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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I really wanted more for this first installment in this new series. Tess is basically sold off to a 70ish year old duke by her father. Well the wedding night doesn’t happen and her two friends were willing to do anything for their friend. Now Tess wanting to keep her freedom has to worry about who the next person will take over the duchy. It’s Justin but he actually doesn’t want the title but ends up in a marriage of convenience with Tess. I liked the beginning a lot more than the rest of the book. It just didn’t hold my attention as much and I just find I wanted more excitement in the story. I’m hoping the next one will be better.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Romantic lead is named Justin, which I found so funny I liked the book way more. Was literally cracking up telling my coworker about reading this lol
4.5 Stars. On Tess’s wedding night her ancient husband drops dead at her feet. Two years later, Tess goes to London in search of a kiss and shares a passionate moment with a stranger. A few days later she learns her mystery man, Justin, is a distant relative of her husband and the new duke. Justin propose a marriage of convenience and after weighing here options, Tess agrees. The pair begin a physical relationship that leads to feelings. The B plot involves Tess and her friends trying to stop a blackmailer and someone trying to kill justin.
This is the first book in a new series and I assume that the other two books will be about Tess’s friends. I really liked this book. The plot moved a long quickly and I read the book in a single afternoon and was entertained, but I found the A and B plots a little disjointed and I found myself skimming when we got to the B plot chapters. I would have preferred to have just the main marriage of convenience plot but I also don’t enjoy mysteries. I absolutely love the cover as it so perfectly captures Tess and Justin’s first meeting. I do wish we had gotten more of Justin’s hard shell around his heart shattering because he was so cold at the beginning of the book. I absolutely loved Tess and her friends and am absolutely looking forward to the next books in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book in a new series and I assume that the other two books will be about Tess’s friends. I really liked this book. The plot moved a long quickly and I read the book in a single afternoon and was entertained, but I found the A and B plots a little disjointed and I found myself skimming when we got to the B plot chapters. I would have preferred to have just the main marriage of convenience plot but I also don’t enjoy mysteries. I absolutely love the cover as it so perfectly captures Tess and Justin’s first meeting. I do wish we had gotten more of Justin’s hard shell around his heart shattering because he was so cold at the beginning of the book. I absolutely loved Tess and her friends and am absolutely looking forward to the next books in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars. Delightful. Love a marriage of convenience trope! Tess was forced into marriage with a Duke 3x her age, and fortunately for her, he died on their wedding night so she’s FREEEEE! She’s free and has money and her standing as a widow means she doesn’t need a chaperone. She starts a private investigator business with her friends Daisy and Ellie, mostly concerning women and blackmail and things that the police don’t really care about/have time for.
They are approached by THE Queen Charlotte to retrieve some letters that Princess Charlotte wrote to a former love, and is now being blackmailed over.
Also the new Duke, Justin, is found after a 2 year search through various cousins etc., and surprise, it’s a man that Tess kissed at a masquerade!! They enter into a marriage of convenience so it’ll get all of the society mamas off his back, and provide Tess with further (contractual) agency. He thinks Tess is more experienced than she really is, and Justin is also adamant about not falling in love blah blah blah.
Shenanigans ensue and of course they fall in love, while dodging several assassination attempts from a business rival and Tess trying to secretly take care of her business without telling her husband of a month that she is doing this top secret thing. Love that this is the start of a trilogy!
They are approached by THE Queen Charlotte to retrieve some letters that Princess Charlotte wrote to a former love, and is now being blackmailed over.
Also the new Duke, Justin, is found after a 2 year search through various cousins etc., and surprise, it’s a man that Tess kissed at a masquerade!! They enter into a marriage of convenience so it’ll get all of the society mamas off his back, and provide Tess with further (contractual) agency. He thinks Tess is more experienced than she really is, and Justin is also adamant about not falling in love blah blah blah.
Shenanigans ensue and of course they fall in love, while dodging several assassination attempts from a business rival and Tess trying to secretly take care of her business without telling her husband of a month that she is doing this top secret thing. Love that this is the start of a trilogy!
Kate is becoming a favorite HR author for me. She knocks this one out of the park! It was just what I needed and can’t wait for the rest of this series.
Strong female leads
Hot about to be Duke
London and Country side
Some twists and turns
The ladies investigation work
Marriage of Convenience
So I’m finding I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience and here you add in a business man that is NOT going to fall in love- sign me up! Bateman nails it! Perfect for these two. Love that he was a business man before becoming a Duke- which he did not want. Loved the puppy and horse scenes so much!! Swoon!!
Strong female leads
Hot about to be Duke
London and Country side
Some twists and turns
The ladies investigation work
Marriage of Convenience
So I’m finding I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience and here you add in a business man that is NOT going to fall in love- sign me up! Bateman nails it! Perfect for these two. Love that he was a business man before becoming a Duke- which he did not want. Loved the puppy and horse scenes so much!! Swoon!!
I really like her writing and plotting. Truly, no one else is doing this kind of stuff right now. There was a little too much happening in this one, though. It took me out of the main story. There is a great girl gang of characters, and I laughed out loud several times at their interactions. Good banter between the main characters, and great side characters.
After Tess was forced into a marriage with a much older man by her father, she has a plan in order to escape her wedding night. But the moment the duke entered her room, he collapsed, leaving Tess a very young and a bit weathly widow.
Two years and a couple of dukes later, Justin is the newly titled duke even though has no interest being a duke. With responsibilities also come a number of mamas trying to intoduce him to their unwed daughters. Since he has no patience for that, so he proposes a marriage of convenience with the old Duchess who he happens to know from one night.
He doesn't want feelings but needs a wife and Tess recognise the benefits of an arrangement of that kind especially since she has a secret of her own. Well actually more than one, the other secret has to do with an job.
