TITLE: Betting Against the Scoundrel
AUTHOR: Mariah Stone
SERIES: Dukes and Secrets
SERIES ORDER: 4 of 4
PUBLISHED DATE: 2/27/2024
GENRE: Regency Romance
RATING: ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
BLURB:
"I'll be your scoundrel, not your hero."
Broken and devastated, the former Duke of Grandhampton, Lord Spencer Seaton, returns home from the war to find he has lost everything. His only goal is to exact vengeance upon the man who took everything from him.
Nothing will stop Spencer... except, Miss Joanna Digby—intelligent, cunning, and mysterious. A wallflower, she conceals her true self behind a facade, only to have her family threatened by the same man who ruined Spencer.
But as fate would have it, Lord Seaton stands in her path, and she in his.
And yet, it is his unlikely rival that begins to revive Lord Spencer's soul.
He proposes a deal: If he gets evidence against their mutual adversary first, she must surrender her virginity to him. If she is the first to procure the evidence, he will stop his chase.
One scandalous wager, two determined rivals, and three dangerous days spent in close proximity.
Can love resurrect the soul of the man who came back from the dead?
MY REVIEW:
DISCLAIMER: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you have not read this series yet, and you’re a fan of steamy historical romance with plenty of intrigue and heart stopping moments, you need to read this series, now! Preferably before Feb 27, 2024 so that you can enjoy the epic conclusion that is Betting Against The Scoundrel! If you’re reading this after Feb 27, 2024, you now have the full series to enjoy! Did I mention it’s in KU? What are you waiting for?!
Lord Spencer Seaton has taken my heart and run away with it in this book! Since Book 1 of this series, All Duke and Bothered, Mariah has ensnared us in the mystery of what happened to the former Duke of Grandhampton, and we got bits and pieces in the next two books, Her Rake Fiancé and Project Duke, but we get his full story in Betting Against The Scoundrel.
I absolutely loved this story! I adored Spencer and Joanna’s relationship!! Their chemistry was off the charts and I loved the little cat and mouse game they played while trying to best the other person in retrieving information that they were both after.
Spencer… I’ve said this a million times, and I’ll say it a million times more, who doesn’t love a hero that thinks he’s unworthy of the heroine’s love? Spencer has seen such cruelty, and his body bears the scars, that he finds it impossible to think that someone could ever love him for who he is now.
Then there’s our heroine, Joanna. Joanna reminded me so much of Penelope from Bridgerton. The wallflower. Content to be in the background because that’s what she’s use, and putting other people’s needs before her own. (It’s most likely because of all the teasers Netflix has been putting out recently for the new season lol.)
Then, they meet each other, and challenge each other, and help each other grow, and it was a beautiful thing to watch play out throughout the book!
This book has easily become my favorite book of 2024, and Lord Spencer Seaton as my #1 Book Boyfriend of 2024.
Oh, another thing to note is that you’ll likely never look at pomegranates again without thinking of this story. 😁
Thank you Mariah for the advance copy!