[Review] Heiress In Red Silk, by Madeline Hunter

Title: Heiress In Red Silk
Series: Duke's Heiress #2
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publisher: Zebra
Number of pages: 304
Publication date: April 27th 2021

Synopsis:

In this sparkling series from New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter, a mysterious bequest brings a whole new life—and brand-new love—to three unsuspecting women...

In one life-changing windfall, Rosamund Jameson goes from struggling shopkeeper to heiress—and co-owner of a new business. Not only will her sudden fortune allow her to move her millinery shop to fashionable London, but Rosamund will be able to provide her younger sister with a proper entry into society. The only hitch for resourceful Rosamund is her arrogant, infuriatingly handsome business partner...

Kevin Radnor is shocked that his late uncle, the Duke of Hollinburgh, bequeathed half his company to a total stranger—worse, a beguiling beauty who can only hinder his enterprise. But Rosamund insists on an active, equal partnership, so Kevin embarks on a plan: a seduction that will lead to a marriage of convenience, giving Rosamund the social status she needs, and guaranteeing him the silent partner he desires. Yet as this charismatic gentleman sets his flirtation in motion, he begins to wonder who is seducing whom—and if he can learn to share himself body and mind, without losing his heart...

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

Heiress in Red Silk is the second book in the series A Duke’s Heiress. Here, we meet Rosamund Jameson, the milliner who receives a large inheritance from a Duke she barely knew.

I liked that Rosamund was very focused on her job, but also interested in the new enterprise that came with the inheritance. This, in turn, was something that made Kevin Radnor very upset.

Kevin is an inventor, and he created a model of something that would improve the trains at the time. But he doesn’t really trust anyone with his invention and its construction, which makes it very hard to move it forward.

This book attempts a bit of a My Fair Lady/Pygmalion trope, but for me it was left a bit incomplete.

Kevin annoyed me, and although I liked Rosamund, I didn’t really feel much of a connection between these two characters. The first little bump and they were done. It didn’t feel much like love…

I liked seeing Minerva and Chase, and their story from the first book had much more appeal to me. [Read the review for their book here.]

The mystery of the first book is still present here, but it even though the hero was definitely a suspect to some people, it just never felt like he was ever in dire need of help. And if in the first book I felt wrapped by the whole mystery, this one just made the story a bit boring.

I’m still interested in knowing what happened to the old duke, and who the next heiress is, but to be honest, Kevin and Rosamund’ story wasn’t the best.

[Review] Never If Not Now, by Madeline Hunter

Title Never If Not Now
Series: Midsummer Knights #7
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publisher: Barrowburgh Publishing
Number of pages: 147
Publication date: July 7th 2020

Synopsis:

A Midsummer Knights Romance: A Tournament World of Chivalry, Intrigue, and Passion

Summer, 1193.

They call him the Devil’s Blade and say that the fires of hell burn in him when he wields his sword.

It might be midsummer when Zander arrives at the tournament, but there is winter in his soul. Battle hardened and war weary, he intends to amass spoils, win the champion’s prize, and find a wealthy wife. Then he discovers that Elinor of York has accompanied her father to the tourney. He desired her as a youth, and soon learns that he still does. But whatever he will ever have of her will have to be seized in secret, before the tournament ends.

Elinor was born a lady but the last years have impoverished her. She now sews for coin, and takes care of her lame, aging father, a knight who blames Zander for his diminished fortunes and health. She should ignore the handsome knight whom she teased when they were young, but his magnetism draws her closer. He is not for her—he is her father’s enemy and she has no dowry. Yet he evokes sweet memories and deep emotions and a heart-wrenching dilemma— Can she keep her father from issuing the challenge that will leave one of the men she loves dead?

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a Medieval Romance, and I know Madeline Hunter’s medieval were quite good, so I was excited to read this one.

However, it did not reach the expectations. It felt… rushed, and very neatly tided with a bow to finish off.

The beginning was good, and it told the connection between our main characters well, but it felt like they just picked up where they left all those years ago, as if nothing had changed.

The conflict was quite good, until it was resolved. So many repetitions about bravery, and cowardice, and then everything was just done with words…?

When I reached the end of the book, I just thought… “that’s it?” and I was quite disappointed, even for a novella...

Sadly, this was not a memorable story… The main characters, Zander and Elionor just didn’t click for me, and the conflict wasn’t really viable, in my opinion. It didn’t work.

[Review] Heiress for Hire, by Madeline Hunter

Title Heiress for Hire
Series: Duke's Heiress #1
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publisher: Zebra Books
Number of pages: 304
Publication date: April 28th 2020

Synopsis:

In this stunning series debut from New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter, a duke's mysterious bequest brings fortune—and passion—to three young women...

