled hand. “You are clearly suffering a visual disorder of some kind. Perhaps you and Jane should wear matching spectacles.” (This was funny)

“It begins with the small things. The way she smells. A little crinkle at the corner of her eyes when she laughs. Then, you find yourself wondering if you have some kind of illness. A fever, perhaps. Surely that is the only way to explain feeling like a feral beast every time she says your name.” Harrison stared at the other man. It was all he could manage. No one knew this. How could he know? Harrison had not even told Jane. “The worst is not the wanting, although that is rather frightening in its intensity. No, the worst is when you are parted from her. The only greater agony is in knowing you are the cause of it. And that she suffers for your foolishness.”

“How she longed for him, for the strength of his arms around her, for the break in his voice as he spoke her name. She missed him as she would miss her own heart, should it be taken from her body.”

“Victoria had been right. He was easily the most honorable man she had ever known, his kindness not the easy sort, but rather the most profound. Harrison—her Harrison—had protected a woman he barely knew, shielded her not only with his name, but with every weapon at his disposal. Before he’d had any cause to feel the slightest affection for her, he had placed himself between her and the consequences of her stupidity.”

“All I have ever wanted is your love. Without restraint. Without apology. As long as you love me, my darling husband, you shall never lose me.” He groaned and clutched her harder, his head coming up slowly so she could see his eyes. There in the blue, love shone with neither shadow nor veil. For the first time, she could see clear through into his heart. “Then we will be together always, my Jane.” He brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek, sending springles down her spine. “For, that is how long I will love you.”

[Lori ◡̈ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many things about this book I really should have liked: cold, grumpy hero, shy plain-jane heroine, marriage to save her honor, steamy love scenes....

But for some reason it did not all work together for me. I get that a plain Jane wallflower-type is NOT drop dead gorgeous, but this poor heroine was constantly being badly described as basically super short (5 ft next to the hero's 6+ ft), very pudgy (no waistline and excessively chubby next to the hero's Adonis-like perfectly buff and chiseled looks), her spectacles were constantly falling off or needing to be straightened on her nose...

It got to the point that when these two were together and making out, it was nothing but awkward for me to read, imagine or grasp.
——————————————————————————————————-

Updated review for reread on 04-17-24

I definitely enjoyed the story better the second time around, but I was still hung up on visualizing the poor heroine Jane as a super short, shapeless pudgy girl though. Like a potato shape. It was mentioned so often how she had no waist, I couldn’t help it 😩 Then it was equally mentioned how tall the hero was, so I’m over here try to visualize them as a couple, and wondering if she needs to stand on a step stool to kiss him, or what!?

I think I loved the first half best, as it had the enemies-to-lover feel to it, the witty banter back and forth, the awkwardness of a new couple in a marriage of convenience situation. Our hero and heroine both had their own personal issues to work thru though. And as the second half of the story unfolded, I felt so bad for the heroine and frustrated with the hero in his aloofness, I wanted to just shake him to make him see what a sweet wife he had. 😂

The hero - “He had married her for one reason: to restore his family honor. Allowing their union to become anything more would be a dangerous mistake”.
The hero is determined to not love or be loved, because of his horrible father/childhood. So he switches back and forth btwn the Ice King wanting to avoid her to then a normal attentive hubby bending her over whatever furniture 🔥then back again to the Ice King 🥶and insisting on sleeping in separate rooms. He would avoid her for weeks at a time 😔

The heroine - To thaw out her husband from his first reign as the Ice King right after the wedding, she sets out to seduce her husband. He thinks proper wives don’t want passionate interludes, they prefer quiet sedate love making in the dark. So she plans a scandalous picnic to convince him otherwise. I loved this whole scene! 🥰

Hero - “I do not have time for a picnic. I thought you were in distress. Your note said so.”
Heroine - “I am in great distress,” she said. “My husband has been neglecting me.”
He went still and silent, his face inscrutable.😍

I loved the scene where the Duke was upset with Jane’s chocolate habit and how he lost his cool and had a great sense of …. urgency 🔥 He couldn’t unlace his pantaloons fast enough. If I was Jane, I would have doubled my chocolate intake for a repeat lecturing 😉

But then he quickly reverted back to ignoring and avoiding Jane. He preferred to control everything a duchess normally would and to run the household, organize the menus and tells the heroine to just go relax and read somewhere making her feel completely unworthy. She often felt unwanted, unloved, unworthy and unattractive. I really felt bad for her 😩

Then Lady Mary (🤬) and Lady Dunston (😡) came visiting and treated poor Jane horribly during their many weeks there. Jane, the hostess and a Duchess! They were unforgivably rude, making snide remarks to Jane and the hero never seemed to notice or defend his wife. Finally the heroine from Book 1 shows up to save the day. Of course the hero finally understands Jane’s worth and that he needs and loves her and they find their HEA, but it was a bumpy ride getting there. (Poor Jane!)

Another quick positive, the heroine had a wonderful loving family. Her parents and siblings were all a great supporting cast, instead of the typical dragon social climbing mothers or heartless fathers. I look forward to reading some of their stories next!

[Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio 3.75 Stars
Story....4.25 Stars

I didn't care much for the drama in the last few chapters of the story. The reason behind the drama was too flimsy and should have been resolved quicker. Other than that, I really enjoyed the story. And the intense chemistry between the H and h was feverish and swoon-worthy! Love it! ❤

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥+
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
Cliffhanger: No
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to the audio from Hoopla

(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club )

Should I read in order?
Ideally, yes. This series really flows together with character arcs and growth. Though I don’t think it would be unreadable alone (though I did pick this one up alone years ago and just thought it was okay, I liked it much more this time around with getting the back ground of Jane and Harrison

Basic plot:
Jane’s reputation is ruined, and the culprit’s brother, Harrison, is determined to make things right with marriage.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1817)
- full figured, glasses wearing, shy heroine
- ruined heroine that results in marriage of necessity
- angsty
- touch of heroine seduces her husband
- touch of enemies to lovers
- bit of a protective/jealous hero
- higher steam – 6 full scenes


Ages:
- Heroine is 20, hero is 31

My thoughts:
I read this one years ago and really didn’t like it. I remember thinking they jumped into sex too fast and I just didn’t really care about either of them. I didn’t feel the same this round though, so I’m rounding my rating up a bit! I think reading in order helped me care about them more knowing their backgrounds a bit.

I am still annoyed that so much of the beginning of the book isn’t even focused on Jane and Harrison. I dive into books without ever reading the synopsis and I seriously thought this was Colin’s book for the first 20% 😅

I did get into their relationship more this read. I loved the steam, and I loved Jane trying to pull Harrison out of his uptight shell. And I LOVED when he loses control with her.

Overall though I was still annoyed a bit with the ending. I feel like after reading The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne, this ending felt so similar. The not talking to each other, the heroine having to work to make the relationship what it should be. I was just so, so in love with Ever Yours, Annabelle that I guess these aren’t holding up to it 😆

Still I’m glad I reread it and have better feelings about it now.


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

Safe sex: No but they are married
45% - 🔥 kisses, missionary with no orgasm for the heroine
49% - 🔥 kisses, desk sex
57% - 🔥 hero talks dirty to the heroine at the picnic while licking her fingers, blow job (incomplete), missionary
63% - 🔥 kisses, missionary (?)
68% - kiss
92% - 🔥 bent over a desk
98% - 🔥 kiss, missionary

[Joanna Loves Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than the first, but I still have some quibbles. I think Braden and I were just not meant to be, and partly because I am fairly certain I don't have a very romantic soul. You might ask, why I read all of these romances? Well, I like happy endings and knowing there will be a happy ending. I like reading about relationships and different settings, culturally and historically. I often enjoy HRs with a good subplot. I also enjoy reading about attraction and irrational feelings that don't always make sense, but they drive characters to act out of character. Ok, I have a somewhat romantic soul. There are just times when stories become to overwrought and melodramatic for me, and well, like it or not, Braden is wonderful at the overwrought and melodrama.

The start of this was right up my alley. Jane is in a bookshop and she catches the attention of a gentleman, whom she doesn’t know well but is acquainted with. She is a bit shy and embarrassed, but he teases and cajoles her and she begins to feel better. Oh how cute and romantic, I thought. Is there a better way for two people to start a romantic relationship than over books? Well, this meet-cute turned into a horror story when the identity of the man (note the omitted ‘gentle’) was COLIN. I the history of my reading HRs I don’t believe I have loathed a character, a future hero more than Colin. Now, who’s being melodramatic? I may be exaggerating, but you get the idea. Looking back at this story, the amount of Colin in the beginning and throughout just feels wrong. I wish we had had some introduction in this book to the hero first. Just as he was the villain in the first, he was the villain here, luring our unsuspecting heroine into scandal. Harrison, the Duke, Colin’s brother, the hero, marries Jane to save her from scandal. Harrison and Jane have had an antagonistic relationship, and their marriage is bumpy filled with miscommunication, misunderstandings and the need to break down barriers.

If their growing relationship had stayed a focus of this story, it would have been at least a four star story at least, for me. The starchy, proper Duke and shy, unassuming bookish heroine is a trope that appeals to me in general. I enjoyed many of their interactions, and due to the need to break down so many barriers, Colin’s role felt very unnecessary to this story. They both had issues to overcome that created enough conflict on their own. I wish that he had only been featured to show a transition in his character, to show him start to take responsibility for his actions. I like a good villain to hero story, but Colin has obviously been coddled and is forgiven without any need to prove himself. How does that build character? Up to this point, Colin has been a coward placing women, who believed he had their best interests at heart, in harm’s way. Ugh, I feel like I could write a thesis on how much I hate Colin.

Sorry for Colin rant. This really did have many lovely moments. I liked both of the MCs. I had a couple of minor quibbles with regards to the romance development, but they were not anything I could not easily overlook. Braden has lovely phrasing at times, and you can tell she puts much thought in her word choice. If it weren’t for the Colin detours, I would have enjoyed more, but he really does steal the show every time he enters it. Still, I would mark this as a worthy read overall. I do plan to read book 4 as the hero has been of interest to me as side character.

I should acknowledge the excellent narrator choice for this series. It’s a good fit for the tone of the writing. And finally, I apologize for the unevenness of this review—I am quite aware I was all over the place.

