If I were asked to give a 1 to 5 star rating on HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE it would exceed five. Just after a couple of pages of reading, I was hooked and could not put the book down. Lecia Cornwell is an amazing author of Historical Romance, she draws you into the story along with the best of characters!

Marguerite Lyndon and her sister Rose, daughters of the Earl of Wycliffe had grown up learning how to be virtuous wives and to be members of the Ton. Marguerite is the second oldest in the family of five daughters and she is the most responsible and sensible among them. After her father passes away, her mother must marry off Rose, her eldest, Rose is a beauty with blond hair and angelic beauty, where as Marguerite is the family's black sheep in a way. Most of her life, her mother and father had told her she was not the beauty like all their other daughters. Marguerite has been keeping the family together since her father died, shedding no tears, only to comfort the others.

When the dowager duchess of Temberlay arranges a marriage between her eldest sister, Rose, and the notorious "Devil" Duke of Temberlay, Nicholas Hartley, Rose will have none of it. She runs off in the middle of the night, leaving her family with no care for their future. Marguerite is aware that if Rose does not marry the Duke, her family will be living in the streets, poor and destitute. Marguerite steps into her sister's shoes as Rose eloped to avoid marrying Nicholas. Nicholas, having inherited the title at the death of his brother David, is angry. He is angry of his fate, or his brother's death, or having to return home and marry a bride he's never before met, but Nicholas has left the business to his grandmother to chose a wife for him to marry. Marguerite, having only married Nicholas out of a obligation to her family, started off on the wrong foot with the furious Nicholas, who disliked his future bride before even meeting her.

This story is about a newlywed, husband and wife who both were left to carry heavy burdens. Nicholas was the unneeded second son, and according to his snake of a grandmother, he's also the one who ruined them all. This is no easy burden for either character to bare, but it becomes clear that the central conflict in this story is not precisely love, but rather trust. I loved all the characters, especially Marguerite who takes it upon herself to be the care-taker of the family Her fierce protectiveness of her family made her an outstanding character, yet with enough intelligence and good sense to shine like a jewel. As for Nicholas, he said he didn't want to hurt his wife, but he did so anyway. In bed the lust was so strong, the love was there, but it took Nicholas a bit of time to realize he was in love with Marguerite. At the ending of HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE, I wanted to box Nicholas's ears, but I won't tell a spoiler!

HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE is a must read!