For a duchess with practical desires, falling in love is an inconceivable part of her plan… Drawn to her indomitable spirit, he breaks his rule of never becoming personally involved with his clientele and is determined to fully awaken her desires.
A recent widow, Selena Sheffield, Duchess of Lushing, has never known passion, not until Aiden’s slow, sensual seduction leads her on a journey of discovery and incredible pleasure. But her reasons for visiting the notorious club are not all that they seem.
As Selena’s motives become complicated by love, she finds herself with a most unexpected choice: forge ahead with a secret plan that could secure her future—or follow her heart which could prove ruinous.
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When deception is in the balance, can feelings stray true.
« The heart did as it wanted, loved who it would love. And seemed to have a penchant for choosing those who provided the most difficult of challenges. »
This was one unexpected ARC I was granted by the publisher Avon, and Mrs Lorraine Heath is part of the many authors I wanted to discover works. So once I finished my already due reads, I jumped in this new release.
I confess I am not fond of betraying/scheming characters, whatever the circumstances are. And early reviews left me with some doubts about this read.
But Mrs Heath’s talent erased my worries, I fell in love with all the main characters.
Sure Selena, The now widow of a duke, is at fault, following her brother’s silly scheme. She appears as very selfish, and in some way she is as with her lies she will provide her family but also herself a better future. Her marriage was one of convenience , an other choice she was robbed when she had to think about her family welfare, and even if she has not loved her husband with passion, she has cared for him.
Aiden Trewlove like all his sibling raised himself from the gutters, he has built a business of his own but the woman whom reared him made sure he has all the right cards in his hands.
He is such a caring, respectful and worthy man, always with due regards for not only the women surrounding him but also all the women and the weakest.
So was it Selena’s sadness and the mystery of her presence that drew him to her?
So soon their main problem was their two different agendas, he to introduce her to the pleasure of the flesh and she to get pregnant.
Hopefully the ruse was discovered at half mark.
It is a tale with aplenty of musings, each reflecting on each of their encounters, what to expect next or what transpired genuinely.
The author plays with her characters’ introspection as each has to rethink its past expectancies and decides what she/he wants for her/his future.
I should have be angry at Selena’s deceit, but I liked her and then loved her when she couldn’t abuse his trust anymore and going too far to have no way to turn around, even if she was close to carry out the unthinkable.
Their romance was quite doomed from its beginning, I wondered how the author would stitch everything together, but she did it with a harrowing scene close to the end of the book.
The side characters added to the story even if it was more a huis-clos or closed door narrative than a boulevard play. While I had no doubt about Aiden’s mother, I adored the way the vilain of the story received his right due by the person he lest expected it. So exquisite.
In all, I loved this book and I am very curious about the other Trewlowes siblings. Now I long for Fancy’s tale.
I was granted through Edelweiss an advance copy by the publisher Avon. I so loved this book I purchased my own copy.
Here is my true and unbiased opinion.
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3.5 stars rounded up
Selena Sheffield, Duchess of Lushing is in a bind, her husband of seven years has passed away with no heir, leaving his title and entailed properties in danger of reverting back to the crown. With her family depending on her to support them, her brother Winslow, the Earl of Camberley devises a plan, Selena will get pregnant and place the child off as Lushing’s, if the child is a boy, he will be the duke, if the child is a girl, she will inherit the entailed properties – either way, it ensures their place in society and keeps them financial solvent. Selena only agrees because she has three younger sisters and worries about their futures if the crown takes Lushing’s assets. Set on this course, a masked Selena visits the Elysium Club hoping to catch the notice of the owner, Aiden Trewlove, a man she saw at her friend’s wedding and who captured her attention like no man ever has.
Aiden spots Selena almost immediately and is drawn to her, but Aiden doesn’t fall into bed with her as she hoped, he does spend time with her and invites her back the next night. Selena knows she doesn’t have much time and should pick another man, but she can’t seem to walk away from Aiden. And for his part, he doesn’t trust the nobility, but there is something about her that stirs something primal in him and even knowing he should not encourage her, he just can’t seem to let her go.
When they finally make love, Selena has a crisis of conscience and leaves Aiden in an awkward situation without explanation. But he tracks her down and demands answers, when he learns the truth, he has a big decision to make and one that may break the heart he has tried so hard to keep to himself.
I thought this was a well written story, but the story seemed to drag for the first half and the plot felt used to death. The second half was definitely more interesting and incorporated some new story lines involving his biological parents and siblings, but I was disappointed that Selena waited so long to do the right thing and I thought her brother Winslow was a complete jerk who needed to “man up” and yet never did. I did like the book and enjoyed the cameos with the other Trewlove siblings, but after reading the first three books in this series and being completely blown away, this book felt like a bit of letdown.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected e-arc that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*
I thoroughly enjoyed this addition to the Sins for All Seasons series. Of the six Trewlove children, I was most interested in reading Aiden’s story and Beast’s story. Aiden has intrigued me from the beginning, so I was happy to see his story. Next up is Fancy’s and maybe finally I’ll get to read Beast’s story.
Aiden is everything I thought he’d be – hard on the outside and soft in the center. He protects what is his and assures that there is no way he ever produces a bastard like himself. He’d never cause any child to have that sort of fate. I had a harder time warming up to Selena ‘Lena’ Sheffield, Duchess of Lushing. The reason I’m giving a 4-star review rather than a 5-star review is because of my problems with the duchess. Yes, I understood her dilemma, but rather than telling her brother to man up and telling her sisters the true status of their finances, she chose to ask a man like Aiden to do the unthinkable. She wanted it even after she learned his story and his strong objections. She even intended to trick him, and just the fact that she fully intended to do that said a lot about her whether she carried through or not.
Selena’s father wasn’t a very good manager of his earldom nor of his funds. So, when both of her parents were killed and her brother Winslow inherited the earldom, their financial circumstances were dire. For the good of her brother and her three sisters, she married the Duke of Lushing. She loved him but wasn’t in love with him. Their marriage was a passionless one and his only reason for the marriage was to produce an heir since he was the last of his line anywhere and his titles and estates would forfeit to the crown when he died. After seven years and no children, the duke died. Without him, there would be no dowry for her sisters and no way to financially help her brother. So, Winslow came up with a solution – Selena would quickly get pregnant and pass the child off as the dukes. ** Just as an additional comment — I REALLY disliked Winslow. **
Aiden Trewlove is one of six bastard children raised by Hettie Trewlove. Hettie was a remarkable woman who raised six remarkable children – five of whom weren’t even hers. She taught them respect, love, caring for others and how to be successful. Aiden owns two very successful clubs – The Cerberus Club, a gaming hell for men and the Elysium Club, recently given to him by his brother Finn, which caters to women. I saw one reviewer refer to it as a brothel for women, but I didn’t get that. Yes, there were a few of the men who worked there who would provide that service if the women wanted it, but the focus of the club was more pampering and caring for the women, giving them a place where they can feel beautiful, respected, and cared about.
Aiden was immediately drawn to the woman who entered his Elysium club. He couldn’t even see her face, but he felt the invisible thread pulling him in. After showing her around the club, she told him she wanted to be bedded and he told here that the servers with the red dots on their uniforms would accommodate her. Then, she told him that she wanted him only.
“All it required of him was a few nights of being lost in mad, passionate lovemaking – not a hardship at all – And then walking away, never, ever, to look back.”
I absolutely LOVED that the villain got his just desserts! It was the absolute perfect punishment for him. I also loved the Countess of Elverton – although you see little of her until toward the end of the book. I think she might be one of my favorite people in the entire series just for her one small role.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
In need of an heir
The Duke of Lushings passed away leaving Selena without a child to inherit. Her disparate choice is to get pregnant quickly by another man and pass the child as her husband’s heir. This would also afford seasons for her sisters to find a good match. The man she’s drawn to is the bastard son of a Duke and owns a club that caters to ladies. The affair takes a different path when they fall Iove. A very gripping love story with a hero of untold kindness and a nail biting ending.
I enjoyed the book
This book wraps us some details in the series and introduces new characters. The start didn’t capture my interest like the others in the series. I started flipping and reading odd chapters to see if the story was going somewhere. I picked it up a week later and finished the entire book. I still plan on reading Fanny’s story.
Huge 5 Teacups for The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath! You need full, steamy cups of tea for this one! What an amazing tale, wow I just can’t say enough about it. The storytelling is so impelling and so historically accurate with some very creative license that just moves the story in so many ways and brings out elements one wouldn’t think of! Heath’ really keeps the reader glued to the pages! I just fell in love with Aiden, he comes off as such a hard man but in reality, he’s an absolute sweetheart and so very romantic! He opens up his heart to Selena like he’s never done for a woman before. Usually, it’s a tumble with a lady and no attachment what-so-ever, but not with Selena, as soon as he sets eyes on her his heart begins to melt! I Highly Recommend!