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 5 out of 5]

April 2023 Reread: Still holds up! So hot. So cute. Love a tall restrained duke with a curvy plain Jane. When I first read this, I remember feeling Jane was more shy but she’s got discernment and can say some honest truths. Jane has a public reputation for being shy and while she is uncomfortable being social, it’s not that she can’t be a social hostess. She just prefers to read.

Also noticed in rereading how I love how much the duke wants her to feel comfortable and safe.

This was also funny. The scene where he says, call me Harrison. 😤 And she says, yes, your grace! Whatever you want 😚😂💗🤗


2021 Review:
My favourite read from Elisa Braden so far! This was superb. I felt the chemistry between Harrison and Jane from the beginning chapters and I loved how everything unfolded! I love cold dukes, especially when they are rude to the heroine.

When I read the blurb for The Truth About Cads and Dukes, I wasn't interested, but after reading The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne, I became intrigued and this is actually my favourite story in the series.

I loved how rude and cold Harrison was to Jane, and I loved that Jane spoke up. In terms of pacing, the story could have been stretched out without going into filler content territory. The kidnapping was very short - the tension was over before it could even be established. The final obstacle felt a little disconnected, especially after the kidnapping. I understand that the final obstacle was a result of the kidnapping (hero realizes he has feelings so tries again to be cold and distant) but I'm not sure why Jane jumped to the conclusion that he did not love her when he was going to kill a man for her. I also wasn't a fan of how Jane would basically go into paroxysms of pleasure each time she ate food because it was over-the-top.

Overall, fun to read! If you enjoy supercilious dukes who insult their unabashed heroines, you might want to try Scarlett Scott's Darling Duke as well. Darling Duke, however, is lighter in tone as the duke falls in love faster, and the obstacles are even more fluffy and inconsequential.

[Lu Han · Rating 4 out of 5]

I CANNOT believe I read this and forgot to RATE it considering that this book is one of my top faves of 2020!!!

Like I seriously loved this book. It has a couple of my FAVORITE tropes: scandal leading to marriage, ugly duckling and cold hero. But I just wish it was longer and little more drawn out. I don’t usually like filler content but I feel like some filler scenes would have been nice and would have provided some much needed cushioning to allow for a more believable relationship development than the sorta insta love that occurred. Also the H’s actions weren’t always consistent with his characterization of a frigid uptight duke, for example, the aforementioned instalove.

I really would have loved a more drawn out relationship progression but none the less the H and h had GREAT chemistry and I love love loveddd them together!! I’m pretty sure they are my favorite couple in this entire series!!
I think 🤔

Even separately the two were really great especially the h She was soo sweet and didn’t take the H’s nonsense, and gave as good as she got while being sweet and lovely 💗The H was pretty hot to, he had this great sense of responsibility and honor about him that I highly respected. While he was cold and uptight, he was still forgiving, kind and loving 😭💗

All in all this was a great time 💖

[Vashti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Harrison and Jane's story.
The rigid Duke and the plain, bespeckled heroine were perfect for each other.
When the Duke calls Jane " My Jane",I just about melted in puddle and slid off of my reading chair!
Happy sigh and happy dance :)

[Princess under cover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gonna hold on this author. Writing is OK. Humor is OK. Characters are OK.

But if I can't get an idea of the chemistry between the MCs within the sample, I don't have the patience to continue reading. Thus far, it's been about the wager and the H's brother Colin.

While I love a good HR trope around the bookish, plumpish miss and the moody, broody, serious Duke, there's not enough in the sample to make me click the buy button.

[♥ℳelody · Rating 5 out of 5]

*5 Can we do it again?! Stars*

His forehead met the cool surface, the torment of longing and sorrow and regret devouring him until he wanted to tear his entire house to pieces. “Jane,” he whispered, the word almost a prayer. My Jane. My love.

Why is it that whenever I hated a book I have no problem blabbering away and dissecting the book to bits but when I loved a book I'm tongue tied? What is this ceaseless curse?

This was my first Elisa Braden book and it certainly will not be my last. No sirree. This gave me all the feels and hit all my happy buttons. It was a slow start as the first 50 pages was a struggle to get through. I just didn't care about the wager/prank fiasco and how easily the naive heroine was duped into it by the hero's younger rakehell brother Colin, who she seemed to befriend overnight and out of nowhere. That and the jumping around in timeline and fast forwarding at the beginning was so jarring and very distracting. For a minute I was worried Colin was the hero, I'm so glad he wasn't. But once the hero Harrison, The Duke of Blackmore, stepped in and offers a MOC to the almost ruined heroine, all bets were off.

When he closed the door, she looked up. And then she smiled. Dark eyes sparkling, dimples emerging, her face went from plain to riveting in a flash. “Oh, your grace, you have no idea of the treasures you possess.” On the contrary, he could think of at least one.

I just loved everything about the dynamics between our shy bookish heroine Jane and a stoic austere Duke who are forced together in a marriage of convenience and watching their walls and preconceived judgements slowly crumble. It. was. delicious. Braden did a fantastic job of building up that tension and sexual awareness slowly between the two. It felt like tea kettle slowly coming to a boil until the top popped off. Seeing the progression between these two from hate to curiosity to wonderment is a sight to behold. Braden did a great job delivering all the little nuances and tics in showing an emotionally closed off cold man fighting his attraction and feelings to the point he breaks and becoming mush for his sunshine wife.

