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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
lighthearted
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:
Yes
The pacing felt a bit off at times, with the ending being rushed imo, especially with the conclusion of the mystery.
Lovable characters tho.
Lovable characters tho.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. Review originally withheld as part of the influencer-led boycott of St. Martin’s Press titles. All opinions are my own.
I think I’m finally ready to throw in the towel on Kate Bateman’s books. It should have happened way sooner, but her premises have a way of reeling me in, even if most of them are not executed in a way that I prefer. And while Second Duke’s the Charm isn’t the worst offender, it’s definitely the last straw.
I do like the historical elements included, with Queen Charlotte being a supporting character, and the story surrounding the events leading up to the wedding of Queen Charlotte and Prince Leopold, and the intrigue related to that. Given Queen Charlotte has become popular since Bridgerton and the spinoff show, it’s an understandable choice to include her…I even imagined Golda Rosheuvel reciting Charlotte’s dialogue, even though her portrayal isn’t necessarily accurate to the real person.
The characters were also all right as individuals. I mostly liked how Tess managed to build a life for herself after her disastrous first wedding night as an independent woman, getting together with her friends to investigate the scandalous crimes of High Society. While I can’t say I was blown away by Justin, I respect that he did have business experience, making himself much more capable than some of his unfortunate predecessors. I was a bit put off by his cynical approach to love, but it’s almost ubiquitous for historical romance heroes, especially when the marriage-of-convenience trope is involved.
But the romance alternated between being a snorefest and becoming utterly enraging by the end. They have solid sexual chemistry to start, but that’s literally what they base the marriage on, and “oh, well, he doesn’t have to find a suitable wife, and she can stay the duchess.” He makes some pretty gross assumptions of her and the amount of sexual experience she had in their early encounters, and she kind of accepts it, deceiving him about it. But then they come back around when he throws them back in her face at the crisis point, and she reveals the truth. I have no idea whether I want her to leave him, or to resign herself to being with him, since she also deceived him, so maybe they deserve each other. There is a grand gesture on his part at the end, but I just didn’t care by that point.
While Kate Bateman just doesn’t write the type of historical romance that I’m interested in, I can see why others may like her work. If you’re a historical romance reader who happens to like marriage-of-convenience between an independent heroine and broody hero, I’d recommend checking this out to see if this works out for you.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars ⭐️
this was fun! the premise pulled me in right away: a marriage of convenience between a duke and a dowager duchess? with seemingly no strings attached (though we know that’s sure to change by the end of the book)? i’m sold.
i had a good time with these characters. i was particularly fond of tess, our FMC. she was wonderfully complex, with several layers to peel back and examine. kind and generous, but also willing to put her foot down and stick up for herself when necessary. i also loved her friends, ellie and daisy—i’m looking forward to seeing how their love stories unfold!
i think the author also did a great job of establishing the sexual tension between justin and tess. though it was clear that they were attracted to each other from the beginning—and despite the events that took place at the start of the book—it never felt like they were moving absurdly fast. i think this is because, in their relationship, there was a clear line drawn between the idea of lust versus love. there was plenty of attraction, sure, but the true appeal lay in wanting them to fall head over heels for each other.
the book sort of lost me in the last half—it seemed like justin’s deep feelings for tess kind of came out of left field. first, he was only pursuing something physical, and then suddenly, he was in love with her? i wish we’d gotten a more gradual buildup. i also didn’t really love the resolution at the end, but maybe this is simply because i’m not a huge fan of the whole ~grand gesture~ approach. i much rather prefer small but meaningful acts as opposed to a single, extravagant (and often empty) one.
but overall, i enjoyed this story! and i fully intend to check out more of bateman’s work in the future
this was fun! the premise pulled me in right away: a marriage of convenience between a duke and a dowager duchess? with seemingly no strings attached (though we know that’s sure to change by the end of the book)? i’m sold.
i had a good time with these characters. i was particularly fond of tess, our FMC. she was wonderfully complex, with several layers to peel back and examine. kind and generous, but also willing to put her foot down and stick up for herself when necessary. i also loved her friends, ellie and daisy—i’m looking forward to seeing how their love stories unfold!
i think the author also did a great job of establishing the sexual tension between justin and tess. though it was clear that they were attracted to each other from the beginning—and despite the events that took place at the start of the book—it never felt like they were moving absurdly fast. i think this is because, in their relationship, there was a clear line drawn between the idea of lust versus love. there was plenty of attraction, sure, but the true appeal lay in wanting them to fall head over heels for each other.
the book sort of lost me in the last half—it seemed like justin’s deep feelings for tess kind of came out of left field. first, he was only pursuing something physical, and then suddenly, he was in love with her? i wish we’d gotten a more gradual buildup. i also didn’t really love the resolution at the end, but maybe this is simply because i’m not a huge fan of the whole ~grand gesture~ approach. i much rather prefer small but meaningful acts as opposed to a single, extravagant (and often empty) one.
but overall, i enjoyed this story! and i fully intend to check out more of bateman’s work in the future
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
Content warnings: death, forced marriage, death of a parent (in the past), death of a spouse (of literally five minutes and it was forced), blackmail, gun violence, attempted murder
I have loved all of Bateman's books in the past, and this was no exception. I will say that it DID take me a slightly longer time to love this one than some of her others, but I think that's because this one featured a lot of set up? Between the "we have a crime fighting business" stuff and the forced marriage stuff and the actual relationship between the two of them stuff, there was a lot of...stuff...to deal with before you could really get down to them and their feelings. You know?
Anyway, despite all of my petty griping, I had a lovely time reading this and I'm very definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
I have loved all of Bateman's books in the past, and this was no exception. I will say that it DID take me a slightly longer time to love this one than some of her others, but I think that's because this one featured a lot of set up? Between the "we have a crime fighting business" stuff and the forced marriage stuff and the actual relationship between the two of them stuff, there was a lot of...stuff...to deal with before you could really get down to them and their feelings. You know?
Anyway, despite all of my petty griping, I had a lovely time reading this and I'm very definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced