Review: Sins of a Duke by Stacy Reid

All of the young ladies whispered about the Duke of Mondvale in hushed tones, their eyes following his tall, dark figure with barely disguised lust. For the newly-ostracized Lady Constance Thornton, he is magnetic and altogether desirable. Irresistibly so. Since her reputation is already ruined in London society, why shouldn't she be impudent and dance with the scandalous “Lord of Sin”?

Little does she know of his plans.

The beautiful and innocent Lady Constance is no mere plaything for Lucan Wynwood. She will be his revenge. By ruining her, he will have his vengeance against her brother. Except that the Lady Constance is full of surprises...and now she could well be the ruin of him.

Review
The 'Beautiful Bastard' and the 'Lord of Sin' - unholy alliance or match made in heaven? Lucan Wynwood intends to ruin the reputation of Lady Constance Thornton in revenge against her brother. But when he discovers that the enchanting woman he encountered at the ball and Lady Constance are one and the same his plan begins to falter. Can he really bring himself to destroy this woman for sins that are not hers to bear? Especially as he seems to be reluctantly falling for her, fast.

What this novel highlighted the most was the ridiculous social and moral conventions at the time. Society was incredibly fickle and fuelled by a rumour mill - people were loved one minute and ignored the next. Influence and popular opinion was all that mattered, and it was all a facade. 


I liked Constance and didn't want to see her get hurt - she didn't deserve it! She is pure of heart and innocent, with a determined and wilful streak. I didn't find Lucan all that attractive myself, and the eleven year age difference - usual for the time but seldom mentioned in fiction - didn't sit that well with me. That said I enjoyed the story and raced through it in a couple of days! 4/5 stars.

*Thanks to Entangled Publishing for granting me an e-copy of this book in exchange for a review!*