Just when I think that this series has met its emotional depth or that I’ve met my favorite Trewlove sibling, Lorraine Heath manages to knock me on my butt in wonder and awe. Aiden and Selena’s story kept me immersed from beginning to end and wanting more (in the best way possible). Their mutual devotion to their families, their strong (and well developed) personalities, and the palpable chemistry that morphed into something much more are all ingredients to a gripping book that stayed with me long after I finished. I also really loved the connection (and cameos) from the Scoundrel’s of St. James series – it makes me hope that perhaps we’ll see another spinoff after we get the last two Trewlove siblings’ tales. 5 out of 5 wine glasses.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Erica –
Lorraine Heath is a new-to-me author, so I can attest that The Duchess in His Bed can be read independently of the series as a standalone with little to no confusion, even with it being the fourth installment in the Sins for All Seasons series. With that being said, I was definitely intrigued by the entire premise and the characterizations, enough so that I am thoroughly looking forward to reading from the beginning, rereading this particular novel, before the release of the next in the series.
To be honest, I did struggle with this novel, simply because I was stressed for a good 60%. The premise, which is why I didn’t put Spoiler-Free at the top of my review, it rubbed me morally and ethically wrong the entire time.
Selena was a more mature heroine, not necessarily in chronological age, but in life experience. Recently widowed, as in a day prior to the start of the novel, Selena is willing to do anything to keep her family intact, even if that means giving up parts of herself in the process. While I said I had moral and ethical issues with Selena’s actions, that didn’t mean that I didn’t empathize or sympathize with her plight, nor understand why she would go to such lengths to protect her siblings’ futures.
A recent widow, a dukedom on the line due to no heirs and no distant relatives to take up the mantle, the dukedom would fall back to the government. All that rich history being sold off to the highest bidder. Not only that, Selena wouldn’t be in a position to help support her younger brother, the earl of a failing lineage, along with their three little sisters on the cusp of their first seasons. Selena had to get with child as quickly as possible, to then pass the child off as her dead husband’s, all to secure their futures.
With the opener far in the past, it was easy to feel a plethora of emotions for Aiden the instant the broody club owner came onto the page. That was one of the reasons I struggled with Selena’s selfishness under the guise of being selfless. Aiden deserved better than to be played. This is where the NOT A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW comes into play, because my stress level would have diminished considerably had I been privy to the fact that Selena does tell Aiden her plans, because that betrayal was too hard for me to swallow as I watched their interactions.
Connecting, tension-filled, lusty interactions at Aiden’s club, where Selena forgot she had a plan because she was falling for him as hard as he was falling for her. Yet this crawl of a slow-burn to their relationship was tainted by the reality of Selena’s deception. While this is the angst I generally adore, it was too much for me to find enjoyable at the time. It tainted these long, drawn-out, slow-paced scenes where it was just the two of them on the pages. This isn’t a negative, how the bulk of the novel took place, secreted in a room, where just the two of them forged a bond. But when stressed, the crawling pacing, filled with the potential of destructive betrayal, it made me even more nervous, made me pity Aiden for Selena’s deception, made me not totally buy into the romance.
Once the ploy was out in the open, between the pair of them, I could relax and enjoy the story, enjoy the other characters, especially the large stable of siblings on both sides. They brought the levity, the camaraderie, and the support that created a well-rounded story. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions, the unexpected laughs, and the heartwarming moments. Through conversations and inner musings, the reader even gets to know the deceased Lushing, which was also an unexpected joy.
Selena was attempting to find her footing in a society that wanted dependent women, only to discover being a widow and a woman meant there were ways to find independence if only she weren’t too terrified to disregard her narrow-minded upbringing and selfish males to take those unbeaten paths.
Aiden struggled with the concept of love, of anyone finding him worthy. To be born in sin, he felt he was sinful. The sins of the father are visited upon the son. With Selena’s help, Aiden had to learn that those concepts weren’t factual. His adoptive mother and siblings had attempted to make Aiden see his true value, but it took Selena’s love to get it through his formidable emotional armor.
I highly recommend to fans of the author and historical romance, especially those who are looking for something different, not the usual balls and forced marriages.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath is the 4 book in the Sins for All Seasons Series. This is the story of Aiden Trewlove and Selena ‘Lena’ Sheffield.
Aiden runs a club that caters to women and their fantasies but he never becomes one of his clients fantasies. So when a mysterious women asked him to do just that he can’t refuse because of his attraction to her. Selena has a secret reason for wanting Aiden besides learning about about passion she never go from her husband. Selena married her husband to help her brother and sisters after their parents loss. Now her husband is dead with no child so her brother talks her into getting pregnant and passing it off as the heir. But of course nothing goes as plans and feelings become engaged between the two.
Enjoy their steamy story.
Lorraine Heath’s “The Duchess in His Bed” was an enjoyable read with an interesting and relatively unusual setup. I found both of the main characters, Selena and Aiden, to be likeable and well-developed, and the secondary characters, particularly Selena and Aiden’s siblings, added a lot of interest to the story as well. I hadn’t read any of the earlier books in this series prior to starting this one, but I liked getting to know the couples from those books as they interacted with Aiden and Selena here, so I will plan to go back and read their stories at some point in the future.