Minerva Hepplewhite has learned the hard way how to take care of herself. When an intruder breaks into her home, she doesn't swoon or simper. Instead, she wallops the rogue over the head and ties him up—only to realize he is Chase Radnor, the man who nearly got her convicted of her late husband's murder. Now, he's insisting that Minerva has inherited a fortune from his uncle, a wealthy Duke. Only one thing could surprise her more: her sudden attraction to this exasperating man...

Chase can't decide whether Minerva is a wronged woman or a femme fatale. Either way, he's intrigued. Since the scandal surrounding her husband's death, she has set up a discreet detective business to rival Chase's own. She may be the perfect person to help him uncover the truth about his uncle's demise. But as proximity gives way to mutual seduction, Chase realizes he craves a much deeper alliance...

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I’ve been a fan of Madeline Hunter’s books for a long time, even if her most recent ones haven’t always had the charm of her earlier books. But this one… it was a book that got out of a reading slump!

I really liked the premise of the book, a duke dies, and three unknown women get almost all of his inheritance. Why? That’s what the whole family is thinking. And Chase Radnor, pretty much the only one who knew he wasn’t getting any money – let’s face it, he didn’t need it – wants to know what happened to his uncle, because his death was not an accident in his mind. And, of course, we understand very quickly that he was right. So, was it one of the women? Was it a family member? A business partner? A member of the household? A complete stranger? These are the questions that go with us as we read the book, and follow the inquiries of both Chase Radnor and one of the mysterious women, Minerva Hepplewhite.

When Chase finds her, he knows there’s something she’s hiding. Is it that she’s killed the duke? He doesn’t think so. Even if his intuition had disappointed him once, he believed he was right.

Minerva has survived her fair share of problems, and she is immensely grateful to Beth and Jeremy, her friends and former employers in her household. When this mysterious inheritance appears, she’s afraid it might disturb their recent peace. And she’s found she’s good at conducting discreet inquiries – very much like Chase. And she wonders: why would someone she’s never met give such a large amount of money?

And this is how Minerva and Chase get involved. I really liked their relationship, how it evolved, with a slow-burn, and more than just a physical thing, they admired each other’s minds, and worked so well together.

I loved the mystery, and following along with our main couple, learning what they learned and seeing their love and steaminess grow.

I also enjoyed seeing how Minerva got through her own fears and past experiences to enjoy her new life, and fall in love again.

It was a great story, filled with romance, and mystery. I can’t wait to find out more about the other heiresses.

[Giveaway] Winners of the Madeline Hunter Bookmarks' Giveaway

Hi everyone! We have the winners of Romancing Romances' first international giveaway!

First of all, thank you to Madeline Hunter, for sending these amazing bookmarks. I hope you like them as much as I did.

As mentioned in the original post, each winner will receive three (3) bookmarks!

Here are the winners:

I've sent emails to the winners, and you have 48h to answer!

Thank you so much to everyone to entered this giveaway. I hope to do another one soon, so don't forget to follow the blog, to learn all the news first hand 😉

[Giveaway] Madeline Hunter's Bookmarks

Hi everyone! Welcome to Romancing Romances' first international giveaway!

First of all, thank you to Madeline Hunter, for sending these amazing bookmarks. I hope you like them as much as I did.

I'll be giving away 3 bookmarks (for yourself, and for you to share with your friends, or your library, for example) to 3 winners! Three people will win this giveaway!

Here are the rules:

1) This giveaway is open between August 1st 15h (GMT time) and August 12th 23:59(GMT).

2) All participations that do not fill the requisites and/or do not follow these rules, will be considered void.

3) It is Mandatory to either follow the blog or follow the Facebook page of Romancing Romances.
If you follow Romancing Romances both through the blog and facebook, you'll get an extra entry.

4) It's MANDATORY to do a public share of this giveaway in a social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc).

5) The winners will be chosen via random.org.

6) The winners will have their name published in the blog, and will be contacted by email.

7) Only one participation for person. International. Void where prohibited.

8) Must be 18 or older, or have parental permission to enter this giveaway.

8) Romancing Romances is not responsible for any lost/misplaced orders.

[Review] Never Deny A Duke, by Madeline Hunter

Title: Never Deny A Duke
Series: Decadent Dukes Society #3
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publisher: Zebra
Number of pages: 304
Publication date: April 30th 2019

Synopsis:

He is the last duke standing...

...the sole remaining bachelor of the three self-proclaimed Decadent Dukes. Yet Davina MacCallum’s reasons for searching out the handsome Duke of Brentworth have nothing to do with marriage. Scottish lands were unfairly confiscated from her family by the Crown and given to his. A reasonable man with vast holdings can surely part with one trivial estate, especially when Davina intends to put it to good use. Brentworth, however, is as difficult to persuade as he is to resist.

The Duke of Brentworth’s discretion and steely control make him an enigma even to his best friends. Women especially find him inscrutable and unapproachable—but also compellingly magnetic. So when Davina MacCallum shows no signs of being even mildly impressed by him, he is intrigued. Until he learns that her mission in London involves claims against his estate. Soon the two of them are engaged in a contest that allows no compromise. When duty and desire collide, the best laid plans are about to take a scandalous turn—into the very heart of passion...

