A review by cakt1991
The Secret Duchess by Jane Walsh

4.0

 The Secret Duchess is the third installment in Jane Walsh’s Spinsters of Inverley series. It can be read as a standalone, although I do recommend checking out the others. I continue to love how Walsh grapples with the issues women faced in the Regency, especially if they happened to be queer, while providing them both realistic and hopeful paths to an HEA, and this one was no exception. 

Joan and Maeve are each great spins on common historical romance archetypes, and are very sympathetic as a result. Joan is a widowed duchess, having endured a loveless marriage and is now reckoning with a scandal related to her late husband’s long-buried secrets now coming to light. Maeve finds herself compelled to leave home following her mother’s remarriage, and I love how, as someone who loves fashion and style, she has to find a resourceful way to make her own way in the world. 

I really liked the romance between Joan and Maeve. I wasn’t sure at first about Joan hiding who she was from Maeve, but it does come from a realistic place of shame for the scandal, and later fear for what could befall her. And once Joan is comfortable letting Maeve in, the two women really bond over their shared struggles navigating the world, helping each other and finding solace in each other. 

This was a fairly sweet read, and I’d recommend it to readers who are looking for historical sapphic romance.