I've read *four* 4-star books by this author, but this one is horrible, lol. I should have just DNFed it, but I hate abandoning books once I've started. It was sincerely kind of painful though. It was just a barrage of preposterousness. My eyes were trying to roll out of my head in order to escape, lol. The heroine, introduced in the previous book, was a crack shot and inventor of spy gear, determined from girlhood to become a spy. That had a fair amount of potential! But her marksmanship and inventing practically weren't touched on again!!! So all we were left with was her determination to become a spy. Fine. But, we quickly learn that she's entirely unworldly, talks out loud to herself about potential secrets, cannot lie convincingly, all her emotions are written transparently across her face, abhors violence, etc. etc. Basically the most ill-suited person ever to consider espionage. The hero is given an attempt at a traumatic backstory, but it sadly just made him seem like a weakling. (backstory circumstances and response ->) He was held for ransom at like age 10, in poor conditions (chained, given little food) for a little over a week. Would that suck? Of course! But does that justify practically being a hermit 2 decades later, keeping concerned loved ones at a distance and having frequent panic attacks? Determining that he can never have love in his life?? Dude. Pull yourself together! He wasn't even beaten or anything. They both cling to these doomed preconceived notions (and others) past the point that any sane person would. The events as well push the bounds of believability. I just kept thinking 'In what world would that ever be reasonable?!'. *sigh* It's like the author brain stormed book ideas, but then never questioned any of those concepts, just including them all. I won't swear off future books by Bell, (there were those 4 that I quite enjoyed) but I will be warrier in the future, and if it starts to seem terrible, I'll be jumping ship. ( )

My first and last Lenora Bell read. I should have known I wouldn't like this based on the spy element of the plot alone. Combine a ridiculous plot driver with a wooden hero and the author's inability to write realistic dialogue instead of hackneyed cliches and it was a complete flop for me. I've never read a published book with such terrible, trite conversations.

Midway through the story, I couldn't see how the author could possibly reconcile the heroine's intense desire for adventure and excitement with the hero's need for quiet, routine country days. I kept reading just to solve that mystery, even when I was frustrated by the horrible plot. Sadly, the author chose to sum it all up and sweep the characters' drastically different dreams under a rug. What's the point of writing a female character so unconventional for her time and then having her marry an utterly conventional man who wants to live quietly in the country? She'll be miserable. She'll make him miserable. I predict no happily-ever-after ending for these two.

Will be remembered as one of the few books that has ever been so boring I actually fell asleep while reading. ( )

Loved it. ( )

** 4.5 Stars **

I read this fast-paced, fun, steamy book in one sitting – and the pages just flew by. I loved the humor and found myself chuckling on numerous occasions during my reading. It is well-written, well-plotted with interesting characters and scenarios.

Miss Wilhelmina (Mina) Penny has been chafing from the overprotective, restrictive, lonely existence she has lived since being orphaned. Her guardian (and uncle) is Sir Malcolm Penny, England’s spymaster. Mina’s parents were spies, as a matter of fact, she comes from a long line of spies and she desperately wants to follow in their footsteps. Her uncle has kept her under heavy guard on his estate, Sutton Hall, but she’s made good use of her time there – to spy on the spymaster. She’s learned all about his operation as well as how to pick locks, decode messages and has developed a real affinity for mechanical devices.

Finally, Mina has persuaded her uncle to provide her a season in London and she plans to take full advantage of it. She wants excitement and independence – freedom. Her plan is simple. She’ll find Lord Rafe Bentley and make him a proposal (literally) that he can’t refuse. Rafe is the biggest, most debauched rake in the ton as well as one of her uncle’s spies who is currently in disgrace. If he marries her and they become partners, she’ll share all of her knowledge of her uncle’s operations with him and get him back in her uncle’s good graces. Well – that was the plan – then – there was a kiss from someone else and well …

Andrew (Drew) Bentley, Duke of Thorndon and Rafe’s reclusive brother is NOT in London by choice. He received a blackmail letter at his estate in Cornwall and it said that if he didn’t pay, his sister, Beatrice, would be kidnapped. It also stated that they knew what Rafe had done. Talk about anger and frustration! While he’s in London to deal with Rafe and the blackmailer, he might as well find himself a bride. He shouldn’t have a problem finding some amenable debutante who could stand the wilds of Cornwall since he has absolutely no intention of ever living in London.

Drew suffered an extremely traumatic event when he was fifteen and he has had to deal with the ramifications of that ever since. He panics at certain scents, enclosed spaces and crowds – so he lives exclusively on his country estate in Cornwall where his days are orderly and repetitive. No surprises.

When Drew dances with Mina at her first ball, the sparks fly – but not in the way you think. She does all in her power to send him fleeing -- too bad that her actions have the opposite effect. She isn’t looking to be a duchess, she’s looking to be a spy and Drew won’t get her there. Yet, in a gardening shed later that evening, he kisses her and sparks really do fly. That can’t change her mind though.

I loved both Drew and Mina and could see where and why each of them felt as they did. I could also see that they were a perfect match for each other. Each’s strengths bolstered the other’s weaknesses. Drew didn’t at all match what Mina thought he’d be – he was actually supportive and caring.

So, why didn’t I give it 5-stars? Well – I just thought the villain was overcome entirely too easily. I also thought Mina held on to the ‘I won’t marry Drew’ thing way too long. I also felt a little like I was left hanging with the information on Drew’s traumatic event. I would have liked to see the reason his father refused to pay – was it because he was a cold-hearted jerk or was there some mix-up, didn’t he love Drew. There was a vague reason given, but – I couldn’t understand why that would be the reason. Another thing is that I thought Mina was much too promiscuous for a young woman who had led such a sheltered life - even if she did overhear many crass things from her uncle's visitors.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and hope you will as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through Edelweiss+ in exchange for a fair review. One Fine Duke by Lenora Bell is the 3rd book in her The School for Dukes Trilogy. It can be read as a standalone but I very much enjoyed the first two books and recommend reading them all. After her parents died Mis Wilhelmina Penny (Mina) came under the care of her Uncle who devastated by the loss of her parents and his wife and daughter has been very overprotective and now that she has a chance to have a London season she is going to do her best to enjoy it to the utmost, so she is quite dismayed when her Uncle tells her she must marry and suggests that the Duke of Thorndale is the man for her. When She meets Andrew (Drew) Bentley, Duke of Thorndale (who is by the way one fine Duke … sigh) she does her best to repulse him and inadvertently peaks his interest instead. Spies and blackmail, revenge, a scandalous red dress and an even more scandalous mechanical chair make this funny and steamy story a delight to read. I enjoyed it very much. Medium Steam. Publishing Date July 23, 2019 #edelweissplus #OneFineDuke #LenoraBell #AvonRomance #HarperCollinsCanada #harpercollinspublishers #AvonBooks #HistoricalRomanceBooks #Bookstagram ( )