This was great. A bit unsatisfying at the end, since the story is continuing in the next brother's book, but I enjoyed the relationship, and she writes a good romance.

3.5 Stars. Upon finishing this book I realized that I should have learned more about it before reading -- and then read the first book and proceeded to read the trilogy in order.
As a standalone, the hero's purpose ends on a seriously lame note as the mystery isn't resolved and the story sort of just...ends (and I would've known this had I better prepared...) and I couldn't help but feel its' lack as a point against it without the context of the first book (especially since the setup was well done.)
Other books where a thread weaves throughout have done this in a far more satisfying fashion for the 2nd entry [go read Tessa Dare's unfortunately titled yet incredible Stud Club trilogy!]
Luckily the characters are interesting and their relationship so satisfying that it still earned 3.5 Stars in my book (imagine if the mystery/ending had been handled better!)
Gerard is one of those loveable, jovial, friend to everyone kinds of guys that can be a breath of fresh air after brooding/wounded heroes.
Katherine/Kate is a heroine I felt for when it became so clear

Spoiler

her mother was basically the worst and had been holding her back and keeping her down (and downtrodden) for years,

which made her transformation that much more enjoyable. I did feel for her, even at her silliest.

This hit all of my bulletproofs.

Bride is older than groom - check
So much pining for like over a decade - check
Marriage of convenience - check
Bride isn't a beauty or even particularly attractive - check
EXCEPT WHEN SHE BLOSSOMS BECAUSE SHE STARTS BELIEVING IN HERSELF - check

Also had awesome lady friendship and passes the Bechdel test, icing on the cake. I checked this out from the library but I'm gonna buy a hard copy and reread often.

Interesting story. I look forward to reading the rest in the series. :) I also appreciated how misunderstandings did not drag on forever and the people acted like actual grown ups for the most part. Not much else to say other than a diverting read.

Katherine Howe got married to suit her parents and it didn't work out well. Now, her mother is pressuring her to marry the husband's heir. It seems her late husband borrowed money from Katherine's father and the account is coming due. He thinks that the best way to solve everyone's problems is for the two of them to marry.
But Katherine doesn't want to marry the heir. He's a very religious man who will only kill her spirit. Instead, she decides to propose to Gerard de Lacey. He helped her one time and she's been thinking about the man ever since.
Gerard de Lacey has his own set of problems. It seems that he and his brothers, sons of a duke, may not actually be legitimate. They stand to lose a lot of money as well as their social prominence if it's true so he's now on the trail of the blackmailer who is threatening to expose their secrets. Katherine hits him at exactly the right time. Her fortune is enough to keep him in the lifestyle to which he's become accustomed, her figure isn't displeasing and her spirit is impressive.
Can these two not only discover a blackmailer but fall in love?

Gerard de Lacey's part of the story and his quest to find the person blackmailing his family. Katherine Howe enters his life just as his journey begins and her proposition is one he can't refuse.

An enjoyable romance but I found Katherine and her insecurities a bit annoying.

I am interested to see how the Durham dilemma will be resolved now that it's in Charlie's hands, so I'll be reading his story next in [b:The Way to a Duke's Heart|13549234|The Way to a Duke's Heart (The Truth About the Duke, #3)|Caroline Linden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331924743s/13549234.jpg|19115140].

3.5 rating

Solid historical, will reread

I'm not sure about this one — Caroline Linden has definitely done better. I don't think Kate is an especially engaging heroine, though I was rooting for her at the beginning: her whole 'helplessly fades into the background' complex is something I do understand. Gerard was wonderful and mostly quite dreamy, though his emotional process at the end leaves something to be desired.

Linden doesn't give us his Realisation that he loves Kate, which I find a bit disappointing.

 

A lot of this is about the blackmail plot that runs through the Truth About the Duke trilogy. There was a lot of plot stuff in book 1 too, but I felt that was more elegantly balanced with the romance than it is in this one. That isn't to say that we don't get emotional growth between Gerard and Kate (there's this lovely moment when Gerard storms out but on his angry walk, he thinks through their argument and realises that he's been an arse). But for a marriage of convenience novel, it doesn't feel like they come especially far in their relationship.

Kate is apparently already in love with Gerard from the beginning, but I'm just not convinced by her actions or words.

The romance feels sparse (though there's plenty of sex) and there are loads of random secondary characters who don't enrich the book at all. Also, I don't care for the blackmail plot more than the romance, so it's a shame that featured so prominently in this. 

3 stars? 2.5? 3.5? I'm too sleepy to say. I'm a diehard Caroline Linden fan, so I read this, but if you're not then perhaps this is worth a miss.