Review: Duels and Deception - Cindy Anstey

Duels and Deception 
Cindy Anstey
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Romance
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2017

Lydia Whitfield has always had a plan to fulfill her obligations as her father's heir. She would run the family estate and than marry the man he chose for her before his death. She would marry for the sake of the estate, and there was no need for a love match. This all seemed well and fine, until Robert Newton entered her life. All of sudden, there were these feelings, and a kidnapping, blackmail, and a duel.

I don't know what it is, but I find books set in the Regency time period so delightful. Everyone is so prim and proper even when they aren't being prim and proper. Duels and Deception pulled me right back to those genteel times, and kept a smile on face for essentially all 368 pages.

Things I liked:

• Lydia was fabulous! In a time when women was supposed to be seen and not heard, she was bold, daring, and apparently overeducated, if you asked her uncle. She challenged the men in her life, and asserted herself often, but commonly did so for the good of others. 

"Barley, you do realize that I'm not ever going to be a mouse sitting int he background, nodding in agreement whenever you bother to glance in my direction?"

• Robert was just so charming. I fell instantly for him. He was so sweet and protective, and immediately began advocating and assisting Lydia, but it was even better in his head! He had so many swoony thoughts about Lydia, and well, I live for that stuff. 

"He knew she was saying something, but he couldn't hear her above the noise of his hammering heart and the buzz in his ears."

• The duels were quite amusing. The interactions were rather fun, and the final duel was a real hoot. Way to pick your weapon there, Robert. 
• The deception was seamlessly woven into the story, and gave it that extra tension and intrigue. I did guess it, but for me, that's half the fun. There were a few twists that surprised me and some that made me laugh out loud too. 
• The romance was perfect. I was discussing this with another blogger, and she pretty much nailed it, when she tagged it as "cute and low-drama". They had the pressure of society to deal with, as he had no title and she had an estate, but there was not all that OTT stuff, that can sometimes get on your nerves. Rather, Anstey did a fabulous job maintaining the overall tone of the book and aligning their romance to that. 

Things I didn't like:

• Honestly, I have nothing. 

This book was fun and fancy-free, and you know I love my books that way. The story was engaging with a little mystery and suspense in there for good measure, and the result was a lot of smiling, laughing, and swooning from me. 

**I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book

What weapon would you choose for a duel?

Let us know in the comments!