The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham

Synopsis:

Having overcome financial ruin and redeemed his family name to become the most legendary investor in London, the Duke of Westmead needs to secure his holdings by producing an heir. Which means he must find a wife who won’t discover his secret craving to spend his nights on his knees—or make demands on his long scarred-over heart.

Poppy Cavendish is not that type of woman. An ambitious self-taught botanist designing the garden ballroom in which Westmead plans to woo a bride, Poppy has struggled against convention all her life to secure her hard-won independence. She wants the capital to expand her exotic nursery business—not a husband.

But there is something so compelling about Westmead, with his starchy bearing and impossibly kind eyes—that when an accidental scandal makes marriage to the duke the only means to save her nursery, Poppy worries she wants more than the title he is offering. The arrangement is meant to be just business. A greenhouse for an heir. But Poppy yearns to unravel her husband’s secrets—and to tempt the duke to risk his heart.

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Review:

This is an interesting romance in two parts. To start, it’s an unconventional romance between a duke and a gardener. (I loved that the heroine was a businesswoman and this was both encouraged and deconstructed).Then, someone does a thoughtless thing in the name of romance (which rather neatly turns the matchmaking trope on its head). Thanks to her, the book veers into a marriage of convenience, with both of them hiding their hearts because they know the other doesn’t feel the same.

It’s a rollercoaster of a ride as problems and miscommunications hinder their way to happily ever after. The heart of their communication problems is a secret BDSM club in the heart of London and the magnitude of this secret meant it never felt forced. I do think the Duke’s use of this club veered perilously close to cheating, which made me uncomfortable.

Overall, this is a romance for someone who wants to see something a little different, but heads up for the near-cheating marring an otherwise excellent read.

Four stars

I received an ARC from Barclay Publicity