The Duke Knows Best is a historical romance novel written by Jane Ashford. It is the fifth book in her The Duke’s Sons Regency-era historical romance series. I’ve read a couple of Ashford’s books before, so I was excited about the opportunity to read this one.

Lord Randolph Gresham played a secondary role in his brother Robert’s book, Nothing Like a Duke. I was intrigued by the idea of a vicar as the hero, and initially, I was a little disappointed that Randolph had left his parish for London because it would have been interesting to see him balance his work with his quest for a wife.

Randolph clashes immediately with Miss Verity Sinclair, who dismisses him as a simple country parson. Her father is also in the church, and she is looking for more to life than that. She can scarcely believe her outburst, and is chagrined that she would behave so rudely to a stranger. Read more

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever is a historical romance novel written by Julia Quinn. It’s the first book in her Regency-era Bevelstoke trilogy. I did not have a chance to read this book when it was originally published in 2009, so I was very excited when it was available as part of an Audible sale.

Miranda Cheever is an only child, and she has formed a friendship with Olivia and Winston, the Bevelstoke twins who live nearby. Once day, her friends’ older brother Turner escorts her home. He is kind to her, and encourages her by suggesting that she keep a diary to look back on when she is grown up.

The main story takes place about nine years after the prologue. Miranda is now around twenty years old, and she reconnects with Turner. She is preparing for a Season in London, and to put things mildly, he is not in a good place emotionally. He realizes quite suddenly that Miranda is no longer the gawky girl she used to be. Turner has no interest in marrying again, but he can’t stop thinking about Miranda. Oh, and Olivia is intent on arranging a match between Miranda and Winston. Read more

The Silent Duke is the fourth book in Jess Michaels’ 1797 Club series of historical romance novels. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, but I belong to a group for fans of romance novels, and this book came up in response to a query about atypical heroes. Needless to say, I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book.

Ewan is the Duke of Donburrow, but his ascension to the dukedom was somewhat controversial. He is mute, and when he was a child, his father attempted to have him declared incompetent and relegated to an asylum. Ewan was rescued by relatives, who protected him from the machinations of his immediate family. Ewan inherited the title when his father passed away, despite the protests from his younger brothers.

As the story begins, Charlotte arrives at Ewan’s home for Christmas. She is a childhood friend who always advocated for him, even when she was a small girl. She helped him develop a means of communication by using his hands- Regency Sign Language, if you will. She is one of many people who are supposed to fill the house for the holiday. However, bad weather and subsequent flooding prevent everyone else from reaching the house. This means that aside from the household staff, Charlotte and Ewan are alone in the house. Charlotte finally has the opportunity to tell Ewan that she has always loved him, and wants their relationship to move from friendship to something even more special. Read more

The Bride Who Got Lucky is the second book in Janna MacGregor’s Cavensham Heiresses series of Regency-era historical romances. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series-The Bad Luck Bride- so I was already looking forward to reading this book even without knowing anything about it.

Nick and Emma were secondary characters in The Bad Luck Bride, so I became even more excited when I found out that they had been paired together for The Bride Who Got Lucky.  

Nick and Emma are both very strong-willed, and they are much more similar than they realize. They both want to do things on their own, without relying on their families. This manifests for Nick in his business acumen; he has been estranged from his father since his Eton days, and he has amassed a fortune through hard work and shrewd investing. Likewise, Emma wants more out of life than an aristocratic marriage and children. She wants to open a bank for women who need financial assistance to get out dangerous situations. Read more

The Scandalous Flirt is the sixth book in Olivia Drake’s Cinderella Sisterhood series of Regency-era historical romance novels. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, but I always enjoy discovering new authors.

Aurora- better known as Rory- has been living in exile from Society for the past eight years as a result of a scandal during her debut Season. Rory is summoned back to London to help her stepmother Kitty, who has managed to become embroiled in a scandal of her own. Rory needs to retrieve some incriminating letters from the Marquess of Dashell’s house. She happens to know Lucas from her Season, and she has a hard time reconciling the exceedingly straitlaced gentleman with his alleged penchant for extortion. As Rory renews her acquaintanceship with Lucas, she discovers that there is much more to him than she could have possibly imagined. Read more

The Right Kind of Rogue is a historical romance novel written by Valerie Bowman. I was absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to read this book because I’ve been a fan of Bowman’s books for a couple of years now, and I’ve been waiting for Meg and Hart’s book.

Meg has always been in love with her friend Sarah’s brother Hart for years. This was immediately evident in Bowman’s earlier book The Legendary Lord (Sarah’s book). There was a brief but memorable scene in which it became clear that the mousy Meg has been pining away for Sarah’s dashing viscount brother. Of course, such a match would never work because Meg’s family is virtually impoverished and because her father and Sarah and Hart’s father have been feuding for years.   Read more

Last Gentleman Standing is a Regency-era romance novel written by Jane Ashford. It was first published in 1980 under the title Bluestocking and appears to have been out of print for 25 years.

Elisabeth Elham is a twenty four year old schoolteacher who receives a large inheritance from an uncle she has never met. She rendezvous with two slightly younger cousins who she has also never met, and they are joined by an older cousin to serve as chaperone. This cobbled together family begins renovations on their country estate and also sets up a house in London. Read more