He's controlled. Meticulous. Immaculate. No one would expect the proper duke to be a member of London's most illicit secret club. Least of all: his future wife.

Having overcome financial ruin and redeemed his family name to become the most legendary investor in London, the Duke of Westmead needs to secure his holdings by producing an heir. Which means he must find a wife who won't discover his secret craving to spend his nights on his knees -- or make demands on his long scarred-over heart.

Poppy Cavendish is not that type of woman. An ambitious self-taught botanist designing the garden ballroom in which Westmead plans to woo a bride, Poppy has struggled against convention all her life to secure her hard-won independence. She wants the capital to expand her exotic nursery business -- not a husband.

But there is something so compelling about Westmead, with his starchy bearing and impossibly kind eyes -- that when an accidental scandal makes marriage to the duke the only means to save her nursery, Poppy worries she wants more than the title he is offering. The arrangement is meant to be just business. A greenhouse for an heir. But Poppy yearns to unravel her husband's secrets -- and to tempt the duke to risk his heart.

Content Warning:

Fair readers, a note on content, for those who like to know. (If you prefer to be surprised, skip this part!)

This is a gothic-style romance and contains a LOT of angst. Sensitive topics include: grief over the loss of loved ones including children, partners and parents; murder; fires; stalking; sexual violence (not portrayed on the page, but referred to); misogyny; unconventional/non-monogamous marital arrangements; sex work; explicit sex; kink and consensual BDSM including whipping and masochism.

USA Today Bestselling book named a "Best Romance Novel of 2018" by The Washington Post and BookPage



"An astonishingly good debut... The whole book is a breath of fresh air, both a complex, layered story and a soaring romance with two very real people at its heart." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Peckham's meticulous character work pays off in spectacular, grandly romantic fashion and The Duke I Tempted ends with particularly cathartic and hard-won happily ever after." -- BookPage

"If you want something to speed your heart and stop your breath as you read beneath the covers, with only the meager flashlight beam warding off the enveloping night -- then you have a rare treat in store." -- The Seattle Review of Books

"A novel about the lies people tell, the barriers we build to protect ourselves and the fears we must overcome to let ourselves be loved." -- The Washington Post

"A one-sitting, late-into-the-night read, The Duke I Tempted ran away with my heart." -- Book Ink Reviews

• We started tracking this book on August 1, 2018.
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• RomanceHistorical RomanceRegency

• Publication Date: July 31, 2018
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 320 Pages
• File Size: 1,257 KB