A review by loveleighreading
Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh

funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I just finished this book and I am sitting here utterly in awe. It has been quite a while since I have read a new Regency Historical Romance that has affected me so much. There were so many wonderful things to love about this story and the characters, but I have to say my absolute favorite part was the level of respect the characters showed each. Eva Leigh was able to show that it is completely normal to admit ones attraction to another person while simultaneously respecting their boundaries.

Jessica McGale, is the oldest daughter of a soap maker, who is doing everything that she can to keep the business afloat after a devastating fire destroyed a majority of their manufacturing abilities. Jess is a bright and determined young woman, so she creates an opportunity for herself to find investors by creating and playing as "Lady Whitfield", a recently windowed lady of the ton.

Noel, the Duke of Rotherby, is a self proclaimed rake and part time investor. He is immediately attracted to her intelligence and strength, wishing to be in her company as often and in any way possible, as long as she will allowit. He is not a man who trusts easily, but he finds himself revealing things to her that not even his friends, the Union of Rakes, are aware of.

From this set up it is pretty easy to see where the story is going to go, however, I completely enjoyed the unexpected turns this ride provided along the way. In all of the Regency/Historical Romance books I have ever read over the years, I have never seen this dynamic between the characters. The flirted with each other from their very first encounter, their mutual attraction was completely obvious but they still sought consent from one another for each action they took. This show of respect and desire for one anothet truly made the steamy scenes even more enjoyable for me as, "consent is my kink".

It might be early for me to say, but I truly believe Eva Leigh is going to be a new favorite author for me. This story brought me so much joy and contentment, that I have already purchased the first installment is this series, My Fake Rake, and plan to start reading it soon.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the free E-ARC in exchange of my honest review**