After a disastrous, abusive marriage, Minerva Hepplewhite has become quite good at self-sufficiency.  Even so, her funds are dwindling so when she learns of a mysterious inheritance from a duke she never met, she’s shocked but rather pleased.  If only the man who tracked her down wasn’t so attractive and distracting.

Chase Radnor is leery of Minerva, unsure of whether she’s just a woman scorned or is she could be a murderess.  He knows Minerva changed her name and his inquiry into his uncle the duke’s death has Chase convinced it was no accident.  Minerva would’ve had plenty of motive and she’s just as aware of that fact as Chase is so she sets up a discreet detective service to rival Chase’s, despite being woefully unqualified.  Though rather annoyed, part of Chase can’t help but be charmed and wonder if Minerva is just who he needs to help him solve the mystery of his uncle’s death.  But the more time they spend sleuthing together, the more intense their mutual attraction becomes and soon Chase wants much more than a partner in his investigation.

Sidenote: I’d like to point out that the blurb on this one is misleading in that it implies that Chase and Minerva were acquainted previously and he had investigated her before, neither of which was the case.

I just couldn’t really get into this one.  I didn’t care much for or about the characters and they felt a bit flat to me.  Minerva annoyed me with her insistence on butting into what was really more of a family matter for Chase, even if there was a slight chance of it affecting her in a fairly roundabout way.  I was a bit confused by the relationship between Chase and Minerva here simply because they had a slight attraction one minute and the next there was love.  Their relationship was shown more than told, which I do like, but in this instance it felt rather one-sided.  I never could quite figure out what exactly was so fascinating about Minerva that had Chase making all these concessions for her when she really treated him rather badly and used him for her own purposes.  I enjoyed the mystery aspects of this book and will likely continue the series to keep up with that.  I wasn’t a huge fan of this one but after reading it I’m looking forward much more to the stories pertaining to the heroes of the next books.  This had the potential to much more ‘unputdownable’ but fell a bit short of that for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a real treat, Madeline Hunter is an excellent HR writer, with a sure grasp of the period she writes in and the ability to write an interesting plot, and a compelling love story/ main characters. So refreshing, when so many that attempt Historicals do it so poorly. 

Chase Radnor’s uncle the Duke of Hollinburgh has died, and although Chase’s cousin Nicholas is going to inherit the title and the entailed properties, The late Duke has made 3 substantial bequests to 3 women who didn’t know him. Chase’s extended family are all going to be cut off as a consequence, and they are all up in arms about it. When Chase, an ex-soldier, and now private investigator tracks down one of the beneficiaries,  Minerva Hepplewhite, the former Mrs Margaret Finley, he breaks into her house and finds himself hit over the head and hogtied in an instant. 

Minerva has escaped a difficult marriage and the suspicious circumstances around the death of her husband, and is busy making a life for herself and her friends in London, With a resilience borne of enduring and escaping her marriage, Minerva is determined not to be a victim any more, when she hears of this generous bequest, she is wary, but hopeful that it could help her establish her household and help them to support themselves. 

Chase is immediately drawn to her, but is also suspicious of why his uncle has left her so much money, and is she implicated in her husband’s death. As Chase, who never expected a bequest, observes his avaricious family fight amongst themselves over the terms of his Uncle’s will, Chase realises that his uncle died in mysterious circumstances, as the government asks him to investigate, he starts to bump into Minerva who is conducting an investigation of her own. They start to work together to try and find the killer, and despite her earlier experience, Minerva is surprised to find herself attracted to Chase too. As they work out why Minerva is a beneficiary, and try to uncover the killer, they succumb to their feelings and we get a very satisfying HEA.

I really.loved the way Madeline wrote Chase in particular. - in her older books we had heroes who were very autocratic- Chase was equally competent and sexy hero, but a lot more reasonable and less likely to ride roughshod over the heroine. Minerva was also a competent and sensible heroine, with a lot of fortitude. I loved it, and also loved the way not all the ends were tied up to lead us into the rest of the series.

Highly recommended.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

“Heiress for Hire” by Madeline Hunter is the first book in the series, A Duke’s Heiress Romance”.  

