FMC is sexually assaulted and abandoned by society, family and friends, then slut-shamed a decade later by manwhore MMC who cut her dead 10 years ago instead of protecting her.
And then he has sex with her and again doesn’t protect her.
Nope. Early JS novels suck. ( )

It's 1809, Maggie's debut season, and her reputation has been trashed by a rebuffed admirer. She attends a party with her mother and sister, only to realise how badly she has been ruined. She looks to be rescued by her friend Simon, the Earl of Winchester, only for him to turn his back on her.

Ten years later and Maggie is a different woman: She's now a widow (married to an older man, who in the end preferred his mistress rather than his wife); her reputation has been developed into the Harlot Duchess, and she throws parties that often play up to this reputation - all bar the sex; She spent time in Paris, where she has developed some good friendships, and managed to fit in an affair with a French artist whilst she was there; She also has a job producing political cartoons that lampoons many of the current politicians, with Simon being a particular favourite target.

Back in England she and Simon accidentally meet and both realise that they are still attracted to each other. However Simon still believes the rumours, and Maggie refuses to let him close enough to break her heart again. Realising her artistic talent, Simon hires Maggie to find the identity of Lemac, without realising that they are both and the same person!

It takes a long time for both characters to come to terms with 10 years of assumptions, heartbreak and secrets. There's also gambling, threats and blackmail coming from other sources which could affect both Simon's career in Parliament and Maggie's career in political cartooning.

This is the second in the Wicked Deceptions series, and some of the secondary characters appear in the first book (The Courtesan Duchess), so are kept fairly light in this one. There's the occasional reference to something that you know happened in a different story, but this story suffers little for that.

It's quite a complex story, and is not one of those "traditional" romances that can be easily consumed within the day. There are no "fade to black" on the sex scenes and these are fairly modern and explicit - therefore these books are not for those who like their romances a little more tame.

The ending keeps enough threads open to be continued in further stories, but the immediate issues are resolved to the reader's satisfaction.

Let this stand as a reminder not to be swayed by .99 books. ( )

I tried to like this, but the hero is selfish and immature. He doesn't ever try to understand the heroine's life and why she is very rightly pissed at him. He's also written as perfect but an idiot at the same time, which doesn't work for me.

I liked the heroine. She's smart and independent, but very lonely. She was treated horribly and has made the best of it.

I wanted to give this 3 stars, but I was skimming by the end because the bad guy plot made me want to stab things. ( )

Anyone who does try out this series should be forewarned that there is mention of liaisons outside that of the hero and heroine. In some cases , more than a mention.