Series: The Widow Rules, Book 1
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: June 29, 2021
Source: Publisher
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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.
A Duke in Time is a story of letting go of the past and grabbing hold of your future. Christian has been running from his scandalous family’s legacy since he was a child and with the death of his younger brother, Meri, he finds himself in a mess with not one, but three widowed sisters-in-law. For a man who wants nothing to do with his half-brother, this is extremely upsetting. But what really knocks him off his feet is his attraction to Katherine, Meri’s first wife. Christian is a duke who is also a war hero. He’s determined to do his best by veterans and is honorable to the core. He’s reserved at first but he’s a case of still waters running deep. He carries old wounds from his family that he needs to face in order to move forward with his future and I liked watching him come into his own.
I really liked Katherine as a heroine. She’s a successful businesswoman with a keen mind and a generous spirit. She also has secrets that would ruin her business if they got out because of the fine line a woman who is on the edges of society has to walk in order to be successful. Her world is turned upside down when she learns that her now-deceased husband left behind not just her, but two other wives. Meri wasn’t exactly a good husband, having left her mere hours after their wedding, but this goes beyond the pale. Nevertheless, Katherine immediately befriends the other two wives and opens her home to them when they have nowhere to go. The three become fast friends which is one of my favorite parts of the book. Like Christian, Katherine has to learn to face the past and move on, which isn’t easy in her position and the time she lives in. I was rooting for her every step of the way, however.
Christian and Katherine are instantly attracted to one another and their romance is fairly low drama. Christian needs help setting up a charity for veterans and Katherine is just the woman to help him. The two of them complement one another extremely well and they fall in love seamlessly, if rather quickly. I liked them as individuals with their own unique interests and I liked them as a couple. A Duke in Time moved at a quick clip and I found it to be an enjoyable romance overall. By the end of it I was really looking forward to seeing what Janna MacGregor has in store for Meri’s other wives so I will definitely be reading the rest of the Widow Rules trilogy.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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