Tess and her group of friends are working undercover to help women in any situation that might arise. They have the skills and power to help and so they do, even if that leads them in some dangerous situations.
Of course, the feelings don't take long to appear and once they do they only increase. I enjoyed this romance very much especially with all the secrets opperations going on behind the scenes. I just hoped that they would be a bit more open about their lives from the beginning.
Two years and a couple of dukes later, Justin is the newly titled duke even though has no interest being a duke. With responsibilities also come a number of mamas trying to intoduce him to their unwed daughters. Since he has no patience for that, so he proposes a marriage of convenience with the old Duchess who he happens to know from one night.
He doesn't want feelings but needs a wife and Tess recognise the benefits of an arrangement of that kind especially since she has a secret of her own. Well actually more than one, the other secret has to do with an job.
Tess and her group of friends are working undercover to help women in any situation that might arise. They have the skills and power to help and so they do, even if that leads them in some dangerous situations.
Of course, the feelings don't take long to appear and once they do they only increase. I enjoyed this romance very much especially with all the secrets opperations going on behind the scenes. I just hoped that they would be a bit more open about their lives from the beginning.
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Second Duke's Charm is the first book in Her Majesty's Rebels, the series looks like it is going to follow three society ladies on their journey to find love and adventure. First up is Tess, a beautiful bell of the Ton she was basically sold by her father to the highest bidder on the marriage mart. Her first husband died on their wedding night, while they locate the next in line for the dukedom, Tess will play the role of the dowager and let everyone assume she was bedded by her first husband. Meanwhile she is free to live her life and only she and her closest friends know she is still a virgin.
Justin Trevelyan has been a shipping magnate since leaving London years ago, traveling to Canada for trade. He didn't ever expect to inherit a dukedom and really doesn't want it. But duty is duty, he has a plan go to London, settle the affairs of the dukedom and be back at sea in three months. On the way to London, Justin stops at a friend for a night of debauchery, where he meets Tess. They have instant chemistry, she has come to take part in some of the passions she has only heard and read about, in disguise far from London she feels safe in exploring some passion with Justin, thinking to never see him again. Until he ends up being the new Duke. His plan is to wed her, bed her for three months and then go on with their separate lives. This is a great offer for Tess, she doesn't want to lose her independence and this deal will keep her safe. Plus Justin is definitely someone she would like to explore passions with.
Tess has secrets though, not only about being a virgin, but also about the detective agency she and her two best friends started. Justin knows she is keeping secrets; he just can't tell if they are about another man or something else. He will get to the bottom of it though, because he didn't prepare his heart for the whirlwind that is Tess and he has been swept away.
A marriage of strangers is one of my favorite tropes and so this story was already on the plus side for me. Tess is fun and I had a great time with her and her best friends. You can tell they are going to get themselves into all kinds of trouble. Tess and Justin's chemistry was fantastic; you could see why they were going to make a great couple once Justin learns to trust both his heart and Tess. There is a very cute I will prove my love for you event that I quite enjoyed.
This is exactly the kind of story I'd expect from Kate Bateman. She delivers some hot sexy times between the couple, an interesting side plot and a very cute HEA.
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Second Duke's Charm is the first book in Her Majesty's Rebels, the series looks like it is going to follow three society ladies on their journey to find love and adventure. First up is Tess, a beautiful bell of the Ton she was basically sold by her father to the highest bidder on the marriage mart. Her first husband died on their wedding night, while they locate the next in line for the dukedom, Tess will play the role of the dowager and let everyone assume she was bedded by her first husband. Meanwhile she is free to live her life and only she and her closest friends know she is still a virgin.
Justin Trevelyan has been a shipping magnate since leaving London years ago, traveling to Canada for trade. He didn't ever expect to inherit a dukedom and really doesn't want it. But duty is duty, he has a plan go to London, settle the affairs of the dukedom and be back at sea in three months. On the way to London, Justin stops at a friend for a night of debauchery, where he meets Tess. They have instant chemistry, she has come to take part in some of the passions she has only heard and read about, in disguise far from London she feels safe in exploring some passion with Justin, thinking to never see him again. Until he ends up being the new Duke. His plan is to wed her, bed her for three months and then go on with their separate lives. This is a great offer for Tess, she doesn't want to lose her independence and this deal will keep her safe. Plus Justin is definitely someone she would like to explore passions with.
Tess has secrets though, not only about being a virgin, but also about the detective agency she and her two best friends started. Justin knows she is keeping secrets; he just can't tell if they are about another man or something else. He will get to the bottom of it though, because he didn't prepare his heart for the whirlwind that is Tess and he has been swept away.
A marriage of strangers is one of my favorite tropes and so this story was already on the plus side for me. Tess is fun and I had a great time with her and her best friends. You can tell they are going to get themselves into all kinds of trouble. Tess and Justin's chemistry was fantastic; you could see why they were going to make a great couple once Justin learns to trust both his heart and Tess. There is a very cute I will prove my love for you event that I quite enjoyed.
This is exactly the kind of story I'd expect from Kate Bateman. She delivers some hot sexy times between the couple, an interesting side plot and a very cute HEA.
I love that this is a fast paced action packed romance where the heroine's marriage isn't the ONLY thing to be sorted. This duchess also has a thriving private investigation business, her tenants, her land, oh then there's falling in love with her late husband's handsome and rich successor who falls for her HARD..... And offers her a marriage of convenience, you know if she has the time. LOL Not as much spice as I usually like but there's plenty of chemistry and tons of action. The duke is HELLA hot and the story is romantic!
I wish I could provide feedback on this novel but I am supporting the St Martins Press boycott, so I'll provide a review once the boycotts demands have been met.