It was very much giving this energy:



If you know, you know.

Harrison is everything starchy, jaw flexing, nose flaring, fist clenching that brooding hero dreams are made of. I just gobble up details like that. Harrison didn't grow up in a loving environment with an abusive father who tried to sap all kindness and weakness out of him as a child, so he's not used to softness and demonstrative touches until Jane comes into his life. It may sound cliche as character flaws go but the push and pull was wonderfully done. He thinks it's ungentlemanly and not proper to want to ravish his wife outside the bedroom and talk dirty to her like he's secretly dying to do and Jane keeps pushing his buttons and limits at every turn. It was the greatest thing.

When he broke the silence, his voice was dusky and low. “Your hands are exquisite. Do you know?”
Her breathing quickened, her pulse following suit. “Are they?”
He nodded. “I dream of them often.”
“What do you dream?”
“Your touch upon me.”
“I dream of that, too.”

This had the perfect balance of sensual sexy times and slow burn yearning angst. And I appreciated how for once a "plump" heroine in a HR was actually full figured who enjoyed food but it wasn't fetishcized or made into a big deal. Oh she's definitely ostracized by the ton and labeled "plain" but Harrison sees beyond that and hates when people call her plain. Seeing five foot bookish wallflower have to marry the austere, stiff lipped control freak hero was the perfect formula for me. Because it created situations that I personally love and just die for. The forced proximity for one, sharing one bed and waking up tangled up in each other, arguing that leads to explosive sex on a desk in the library. That's like catnip for me. Harrison is very much cold and severe but goes all soft and protective of Jane and Jane only and it just did things for me.

“And you enjoy spending time with her.”
His eyes riveted to their spot, where she had laid her head on his thigh, stroked his cheek with her soft, white hand. “Yes. She is so beautiful, Henry,” he said absently. “Her laugh has a charming little catch just at the top. It makes you glad you are close enough to hear it. And when she smiles, her cheeks form these tiny dimples. Playful little things.”
.....
“Her voice …” He paused to take a breath, his longing intensified by every word. “It changes like the pattern of light on water. When she is happy, the rasp is slight. When she is vexed with me, it deepens like a pup grumbling about being awakened from a nap.” When she was aroused, it stroked over him like roughened silk, soothing and enflaming at once, but he could not tell Dunston such a thing.

As much as I enjoyed the sexual intimacy and how Harrison loses control whenever Jane is around I'm glad that it wasn't just about that and resolved some other issues and story beats left unanswered. Like Jane finally learning to take charge of her own household and take on Duchess duties which at first overwhelmed her. And Harrison's unresolved issues and estrangement with his own brother, Colin. The one thing I will say I did feel could have been handled better was Lady Mary Thorpe and her awful mother. Those two overstayed their welcome as houseguests for far too long and seemed to delight in insulting and being difficult with Jane at every turn. Mary Thorpe happens to be Harrison's best friend Lord Dunston's sister and is the very same lady who had her sights set on the Duke before he married Jane. So yes, it's sticky, awkward, and awful. Why Harrison never even noticed how rude they were to his wife for weeks on end I found kind of ridiculous. This is the same man who notices if someone sneezes in his wife's direction, he's like a bloodhound when it comes to Jane and her discomforts. He reads her really well so this felt frustrating considering how long they were staying at his home. Just as ridiculous as his own sister and Jane's best friend Victoria not telling her brother when she found out. That drove me up the wall considering the only person to give them the blistering set down was Victoria in the end, not Jane herself or even Harrison. I wanted Harrison to tell them to "fuck off and get out of my house", but that's just me. The fact that nobody told him how they behaved did bother me. But other than that one hang up, I loved this to bits and will definitely be reading more by this author. I already have a few of the books from this series on my TBR so clearly I have heard good things about her and now I can see why.

Eventually, she laid her head on his thigh, looking up at his beautiful jaw. Surprisingly, while he absently took her hand in his and kissed it, he kept reading about Gulliver and the presumptuous little Lilliputians. The muscles in his face relaxed, his deep voice growing more nimble over the words.

“Plain implies she is ordinary. Unexceptional. Those words are the opposite of Jane.”

All disappeared. There was only her. Jane. His apple-scented temptress wearing a crimson dress. His book-obsessed, bespectacled, anything-but-plain Jane. The one who made the entire world disappear, who made him forget why he could not have her precisely as he wanted—with nothing between them. Completely, utterly his.

[Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was almost a DNF, truly. I should have listened to PUC. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The whole first 14% or so was a waste of my time. Could have been summarized to set the plot of Jane needing to marry SOMEONE in like 3 pages instead of 20+. I did not enjoy wasting my time with Colin. Nor will I be reading this wastrel's book.

No, what would have been better would be to use that real estate to explain the nuances of the MCs reactions to each other. There has to be SOMETHING besides immediate disdain and irritation for each other than can be used to build the foundation for their "love" later. But no, none of that context exists.

