The Duchess Heist
Marisa Dillon
Historical Romance
What is the cost of a nude painting from the Royal Academy of Art?
That depends on who you ask.
Possible ruination… for Lady Lillias St. Clair, the daughter of a gambling addicted duke, when she discovers a partially completed portrait of herself reveals her identity and much more. But before she concocts a scheme to steal it from the prestigious academy, the artwork goes missing.
Perhaps salvation… for Lord William Cavendish, who hides his dark past behind a cavalier air and his good deeds. Yet, to earn true redemption and raise funds in time for a grand gesture, he must enter an International art contest with a scandalous pose of an unknown figure model, which turns out to be the daughter of the duke who stands between William and his dreams.
Worth dueling over? Both families have fought a generations-long feud between them. So when a fake engagement presents a chance to recover the missing nude portrait, Lillias and William agree the ruse may prevent a scandal.
When reputations are at stake, and a nude painting hangs in the balance, the cost could be too high until they find what Shakespeare once wrote to be true, ‘love’s not time’s fool.’
Uncaged Review: Lillias has taken to being a model, in the buff for pay. Her face is hidden by a mask to keep her identity a secret from society, but with her father’s debts after her mother passes away, the only way to keep her two younger sisters in society to make them a match, she poses for art students. But one student may know who she is, and once she gets a glimpse of the portrait he’s painted, intending to enter it into a contest, Lillias and her sister Verity feel the only thing they can do is steal it.
William is desperately wanting to win the competition, to help pay for a school for boys that are impoverished. He can’t get the model out of his mind, and he seems to run into her often. When the painting goes missing, he will join forces with Lillia to find the painting.
There is a lot of great banter among the sisters and between William and his friend Nigel. I actually laughed out loud at some of the antics. But the revelations at the end were not what I was expecting and this is a fun and different historical.
Reviewed by Cyrene
4.5 Stars
