I was provided with a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested by the premise of this book, and I got really into the first couple chapters, but if I’m honest, the middle 60% was sloooooow and full of repetitive writing. I swear there must have been 3-4 chapters in a row (across both characters’ perspectives) that ended with the whole “oh I am falling for them but I CAN’T this is wrong” internal conflict bit. I get that it was the major conflict of the story, but it felt like the author repeatedly shoved in the reader’s face, and in nearly identical language. It wasn’t necessary.

Anyway, the first chapters were good, and the last 20% of the book picked right back up. I was pleased with both the plot twist and the way everything resolved.

In case you’re wondering, this book was pretty light on the spicy factor, and anything super intimate happened off-screen (though it was strongly alluded to).

Overall a decent read if you can hang in there through the middle. I’m definitely willing to give the future books in this series a try, and I hope to see Lady Greatheart again. I think every regency romance is improved by a Lady Danbury-esque woman who is too old to give a fig about society’s rules and refuses to take crap from anyone. But that’s just me. 🤷‍♀️😁

The dangers of drinking, right there.

A beautiful description of education.

Collin Morgan is a good brother.

It is a good thing women have more power these days.

Hell yeah. Suck it, Mrs. Burke.

Can someone please smack this guy for me?

It is so nice to see how the servants love her grandmother.

Plot twist. I actually feel bad for Lord Smarmy.

A new favorite Regency book of mine. Vayden creates a romance that keeps readers well entertained and engrossed into the story as well. With a writing style so unique readers will need more!

Passions run hot when a duke agrees to help his late brother's business-minded fiance outsmart a meddling male relative.

This is the Brother's Sinister read-alike I've been waiting for! It actually captured some of my favorite elements of both Brother's Sinister and Bridgerton: the snarky, scholarly, Cambridge-centric friend group and the unconventional heroine from the former and the strong yet meddling female relatives and elderly eccentrics of the latter. Add hilarious banter and a few sexy moments in a library, and I was sold. I highly recommend this one to fans of Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas, Joanna Lowell, and Julia Quinn.

Quinton Errington is perfectly happy teaching at Cambridge, with his elder brother carrying the duties of being the Duke of Wesley. But when a trip to celebrate Wesley's last week of bachelorhood ends in tragedy, Quinton, who becomes the Duke, would give anything to have his brother back.

Wesley's would-be bride, Catherine Greatheart, is left heartbroken and alone. Her grandmother has fallen ill, and Catherine has nowhere left to turn but to the family she was so close to being part of. The new Duke is kind, and she could use a friend.

Between learning how to be the head of his family, mourning his brother, and trying not to fall in love with his late-brother's fiancée, Quinton will need some help—and it's a good thing he's not alone.
Catherine and Wesley are an astounding couple. Engaged to the previous Duke Catherine has no where to turn when he dies before their marriage.
Kristen Vayden has written a book that says it all.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

This was well written and the characters were fun, but the plot is a slow burn- emphasis on the slooooooow. I thought I was almost done and then I realized I had only read 41% of the book and unfortunately the other 59% did not pick up the speed. I don't feel like I wasted my time reading this, but I won't be reading the next in the series.

Fortune Favors the Duke by Kristin Vayden was a fun enjoyable read. I liked both of the characters in addition to the grandma and the Duke’s mom.

Quinton was content with his second brother status and teaching at Cambridge. Then his brother passes away and he becomes the Duke.

Catherine was engaged to the Duke and is sad when he passes. Although not a love match they were friends and cared about each other. Catherine and Quin share the loss of his brother and he accepts responsibility for her. It was sweet how they started developing feelings for each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Catherine and her grandmother.

This was a clean historical romance. I didnt realize it will be a series of the second brothers that took the places of their older brothers that passed away.
Sexual content - 1 kissing and minor making out
Violence - minor violence
Language 1 a few four letter words

This book pulls you in right from the start. You know it's going to have heartache right from the beginning. Quinn and Catherine get to know each other but definitely don't want any attachments to each other. A friendship begins. Such a great book!!

