I have read just about every book this author has written. Just like the rest, this book did not disappoint. Great storytelling, mixed with great chemistry between the characters, plus enough conflict - equals an amazing read.

Being the third son should mean you are safe from having the responsibilities of the duke. Alex is happy with his life but first his oldest brother dies and then his second brother dies in his sleep. Freddie has a group of friends there for a hunt. They leave without even knowing the current Duke of Fordham has died. Alex goes to tell his fiancee that he has died and she decides to come back to see Freddie before he is buried. He was healthy and ok the day before his death. Lady Georgianna believes Freddie was murdered. They decide to work together, letting everyone think it was by natural causes, to see who may have killed him. They find they are in tune with each other and there is an attraction there.

Alex and his friend retired to his brother’s estate to work on a bill to be brought forth in the House of Commons. His brother was busy with his hunting party at the time and he and Alex did not connect. By the following morning, it was too late. The Duke of Fordham supposedly died in his sleep leaving Alex to take the reigns of the dukedom and inform his brother’s fiancé.

Lady Georgiana Fenton didn’t have a whirlwind romance with her fiancé, but believed they would have a strong marriage and make a wonderful life together. Once his younger brother informed her of the duke’s death, she insisted on seeing the body. Even in her grief, she was practical and noticed more than one thing that made her believe the duke was murdered. She shares her suspicions with Alex, but doesn’t leave him out of the suspect pool.

Georgiana and Alex work to find the murderer before someone else becomes his victim. While Georgiana fights the attraction to her late betrothed’s brother, Alex lets himself feel for the first time in quite a while. The journey to unravel the mystery has them crossing out suspects as they fall in love for the very first time.

I loved Alex from the start. While his family was all of one political faction, he felt strongly enough to go against them joining the opposite party. He fought long and hard to win his seat in the House of Commons and was looking to do some ground breaking work for the people of his country. When he inherits the dukedom, his voice became even louder in the House of Lords. Bolen might not intend for this story to hint at the parallels of the political climate of today, but I did feel it drew them. Georgiana was somewhat on the opposite side politically from Alex, but over time she came to see what he and his sister were fighting for. She doesn’t jump sides completely, but is able to see both sides of the arguments. Something I wish many more people would do in the political climate of today.

Romance, politics, and a murder mystery all wrapped up in this adventurous tale. This is the third book in this series, which I adored so much, I will be going back to read the first two. Maybe, just maybe, Bolen may grace her pages with another story of the Lords of Eton.

I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

After losing both of his elder brothers in the span of a few short years, Alex Haversham suddenly finds himself thrust from the position of army officer into the role of Duke of Fordham. Alex also finds himself burdened with the task of informing Lady Georgiana, his late brother Freddie's betrothed, of the late duke's demise. A distraught Georgiana refuses to believe the dreadful news and insists upon seeing Freddie's body herself. Alex obliges and brings Georgiana to the estate with him, butting heads with her on the way about their opposing political views. Upon viewing the body, Georgiana suspects Freddie was suffocated in his sleep and when the surgeon confirms her suspicions, she immediately suspects Alex since he technically benefits from his brother's death, which of course makes Alex rather dislike her. But her concern and genuine grief over his brother show Alex a softer side of the lady he'd thought to be cold and aloof and the two begin working together to find the murderer. Spending all that time together makes the attraction between them obvious, but any relationship between them would be wholly inappropriate. Wouldn't it?

There were some times Georgiana and her closed-mindedness got on my nerves and there was no steam to this book (which is usually a huge negative for me), but I liked Alex and the rest of the plot so much that it didn't even bother me. I enjoyed this one and would recommend it as an enjoyable read.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.