Mara has been on the run for over twelve years, having to live a life in hiding. Mara was young and desperate to escape a arranged marriage with a man thrice her age, and wanting to have a form of control, set a man up hoping that others would assume he had ruined her, but instead they thought he murdered her. Now twelve years later she has come back to London to offer Temple a trade, one which she knows he won't be able to resist taking her up. Temple is shocked when he finds himself facing the one woman that ruined him. Despite holding the title of "Duke" he hasn't lived that kind of life for twelve years, and is more than happy with who he is. However Temple can't seem to resist Mara, and despite his bitterness and anger toward her betrayal, he knows that she holds the key to Temple gaining back everything that he lost. Mara has many regrets, but her main concern is keeping the boys home together, and will do anything to keep it going, even if it means her ruination and one of the biggest scandals that London has ever seen. I was able to receive a copy of this book through Edelweiss and Avon publishing. I have been waiting for this one to come out for quite some time. I have to say this one just might be my favorite of the series. I have just started to get back into reading, and I am glad that this is one of the first books I started reading again. I have always enjoyed Sarah Maclean, Her writing style and passion is evident through every story that she writes, and the same holds true for No Good Duke Goes Unpunished. With some books the revenge theme sometimes never goes over well, but I found Maclean's style of plot and the zestiness of the characters only made this theme work quite well, and became a story that was quite impossible to put down. The connection between Temple and Mara was instataneoius from the first page. You see how despite each going after what they each desire, they end up willing to give up everything for the other. A emotionally driven tale that is woven smoothly with the plot that it gives it a spice that only adds to the story even more. A beautifully written gem of a romance that captured me from the beginning, a love story that will curl your toes and sexy enough to fog up the windows!! A remarkable tale of love, forgiveness and the excitement of danger and intrigue.

3.5 This was so fun. Yay for 2021 and good bubbly feelings

I didn't mean to stay up until 2AM reading this, BUT HERE WE ARE.

3.5

Premise a bit outrageous but the love between the H/h was great

I thoroughly enjoy The Rules of Scoundrels series. This was a very touching and yet veeeery angsty. It was next level goodness. Also Temple's obsession with Mara and gloves is super adorable and I love it. That's really all I need to say. Thank you.

Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads . I LOVED Temple, Mara and their story. There's no doubt it was complicated, what with her being thought dead and him suspected of murdering her. The web of lies and deceit went back years and I loved seeing how it all unraveled when they found themselves face to face again. As far as heroines go, Mara was outstanding. Granted, her choices all those years ago ruined a perfectly innocent man, but you can't really fault her for wanting to escape the situation she was in. Temple was complicated, but so freaking easy to like. For a man to have gone through the things he did, but still come out on the other side with a good heart, speaks highly of his character to begin with. The romance in No Good Duke Goes Unpunished was great, too. I'm a big fan of second chance romances, and while theirs was tinged with years of lies and complications, I still enjoyed it. I loved their chemistry and the way it was so easy to tell how much they cared for each other. This book was a great addition to a historical romance series I've fallen head over heels for. As sad as I am that there's just one book left, I am so happy to jump into the final book and FINALLY find out Georgiana/Chase's story. Oh it's gonna be good!

