Reviewer: Tracy A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor
Series: The Widow Rules #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating:
Get ready for lost wills, broody dukes, and scorching hot kissing all over London in A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor.
Katherine Vareck is in for the shock of her life when she learns upon her husband Meri's accidental death that he had married two other women. Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is everything she's been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives.
Meri's far more upstanding brother, Christian, Duke of Randford has no earthly clue how to be of assistance. He spent the better part of his adult years avoiding Meri and the rest of his good-for-nothing family, so to be dragged back into the fold is…problematic. Even more so is the intrepid and beautiful Katherine, whom he cannot be falling for because she's Meri's widow. Or can he?
With a textile business to run and a strong friendship forming with Meri's two other wives, Katherine doesn't have time for much else. But there's something about the warm, but compellingly taciturn Christian that draws her to him. When an opportunity to partner in a business venture brings them even closer, they'll have to face their pasts if they want to share each other's hearts and futures.
Recently widowed Katherine arrives at her husband’s solicitor’s office for the reading of the will. Unfortunately, she then finds her dead husband’s other two wives in attendance as well. One is very pregnant! She wants to talk to the Duke of Randford, her husband’s older brother, but he wants nothing to do with the women or his brother’s business.
Katherine takes matters into her own hands and invites the women, Constance and Blythe, to her home. She realizes that there is no money to be had from her dead husband and these women’s reputations are on the line. When the public finds out that they were all married to the same man, all hell will break loose.
While Christian, the Duke of Randford, truly wants nothing to do with the women his brother married, he finally realizes that he can’t just leave them all to their own devices. He’s surprised when he finds out that Katherine has taken them home and goes there to see if he can be of assistance. Though he wishes that things were easier, he soon realizes that there is a tangled web. This on top of the fact that he finds Katherine incredibly attractive and soon wants her for himself.
This was a cute story. Not only did it deal with the three women as well and the romance between Katherine and Christian, but also with Katherine’s business. I loved that the author made Katherine more or less a self-made woman who truly didn’t care what the public thought about her. She wanted the royal commission for her linen business, however, and that forced her to play the ton’s game.
Christian, while acting the jerk at first, soon showed his true colors as a really nice guy. He wanted to help the women and did all he could to make sure that their reputations wouldn’t be hurt. I did like Katherine and Christian together, but I found Katherine completely out of character when it came to the sex scenes. Maybe I’m turning prude in my old age, but it just didn’t fit with her character. IDK.
Gregor wrote a sweet story with a little twist at the end. While I liked the book it didn’t love parts of it, including when Katherine was blackmailed for something from her past. It was ok, but wasn’t too exciting. Overall a decent read.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5
