To Tempt A Scoundrel by Christi Caldwell

To Tempt a Scoundrel by Christi Caldwell
Series: The Heart of a Duke Series Book #15
on February 9, 2026
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 211
Goodreads

This light-hearted, witty, Regency romance is sure to tug at your heart this winter season! Don't miss the latest Heart of a Duke installment!Never trust a gentleman ... Once before, Lady Alice Winterbourne trusted her heart to an honorable, respectable man ... only to be jilted in the scandal of the Season. Longing for an escape from all the whispers and humiliation, Alice eagerly accepts an invitation to her friend's house party. In the country, she hopes to find some peace from the embarrassment left in London ... Unfortunately, she finds her former betrothed and his new bride in attendance. Never love a lady ... Lord Rhys Brookfield has no interest in marriage. Ever. He's worked quite hard at building both his fortune and his reputation as a rogue--and intends to enjoy all that they can offer him. That is if his match-making mother will stop pairing him with prospective brides. When Rhys and Alice meet, sparks flare. But with every new encounter, their first impressions of one another are challenged and an unlikely friendship is forged. Desperate, Rhys proposes a pretend courtship, one meant to spite Alice's former betrothed and prevent any matchmaking attempts toward Rhys. What neither expects is that a pretense can become so much more. Or that a burning passion can heal ... and hurt.

To Tempt A Scoundrel is book fifteen in The Heart of the Duke series by Christi Caldwell. So far, I have enjoyed this series. I am giving this book a four flower rating. Somewhere along the way, the theme from book one of The Heart of the Duke slipped away and I think that is a bit disappointing. It began with a necklace gifted by a gypsy lady, progressed to a bracelet and then just disappeared all together. In this story, the hero Lord Rhys Brookfield and the heroine Lady Alice Winterbourne enter a fake courtship to stave off people’s demands that they marry. As is typical with the fake dating trope, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. Rhys, who prides himself on being a cynical rogue, finds himself genuinely protective of Alice. Alice, in turn, begins to see the vulnerability Rhys hides behind his “bad boy” persona. Although this book is not my favorite in the series, it is very well written. Looking forward to reading more of Caldwell’s work.