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I’m going to be completely and utterly honest with you: I was a bit afraid to read this book. If you follow this amazing author on social media, you might know her husband, Warren, passed away on February 2018. I had the immense pleasure to meet this lovely couple in person (thank you again, Madeline, for visiting Lisbon!) and had dinner with them in an informal setting. And, of course it is a dream come true to meet one your favourite authors, but I would also like to mention how sweet and caring Warren was.

And so, what do you do when your “best friend, [your] great love, and biggest supporter” (Madeline’s Facebook Post ) passes away? I can only imagine how hard that must be, and how hard it must be to continue to write beautiful love stories.

So, yes, I was a bit apprehensive to read Madeline’s new book, simply because I was afraid such an event could have changed the way she wrote/expressed those love stories. Thankfully, I didn’t need to be.

Never Deny A Duke was a great book. It had the right amount of romance, a good plot line that introduced the characters and circumstances in a way that was easy to follow and to make us fall in love with such characters.

Eric and Davina had different purposes in their lives, and at some point that collided. And here’s where the story starts, with a land dispute. And all could be solved (in a male point of view, of course) with a simple arranged marriage that would take care of everything. But Davina isn’t a fool, and Eric isn’t interested. And even when that interest changes for both of them, Davina’s pursuit of the truth doesn’t, which was the thing I most liked about her.

Stories that mix Scots and English are always fun, simply because they may share a country, but they are, in their true essence, very different types of people. Our Scottish heroine Davina MacCallum, is fighting for what she believes to be her inheritance, and our British hero, Eric Marshall, the Duke of Brentworth, is fighting for what he believes to be rightfully his – even if it is something that has its own (dark) baggage.

I loved how the couple looked together for the truth, in a forced proximity kind of scenario, and how that allowed them to understand each other better, and to develop and attraction, and later on a lasting, loving relationship.

A great book that ticked almost all of the right boxes.

[Romantic Covers] A Devil of A Duke, by Madeline Hunter

Welcome to Romantic Covers!
Here, I’ll show you some variations of the covers of the books I’ve read, or am currently reading.

Today, we have the covers of A Devil of A Duke, written by Madeline Hunter. On the left, the US cover, with a bold, shiny, pinkish-red dress, and, on the right, the Portuguese (PT) cover, with a more romantic look in shades of green. 

Let me know which one is your favourite, and please comment about what you like (or dislike!) about each cover 😊

[Review] A Devil of a Duke, by Madeline Hunter

Title: A Devil of a Duke
Series: Decadent Dukes Society #2
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publisher: Zebra
Number of pages: 352
Publication date: April 24th 2018

Synopsis:

HE MAY BE A DEVIL

He's infamous, debaucherous, and known all over town for his complete disregard for scandal, and positively irresistible seductions. Gabriel St. James, Duke of Langford, is obscenely wealthy, jaw-droppingly handsome, and used to getting exactly what he wants. Until his attention is utterly captured by a woman who refuses to tell him her name, but can't help surrendering to his touch...

BUT SHE'S NO ANGEL EITHER...

Amanda Waverly is living two lives—one respectable existence as secretary to an upstanding lady, and one far more dangerous battle of wits—and willpower—with the devilish Duke. Langford may be the most tempting man she's ever met, but Amanda's got her hands full trying to escape the world of high-society crime into which she was born. And if he figures out who she really is, their sizzling passion will suddenly boil over into a much higher stakes affair...

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author

The second book in the Decadent Dukes series brings us the story of Gabriel St. James, Duke of Langford, and Amanda Waverly, a secretary whose parents were thieves and taught her the trade – until she didn’t want to do it anymore.

Gabriel never really believed in getting married – or actually loving someone. Love for him was just an infatuation that would eventually disappear – until he met Amanda Waverly. As a simple secretary, Amanda was happy with her life, at least in most aspects. That is, until she is blackmailed to do something that could get her in jail…. or worse.

I really liked Gabriel, he was dashing and sweet, more than your regular roguish duke. He was helpful, and always there for Amanda, almost no questions asked. Amanda, on the other hand, wasn’t one of my favourite characters. I liked how she was with the ladies that wrote the Parnassus (a newspaper of sorts) but I didn’t like how she handled the situation that actually got her in danger. At the end of the book, however, she was way more likeable.

It was a pleasure to reunite with the other dukes, both Stratton and Brentworth as such amazing characters, and I can’t wait to read Brentworth’s story – I have a feeling it’s going to be the best of the series.

The plot was interesting, with theft, blackmail, and love all in the mix, but because I couldn’t connect so much with the main female character, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous one. But I still recommend it, it’s a book with a good and strong hero, good friends that back up the whole story and keep the plot going by keeping the main characters mostly in line and, in the end, it’s a pleasurable read.