A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor

A Duke in Time is the first book in a three-story arc that will have you rooting for leading heroines, searching for lost dowries, and falling for swoon-worthy heroes.

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.

 

 

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
A Duke in Time is the debut in a new series, The Widow Rules. Janna MacGregor is a new-to-me author, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next in The Widow Rules series, as well as reading more from the author's backlist.

The novel opens with a bereaved wife awaiting the reading of her witless husband's will, only to discover she is simply the first wife of three, all married within the same year. This comes as a shock but not, considering her husband left her directly after their wedding breakfast, never to be seen again. In actuality, their marriage was all of six hours old.

Katherine has known hardship, but she has also known familial love. Mature, strong, intelligent, with a fierce will to survive, Katherine isn't worried over her future, simply her reputation and that of the two other wives. As an entrepreneur, Katherine needed her husband's last name to get her foot in the door, using the second son of a duke (now the younger brother of the current duke) to get the peers to purchase her wares. Terrified the news that her husband's deception will ruin all she's worked for, Katherine is willing to do anything to keep this under wraps.

Christian is fresh from battle, only to have the dukedom dumped into his lap. After cutting off his father, his father's mistress turned second wife, and his childish baby brother, Christian is in cleanup mode, only to have his brother die in a ridiculous accident, leaving a string of wives behind.

Katherine and Christian are of similar personalities. Strong and stable, able to take the punches and keep moving forward. They're both kind and compassionate, charitable and selfless, yet aching for connection to family and friends, not truly believing they deserve romantic love. Usually it's opposites attract in romance novels, but it truly worked this time around – the male and female equivalent of one another, the hero and heroine were a perfect balance to act as a cohesive team for the betterment of all those around them.

Set to the backdrop of illegitimate marriages, fear of ruination, gossipmongers, and ravenous opportunists, Katherine builds her own family, which causes Christian to truly grieve for his lost brother.

A fresh breath of humor to chase the melancholy and betrayal away... In a way, Meri is on the pages, a specter of a ghost that refuses to be ignored. A gift that keeps giving, Meri's purchases to his brother keep pouring in, almost his way of saying an I Love You and I Miss You from the grave. More childlike than childish, completely ridiculous in his nature, it's hard not to enjoy Meri's antics, even if it put many lives in total upheaval.

It's easy to see that wives two and three will be the next installments, along with their prospective love interests revealed. I cannot wait to see what happens next, as well as hoping the reader could get some idea as to why Meri purchased what he did.

 

 

JANNA MACGREGOR was born and raised in the bootheel of Missouri. She is the author of the Cavensham Heiresses series, which begins with The Bad Luck Bride.

Janna credits her darling mom for introducing her to the happily-ever-after world of romance novels. Janna writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Kansas City with her very own dashing rogue, and two smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pugs. She loves to hear from readers.

Connect with Janna

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: Janna MacGregor's Ladies and Lords of Langham Hall

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of A Duke in Time (The Widow Rules #1) by Janna MacGregor to read and review.