This was the worst of the series. I couldn’t get into either characters. Not sure why I continue to read.

When Penelope's father is attempting to force her into marriage with a man old enough to be her grandfather, she hatches a plan to guarantee her freedom. She is saved by Rector Hugh Tarleton in the worst of London's neighborhoods. When her plan backfires, Hugh saves her from the unwanted marriage.

I loved the characters. Hugh and Pen were wonderful. This was a great end to the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you!

4 stars

Penelope is being forced to marry a grandad figure by her controlling father and snobbish mother so she decides to pretend to be kidnapped. She ends up in a rough part of London where she meets auburn haired caring vicar. He feels protective and eventually they end up with a HEA. I enjoyed this book perhaps not as much as the previous but includes characters from the series. I think I've read three of the series and think for completness it would have been good to read some of the early ones. Even out of order I think this is a good way to pass a couple of hours.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One Night of Temptation by Darcy Burke is a delightful read in the Wicked Dukes Club series. The characters are delightful and have real depth. Yet, unlike most of the other books in the series, this one doesn’t have as many of the other Wicked Dukes characters in it. It has its own set of main and secondary characters that I enjoyed getting to know. It is mainly based in one of the worst areas of London.
Enjoyable read just not as good as the others in the series.

One Night of Temptation was another amazing installment in the Wicked Dukes Club series and features my favorite romance of the series.

Faced with a marriage she doesn’t want, Lady Penelope Wakefield decides to take matters into her own hands and has herself “kidnapped” in order to ruin herself. Her plan is working perfectly until the sexy Hugh Tarleton, rector in one of London’s worst neighborhoods, rescues her. After Hugh vows to protect her, the pair take shelter only to be faced with an unexpected attraction that threatens to ruin them both.

Penelope is used to doing as her parents wish, but after they want to marry her to a man old enough to be her grandfather she realizes if she doesn’t stand up for herself now then she never will. I liked that Penelope was clever enough to come up with a plan to save herself even if I thought she was a bit naive to think everything would go exactly as she planned.

As the second son of a second son, or something like that, Hugh was always going to have to work for a living and I admired his choice to find a profession in which he could help people. Despite his family’s wish that he would choose a more suitable profession, it’s clear that Hugh cares about his parishioners and truly loves his work.

Penelope and Hugh are acquainted with each other prior to Hugh’s “rescue” of Penelope due to her being involved in some charity work at his church, but despite that acquaintance they don’t really know each other or have an interest in one another at that point. They do however quickly become attracted to one another during their conversations prior to Penelope being returned to her family. I loved how hard the two tried to fight their attraction and how it was a fruitless effort as they couldn’t help themselves when it came to each other. When their relationship does progress, it’s wonderfully done with some amazing scenes between the pair.

Overall One Night of Temptation was a fantastic conclusion to Wicked Dukes Club series and one of my favorites in the series. I will definitely be checking out more from these authors in the future and I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for shorter historical romances.

Loving this series by Ridley and Burke. I've been plowing through Ridley's books and, I believe, this is my first read of Burke's. She did not disappoint.

Lady Penelope is to be wed to a horror of a man and she can't abide. So, she plans and pays for her own kidnapping to be returned ruined and unmarriageable. Unfortunately, Penelope is double crossed and the Rector Hugh comes to her rescue. They concoct a plan to keep her safe and that will send her back home in a ruined state. It doesn't go as planned and the awful suitor starts taking liberties with penelope every chance he gets. Hugh will have none of it. Pen and Hugh falling for each other in the sweetest.

Penelope’s Dad is horrific! Hugh is a gem of a man. It was great how the men and women from The Wicked Duke helped at the end. I highly recommend the Wicked Dukes Club Series.

Thank you to Darcy Burke Publishing for this advanced eARC.

***ARC was provided to me by Net Galley and the Publisher for a fair and honest review***

Overall rating: 3.5/5 All they have is just one night of temptation.

Heroine (Lady Penelope Wakefeild): 4/5 Pen has always done as her parents have demanded. But beneath the quiet, good girl exterior is a lady who knows what she wants and is willing to risk it all in order to get it.

Hero (Rector Hugh Tarleton): 4/5 Hugh is the rector for a church in St. Giles. He is the third son of a third son of a viscount and doesn’t think highly of the ton. He helps out his community in any way he can, even finding toys for the poorer children.

Plot: 3/5 Pen decides that she can’t bear marrying a man that is old enough to be her grandfather, so she takes drastic measures to ensure she won’t be marriageable material. She stages her own kidnapping, with the goal to spend one night not under supervision. She ends up getting actually kidnapped and rescued by the local rector, Hugh. He understands her plight and takes measures to protect her through the night. While he is busy protecting Penelope from the world, who will protect his heart from Pen?