I found the premise of this story rather interesting.  It seems that a duke’s passing has brought to light mysterious bequests which bring a fortune to three women.  These women have never heard of the duke, nor met him and know nothing about him or why he might have targeted them for his heirs.

In this novel Minerva Hepplewhite has started a detective business that caters to women who have no way to conduct investigations, nor seek help from other detectives (men) since their gender prevents them from conducting such business.  

Chase Radnor is a detective, and the duke’s nephew, who has found Minerva to let her know of her inheritance.  Minerva has secrets and is petrified that those will come out if she accepts the inheritance.  She is being followed by an unsavory person who is trying to connect her with her previous husband’s death.  Chase and Minerva join together in finding his uncle’s murderer and Minerva’s skulker.  This makes for a delightful read.

I received a Kindle copy of this book from NetGalley.com  in return for my honest review.

Heiress for Hire is a romance that features three women and how their lives change with the unexpected inheritance of a lot of money.  I loved the way the story unfolded in this book.  There were so many different secrets to uncover, and it created a fun mystery intertwined with the romance and steamy scenes!

Minerva's character was really interesting. I liked watching her overcome her fears from her past and find a way to love again.  I look forward to reading more!!

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book though I am not sure what stands out to me. I liked the characters and the way their lives entwine. Generally, Hunter’s writing style suits my tastes.

Chase is the grandson of a recently deceased duke and is investigating the circumstances of his death and trying to locate the unanticipated benefactresses the Duke left much of his non-entailed fortune to. One of those benefactresses is Minerva, who is living under an assumed identity due to the suspicious circumstances of her deceased husband’s death several years ago. She starts out as a possible suspect but the problem is that she has never even met the old duke. And of course, the potent attraction between Minerva and Chase would make it very inconvenient if she was a murderess. Minerva is also an investigator and she ends up pairing up with Chase.

This story started out strong, with a big family that felt entitled to the fortune and suspicion in nearly every corner. It reminded of the movie “Knives Out” with the expectation of a good mystery unfolding. And while there are clues and intrigue explored, I did find the mystery portion disappointing. There is back story and resolution in each of the main character’s stories, but the only thing that really happens with the duke’s inquiry is more threads to investigate. I assume these will be explored further in future books in the series, and I understand the reasoning for this in a series, but I wish this would have had some resolution here, especially with two leads who are investigators.

Ultimately, the romance was good here but the complimenting mystery was a let down.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is my honest opinion.

This one was a bit of a miss for me. The story was ok but nothing that wowed me. 

I think the main characters chemistry was off for me from the start. It made it hard to really care about the falling in love. 

I did really enjoy the storyline of a strong female looking to solve her own problems!

A great story of things not being how they appear. Minerva and Chase are entertaining in their interactions, and up can't help but root for things to work out between them.

Heiress for Hire is the first story in the Duke’s Heiress series, and it begins with a delightful tale full of intrigue, unexpected love, danger, suspects, and questions – some that will linger on throughout this series. I have long enjoyed this author’s stories for her heroines are strong, established in their own right, and usually take no nonsense from anyone, including the hero – you’ll find all that and more in this series’ first release.

Chase’s night and his investigation into his uncle’s unexpected beneficiary aren’t going quite as he intended – seeing as he’s been hit over the head, rendered unconscious, tied up, and set upon for some intense questioning by Minerva herself. He is certainly surprised at the results of his break-in since he considers himself a professional at snooping around and rather intrigued by the lady who is at the top of his list of women to find who have benefited from his uncle’s will, and possibly the very woman who sent his uncle to his death. He is equally surprised by the intelligence of the lady who has her own investigative business which can, and does, rivals his own. Chase definitely didn’t expect to be working alongside Minerva to discover who was involved in his uncle’s death, or the very strong attraction he feels for this woman full of secrets of her own.

Minerva has her own reasons for keeping Chase at arm’s length even while her attraction to this man who, unknown to him, has played a role in setting her on the path she’s taken with her life is raging out of control. Her past won’t stay there for long, and soon she and Chase will be deeply involved in not only discovering what happened to the Duke – but falling in love and fighting for their own future as well.

