Okay, so the awarding of these books is waaaay overdue. Mea Culpa, I plead too much sun. As you may remember, about a month ago we offered up 10 copies of each book in Liz Carlyle’s latest trilogy: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke and Never Romance a Rake. Then it somehow got lost in the shuffle. Well, I finally got my act together, so click on the cut to see who won.

Cara: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Meared: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Ilona: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Little Lamb Lost: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Lyra: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Katharina: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Natasha: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Maureen: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Emma: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Ninoska Suarez: Never Lie to a Lady, Never Deceive a Duke

Cheryl C.: Never Romance a Rake

Jess: Never Romance a Rake

Danny: Never Romance a Rake

Phyl: Never Romance a Rake

Rosario: Never Romance a Rake

CrystalGB: Never Romance a Rake

Lacey: Never Romance a Rake

Marg: Never Romance a Rake

Willa: Never Romance a Rake

BethanyA: Never Romance a Rake

Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to redwyne at gmail dot com. Put “Liz Carlyle Winner” in the subject line. Also include the titles you won. Yay!

Liviania’s review of Never Deceive a Duke (Neville Family Trilogy, Book Two) by Liz Carlyle
Historical romance released by Pocket Star 24 Jul 07

In Never Lie to a Lady, Gareth acted the runner-up.  He loved the heroine and offered her a good marriage, but Xanthia just didn’t feel for him like she did Lord Nash.  Liz Carlyle guides him from being second best to the hero quite well.  She starts by making him a Duke, through an inconvenient death of a man who lacked children.  Of course, he didn’t lack a young and beautiful wife.  Carlyle endears herself to me by not making Antonia a twice-married virgin. 

For Antonia was married before the Duke of Warenham.  Her first marriage traumatized her, leaving her with the urge to sleepwalk and a few mental problems.  Instead of therapy her father married her to a tyrant.  She’s got every right to be depressed and scarred by her past, and her emotions feel very real when she discusses her pain.  Unfortunately, she’s a bit boring.  I can tell you she’s beautiful and needy due to her awful past, but very little else.  It stands out compared to the fullness of Gareth’s characterization.

Gareth was Gabriel, a half-Jewish bastard and despised by his English family.  He was first raised in the Jewish community to know the traditions but still be an outsider.  Then he came to live with his father’s family were he was treated horribly, then thrown out after a terrible accident.  At this point he ended up on a pirate ship.  We all know what happens to pretty boys at sea, even if Antonia doesn’t.  Still, he manages to reinvent himself as Gareth with the help of the Nevilles.  Inheriting the dukedom forces him to reconcile the two identities.

Meanwhile, someone wants to kill Antonia and it’s looking like the former Duke’s death was no mistake.  My favorite character, George Kemble, comes to the rescue.  While he and Baron Rothwell entertain me, they take over the story.  In a series of humorous scenes, Kemble questions the servants who all realize what he’s up too.  Humorous, entertaining . . . completely unlike Antonia and Gareth’s angst fest.  They save the book by pulling the focus of the bland romance.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel.  The mystery managed some surprising twists, and the characters never acted too dumb in their search for the culprit.  (They did make some silly mistakes, but not enough to be bothersome.)  My favorite minor characters made lengthy appearances and the hero got a nice character arc.  But while the tragedy was there for Antonia and Gareth, their romantic happiness was hard to buy.

Never Decieve a Duke is the weakest in the trilogy, but still worth reading.  If you’re looking for a romance that remains light while dealing with some darker issues, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Grade: C

Summary:

They call her the porcelain princess…

With her fragile beauty and regal bearing, the Duchess of Warneham knows how to keep her admirers at a distance. Twice wed and twice widowed, Antonia has vowed never again to marry; never again to surrender her freedom. But when her husband’s death is deemed suspicious, and his long-lost heir returns to seize control of the dukedom, she finds that fate has placed her future in yet another man’s hands—but not just any man.

They call him a cold-hearted bastard . . .

Deep in London’s docklands, Gareth Lloyd runs Neville Shipping with an iron fist. Unrecognizable as the starving orphan who was abandoned by his family and sent an ocean away from home, Gareth has put his troubled past behind him. That is, until the Duke of Warneham is found dead, and Gareth turns out to be the dynasty’s last living heir. Wrenched from his solitude, Gareth neither wants nor needs the honors and obligations of nobility—especially the Duke’s all-too-tempting widow… Or does he?

Read an excerpt here.

Never Romance a Rake, the final book in Liz Carlyle’s latest trilogy, was released on 22 July 2008. We know that Sybil loved it, and by clicking on that link, you can read a great excerpt as well.

Baron Rothewell lives a dark, shuttered existence by day, and a life of reckless abandon by night. Scarred by a childhood filled with torment and deprivation, Rothewell cares very little anyone or anything. His life on the edge of ruin suits him—until he meets a man who just might be his nemesis. The Comte de Valigny likes to play deeply and dangerously, but Rothewell’s recklessness is undeterred. Until one night when de Valigny wagers something just a little more valuable than gold.

Mademoiselle Marchand is a desperate woman in a strange land, and her pleading eyes seem to swallow Lord Rothewell body and soul—assuming he still has one. Now the baron must play his hand with the utmost care, for at last something meaningful is at stake . . .

In honor of (to quote Sybil) “the historical of the summer”, TGTBTU presents…

A Contest!

We have ten copies of each book in the trilogy to give to give away! That’s right, thirty books!

The first two books:

	Read an excerpt
	Read an excerpt

To enter the contest, answer the following question: What’s your favorite Liz Carlyle book? And if you haven’t read any of her books before, tell us why you should win. In your comment, please specify which book(s) you want. You can enter to win one, two or all three! Contest will be open through Friday, August 1.

Good luck!