Second Duke's the Charm

I loved this story so much! When Tess's elderly groom dies on their wedding night, she finally experiences the freedom that has eluded her throughout her childhood under her father's thumb. It takes two years to hunt down the eventual successor to the dukedom, during which Tess flourishes and establishes herself as both a duchess of grace and honor as well as a clever, successful private investigator. She and her two best friends operate a private agency that is soon tasked with rescuing Queen Charlotte's daughter from a blackmailer. Justin is equal parts stunned and appalled to discover that he's the long-lost duke, and it takes a while for him to find his footing in his new role. When he meets the charming, beautiful, and much-younger-than-imagined dowager duchess, he pragmatically proposes a marriage of convenience, where he is rescued from the constant advances of marriage-minded mamas, and Tess is allowed to continue as the duchess without fear of being replaced. I absolutely adore marriage of convenience stories, and this one is one of the best. Both Justin and Tess have a lot to learn about each other, while their innate chemistry drives their marriage right on past convenient and straight to passionate. Then the attempted murders start, forcing them both to wonder just how much they really know about their partner. We've got all the secrets, misunderstandings, assumptions, and groveling that a heart wrenching romance needs to take the reader on a wild roller coaster of emotions before finally giving us a showstopping conclusion and a very satisfying HEA. I love this author's writing style and fell in love with her characters right from the very first page. If you love regency romances, it doesn't get any better than this. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I hate reviews that start with OMG!...but really, OMG! Second Duke's The Charm by Kate Bateman is a phenomenal historical romance. I was hooked on this book by page 2 and couldn't put it down. Tess and friends own King & Co. and secretly run investigations. Justin didn't want to take over as Duke when the solicitor tracked him down, but it was easier to just accept than fight it. Tess and Justin's story is loaded with drama, fantastic characters, humor, sexy bits, action and suspense.

This book is so much fun! I enjoyed how the author incorporated the true story of Princess Charlotte’s love letters to a naval officer into the novel. Sometimes I wanted to slap Justin for the assumptions he made about Tess’s romantic experience, but he gets his comeuppance. Tess does a beautiful job of taming him. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.