Personal Review: I really liked both Penelope and Hugh as characters. Both just need a little convincing to break free of what society believes to be a good match for either. However, I don’t think Pen really gets to spend enough time in the part of the city she wants to marry into to make a relatively informed decision. Of course she’s been there before, but she’s never really taken in that part of the city. She also doesn’t get the chance to meet some of Hugh’s friends from the Wicked Duke, including the other Lady’s. Due to Pen not being allowed to have friends, it almost feels like she falls for the first person that is nice to her. Yes, there will be time for her to get to know everyone later and there simply wasn’t time or allowance for a betrothal period but when the whole story takes place in under two weeks, it leaves the relationship feeling a bit rushed even for a regency romance.

I’ve enjoyed a number of Darcy Burke’s historical romances in the past and have reviewed a number of them favourably here at AAR, but I’m afraid I can’t do that for her latest release, One Night of Temptation. The book is the sixth in the Wicked Dukes Club series which Ms. Burke has co-authored with Erica Ridley (they have written alternate books with Ms. Ridley penning the odd numbered ones and Ms. Burke the even) – featuring a group of friends, not all of whom are dukes, who meet regularly at their favourite watering hole in St. Giles – The Wicked Duke. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, but they’re designed to work as standalones, so potential readers can jump in anywhere and not have to worry about feeling lost.

What they do need to worry about with this book, however, is its utter flimsiness. One Night of Temptation is short for a novel, coming in at under two hundred pages, but there’s not even enough plot to fill that short a page count. The romance is basically love at first sight, the principals are bland and there’s little to no chemistry between them, and the whole story is wrapped up in about a week.

Lady Penelope Wakefield, daughter of the Marquess of Bramber is fleeing an unwanted marriage to an unpleasant lecher old enough to be her grandfather. She’s hatched a plan together with a young woman she met and befriended on a charitable errand at a church in St. Giles; Penelope is going to be abducted (but not really) and spend a night away from home which, when word gets out, will be enough to ruin her reputation, and the old goat won’t want to marry her after that. But it turns out that poor naïve Pen was duped, and the woman she thought of as a friend had made plans for a real kidnap and ransom. Fortunately for Pen, the men trying to hustle her away are prevented from doing so by the timely intervention of Hugh Tarleton, Rector of the parish of St. Giles who, learning of her situation, takes her to a decent inn he knows and arranges for them both to spend the night there (in separate rooms of course). But while the inn is decent, the area is rough and after a fight breaks out downstairs, Hugh decides it would be safest if they shared a room – Pen taking the bed, he in the chair by her side, naturally. They work out a plan by which Pen can be returned to home and safety now that she’s been publicly ruined, and even though her father will be furious and will probably send her to the family’s remote estate in Lancashire, that’s better than being married to the obnoxious Earl of Findon. During the course of the evening, however, she becomes aware that an even better alternative would be marriage to Hugh… but of course, that’s impossible. She’d never be allowed to marry so far beneath her, even if Hugh were interested.

About half the book is taken up with the Night of Temptation that Pen and Hugh spend holed up at the inn. They talk and get to know each other a bit, and Pen realises she’s experiencing attraction for the first time. Hugh is good looking, yes, but he’s also kind, strong and exudes confidence – and he’s unlike any man she’s ever met. Hugh is smitten as well and longs to protect Pen from her unfeeling parents, but knows he can’t possibly aspire to the hand of the daughter of a marquess.

One Night of Temptation was a quick read, but a dull one. Caring, stalwart Hugh (who, incidentally, is described in the blurb as “imperious” but is nothing of the sort) had the potential to be a lovely hero, but Pen was almost a blank slate; all we knew about her was that her parents were shits, she was afraid of her father and she liked embroidery and cream cheese. She seems to have no relationships outside her immediate family and to have led a very sheltered life – yet of course she has the instincts of a temptress.

Ultimately, I’m afraid I was bored, and the only temptation I experienced while reading was to put the book down and not pick it up again.

Grade: C-

One Night of Temptation by Darcy Burke is exactly that. A rector is faced with temptation after rescuing one of the wealthiest women. Lady Pen comes from a wealthy and powerful family. However, her stepmom is not a caring mother figure and neither his  her father a caring soul. Her father is pressuring her to marry a man old enough to be her grandpa just for money and connections. But things have a way of working out....it is just a matter of timing. Hugh can't believe the gorgeous woman he rescued is different than the others he has been around. Lady Pen is not what other women from the ton are. She is only wanting a husband whom she loves and one that is kind. Hugh is looking for the same things but in a wife. The two feel a connection and are tempted beyond reason in this hot, scandalous, and dangerous read. I loved every moment. The characters felt so real. It was a s thought I have known them for years. The protagonists were enjoyable and easy to like. Overall, I recommend this historical romance to all.

