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A review by elizabethhollar1997
Second Duke's the Charm by Kate Bateman
4.0
Kate Bateman is back with a new historical romance series set in a lush English atmosphere following lovable characters as they live their lives among the Ton. The story opens as Tess, our heroine, is forced to marry a Duke much older than her by her father’s hand. Tess experiences a very wild wedding night, but not for good reasons. Her new Duke falls over dead as the wedding night begins and Tess finds herself as a wife and now a widow in charge of a brand new Dukedom.
The story follows Tess navigating her newfound position as Lady of the House and her adventurous job as a private investigator of sorts. Tess decides she wants to experience new things in life and does just that with her best friends and coworkers in tow.
Two years after the Duke’s passing, Justin is discovered to be the long-lost heir to the Dukedom that is now under Tess’s care. This story has many fun tropes including but not limited to marriage of convenience, virgin heroine, masked ball, widow, working heroine, and pining.
I really loved the beginning of the novel. Kate Bateman’s classic witty banter and fun plots were ever present in this book just like her others. The tension between Justin and Tess was palpable on the page during the first half, but I felt that tension begin to dwindle toward the middle. I felt like Tess and Justin were so preoccupied with having sex and the plot wasn’t moving forward at all. I also didn’t like that Tess was so secretive throughout the whole thing. I guess I understand why she made her decisions, but I couldn’t get on board with them.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and it was a promising start to a series I’m very excited to continue!
* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
The story follows Tess navigating her newfound position as Lady of the House and her adventurous job as a private investigator of sorts. Tess decides she wants to experience new things in life and does just that with her best friends and coworkers in tow.
Two years after the Duke’s passing, Justin is discovered to be the long-lost heir to the Dukedom that is now under Tess’s care. This story has many fun tropes including but not limited to marriage of convenience, virgin heroine, masked ball, widow, working heroine, and pining.
I really loved the beginning of the novel. Kate Bateman’s classic witty banter and fun plots were ever present in this book just like her others. The tension between Justin and Tess was palpable on the page during the first half, but I felt that tension begin to dwindle toward the middle. I felt like Tess and Justin were so preoccupied with having sex and the plot wasn’t moving forward at all. I also didn’t like that Tess was so secretive throughout the whole thing. I guess I understand why she made her decisions, but I couldn’t get on board with them.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and it was a promising start to a series I’m very excited to continue!
* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.