One reluctant heirIf anyone else had asked for his help publishing a naughty novel, Ash would have had the sense to say no. But he’s never been able to deny Verity Plum. Now he has his hands full illustrating a book and trying his damnedest not to fall in love with his best friend. The last thing he needs is to discover he’s a duke’s lost heir. Without a family or a proper education, he’s had to … education, he’s had to fight for his place in the world, and the idea of it—and Verity—being taken away from him chills him to the bone.
One radical bookseller
All Verity wants is to keep her brother out of prison, her business afloat, and her hands off Ash. Lately it seems she’s not getting anything she wants. She knows from bitter experience that she isn’t cut out for romance, but the more time she spends with Ash, the more she wonders if maybe she’s been wrong about herself.
One disaster waiting to happen
Ash has a month before his identity is exposed, and he plans to spend it with Verity. As they explore their long-buried passion, it becomes harder for Ash to face the music. Can Verity accept who Ash must become or will he turn away the only woman he’s ever loved?
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It took too long to get into the theme of the book.
A great deal of the story is spent in the world of London trades people, anarchists/ activists/ left wing press pushing for human rights of the working class, so it’s quite shocking to the senses when the story moves to the ton. It’s a believable leap, and well handled, including the feelings of moving between the classes, including those quietly sliding from the upper to the lower.
I read a lot of historical romance for market research, which makes me a picky reader. A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian charmed me. I don’t think I’ve ever identified more strongly with a character in any genre than I did with Verity. If I wrote with a pen rather than a computer, I’d be ink-spattered, too. It’s also refreshing to find a book in which (even if there is a duke) there are many characters who are just plain commoners. My only quibble is that Ms. Sebastian’s characters occasionally use some expression unknown in the Regency and far too modern sounding. No, forget I said that: now that I go looking for examples, I can’t find them; should have made a note when I noticed one, but I was too busy enjoying the story to pause. What I do find is some of the most amusing dialog I can recall in a novel of historical romance. Clearly I’m going to have to look for more of Ms. Sebastian’s books.
I’ve loved just about everything I’ve read by Cat Sebastian. She creates such wonderful characters, and the development of the relationships between her characters is truly moving. In addition, she manages witty and humorous dialogue, always a winner for me!
I wholeheartedly recommend all her books.
This is Cat Sebastian’s first m/f pairing but it’s still queer as hell. Verity has only been with women before and doesn’t find much to commend about men. She certainly never wants to marry a man, as it strikes her as a raw deal for women. Ash, on the other hand, has been in love with Verity for years but knows he doesn’t have a shot with her, at least not something long-lasting. Because he was orphaned at a young age, he does not want the possibility of his children being bastards. So there’s Ash, pining impossibly over Verity and there’s Verity, being a kickass woman getting stuff done. When they have to ship her brother off to America to keep him safe from the authorities, Verity is seeing her old friend Ash in a new light and forgetting all the reasons why they shouldn’t be more to each other. There was so much unrequited longing and yearning and angst between these twos and I could not get enough of it. I loved every development of their relationship.
There are real obstacles in their relationship at the start of the book but then as events unfold, the stakes get even higher. I wasn’t sure how they’d be able to navigate their differences. I really liked how Verity had to learn about the true nature of friendship, that there isn’t a ledger of checks and balances as she’s believed but that people are there for one another because they care. It was a lovely development in a lovely story.
Also: I loved the cat in this story. More cats in books, please.
CW: seizures, domestic violence, attempted arson, attempted murder, threat of violence, grief
Ash has never been able to deny Verity Plum anything, so he reluctantly agrees to help her with some scandalous illustrations for a novel she’s publishing in an effort to keep her family’s publishing company afloat. He’s always tried his best to hide his feelings and keep them from developing further since his friendship with Verity and her brother, Nate, is a fragile thing. Ash has been mostly alone his entire life and he can’t afford to lose either of them. Besides he knows Verity has made it clear she never desires marriage and though he’s come to terms with being illegitimate himself, Ash would never inflict that stigma on his child, so any long term relationship he has must ultimately end in marriage.
Verity just wants to keep her publishing company afloat and keep her brother from being jailed, or worse, for sedition. She knows she’s not cut out for romance or caring relationships so she tries to stay away from Ash. When the opportunity to publish a risque novel presents itself, Verity knows it’s necessary for their business and asks Ash to illustrate it. As the two spend more and more time working together, the carefully drawn lines of their friendship become even more blurred.
Making a fragile living as an engraver and illustrator, Ash is also plague by seizures and has had a very sporadic education at best, so when he learns he is the lost heir to a dukedom, no one is more shocked than himself. Ash begins to question everything he thought he knew about himself. He has no interest in becoming a duke, but his newfound uncle, the current heir, is an evil man who will no doubt use the position for ill. Ash has never been able to turn away from someone asking for help and his newly discovered aunt is no different. He fears this his elevation in society means losing Verity for good so he asks to delay the revelation for a month and throws caution to the wind with regards to their relationship since he has nothing to lose anyway.
This whole premise was different for me and a bit odd. Verity wasn’t likable to me, especially at first; I found her to be too catty and hard and Ash to be too weak. I could at least understand Verity’s need for self-sufficiency, but I got annoyed with her resentment of Ash when he was nothing but supportive of her. These two have spent years awkwardly dancing around each other and I began losing my patience with them and the plot after a while in which nothing really happened. The pace was a bit slow for me, with the first half mostly devoted to the details of their seditious printing, the volatile political climate, and Ash and Verity’s awkward dance. Ash doesn’t learn about his true origins until halfway through the book and that’s about when I finally started to get into it.
Despite the slow pace, this was an extremely well-written book and after it finally picked up I began to enjoy it. I did feel like it was a bit anticlimactic in terms of their relationship. I liked the fact that the hero was the one to declare himself first, but found the heroine to be very rigid and unlikable. She wasn’t here for any discussions of the future or feelings and yet was insulted by Ash thinking she’d never love him. You can’t have it both ways honey and hypocrisy is one of my pet peeves. Other than that I did really like it and how different the characters were from the norm.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.