I don't particularly like Jane. Tho I'm generally predisposed to like plump bookish "Oddflowers." I was prepared to like Harrison, since I generally like cold on the surface volcano beneath types of men. Jane just kinda ruined it for me. Even when she was "brave" enough to leave in the end (and preceded him for all of 2 hours).

Then, Harrison's hangups kinda felt melodramatic. The whole - I'm just like my father and need to control my beast thing... soooooooo overused!! And it's not like his father did anything but be cold! Or I would have sympathized better if the author actually described some events of his childhood that really formed his character instead of taking THIS opportunity to be brief vs. long-winded.

I just felt like the whole SPARK, as side from chemistry, was missing. The EMOTIONAL spark.

This just after I read my fave by EB... a real let down.

2.5 stars rounded generously up for the best cover of the series.

[Viri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro encantador para pasar el rato.
No es una historia de grandes pretensiones. Es de esos libros que te entretienen y por momentos te pegan una sonrisa en la cara.

No leí el primer libro de la serie y ahora me arrepiento. Me gustó el estilo de la autora que hasta el momento era desconocida para mi.

Los personajes tienen brillantes personalidades y si debo poner un pero fue a su historia de amor.
El romance no me pareció creíble hasta el final.
Se odian al principio y luego el se muere de deseo y lujuria por ella. No sé, no me checa.

El principio fue medio lento y el fetiche que tenía el prota con las manos un poco raro y extravagante JAJJAJAJA si me pasé hojitas pero no fue un libro malo

[GigiReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read. Forced marriage, starchy duke who is hiding and holding back an inner horny obsessive freaky freak for his wee wallflower wife. Loads of My Wife energy and so much longing.


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥🔥🔥/5

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much looked forward to this pairing of Jane and Harrison after the first book. I just KNEW Harrison would be the starchy, buttoned up, tortured hero I love. And he was...buuuuut there were SEVERAL instances of "white fanging" , which is basically pushing the heroine away, being cold to her deliberately because the risk of loving her might hurt her MORE than actually hurting her by pushing her away and being hot and cold with his feelings towards her. I just got so frustrated with this hero and his constant hot and cold feelings to the heroine, and what made it even worse is his flimsy reason for doing so. I love this author's writing, and am invested in this series but this one was a miss for me.

[A Romance Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love this book!! This series is one of my favorites in HR.

[BJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top 10 favourite with the painfully proper H marrying the h after she was compromised by his brother. She's extremely shy and horrified when she realises their marriage is a fait accompli. Of course there is more to their story, and I loved the H being unable to control his response to her. She's a wonderful character and so kind to the H. He needed her kindness and trust, as he had little of either.

[Topastro · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second read from Elisa Braden and another 5 star! Jane was an delightful heroine that I really connected with and my heart broke for a few times. Shy, loyal, and kind she was exactly what I love in a heroine. Harrison was stuffy and he did redeem himself I just wish there was more groveling from him. I think I have found a new go to author.

[Sara Reads (mostly) Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I just found a new reliable author!!! This book was so good. Loved Jane. The only issue was I genuinely didn't get what the hero's problem was??? The whole 'i had a mean dad so now i wont open myself for love' is always overused and SUCHHH a big stretch, like i dont care, get over it. you are a white man in the top 1% in regency era england. i won't empathize with you ! Cry about it bitch!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I really loved this. If you like historicals, I highly recommend it.

[Amanda Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I really liked Elisa Braden's first in the series "The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne", where we first meet Jane, but in my opinion this one was better. Jane is plain, plump, and loves to lose herself in a good book. She is also smart, strong, and has a will of iron, she is impressive because even though she is plain and knows that she will probably end up a spinster, she doesn't want her friends or family to fee sorry for her. Jane is a happy person, she loves her books and reading, but she really doesn't like her best friend Victoria's brother Harrison.
In Jane's opinion, Harrison is ice cold, she thinks his cold blue eyes are like razor blades that cut into her and she avoids him as much as she can. Victoria's wastrel brother, Colin, approaches her at a book store and asks that she write to Victoria about how he is trying to change his ways and asks if he and Jane can be friends. We soon learn that Colin is only interested in becoming her friend so that he can win a wager. In order to win,
he has to dupe her into destroying her reputation. Unfortunately, Colin is successful and he has witnesses to her ruin, gossip is running rampant about this plain Jane and Harrison is furious. He is furious that Colin would hurt an unsuspecting young lady and that Colin would embroil their family name in a scandal.
Jane is appalled when Harrison offers for her, while her parents couldn't be happier, she doesn't want to marry him and believes they will be the most mismatched couple in the ton. Harrison wants to do the right thing for Jane and for his family name. He always seems to be annoyed by her during their initial interactions, but he actually appreciates that she speaks her mind and she isn't as shy as she appears once she has a chance to get to know him. Harrison is surprised by his attraction to Jane, but will it lead both of them to fall in love with each other.
I can't say enough how much I loved this book, the love scenes are passionate and steamy. It was very easy to empathize with Jane, she was sweet and likeable, but had the ability to show her backbone when needed. Harrison shows his cold side to the world, but shows other facets of his personality to Jane which makes him a more likeable character. And I was so happy to see Lady Wallingham back up to her ways and I loved her words as the beginning of each chapter. After reading the epilogue, I think the next book may be about Chatham, I really hope it is, I would love to read his story!

