Miss Lillian Hargrove has lived much of her life alone in a gilded cage, longing for love and companionship. When an artist offers her pretty promises and begs her to pose for a scandalous portrait, Lily doesn't hesitate...until the lying libertine leaves her in disgrace. With the painting now public, Lily has no choice but to turn to the one man who might save her from ruin. Highland Devil turned Halfhearted Duke The Duke of Warnick loathes all things English, none more so than the aristocracy. It does not matter that the imposing Scotsman has inherited one of the most venerable dukedoms in Britain-he wants nothing to do with it, especially when he discovers that the unwanted title comes with a troublesome ward, one who is far too old and far too beautiful to be his problem. Warnick arrives in London with a single goal: get the chit married and see her become someone else's problem, then return to a normal, quiet life in Scotland. It's the perfect plan, until Lily declares she'll only marry for love...and the Scot finds that there is one thing in England he likes far too much... 
I'd like to give A Scot in the Dark three and a half stars because I enjoyed the first part of this story a lot. But my biggest issue with this book was Alec. He was very repetitive a and kept denying his love for Lily and affirming "he's not good enough". There was lots of talking and little action when it came to him. He kept a secret from her the entire book, and I was giving up on him by that point. I wanted to see more chemistry between hero and heroine.
I loved Lily's new friends! I really want to see Stanhope's HEA, he was so honorable and honest with Lily. I wish his book is next!
The plot was a bit of a mess and by the end it was a circle of events that, just as the dialogue, was repeating itself. This slow paced book could've been much more enjoyable if it was shorter or with more development towards the ending.
I voluntarily reviewed an eARC of this book.
