Second Duke's the Charm by Kate Bateman
Series : Her Majesty’s Rebels #1
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : St Martin's Press
Publication date : December 26th, 2023
Meet Her Majesty’s Rebels: three brilliant women who run King & Co., London’s most exclusive investigative agency...
The wedding-night death of her much older husband left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford—and still a virgin. Now she and her two best friends investigate London’s most scandalous crimes, and while Tess longs to experience physical pleasure for herself, she can’t risk losing her treasured independence...
Cynical shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he’ll do his duty. When the ravishing woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin sees an obvious solution: a marriage of convenience that will suit them both.
But the passion that sparks between them is anything but convenient. As Tess works on a new case at the request of Queen Charlotte, her increasingly suspicious behavior makes Justin question her motives—and her past. The infuriating woman clearly can’t be trusted, but Justin doesn’t believe in love, so there’s absolutely no danger of him falling for his own wife...is there?
Tess Townsend is the Dowager Duchess of Wanaford after her husband
died on their wedding night. But noone except her best friends knows
that she's a virgin. And she runs an investigative agency with them
now😆
Justin Thornton is now the new Duke of Wansford, after the
multiple accidental deaths of the previous ones😂 and he's the
one that Tess meets at a masquerade party at the beginning of
the book. Justin needs a wife and he has a proposal for her
that'd save him a lot of trouble and let her be the duchess
too - a marriage of convenience(with benefits of course😂).
But, the thing is Justin thinks that Tess is way more
experienced than she is actually 😂 and he also suspects that
someone might be trying to kill him(talk about trust issues
smh). And at the same time, Tess wants to keep her hard-earned
independence while investigating a new case for the Queen. You
can see where this is going right?😂
Anyway this was such a fun read with excellent characters!
Justin fell hard for Tess the moment he laid eyes on her but
the man just won't admit it because he doesn't believe in love
haha😂 it doesn't stop him from proposing to her though 😂 And
I really admired Tess and her friends! They were so much fun
and Tess was funny, intelligent and passionate! I love the
development of the relationship between Tess and Justin too! I
don't think I need to talk about the steam but the chemistry
between them was excellent. There's a small mystery subplot
but it's not the focus here. The ending was pretty funny and
great too and now I'm excited to read the next book in the
series!
You can also find my review on my bookstagram here
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an
honest review*
You can also find my reviews of the author's other books here
Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling
author of Regency, Victorian, and Renaissance historical romance.
Her Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, is a Romance Writer’s of
America 2019 RITA® Finalist and her Regency-set A Counterfeit Heart
(Secrtes & Spies series) won the 2018 Book Buyer’s Best contest
for Best Historical Romance.
Kate wrote her first historical romance in response to a $1 bet with
her husband who rashly claimed she’d ‘never finish the thing.’ She
gleefully proved him wrong. Her books feature her favorite
intelligent heroines, (badasses in bodices!) wickedly inappropriate
banter, and heroes you want to both strangle and kiss.
When not traveling to exotic locations ‘for research’, Kate leads a
not-so-secret double life as a fine art appraiser and on-screen
antiques expert for several TV shows in the UK, each of which has up
to 2.5 million viewers. Before writing romance, Kate was director
and valuer at her own UK Auction House, Batemans in Stamford,
Lincolnshire. She currently splits her time between Illinois and her
native England and writes despite three inexhaustible children and
that husband… who still owes her that dollar.
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