[Annika]

My biggest disappointment this year.

I went from an epic high to a crashing low, between book one and book two. My expectations were sky high. clearly too high.

DNF at chapter 20. Rant incoming:

Lady Jane is constantly described as overweight, plain, and short. She’s eating on nearly every page, paired with self-loathing thoughts that spill over onto her husband during their consummation. Why not let her be content in her own skin?
Her insecurities didn’t feel plot driven, just unnecessary. But he found her hands attractive? 🤦‍♀️really? I felt insulted for her character.

First full disclosure, anything to do with food and weight in books gets me a little angry, I have always struggled with my body image, and I weigh myself every day. Weight is on my mind 24/7, it is through those glasses you should read this review because I clearly am an unreliable narrator. However when Lady Jane’s chocolate consumption increases the entire castle’s supply TENFOLD, explicitly stated, it felt like a cruel exaggeration and demeaning to her character.
Why focus so much on her appearance and food consumption? Why contrast her “unattractiveness” with his muscular perfection? It felt like I was being pushed to pity her, and that’s not empowering. Beauty comes in all sizes, and I didn’t understand why the writing kept undermining her.

On top of that, Lady Jane was sharp and witty in book one. Here, she’s passive and a little dumb/naive. She’s supposed to be bookish, shouldn’t that imply intelligence and curiosity?

It wasn’t really romantic, and their chemistry was flat for me, the spice was awkward, and I didn’t feel I knew Harrison at all.

Should you read it?
It’s a no from me. It was low on romance, and I ended up feeling like I had to mother Lady Jane.

[Vintage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plain Jane is surprised that Colin has tried to make friends with her as she is plump, plain and wears spectacles. She was right. Making friends with her and conning into an adventure was all part of a ploy to win a wager.

In steps Colin's haughty older brother, the Duke, to make it better. As this is the second in the series, I am not sure if the H had a yen for the h earlier or not as he seems pretty set on her.

They marry, eventually consummate the marriage. It's a nice little romance with some spicy sex scenes, but the Duke blows so hot and cold you could get whiplash. His father was extremely cold as he had to hold down his passionate nature as the Duke does now. Honestly too much vacillating between "I adore you and want to ravish you" and being a cold fish to protect the h.

Too bad as there was a lot that was very good in the story.

[Lovetoread · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth about Cads and Dukes is the second romance novel from author Elisa Braden. May I say I am so glad I bought this book...this is a 5 plus star read for me. Elisa Braden's name was recommended on FaceBook in the Old School Romance Book Club sight. All this fan on facebook said for a fantastic read check out Elisa Branden's books. I think she is a new author but I have to tell you, after being a fan of romance novels for over 40 years, after reading her two novels I have put her on my favorite author shelf with both her books in my re read shelf.

The premise of this story is about Jane Huxley, our heroine, whom we first were introduced as Victoria Lacey's friend in The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne. Jane is painfully shy, I think it is because she is so different from the other girls in the London season. She is bookish, bespectacled and very plain. Also she is generously gifted with curves. She is the furthest thing from a diamond of the first water. And her hopes of a match, being her third season is very remote at best. She never expected to befriend a charmer like Colin Lacey, her friend Victoria's brother. She is unaware that Colin is setting her up for humiliation all because of a bet he made. Our Hero of the story is Harrison Lacey, the Duke of Blacknore. A cold, rigid brother of both Victoria and Colin. He is a man that protects his family honor at all costs. When his cad of a brother succeeds in humiliating the unwitting Lady Jane, Harrison must make it right even if it means marrying her himself. With her reputation hanging by a thread, Jane agrees to wed the arrogant Duke of Blackmore,
although she’s convinced it will result in frostbite. Only after lingering glances lead to devastating kisses does she begin to suspect the truth: Perhaps—just perhaps—her duke is not as cold as he appears.

I highly recommend this delightful romance. Outstanding story, interesting characters and a sensual rating of 7, I can not wait for Ms. Braden's next novel.

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

That cover is really bad, looks like the girl has 5 o’clock shadow attached to full sideburns. Also, that dress is n atrocious shade for her coloring.

Story and all: good, liked the characters

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review from 2018

Narration: C-/Story: C+ - 2.5 stars

Having read and enjoyed a couple of Elisa Braden’s books in print, when I saw that her Rescued from Ruin series was coming to audio, I immediately decided to pick up one of them for review. I’ve never heard of narrator Mary Sarah, but I listened to the sample (of another book) on Tantor’s website and decided it was worth the risk, so I requested a copy of The Truth About Cads and Dukes, the second book in the series.

Well, it just goes to show you can’t set too much store by samples, because it wasn’t long before I was holding my head in agony at the constant stream of mispronunciations and Ms. Sarah’s manner of speaking in an odd kind of sotto voce almost-whisper. The mispronunciations are those typically made when American narrators attempt British accents – turning the flat ‘a’ (as in ‘hat’) into an elongated ‘ah’, so that instead of ‘back’ we get ‘bahck’ and instead of ‘fact’, we get ‘fahct. When she should elongate the ‘a’, she doesn’t, and ‘father’ becomes ‘fother’ and ‘aunt’ becomes ‘ont’. Other highlights include a laughing ‘stook’ (stock), one character going to the ‘dorks’ (docks) – and the most heinous of all, the word ‘duke’ is NOT pronounced ‘dook’. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Why do audio publishers never learn? If you can’t get Kate Reading, Barrie Kreinik or Saskia Maarleveld, then USE A BRITISH NARRATOR.