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life My god. My. God. What is Sarah MacLean doing to me? I simply cannot function when I’m reading one of her books in the Rules of Scoundrels series, because I become obsessed with the characters, the romance, the story–everything–while reading. I adore this series. I am completely, 100%, over-the-moon in love with this series. One Good Earl Deserves a Lover and No Good Duke Goes Unpunished are absolute gems (A Rogue by Any Other Name was pretty great too). I don’t know how Sarah MacLean does it, but the owners of The Fallen Angel are to. die. for. And Temple… He makes me swoon so friggin’ hard. And yep, I have another book boyfriend to add to my already long list. I can’t even begin to do this book justice. It’s just… too amazing. The story blew me away, the romance was the divine, and I fell so hard for the characters. I honestly had no idea I would love historical romances as much as I love this series. No Good Duke just cemented my love of the genre. Sarah MacLean is a genius! I don’t know how you do it Sarah, but DON’T EVER STOP! Okay, okay. So if you’ve read the previous two books in the series (and if you haven’t, get right to it now!) and loved them just like me, you were crazed to read Temple’s book. It’s the Killer Duke’s book! And have you read that synopsis? Like, hot damn. I knew Sarah MacLean would give us another incredible, heart-wrenching romance, and yes, she delivers! Quite perfectly, if you ask me. To be honest, I wasn’t sure Sarah could top One Good Earl (book 2). I loved loved loved Cross so damn much that I didn’t think that any of the other characters in their group of four could beat him. And while I can’t say Temple is better, I can say that Temple is absolutely on par with Cross. If you make me choose between them, I won’t be able to! So, you know, I totally call dibs on the both of them. Cross AND Temple… Be still, my heart. Temple is known as the Killer Duke because he woke up in his father’s bride’s room covered with blood. He remembers nothing from the night before, and Mara, the bride, had disappeared. Temple was accused of her murder, and for the twelve years since her death, Temple has been haunted and wrecked with guilt. He feels he doesn’t deserve anything good since he truly believes he’s a murderer. And he’s a fighter as well. He’s huge, bigger than Bourne, Cross, and Chase, and Temple’s job is to fight the patrons of the gaming hell. If a gambler loses everything, he has a chance at gaining everything back if he can defeat Temple. But no once ever does. Temple is undefeated. And in the midst of this new life Temple has created, Mara reappears. She’s not dead, which means Temple didn’t kill her, and he’s not the Killer Duke. And understandably, Temple is pissed as hell. He was accused of murder, and all of a sudden, the girl he supposedly killed comes back? And only to gain back the money her brother lost while gambling? He’s pissed and he wants revenge. And so the two go head to head all the time and sparks fly. The amount of sexual tension is off the charts too, and Sarah MacLean is a master at building the tension between the two. “Don’t you see, Mara.” He leaned in and whispered, “You’re mine, now.” I always liked Mara throughout the entire book, even when I should have hated her on behalf of Temple. She had her reasons for her deception, and she pays a heavy price for it. I mostly felt sympathetic towards her, because she is not welcomed by Temple or his friends. And yet she never gives up, never stops trying to gain back her brother’s lost money to help her orphanage. Her kids in the orphanage (and her pig, Lavender, the most adorable thing ever) are the most important things to her, and there’s so much more depth to her than we could have realized. He’d made her laugh and smile. He’d made her feel beautiful. For the first time in her life. For the only time in her life. I was honestly smiling and grinning so hard every time Temple and Mara see each other, because I couldn’t wait to see how the Sarah MacLean would make them fall for each other. And when they do fall in love, slowly but surely, it’s a bit heart-wrenching, because you don’t see a happily ever after in sight. You want one for them of course, but things become complicated. Revenge is what fuels Temple, and taking care of her orphanage is what fuels Mara. With Mara willing to do whatever it takes to earn back the lost money, including spending time with Temple (there might be some kissing involved), and eventually coming out and confessing to the public about the truth of that night she was ‘killed’, and Temple knowing that once she confesses, he’ll lose her forever, neither Temple nor Mara can imagine themselves living happily ever after with each other. “You want me.” “Want does not begin to describe the way I feel about you,” his low voice promised. “Want is nothing compared with the level of desire I have. With the desperation I feel. With the way I long for you.” But, oh god, the journey along the way to their HEA is perfection. They learn more about each other, fall more in love with each other when they shouldn’t, and there’s so much excited going on, both in their romance and within The Fallen Angel. There are some seriously intense fight scenes that were so gripping and had me on the edge of my seat. And the tension and angst built up so much that this book made me TEAR UP. I rarely ever cry for books, and yet No Good Duke took my breath away and made me tear up a little for Temple and Mara. I laughed, I cried, my heart ached, and I couldn’t have imagined a better story for Temple and Mara. “I love your laugh. I want to hear it every day. I want to be through all this darkness and devastation. I want happiness now. I want our due. I want what we’ve deserved from the beginning.” He paused and stared deep into her eyes, willing her to understand how much he loved her. “I want you.” If there’s a historical romance book you need to read, it’s No Good Duke Goes Unpunished. And One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. And A Rogue by Any Other Name. Read. These. Books. They’re romance at its finest. And you will fall in love with everything about them. I can’t get enough of this series! I’m so, so unbelievably excited for Chase’s book now! It’s finally coming! Soon. I loved this with all my heart. (You have no idea how happy I was to read an ARC of this book. So THANK YOU to the publisher, Avon!) Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version. Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review. Liked this review? Subscribe to Booklovers For Life for more!