Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
The Duke of Hollingsworth has died, and instead of bequeathing his vast fortune to his siblings and nephews and nieces, he has left it to three female strangers instead.
The Duke’s nephew, Chase Radnor, is up to find these women, and no one in the family knows them. He is also contacted by the Home Office to conduct a discreet inquiry into the Duke’s suspicious death.
Heiress #1 is Minerva Hipplewhite. She is naturally at the top of a growing list of suspects. In order to clear her name, she starts her own inquiry alongside Chase. And this is how these two enemies become lovers.
This novel has everything: a murder mystery, H and h with murky pasts.
The best part is watching Minerva go through the courageous and brave journey of overcoming an abusive past. Although she is attracted to Chase, she doesn’t think she can enjoy sex and intimacy because of her trauma. And Chase is the patient cinnamon roll hero that holds space for her, and encourages her at every step. ❤️❤️❤️
The Duke’s nephew, Chase Radnor, is up to find these women, and no one in the family knows them. He is also contacted by the Home Office to conduct a discreet inquiry into the Duke’s suspicious death.
Heiress #1 is Minerva Hipplewhite. She is naturally at the top of a growing list of suspects. In order to clear her name, she starts her own inquiry alongside Chase. And this is how these two enemies become lovers.
This novel has everything: a murder mystery, H and h with murky pasts.
The best part is watching Minerva go through the courageous and brave journey of overcoming an abusive past. Although she is attracted to Chase, she doesn’t think she can enjoy sex and intimacy because of her trauma. And Chase is the patient cinnamon roll hero that holds space for her, and encourages her at every step. ❤️❤️❤️
A mix of mystery and romance. I wasn’t expecting the mystery but because of it I actually ended up enjoying this book more. However, not enough for me to rate this a 4-star.
For one, Chase’s character seems to have no personality and it took me a while to warm up to him. For a good third of the book there was not much about his character except for his conversations with other characters. I seem to learn about who the other characters are more than Chase himself. Towards the second half of the book I think I got a better idea of who he is but still a bit fuzzy. I do have to say though I am surprised he isn’t written as a typical roguish character, as is usually the case. His other two cousins seem to take on more of that role. Minerva, on the other hand, was better developed and had more of a colorful history and interesting household.
The writing in this book felt a bit awkward at times. There are sections that flowed well and other sections where a different choice of words or sentence structure would have been better. There were some strange grammar structure as well.
I do enjoy the mystery and it was quite fun. There were actually a couple of large mysteries involved.
The romance development was decent. But because the character development felt a bit awkward the romance was a bit wobbly at first. I think once we hit the middle of the book things start to flow a bit better.
I do want to say there are some comedic moments and my personal favorite character is Brigsby (Chase’s manservant). It’s too bad Chase’s character is a bit boring otherwise I believe there would be some interesting comedic moments between him and Brigsby. I also wouldn’t mind a bit of relationship building between Brigsby and Beth (whatever that would be I think it’ll be fun).
This my second book from this author. Based on my experience with the other book, I wasn’t too impressed and was cautious about picking this up. But was pleasantly surprised I quite enjoyed it. It is not lusty or smutty, as seem to be a theme of many of the HR I have been reading lately. It’s quite sweet really with the right amount of understanding and respect between the main protagonists. The male protagonist isn’t too pushy or angry all the time and the female protagonist has a certain level of independence and self-control who didn’t just fall apart so quickly early on because they can’t resist the possessiveness of a handsome male protagonist. I am actually quite interested in reading the follow-up books with the other two Radnor cousins and would like to see how their story unfold.
For one, Chase’s character seems to have no personality and it took me a while to warm up to him. For a good third of the book there was not much about his character except for his conversations with other characters. I seem to learn about who the other characters are more than Chase himself. Towards the second half of the book I think I got a better idea of who he is but still a bit fuzzy. I do have to say though I am surprised he isn’t written as a typical roguish character, as is usually the case. His other two cousins seem to take on more of that role. Minerva, on the other hand, was better developed and had more of a colorful history and interesting household.
The writing in this book felt a bit awkward at times. There are sections that flowed well and other sections where a different choice of words or sentence structure would have been better. There were some strange grammar structure as well.
I do enjoy the mystery and it was quite fun. There were actually a couple of large mysteries involved.
The romance development was decent. But because the character development felt a bit awkward the romance was a bit wobbly at first. I think once we hit the middle of the book things start to flow a bit better.
I do want to say there are some comedic moments and my personal favorite character is Brigsby (Chase’s manservant). It’s too bad Chase’s character is a bit boring otherwise I believe there would be some interesting comedic moments between him and Brigsby. I also wouldn’t mind a bit of relationship building between Brigsby and Beth (whatever that would be I think it’ll be fun).
