Weekly Reads: August 14 to 20, 2023

Fearless Duke by Scarlett Scott (2020)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 6 of the League of Dukes series. Grumpy duke Benedict has scared off three typists (who he thought were incompetent) and their typing school owner Isabella has come to pick a fight. They start the encounter completely at odds and somehow Isabella is tasked with proving her competence by serving as Benedict’s typist for the next week. Isabella tries really hard to hold onto propriety and professionalism (as she has learned her lesson in the past with a lord who didn’t marry her), while Benedict can’t seem to keep his hands off Isabella. Add in Benedict’s meddlesome younger sister and we have lots of chances for compromising situations. Eventually, we run into some danger with those Irish terrorists looming in the background of the entire series and Benedict starts to realize the depth of his feelings for Isabella. However, Isabella insists that they cannot be together due to their differences in social station (pretty similar to the other books of the series).

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Surprise Heir by Merry Farmer (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Secrets of Nedworth Hall series. Frank is a mere valet to an earl (who happens to be his cousin) and at the house party at Nedworth Hall. As someone born illegitimate and without knowing who his father is, he is relegated to being a servant and certainly not a prospect for any of the matchmaking that is happening at the party. Meanwhile, Melanie is an American heiress who isn’t interested in marrying into the aristocracy and would prefer to use her dowry money to start her own department store in London. When she and Frank run into each other, she decides that marrying Frank would help release her funds and she would have a built-in business partner in her new husband. Luckily, these two are very much attracted to each other and the marriage will definitely be physical in addition to being convenient.

Advance ebook provided by Merry Farmer via BookSprout.

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A Duke’s Guide to Romance by Sophie Barnes (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Gentlemen Authors series. Impoverished duke Anthony is worrying about how to secure funds for his sisters’ future debut and is considering a marriage to a wealthy daughter of a viscount. He stumbles upon a bookshop and meets the charming young lady, Ada, who works and lives there with her uncle. At first, he hides the fact that he’s a duke and enjoys a friendship with Ada. She makes an observation that romance novels (like those from Jane Austen) sell quite well, and Anthony takes the idea back to his two friends and propose that they should write a romance novel together to sell for money. Anthony and Ada continue their friendship and he does ultimately tell her who she is. It’s a relatively sweet development of their relationship, despite their differences in social station. There’s some meddling and scheming from the lady that Anthony is purportedly courting, but that eventually gets resolved with some open communication. Overall, an interesting start to this series of gentlemen authors.

Advance ebook provided by Sophie Barnes via NetGalley.

All Duke and Bothered by Mariah Stone (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Dukes and Secrets series. New duke Preston wants revenge on his brother’s killer, so he arranges himself in a position to marry Penelope, the young lady that he believes led on his brother and whose father hired ruffians to beat him. She doesn’t know about her father’s misdeeds and is horrified at having to marry Preston, who openly disdains Penelope. Preston believed that Penelope was a shallow flirt who was interested in his brother’s money, but really, she just thought they were friends and liked to talk about art together. Penelope was not interested in marriage at all and wanted to work on her painting. As Preston starts to see that he was mistaken about Penelope’s true personality, he feels guilty for misjudging the situation with his brother and also guilty for marrying Penelope. He’s still preoccupied with getting revenge on Penelope’s father though, and she’s disappointed that he is clearly choosing revenge over the possibility of love and happiness. It’s all a muddle until Preston can share his secrets with Penelope and let go of his quest for vengeance.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Duke Who Loved Me by Jane Ashford (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Duke’s Estates series. James recently inherited a dukedom and a clutter townhouse of a hoarder. He gets the bright idea to propose marriage to his long-time friend Cecelia so that she can organize and manage all of his problem. Insulted by his unemotional offer, she rejects him. These two have known each other for many years as Cecelia acted as the go-between with James and her father, the person in charge of his trust. While Cecelia has always had a crush on the somewhat shallow and pompous James, he never seemed to treat her as a lady worth courting. After the rejection of his initial proposal, James attempts to spend more time with Cecelia and convince her to accept him. However, Cecelia is suddenly surrounded by a gaggle of younger debutantes who initially wanted social advice for the season and are now loyal friends, so it’s hard for James to get Cecelia alone. Add in another potential suitor in the form of a prince, and James is thwarted almost everywhere. We do finally see James start to learn some self-awareness and realize that he has feelings for Cecelia, but it takes an incident of public humiliation and a retreat from society for him to do so.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Her Rake Fiance by Mariah Stone (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Dukes and Secrets series. Richard is looking for information about his missing brother from a certain prominent criminal and is promised the info in exchange for him marrying the man’s sister. Jane is the legitimate daughter of a baron who was cast out of society after her father’s death due to her connection with her criminal brother, but she has no desire to marry since she wants to run a school for impoverished children. She and Richard strike a deal to help him find the information he needs before the supposed wedding and then they’ll break off their engagement. Of course, as they spend more time together, they slowly start to fall in love, and Richard is the one who proposes that they turn their fake engagement into a real one. Jane is unsure of this since she has her own goals with her school and she doesn’t quite fit into polite society anymore. It’s a bit of a muddle here, but I appreciate that these two communicate pretty well about their past traumas and grow closer because of it.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSirens.

Love Blooms with the Duke by Alexa Aston (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Suddenly a Duke series. We start with a tragic prologue for Willa, the daughter of a playwright and an actress who are in a tumultuous relationship and are negligent parents. After her parents have dramatically and scandalously passed away, Willa has distanced herself from the theater and worked as a lady’s companion and governess. Xander is the fourth son of a duke and often ignored as his birth caused the death of his mother and he very suddenly inherits the dukedom and two troublemaker nieces to care for. In the search for yet another governess, he runs into and hires Willa for the job. While Xander was previously an indolent rake, he has taken up his responsibilities quite well and dedicated himself to the care of his nieces. In getting to know Willa and her teaching strategies, he grows even more impressed with her and sets his mind on making her his duchess. Willa is wary of the former rake due to her past poor experiences with employers and wants to avoid his company to try to avoid temptation. However, we can see how much Xander has turned into a responsible duke who loves this newly built family. Not all is perfect, since Xander has yet to realize Willa’s background in the theater, which could reignite scandal and scorn.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.