Disappointed that Hugh was not more creatively written. Being a rector didn't automatically mean he had to be dull and boring. The story itself was pretty dull as well. I didn't find it to be very romantic or interesting. I was hoping for more for a friend of the Wicked Dukes.

Such a fun sweet book. I love the characters. So deactivate of setting.vi felt like I was there. Lovely

This was a delightful story with plenty of angst, a little danger and plenty of romance to satisfy any reader that loves this genre. This is my first time reading a story by Darcy Burke and I must say that I was really impressed by her ability to tell a story that not only captives your imagination, it gives you all the thrills and excitement you crave from this kind of story. The plot was most interesting to me as it was something i'd never come across before in historical romance, a rich young lady that falls in love with a rector was a refreshing change to the usual hero of being a Duke or a Rake.
Penelope and Hugh had such great chemistry between them that it made them so believable as a couple, and to fall in love so fast with each other. I really liked both of their characters and they way they found each other was such an exciting twist in the story.
This was a whirlwind romance story that I enjoyed very much and will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

It's my first read by the author and because I've seen her name around a lot through the social media i wanted to give it a try.
A beautiful romantic love story with two main characters very loveable and although it didn't seem to me that they grow too much throughout the book, they are characters that can be reliable and interesting in a way of being something different for the historical romance genre.
Trying to avoid her marriage of convenience, Penelope has a plan to escape but everything goes wrong and she finds herself spending time with the rector Huge. The connection between them was there, the banter was interesting but i didn't quite felt the sparks.
Overall was an enjoyable read that i will recommend to my historical romance book friends.

A pre-arranged marriage to a man of consequence old enough to be her grandfather.
Lady Penelope Wakefield cannot abide this marriage. She does not love this man, she does not like this man.
She makes a plan to run away, and have a letter sent to her parents saying that she was kidnapped. When she appears at the place where she is supposed to meet her friend. Her friend is not there. Instead, she is really kidnapped. The Rector, Hugh Tarleton, sees the kidnapping happening. He goes to stop it, and winds up in a bigger mess.
The Lady does not want to go home, she wants to be ruined. She does not want to marry the old man, she would rather not be married at all.
What will happen is a wonderful story. It is a fitting end to the Wicked Duke Series. However, I can't help wanting more.
This whole series is wonderful.

This has been a fun series, and although Hugh and Pen’s story felt a little rushed, I enjoyed the interplay between the unhappy socialite and the rector of St Giles.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fun, light beach read. Characters are really good together. I love Darcy Burke's books and this one didn't disappoint.

Cute, but felt shorter than others in this series! Not sure why, but this felt like quite a quick read. I enjoyed the dynamic between the hero/heroine, although thought they were a little less developed than others in the series. Ultimately, I always enjoy how Ms. Burke subverts common tropes and pairs heroines with those from a perceived 'lower class.' ( They can't all be dukes, after all!)

Another amazing read by Darcy Burke! The heroin is quite a rebell and doesn't fit into the society she is predestined to be.
Penelope Wakefield, the daughter of marquess Bramber, is lovely, interesting person who wants nothing else than escape from her current life. When she finally manages to flee she happens to find herself in a very unfortunate situation. After Rector Hugh Tarleton comes to her aid they spend one night filled with talking and both of them seem to found the other one's soul mate. She falls instantly in love with him. Except, she is betrothed to someone else's. Does she want to? Absolutely not, but she doesn't have a choice, or does she though?
I laughed quite a lot and honestly have to say I immensely enjoyed this tale.
For anyone who loves short entertaining, historical book it's the right choice.

One Night of Temptation is the 6th (and final?) book in the Wicked Dukes Club which is written by Erica Ridley and Darcy Burke. The later is the one who wrote this book and she did a good job. It was not my favorite in the series, because everything happened so fast (I think most of the story takes place in 24 hours) and I would have liked a slower pace. Fast pace or not, I enjoyed reading Penelope and Hugh's romance. There was an instant connection between these two and I liked how protective he was of her. Of course, he did things that a man of his profession shouldn't do, but I am willing to forgive that since this is a novella. It was weird to have a rector for a hero, but at least we know that Penelope will marry for love and that's all one would want for the heroine of the book. Τhis book might not be the best in the series, but still, it was good enough and I would recommend it.

I love Darcy Burke, but this wasn’t my favorite. I THINK it is a novella? It was very short and quick to the point. It did have some of our favorite characters, but something was lacking. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.