To Steal a Duke (The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies #1)

Maeve Greyson

Blurb:

She didn’t steal. She simply took what was rightfully hers—including his heart.

Charles, Duke of Hasterton, admired and respected for his cunning business acumen both at home and abroad has an astounding secret. He is imaginary. But his brilliant twin sister Cecilia is quite real. She was born in Germany after her father died and taught to guard the title, wealth, and power like the rare stolen treasure that it is. After all, as a daughter, she could never inherit the dukedom legally.

Cecilia and her mother cultivate the ruse of the fictional duke quite nicely. Everybody who is anybody in London believes His Grace resides with them at their stunning residence in Germany. Their acquaintances in Germany believe the pretend peer is always in London or traveling the world over. But when Cecilia’s mother falls victim to a grave illness and begs to visit her beloved London one last time, even though it’s risky, Cecilia can’t refuse her. But her mother can’t travel alone, and Cecilia refuses to entertain superficial men pining for nothing more than her dowry. So, she poses as her mother’s companion to ensure their elaborate farce remains safe. While everyone is told Lady Cecilia remained in Germany because of frail health, Miss Celia Bening, companion to the dowager duchess, enjoys the freedom to handle whatever arises—or at least, she tries.

Lord Elias Raines might be the second son of a duke and the youngest solicitor in his law office, but he’s proven himself so capable and talented that when his mentor dies, he’s promoted to partner and assigned to the rich, influential clients cared for by the man who taught him everything he knows. Well, almost everything. His dearly departed advisor failed to mention some of the peculiarities in the Duke of Hasterton’s file. Elias’s requests for the duke to review the oddities have, so far, gone unanswered. Luckily enough, he discovers the duke’s mother is in London. While decorum demands he wait for answers from the duke, he can’t refrain from digging deeper when the dowager duchess requests he draw up her will with a suspiciously generous endowment for her companion, the lovely Miss Cecilia, an intriguing woman who drives him mad with desire.

Delightful, passionate, and at times heartbreaking, a merry chase is had by all until a lifetime of secrets explodes. Elias must make a choice—help Cecilia devise a plan to protect the world she and her mother so carefully crafted or end their illegal scheme and escort them both to the prison.

Only one can win: his profession or his heart—until a third option too terrible to imagine rears its ugly head and makes the choice for them both.

Themes: Historical

Rating: 3.75 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

A new series begins by one of my favorite authors, one with an intriguing premise, but is just going to be a short trilogy revolving around three sisters-of-the-heart who have been brought together through the oddest of circumstances—in one way or another each of them have stolen a name and a title from the crown just by being born. Maeve Greyson takes a unique stance of women’s rights as she touches on the ways that women were viewed in 19^th century England, and she finds a way for three ladies to thwart those laws. Lord Charles Bening, Duke of Hasterton, doesn’t really exist, instead the brains and business acumen behind his entire existence is the woman that has lived as him her entire existence—his twin sister Cecilia. But when her dying mother asks to return to her home in England one last time, she cannot refuse her, even if she has to go as plain old Miss Celia Bening in order to do so. However, she never thought she would come up against her new solicitor the young and handsome Lord Elias Raines, who is determined to understand the depth of the oddities surrounding the Hasterton estate and the secrets that his previous mentor kept. But the more he is around Miss Celia the more he finds himself falling in love, no matter the dangerous secrets he learns, ones that could cost both Celia and her mother their very lives if the truth were to ever come out. But with their love and future on the line, Elias and Celia are determined to find a way through to a happy ending, even if it takes a very act of parliament to get it done. I truly enjoyed this new series, with the intrigue, dangers, and mystery leading to some very interesting plot twists and the love and chemistry between the couple being much more intense than previous Greyson novels. Celia was a great character, full of spunk, sass, and wit, she was way ahead of her time, as were her friends, and seeing her navigate through the world of business and dangerous secrets. Elias was also a wonderful character, determined, intelligent, clever, and yet protective, it was obvious immediately that once he sunk his teeth into the mystery that only having his heart lost to Celia would make him give up his crusade for the truth. I am very much looking forward to the rest of this trilogy as Celia’s friends each find love and have to come to terms with their secret lives and find a way to move out from under their pasts. Maeve has a rich and colorful new series for us here for sure.