Never Deceive a Duke by Liz Carlyle

About the Book:

They call her the porcelain princess...

With her fragile beauty and regal bearing, the Duchess of Warneham knows how to keep her admirers at a distance. Twice wed and twice widowed, Antonia has vowed never again to marry; never again to surrender her freedom. But when her husband’s death is deemed suspicious, and his long-lost heir returns to seize control of the dukedom, she finds that fate has placed her future in yet another man’s hands—but not just any man.

They call him a cold-hearted bastard . . .

Deep in London’s docklands, Gareth Lloyd runs Neville Shipping with an iron fist. Unrecognizable as the starving orphan who was abandoned by his family and sent an ocean away from home, Gareth has put his troubled past behind him. That is, until the Duke of Warneham is found dead, and Gareth turns out to be the dynasty’s last living heir. Wrenched from his solitude, Gareth neither wants nor needs the honors and obligations of nobility—especially the Duke’s all-too-tempting widow... Or does he?

Tell me more, tell me more!
This is book 2 in what I'm calling the Neville Trilogy. Book 1 dealt with Xanthia Neville's romance. I am coming into the series with Book 2...truly seems to always be my luck to find a good series a book late. *sigh*

Book 2 deals with Gareth's story. In effect he is the adopted brother of Lord Rothewell (Book 3: Never Romance a Rake) and Xanthia who was rescued by their dead older brother from continued torture and abuse by a group of perverted pirates. Gareth's story was pretty darn heart-wrenching.

Antonia, the Duchess of Warneham, is a grieving widow caught in the swirl of gossip that she murdered her 2nd husband. Emotionally and physically fragile, she seems to fill the void in Gareth's life that's he's not sure he really had inside. He seems to have had a love affair with Xanthia...something to look for when I read Book 1.

I enjoyed the book...and I am looking forward to catching up with Book 1 and hopefully will find out what the heck is up with the other brother, Rothewell!

Story was well paced, some parts had me wondering where the story line was going but overall, I enjoyed this book!

Grade: B+
Sandie