I enjoyed Heiress for Hire very much. There is worldbuilding, I expect that in the first story of any series. And we certainly have several suspects to consider, including the men in the stories to come. If you need full closure to all mysteries in any given book, then you’ll want to know that the Duke’s death is a thread that is woven throughout the entire series – we won’t get all the answers we seek right away.

I liked Minerva and Chase both together and individually. There is a chemistry between them from the start, and I enjoyed the journey of watching them work together and fall in love along the way. I would definitely recommend this story and I’m most definitely looking forward to the rest of the coming stories in this series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from Kensington Books via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This is a fun Regency romp with two lively and intelligent protagonists, a large quantity of plot, plenty of humour, Dark Secrets, and excellent secondary characters. It’s enormous fun to read, and while it does go to some pretty dark places, and treats the traumas that the protagonists have suffered with seriousness, it is not an angst-driven story.

It is also a cosy mystery of sorts, though you need to be prepared for the fact that the principal mystery remains unresolved at the end of this book (I suspect we will find out whodunnit at the end of the third book in the series). Having said that…look, I am the sort of person who will check the last page of a book to make sure that everyone is OK, and I am VERY intolerant of cliffhangers, and I was engaged enough by this story that it was only the morning after my late night of reading when I woke up and went – hang on, we never found out [redacted]!

Full review at https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/heiress-for-hire-by-madeline-hunter/

Although the beginning was a bit startling, I enjoyed reading this story.  I really liked Minerva.  She was a strong, intelligent and independent woman.  Like a phoenix, Minerva had risen from her abusive past and was starting to establish a business of investigations, which was almost unheard of in this time period.  While Chase was not overtly alpha, he had a quiet strength that was a good compliment to Minerva.  The romance was more a slow burn with intimate scenes quite discreet but full of emotion.  I really enjoyed the mystery as well.  While Minerva and Chase get their HFN, the mystery remains unsolved.

I've been a fan of Madeline Hunter for years, but I think she is blending some of her series together, in terms of plot lines, and characters.  I'll continue to read her, but I feel like she is recycling some themes and not flushing out characters as she could.  The books also seem to be getting thinner; books like the Protector and Lord of a Thousand Nights were much longer and had such beautiful detail that I wish she would take the time to do the same for her new releases.

An excellent sleuth mystery. I really enjoyed the story of two people looking for the cause of death of a well know Duke and enjoyed the rising, passionate romance. When I got to the end the h/H had a happy ending. But I was disappointed about the case of the Duke's death that had too many loose ends to come to a conclusive decision of how he died. This is a page turner and I loved everything about the book except how they settled the case. 

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was my first book from Hunter and I struggled to get invested in the characters. I liked the idea of a historical romance and mystery component, but the parts I read fell a bit flat for me. DNF at 24%


**eARC received from TLC Booktours in exchange for a spotlight post on Instagram.

This was a truly intriguing book with the murder mystery and beautifully written characters. The only part that I didn’t like was that the murder mystery was left to a little murky closure. There is a trigger warning for abuse in this book. Although, it is not described explicitly anywhere but more so part of the heroine’s past, I still wanted to include it in the review. 

I loved the brave and strong character of Minerva. The fact that she is not afraid to launch her own detective agency and be creative to utilize different resources having limited money just made me love her from the start. Chase’s character is not very overtly demonstrative but the small things he does for Minerva just charmed me. I loved their sweet romance and even more the entire story. I would definitely recommend this book. 

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

This is book one in Madeline's new A Duke's Heiress Series. One of the many reasons that I love Madeline's writing is her stories are unique and have unexpected twists and turns.  I think of her stories as Historical Romance with a mystery thrown in to make her books late-night page-turners.  
   Minerva Heppelwhite is a Widow who has to make her way in the world.  Her marriage was a nightmare and she never intends to make that mistake again.  Being a woman of above-average intelligence and resourceful out of necessity she has found a way to make a living and support herself and her two servants, who she considers her family.  Then out of nowhere, she has inherited a fortune from an eccentric Duke she has never met.  With this windfall, she is going to open an official  Inquiry Service,  a female private detective.
   Chase Radnor was in the army and now finding civilian life a little boring. He has made a name for himself as a trustworthy, discreet private detective even though he doesn't need the income, He has been asked by the Home Office to investigate the death unexpected death of his Uncle, The Duke of Holllinburgh. The Duke has left the majority of his fortune to three women that no one in the family knows.  The first suspect is a woman who is using an alias, she is not who she seems to be.  Little do they know how their lives will change.  Desire ignites from the first meeting and Minerva discovers a whole new side of herself that she never knew and is eager to discover more.  Chase is the kind of hero that isn't afraid of love and commitment. 
   A fantastic start to a new series!  I have all of Madeline's novels and she is always on my to be read list!
I highly recommend this love story.