The problem for yours truly, then, is that these things, once heard, can’t be unheard, and it makes it difficult to concentrate on the actual story. But for you, dear readers, I girded my loins, hitched up my big-girl knickers and got stuck in.

The story itself is decent enough and employs a couple of favourite tropes, the marriage of convenience and the Plain-Jane who snares the most eligible bachelor on the marriage mart. Lady Jane Huxley, one of the daughters of the Earl and Countess of Berne, is a perennial wallflower, her preference for books rather than people meaning she has few friends and even fewer marriage prospects. She is surprised when the handsome Colin Lacey, younger brother of the Duke of Blackmore, strikes up a conversation with her; but even though she is a little suspicious, he doesn’t attempt to flatter or flirt with her, and she relaxes into a friendship with him. Sadly, however, Jane’s naïvéte and her loneliness have led her astray, and it turns out that Colin’s ‘friendship’ was born of a wager – a wager he desperately needs to win in order to pay off a large debt to a very unsavoury character. When Jane’s unwitting attempt to help Colin goes disastrously wrong and leaves her reputation in tatters, it seems she is doomed to spinsterhood – and not only that, but her tarnished name will have a detrimental effect on the matrimonial prospects of her younger sisters.

Harrison Lacey**, Duke of Blackmore is furious with his brother – whom he had cut off some months previously owing to a particularly awful scandal (to which we are not made privy until later – although it may well have happened in the first book in the series, which I haven’t read or listened to). He is determined to uphold his family honour at all cost, so, unwilling to lumber Jane with a life of misery with his scapegrace brother, Harrison approaches her father to ask for her hand and is granted permission to marry her.

Jane has met the duke on only a few occasions and had found him somewhat haughty and pompous. The idea of being married to him simply in order to satisfy the demands of family honour is not a particularly appealing one, but if she is not to drag her family down with her, she has no alternative, and before long, Jane is the Duchess of Blackmore.

The story proceeds as one might expect, with this unlikely couple trying to adjust to married life, and not without a few lumps and bumps along the way. Harrison is one of those heroes who conceals such volcanic passion beneath his ice-cold exterior that it terrifies him; he values calm and order, and the fact that his new wife – whom society has dubbed plain but who, to him, is nothing of the sort – drives him mad with lust is something he must subjugate if he is to carry on with the orderly life he has carved out for himself. The thing is, that once Jane cottons on to what’s really going on and takes steps to demolish those walls, he continues to erect them and to push her way, for reasons I couldn’t quite make out, or which didn’t make sense. The way that Jane gradually comes into her own is one of the story’s strengths, and I was pleased that she decided not to wait around for her husband to make up his mind about her and realised she deserved more than he seemed prepared to offer her.

Ms. Braden is a strong writer and is able to create interesting, attractive characters and plotlines, but here, if feels as though she’s trying to cram in too much. Colin gets a fair bit of ‘screen time’ (his story is the next book, Desperately Seeking a Scoundrel), and in the early stages, I actually thought he was the hero of this one, as we saw far more of him than of his brother. Then, after Jane and Harrison are married, we get the nasty, lip-curling ‘should-have-been-me’ rival who comes to stay and make Jane’s life a misery; Harrison’s jealousy of Jane’s friendship with his brother, an attempted kidnapping for ransom… in the second half of the book especially, the characters lurch from crisis to crisis, and it all got a bit much. And while Jane’s character is quite well drawn (if a bit stereotypical), I found it difficult to get a handle on Harrison, who has pretty much one defining trait – the ice-man who doesn’t want all those emotional cooties making him feel… stuff.

I’ve already said that the constant barrage of mispronunciations made The Truth about Cads and Dukes a difficult listen; and when I say constant, I mean constant – pretty much every sentence has at least one mistake. When it comes to other aspects of her performance, Ms. Sarah’s pacing is good, as is the degree of expression she injects into her narration. But her character differentiation is fairly minimal – she does a reasonable job with the male characters, and it’s easy to tell the difference between the men and the women, but the men all sound very similar and so do the women. In scenes between Harrison and Colin, I had to rely on dialogue tags, although the female characters fare a little better – in the scenes between Jane and her friend Victoria, or Jane and her mother, it’s clear there is more than one person speaking. The minor characters, such as servants, are given these weird, pseudo-Irish sort of accents which are just plain… odd.

Sadly, it seems the series title – Rescued from Ruin – is, in audio, a misnomer, because the narration does precisely the opposite. What should have been at the very least an entertaining though undemanding listen, is dragged down by a narrator unsuited to an English-set historical romance.

**[As a side note, I can’t believe a nineteenth century peer of the realm would be named “Harrison”.

[Dagmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

*****5 SPRINGLE-Y STARS!

I AM partial to a sunshine and grump trope, so there's that...throw in a marriage-of- convenience and I'm in 100%. This was all that and more.

