Review: The Truth about Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden

“…although this book wasn’t perfect I did have great fun reading it.”
~ Under the Covers

When the shy and plump Jane Huxley is made the subject of a bet that leads to her ruin, the last thing she expects is to be engaged to a duke. Especially that duke, the man who has made his disdain for her clear with his icy stare. As the brother of the man who ruined Miss Huxley, the Duke of Blackmore knows it is his obligation to marry the innocent girl, who just happens to be his sister’s best friend. He isn’t what he wanted for his duchess however, honour dictates that he must marry her. However, the dukes frosty exterior soon begins to thaw as Jane wiggles her way into his heart.

I love a plain Jane romance, which is what had me reaching for The Truth about Cads and Dukes, it was just what I love; a seemingly plain and unassuming heroine and an icy aloof hero. And, although this book wasn’t perfect I did have great fun reading it. I also didn’t realise at the time I started this book that it was actually part of a series, but that didn’t seem to affect this book and I found this could easily be read as a standalone.

This book was a slow starter as it sets up the scene for Jane’s ruin at the hands of the hero’s brother. We watch as she is deliberately befriended and manipulated into a humiliating and ruinous position. Along the way though, you get a real sense of the shy, plump and bookish Jane’s character and see the funny and strong person she is. This came across all the way through the book and I loved that our shy heroine took control and there is an excellent and sexy scene where she plans and executes a seduction on her stubborn husband. In comparison, although I liked the very self contained hero, I found that his character got a bit eclipsed by Jane. But their romance was great and they had good chemistry.

I am now intrigued enough to read the next book in the series, the caddish brother of our hero was an interesting character and managed to almost redeem himself and I would be interested to see the next part of his story. There were also some other characters I would be interested in reading more about so I will be picking up further books in this series.

Don’t let the slightly dubious cover put you off reading this, it was a sexy romance with a great heroine and a lot of potentially interesting heroes for future books. If, like me you are a fan of the plain Jane troupe this is one I would recommend giving a whirl.

What did you think of our review?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!