Despite the likeable characters and interesting setup for this book, I have to admit that I found the first half of the story kind of slow-moving and had a hard time getting into it. It didn’t seem to me like very much was happening at first. Selena visited Aiden’s club every night, and they started to get to know each other, but all that seemed to be between them was insta-lust, not anything deeper. However, Aiden was immediately possessive of Selena, and even though he didn’t know her at all and couldn’t explain his feelings, somehow he “just knew” that what he felt for her was “different” than anything he’d previously felt for any other woman. Those feelings might have been more believable if they had developed later in the book, after Aiden and Selena had more time to get to know each other, but coming so early in the story, they just seemed off to me.
I found the second half of the book to be much more engaging than the first half, and it was easier for me to see the romantic feelings between Selena and Aiden begin to develop. The one (small) thing that annoyed me in the second half was how long Aiden took to make his decision about whether or not to help Selena with her plan. His reasons for hesitating were certainly understandable given his own childhood experiences as a bastard, but even so, his indecision was mildly frustrating and seemed somewhat out of character for a man who was so decisive in other aspects of his life.
Overall, while this wasn’t my favorite among the Lorraine Heath books I’ve read to date, it was still an entertaining and enjoyable story, and I would recommend it. The likeable characters and engaging second half of the book mostly made up for the various things that frustrated me.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
As owner of the Elysium Club which caters to women’s fantasies, Aiden Trewlove is accustomed to introducing adventurous ladies to sin and vice. But he is uncharacteristically intrigued by the mysterious beauty who visits his club one night, yearning to indulge in the forbidden—with him. Drawn to her indomitable spirit, he breaks his rule of never becoming personally involved with his clientele and is determined to fully awaken her desires.
A very recent widow, Selena Sheffield, Duchess of Lushing, has never known passion, not until Aiden’s slow, sensual seduction leads her on a journey of discovery and incredible pleasure. But her reasons for visiting the notorious club are not all that they seem.
This is the fourth book in the series & the first I’ve read, I wasn’t lost nor did I feel as though I was wading through mud so it can definitely be read on its own, I was sufficiently interested to want to go & read the earlier books & I certainly want to read what happens to Fancy & Beast. There was much I loved about the book but also some reservations. I loved Aiden & his siblings who had all grown into hardworking strong characters, he hadn’t been in love but when he falls he falls hard. It took me nearly all the book to really like Selena whilst I could understand her motives for going to the club I believed that there could have been other ways to resolve the issue. Firstly when Arthur feared he was sterile after having had mumps why didn’t he suggest a menage with his ‘friend’ Kit? Secondly why didn’t Selena tell her despicable brother to get his finger out, grow up & see to the Earldom? I felt if Selena wanted Aiden so much then she should be proud to be seen with him & so was so happy when she finally saw the light. I loved that the villain got his comeuppance & I applauded the Countess of Elverton who came into her own in one bedside scene. An entertaining steamy read that did hold my interest all the way through
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Aiden Trewlove understands women; it’s part of his business of introducing them to vice at his club, The Elysium. But he never personally interacts with his guests. Until one masked woman catches his attention. She asks for forbidden moments with him and soon has him breaking all his own rules.
Selena Sheffield, the newly widowed Duchess of Lushing, is desperate. Her husband’s untimely death without issue, though he left her well provided-for, means the crown will receive all his estates and Selena will lose all the power and influence of her position, influence she needs to ensure her three younger sisters are well-married. She just needs Aiden to unwittingly provide her with a child. She never counted on his determination to be nothing like his disreputable father, therefore ensuring he fathers no children out of wedlock. As Selena’s feelings for Aiden develop into something more serious, she is torn between using him to achieve her goals and following her heart to truly be with him out in the open.
I just had a difficult time getting into this book. Sure I could sympathize with Selena, but her snobbery, as well as that of her sisters, made her very unlikable for me. Poor Aiden has striven his entire life to overcome his illegitimacy and when he finally encounters a woman who stirs his feelings, she makes it clear that he’s not good enough to have a public future with her and that any interactions between them must be clandestine. I thought Aiden deserved better. That said, I do understand her reasoning to a point, to protect the child they may have together, but even then, she still held and voiced awful prejudices and judgments against Aiden’s family for being illegitimate. Selena never seemed to truly grasp the depth of what she was asking of Aiden.
All that said, Selena and Aiden both did a lot of growing and ultimately chose each other over everything else, which I always think is beautiful, and this became a lovely love story. I’ll be after the rest of the series now.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.