This my second book from this author. Based on my experience with the other book, I wasn’t too impressed and was cautious about picking this up. But was pleasantly surprised I quite enjoyed it. It is not lusty or smutty, as seem to be a theme of many of the HR I have been reading lately. It’s quite sweet really with the right amount of understanding and respect between the main protagonists. The male protagonist isn’t too pushy or angry all the time and the female protagonist has a certain level of independence and self-control who didn’t just fall apart so quickly early on because they can’t resist the possessiveness of a handsome male protagonist. I am actually quite interested in reading the follow-up books with the other two Radnor cousins and would like to see how their story unfold.
3.5 stars. Fairly certain I enjoyed this more on audiobook (B.A. Crick) than I would have reading it. Points off for lots of consequence-less sex and not even the mention of possible consequences (although that's a fairly common characteristic of HR... sadly.)
DNF. I might circle back and try it again later. Just didn't grab me.
This book is an intriguing and entertaining start to Madeline Hunter's latest series. I appreciated the amount of depth to the characters and the way that they came together in order to help heal one another and grow. There is one unresolved thread at the end of this book, but I've already picked up the second book in the series in hopes that it is resolved in that story.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Review originally published at Romancing Romances.
I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.
4.25*
I’ve been a fan of Madeline Hunter’s books for a long time, even if her most recent ones haven’t always had the charm of her earlier books. But this one… it was a book that got out of a reading slump!
I really liked the premise of the book, a duke dies, and three unknown women get almost all of his inheritance. Why? That’s what the whole family is thinking. And Chase Radnor, pretty much the only one who knew he wasn’t getting any money – let’s face it, he didn’t need it – wants to know what happened to his uncle, because his death was not an accident in his mind. And, of course, we understand very quickly that he was right. So, was it one of the women? Was it a family member? A business partner? A member of the household? A complete stranger? These are the questions that go with us as we read the book, and follow the inquiries of both Chase Radnor and one of the mysterious women, Minerva Hepplewhite.
When Chase finds her, he knows there’s something she’s hiding. Is it that she’s killed the duke? He doesn’t think so. Even if his intuition had disappointed him once, he believed he was right.
Minerva has survived her fair share of problems, and she is immensely grateful to Beth and Jeremy, her friends and former employers in her household. When this mysterious inheritance appears, she’s afraid it might disturb their recent peace. And she’s found she’s good at conducting discreet inquiries – very much like Chase. And she wonders: why would someone she’s never met give such a large amount of money?
And this is how Minerva and Chase get involved. I really liked their relationship, how it evolved, with a slow-burn, and more than just a physical thing, they admired each other’s minds, and worked so well together.
I loved the mystery, and following along with our main couple, learning what they learned and seeing their love and steaminess grow.
I also enjoyed seeing how Minerva got through her own fears and past experiences to enjoy her new life, and fall in love again.
It was a great story, filled with romance, and mystery. I can’t wait to find out more about the other heiresses.
I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.
4.25*
I’ve been a fan of Madeline Hunter’s books for a long time, even if her most recent ones haven’t always had the charm of her earlier books. But this one… it was a book that got out of a reading slump!
I really liked the premise of the book, a duke dies, and three unknown women get almost all of his inheritance. Why? That’s what the whole family is thinking. And Chase Radnor, pretty much the only one who knew he wasn’t getting any money – let’s face it, he didn’t need it – wants to know what happened to his uncle, because his death was not an accident in his mind. And, of course, we understand very quickly that he was right. So, was it one of the women? Was it a family member? A business partner? A member of the household? A complete stranger? These are the questions that go with us as we read the book, and follow the inquiries of both Chase Radnor and one of the mysterious women, Minerva Hepplewhite.
When Chase finds her, he knows there’s something she’s hiding. Is it that she’s killed the duke? He doesn’t think so. Even if his intuition had disappointed him once, he believed he was right.
Minerva has survived her fair share of problems, and she is immensely grateful to Beth and Jeremy, her friends and former employers in her household. When this mysterious inheritance appears, she’s afraid it might disturb their recent peace. And she’s found she’s good at conducting discreet inquiries – very much like Chase. And she wonders: why would someone she’s never met give such a large amount of money?
And this is how Minerva and Chase get involved. I really liked their relationship, how it evolved, with a slow-burn, and more than just a physical thing, they admired each other’s minds, and worked so well together.
I loved the mystery, and following along with our main couple, learning what they learned and seeing their love and steaminess grow.
I also enjoyed seeing how Minerva got through her own fears and past experiences to enjoy her new life, and fall in love again.
It was a great story, filled with romance, and mystery. I can’t wait to find out more about the other heiresses.
Interesting concept, but a little clunky - especially in the beginning. The story picked up and is a fun read, but it was a little frustrating that the mystery was never solved on the page.