This book was completely fantastic. The writing was exquisite and descriptive and it was paced to perfection. The unraveling of a seemingly humorless and uptight 'ice-king' hero was a thrill to read matched with the completely lovable wallflower heroine in the midst of coming to believe in herself was a joy...and the sexual tension it created was delicious beyond compare.

The humor subtly woven in here and there was spot-on.

This story feels like classic HR with the heat turned up nice and HIGH. The characters are so well flushed out, the story so engaging, you don't want it to end.

A truly beautiful story.

Elisa Braden is my new favourite author.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

…
The Truth About Cads and Dukes is the second installation of 'The Rescued from Ruin' series authored by Elisa Braden.

This series is intended for ***MATURE AUDIENCES ***

The initial focus is on Lady Jane Huxley, who was short in stature and plumper than was permissible. Jane was already in her third season and felt as though she were already upon the shelf -and- the ever honorable For Harrison Lacey, the Duke of Blackmore, who behaves as if ice runs through his veins.

Then there was Lord Colin Lacy, who was a drunken wastrel, the brother of one of Jane's dearest friends. After Colin's brother, a Duke, cut off his funds, he felt forced to make a bet that would change their lives forever.

The focus of this journey based on lust, disrespect, and last but not least HONOR!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

When a wage goes wrong. . .

Painfully shy Jane Huxley is the furthest thing from a diamond of the first water. Bookish, bespectacled, and, well, plain, she never expected to befriend a dissolute charmer like Colin Lacey, much less agree to help him retrieve a lost family heirloom. Fortunately, he is nothing like his cold, rigid older brother. Unfortunately, he is not above deception if it means winning a wager. And that puts Jane in a most precarious position.

A formidable duke will marry a plain Jane …

For Harrison Lacey, the Duke of Blackmore, protecting his family honor is not a choice, it is a necessity. So, when his cad of a brother humiliates the unwitting Lady Jane, Harrison must make it right, even if it means marrying the chit himself.

And a marriage of convenience will become so much more …

Her reputation hanging by a thread, Jane agrees to wed the arrogant Duke of Blackmore, although she’s convinced it will result in frostbite. Only after lingering glances lead to devastating kisses does she begin to suspect the truth: Perhaps—just perhaps—her duke is not as cold as he appears.

One unique aspect regarding fiction Historical romance is that the characters, no matter their station in life, are not always required to follow the strict and foolish societal rules. People in our beloved fiction tales seem to have the capabilities to learn and mature much more so than in our current day and age. Would it not be awesome if our current generation could do the same?

This is NOT a clean series. Those who actually prefer steamy to clean and sweet might not view it as flawed. Due to this aspect, I recommend it with reservations. If you prefer clean and sweet reads, avoid this book. It is not fair to an author when readers provide bad reviews about steamy scenes if they know they are included in advance. I have been guilty of this offense myself, and take this opportunity to apologize for doing so. It takes a lot of time and effort for an author to research and write each book. And there are readers who prefer the material included in this one to a clean and wholesome read. However, I actually prefer the latter. This does have steamy sex scenes, so if you like a sex-free book this is not it. If you enjoy steamy reads, jump into this book looking forward to the pleasures painted here in words. 

Oh, what nonsense the rakes of the ar0strocity engaged in for entertainment, heedless of the harm or injury to an innocent party in the process!

Although this can be read as a stand-alone, it is beneficial to read the books in order for a clearer understanding.

This book does have the ability to stand on its own, but if you read them in order, you will become more familiar with some of the other characters that carry over. Each story does include its own H.E.A., which is always a good way to conclude the adventure you have chosen to become immersed in.

---------------------------------------------------

The Truth About Cads and Dukes
(Rescued from Ruin Book 2)
. . . Kindle Edition
by Elisa Braden (Author)
Publisher: Elisa Braden (May 29, 2015)

..

[Lover of Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Truth about Cads and Dukes is the second book in the "Rescued From Ruin" series. I was looking forward to this one, as it had a great setup. I do see why this one is a fan favorite though. I really enjoyed it. I will be honest in that it didn't "wow" me though. It was more of a relaxing enjoyable read that just was a fun sexy ride. I am really loving the way that this author writes her characters though. While the writing could use a bit more polish, it was such an endearing story that had plenty of heart to it. I was so touched by their relationship but mostly by the way that the heroine most especially in how she was such a caretaker of the hero. I will be honest this author could teach authors how to write healthy balanced heroines that uplift their man and NOT tear them down.

Another plus to this book is seeing what a wonderful set up to a marriage of convenience that this one turned out to be. I really enjoyed seeing more depths to the hero and the way that these two just learned to fit together. I really related to the heroine though and in her battle in gaining confidence and finding her own path as a duchess. It was quite enjoyable seeing the character growth. From our hero we have a commanding presence, who is "set" in his ways, but the heroine really brings some unique adaptations in his character being developed.

I am becoming more intrigued by this author's writing style and very fascinated in seeing more of the series and where it goes from here. Definitely fascinated by "the Truth About Cads and Dukes" and looking forward to exploring more from this author.