The Truth About the Duke Historical Romance Book Series by Caroline Linden

I Love the Earl by Caroline Linden (2011)

Historical romance. Georgian-era England. Prequel novella of The Truth About the Duke series. Margaret has been a dowdy spinster with no success in finding a husband. When her brother unexpectedly inherits a wealthy dukedom, he settles a large dowry on her. Suddenly, Margaret is besieged with suitors of the fortune-hunting variety. Rhys is an impoverished earl who is hesitant to marry for money, but is intrigued by Margaret’s forthright style of speaking. He decides to slowly court her and win her favor, as he’d very much like to spend the rest of his life with her.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

One Night in London by Caroline Linden (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of The Truth About the Duke series. Three sons of a duke are forced to deal with a sixty year old scandal after their father’s death when it turns out that the duke had legally married a woman (and never divorced her) before marrying their mother. That woman had disappeared and it’s unknown if the duke’s second marriage was bigamous or not, which may make his sons illegitimate. Second son Edward is the responsible and industrious one set on hiring the best solicitor to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, he has stolen away that best solicitor from Francesca, who needed legal assistance in seeking custody of her niece. While agitated and upset, Francesca confronts Edward and insists upon his help in securing a new solicitor. He reluctantly agrees and the rest of the book is focused on Edward helping with Francesca’s problems in locating and gaining custody of her niece.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

Blame It on Bath by Caroline Linden (2012)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of The Truth About the Duke series. This book follows the youngest son of the duke Gerard who was an army officer on leave from his duties after his father’s death. With the rumors surrounding his father’s secret wife, Gerard is contemplating marrying an heiress to secure his finances. Luckily for him, he has been proposed to by a quiet and unassuming widow, Katherine, who seeks to free herself from marrying her late husband’s nephew. Gerard agrees to the proposal and also tries to gain Katherine’s affections in the process. After a hasty wedding, they’re off to Bath where Gerard attempts to find the person who was blackmailing his father with knowledge of the long-ago secret marriage. While Gerard is good-natured and easy-going with his new wife, she is insecure and wary of his motives. She’s had a history of being brow-beaten by her social climbing mother and poor treatment by her late husband. It takes quite a bit of effort on both Gerard and Katherine’s parts for her to trust him.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Way to a Duke’s Heart by Caroline Linden (2012)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of The Truth About the Duke series. It’s the eldest son Charlie’s turn to take up the fight for his family’s legacy. We start with a prologue which explains the rift between Charlie and his father and the descent into his rakehell ways. As we start Chapter 1, we overlap a bit in time with the previous book and Charlie’s appearance in Bath to assist Gerard with his search. While checking into the hotel, a young widow Tessa seems to be aggrieved by him and callously mentions him being indolent. Tessa and her companion are in town to discuss an investment opportunity with a local mill owner. That mill owner is the man that Charlie seeks as a suspect for the blackmailing, so Charlie arranges an introduction via Tessa. Charlie is the ever-charming and rakish aristocrat he has always been, but this demeanor causes Tessa to be suspicious, since she once had her heart broken by a man who seemed to charm her. Tessa is analytical and unladylike and not used to having this type of attention. With all the time that Charlie and Tessa are spending together, she realizes that he has more depth than she originally thought and he realizes that he likes her prickly directness. We do also learn about what happened to the duke’s first secret wife and who was responsible for the blackmailing.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.