ashley_dang096 's review for:

Second Duke's the Charm by Kate Bateman

3.0

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A new Kate Bateman historical romance series featuring three brilliant woman who run London's most exclusive investigative agency ? Sign me up!! On Tess's wedding night to a much older man (it was a forced marriage in which her father sold her, she was 19 and the duke was about 70+), he suddenly dies and Tess still remains a virgin... but now she has become the Dowager Duchess of Wansford and has set up an investigative agency with her two best friends. Tess knows she can't risk another marriage or getting caught in a scandal with a lover but she wants to experience it just once... so when she goes to a party in a mask the last thing she expects is to share a steamy make out session with the very man who has become the new Duke of Wansford and has come to inspect the home that she lives in. Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he'll do his duty. In order to get one last hurrah out before he is announced as a duke and swarmed by all the ladies of London he decides to go to a party to find someone to sleep with... but he finds himself wholly captivated by the stunning woman he kisses. Yet when they both meet again he immediately recognizes her as the woman of his fantasy, the woman he's had a crush on since he first saw her all the years ago. Justin isn't looking for love, he doesn't want anything to do with it, however physical lust? He's all for. So when he finds out that Tess is the Duchess to the home he is meant to take he offers her a new deal: a marriage of convenience in which they both sleep with each other for three months and in return she'll maintain her freedom and he'll pay her and allow her to continue doing as she pleases as he just wants everyone to leave him alone when they find out he's married. What started off as just physical lust turns into something more as Justin begins to fall for his mysterious new wife and can't seem to stay away from her. This was an overall cute read and I adore Kate Bateman books, it just kind of fell a bit flat at the end and I was wishing there was more groveling on Justin's part after the big breakup. I actually really loved Tess, my gripe was with Justin. He kind of just irritated me and I was hoping as the book went on I'd like him better, but it wasn't the case unfortunately. I am so interested in the next two books as Tess's two friends are adorable and I am so excited to read this new series that has a touch of mystery and investigation!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*