Tales of derring-do and honor. Set in Regency England, the innocent maid is beset by the evil Duke.

The majority of this story is set in the countryside and gives us a birds-eye view of how cheating at cards is so much worse than merely kidnap and rape...

Well-done by Heyer as she causes us to appreciate the strides forward law and public opinion have made.

I enjoyed the read, and my first time reading this author's work. ! The language is a bit archaic, but it didn't hinder my understanding of the story. This one is more action-packed and swashbuckling with a plot involving highway robbery and duels. It’s light on romantic story as some since the focus is on the relationship between the two brothers, Jack and Richard.. The three different subplots all roll together and tie off beautifully together at the end.
If you enjoy it for what it isa fun, silly historical romp —you'll get a kick out of it.

Thank you Penguin Random House UK for sending ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

OH. THE MELODRAMA. Not as witty or funny as many of Heyer’s later works, but surprisingly entertaining nonetheless? I can’t quite fathom why I was so invested in the emotional wellbeing of these ridiculous goofuses, but an I were not, I should hardly have finished it. (I do wish, though, that someone had at least hinted why cheating at cards is apparently the most disgraceful and heinous crime a gentleman can commit – more unforgivable, evidently, than highway robbery? Or kidnapping women to force them into matrimony? Or – Jane Austen preserve us – eloping??)

This book is a bit boring and an unconvincing romance.