Review: To Lure a Proper Lady – Ashlyn Macnamara

Posted 23 March, 2016 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 22 Comments

*I received a free copy of To Lure a Proper Lady from Loveswept via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

Review: To Lure a Proper Lady – Ashlyn MacnamaraTo Lure a Proper Lady by Ashlyn MacNamara
Series: Duke-Defying Daughters #1
Published by Loveswept on 29 March 2016
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance, Mystery
Pages: 266
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
4.5 Stars

When Lady Elizabeth Wilde and her sisters are summoned once again to their chronically anxious father’s deathbed, she’s shocked to find that his worries are at last justified. He’s terribly ill, and Lizzie suspects poison. But when she seeks help from the Bow Street Runners, her request is answered by a rough-hewn rogue known only as Dysart. Though his irreverent charm by turns shocks and captivates her, a man of Dysart’s background is an altogether inappropriate choice for a duke’s daughter—isn’t he?
Although Dysart has his reasons to disdain polite society, the promise of supplemental income from a noble’s coffers is too tempting to deny. But if Dysart means to apprehend the culprit who poisoned the duke, he’ll need to avoid any and all distractions—like the delicious swish of Lady Elizabeth’s hips. Yet as the investigation begins to unearth secrets he’d rather remain hidden, Dysart must decide at a moment’s notice whether to hold Elizabeth at arm’s length . . . or pull her dangerously close.

Adult - (un)Conventional Bookviews Historical - (un)Conventional Bookviews

To Lure a Proper Lady is a quick, humorous and sexy read – I loved Lizzie, she was definitely a proper lady in many ways, but quite forward in others…

Review - (un)Conventional Bookviews

To Lure a Proper Lady is an amazing mix of family obligations, mystery and forbidden romance, with a main character who is much stronger than she thinks. When Lizzie thinks someone is trying to poison her father, the Duke, she goes on her own to Bow Street to hire a runner, and ends up with Dysart coming to the ducal seat for a fortnight to investigate during a house-party. They are both smart, but there are too many possibilities to follow, plus the attraction they feel for each other is very difficult to put on the back burner while taking care of more pressing matters.

Because the house party has been set up to marry off the Duke’s three daughters, To Lure a Proper Lady also has its share of humour, because neither of the three sisters really want to get married. Lizzie is the oldest, and expected to marry her cousin because he’s the Duke’s heir. Snowley, however, is both boring and a little dense, and Lizzie would go to quite extreme lengths to not marry him.

The mystery of the story thickens as To Lure a Proper Lady unfolds, and so does the romance between Dysart and Lizzie. She’s quite bold for an innocent society girl, and I loved that she was so curious. Dysart was definitely doing his best to resist her, but she made that more than a little difficult. For the most part, the story is quite slow-paced, and that works very well. However, towards the end, everything speeds up before the climax of the story, and I couldn’t quite read fast enough to get to the good parts I wanted. The culmination of both the mystery and the romance was dramatic, and Lizzie once more showed how strong she was.

In this new series, MacNamara expertly weaves the mystery and the romance to make an intricate whole, with well-developed characters and a solid plot. I can’t wait to see what is up next in the Duke-Defying Daughters series. Written in third person perspective, from Lizzie’s point of view, and with some great dialogues, the story was both enjoyable and hot!

Fave Quotes - (un)Conventional Bookviews

His hands clamped down over hers, engulfing them with warmth. The roughened calluses on his palms pressed into the soft skin over the backs of her hands. She suddenly understood the dictate that young ladies wear gloves.

She closed her eyes and rested against him, breathing in the scents of male intermingled with a fleeting hint of tobacco and brandy. This. This is what I want.

She clamped her lips shut on a series of descriptive terms she might apply to Barrows and Dysart in equal measure, most of them inappropriate to pronounce in public and none of them helpful in identifying a person. a thick skull didn’t show on the outside, after all.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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22 responses to “Review: To Lure a Proper Lady – Ashlyn Macnamara

  1. Ashlyn MacNamara did it again, no? Wow, Lex, To Lure a Proper Lady sounds fantastic! You know I love my HR heroines to be strong and Lizzie seems strong and smart, even if she is innocent. I love that she took it upon herself to handle hiring someone to help solve the mystery, showing initiative and tenacity. And I’m intrigued with Dysart – and his attempts to resist Lizzie’s charms. 😉 Those quotes are great…I like the one about men being thick-headed, but the other two convey first love – those budding feelings – well. I’m going to read MacNamara THIS year! (I think I need to make a list of authors I’m promising you to read this year! 😉 )
    I hope you’re enjoying your Wednesday, my dear! We woke up to snow…lots of snow! **BIG HUGS**

    • She definitely did it again, Brandee! And Lizzie was the perfect HR heroine, I loved how quick she was thinking, and that she was also somewhat going after what she wanted. First love is so sweet, and when it’s well written, it’s like being able to experiencing all over again.

  2. RO

    My goodness, it’s been forever since I’ve picked up a good historical novel, but I keep seeing great ones on the blogs. This sounds like another good novel. Now I just need to get past the butt pic. Perhaps I’m jaded, but it looks like the whole bottom portion is covered in sand that begs to be brushed off! (lol) Hugs…RO

    • Oh, I’d help him brush up that sand, Ro 😉 For sure! I really enjoy MacNamara’s historical novels,because her heroines are strong, but still mostly comply with society’s norms for the time period. And that inner struggle is always fascinating to read about.

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