I really enjoyed this one! 

I was surprised on how much more mystery this book had, and meshed really well with the historical romance part.

Immediately, I was captured by the circumstances we find both our hero and heroine. The news he delivers creates the life-changing, career-starting move that she and her partners need, leading for a great intro to the story. I loved how she didn't just fall into his arms and instead transitioned into a fierce, female power story that not only had typical historical drama and scandal, but also had a great twist that I was here for.

I flew through cover to cover within a matter of hours!

As for the romance, if you like slow-burn, mildly angsty and steamy scenes, you'll enjoy this one as much as I did. A high 4 out of 5 stars from me! 

I can't wait to see where this series goes!!

Loved it. It is not often that a book can hold my attention all the way through, leave me guessing, and wish that the novel didnt end - this one did. 
This is my first Madeline Hunter novel and I cannot wait to read more. She has a strong writing style and I didnt struggle at all on anything grammatical in this. It is very well written. The storyline is very well done, very well thought out and planned. It is part detective story part love story with a strong female lead and a male lead that cares. These feelings come through the writing and are not just for one scene but throughout. I really cannot say enough praise for this novel. 
Yes, there is some strings left hanging but it doesnt detract from the storyline at all. I encourage readers to keep reading it because it does grow on you and does get better as it goes along. 
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review, but I would for sure have bought this to read anyways.

Thank you to the publisher and TLC book tours for the review copy. The cover caught my eye and I decided to give historical fiction a try. I previewed the first 5 chapters before posting on the boom tour and I enjoyed how it flowed. I do plan on reading the rest soon.

Heiress for Hire by Madeline Hunter was my first book by the author but won’t be the last for sure. 
 I enjoyed the characters and the heroine most of all, she’s smart, funny at times ,courageous and a woman that I wish to be one of my friends. 
It’s a well written story with many suspenseful moments and the chemistry and banter between them is great and balanced. In a few words A must read book for the historical romance lovers. 

Very grateful to the publisher @kensingtonbooks for my review copy

First in a new series following three women who receive unexpected inheritances following the mysterious death of a wealthy duke, Heiress for Hire follows Minerva Hepplewhite, a young widow trying to build a new life for herself out of the ashes of a disastrous marriage. Chase Radnor, nephew of the old duke and cousin to the new one, has been assigned to find the women who were left a sizeable part of the duke’s fortune and investigate them. He meets his match in Minerva, who decides to investigate him in turn as she too tries to comprehend why a man she didn’t know would leave her a fortune.

There’s an overarching mystery which will obviously be addressed in the other books in the series, because the old duke’s death was no accident. Minerva’s first husband died under suspicious circumstances, and although she was cleared of involvement she knows she will always be viewed with suspicion, so she really has no option but to try and figure out who killed the duke before fingers are pointed at her. Her clashes with Chase are fantastic from the beginning; the book cold opens on Chase being knocked out by Minerva and her maidservant when he sneaks into her house to try and investigate her!

The book does need trigger warnings for past spousal abuse and physical abuse of a child. There’s a fair degree of financial manipulation as well, as the old duke’s descendants squabble over who gets what and why. I liked both the new duke, Nicholas (I’m guessing he’ll be the hero of the last book in the trilogy) and inventor cousin Kevin, who came under heavy suspicion but I’m assuming he’s innocent as apparently he’s the hero of the next book!

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this. The mystery was intriguing, Minerva and Chase were both interesting, well fleshed-out characters and the romance between them was absolutely believable. Five stars for an excellent start to a new series.