A true love story is a great love story! A journey from tragic beginnings to overwhelmingly happy endings, Sometimes when you lose something it is to lead you to something greater. This was definitely true of Quin & Catherine’s love. Her understanding that being a woman of intelligent value and finding a man to support her as a partner and not a keeper was rare, and to find it twice was a genuine miracle. Every romance needs an obstacle to overcome, and the mystery & intrigue in this tale was intense. Just when you thought you knew the antagonist, you were sent down another surprising path. Keeping you on your toes.
I especially liked the bond of the brotherhood. Even from: the start, you understood their connection and could predict their unbreakable bond. Though it was a small part of the story it was such a large part of Quinn’s character.

Everything happened so slow in this one and I'm sad to say that this caused me a reading slump. This one could have been shorter if the author had written this in a much more concise way. I really did not connect to any of the characters since all of them seem too one-dimensional and not that interesting to read, to be very honest. I don't know if I'll recommend this book or how to even recommend this book because this just bored me out. But I guess, there's no harm in trying since we all have subjective reading preferences. This is not in any way bad, it's just boring, in my opinion.

I’m sad to say that I did not enjoy this book. The best part was Catherine’s grandma. In the beginning i enjoyed it a lot, but it just kept dragging on. I think this book is way too long and it was almost no romance. The mystery part was so unexpected and I did not understand where it came from. I’m not sure if I will continue the series when the next book is out

I've never read anything by this Author. I will be reading a lot more that's for sure. I really enjoyed this story. I was surprising shocked by the ending. Catherine and Quin are so happy. They both deserve some happiness in there lives.

Fortune Favors the Duke by Kristin Vayden is the first book in the new Cambridge brothers series. Quinton (Quin) Errington’s brother dies and he reluctantly becomes The Duke of Wesley. Our heroine, Catherine Greatheart, was engaged to Quin’s brother who died.

The book is a little heavy. It deals with grief and Catherine is stuck in difficult circumstances after her fiance dies and her grandmother (and only family) becomes ill. Additionally, the book has very low steam. Quin and Catherine have chemistry, but the action takes place outside of the story. I would have liked to know that before reading.

I was invited to read an ARC of Fortune Favors the Duke, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #FortunefavorstheDuke

Enjoyed reading this HEA romance. Quin's older brother is killed in a fire while celebrating his upcoming wedding to Catherine. Assuming his brother's title and leaving his teaching profession is difficult enough. He meets Catherine and together they forge a friendship that quickly evolves into more.

An absolute winner by Kristin Vayden.

This is the story of yet another second son reluctantly becoming the new Duke of Wesley after his brothers unfortunate fatal accident.
Quinton a brilliant Oxford professor of politics and history, has to give up his teaching and research career and take on the mantle of Duke.

This tragedy also creates an upheaval for Lady Catherine Greatheart, the fiancée of the former Duke. Catherine or Ducky as her beloved grandmother calls her in mourning for her former financée is trying to get out if her doldrums and find another husband.

Thus the lives of Quin and Catherine intersect as both are good people each facing the struggles after one man’s demise.

Good descriptive narrative, can sometimes seem redundant, can skip a few papers and will not miss much.

There is one villain prowling around for Catherine but he is put in his place and the Senior ladies, the dowager duchess of Wesley and Catherine grandmother are good fun.

Fun book, with of course a happy ending.

I'm not entirely sure I understand the other reviews complaining about lack of sex scenes. This book was romantic and delightful even without them - and neither the cover nor the back cover copy indicated there would be sex. A great read with characters going through real things.

Kristin Vayden has a promising concept for her new Cambridge Brothers series. A terrible tragedy occurs and three friends, all second sons, are thrust into inheriting a title and responsibilities they never imagined. Starting this new path in life while mourning the loss of their older brothers is the heart of this series.

The first book centers on Quinton Errington who is now the Duke of Wesley. He greatly misses his older brother Avery, his former teaching position at Cambridge, and his former autonomy.

Catherine Greatheart was very fond of Avery, her former fiancee. They had dreams and plans for a future that never happened as his life was cut short. When her beloved grandmother’s health is severely challenged, Catherine realizes another loss could be close at hand and she needs help. Help offered by her almost in-laws, Quin and his mother.

This is a beautifully written and very romantic book. As Quin and Catherine find a way to friendship and love, they develop the mutual respect, support, and partnership they both have been looking for.

If you like your HEAs romantic and heartfelt; if you like your Regency written like
Ella Quinn, Jane Ashford, and even Jane Austen, you will like Kristen Vayden.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With an interesting premise, this book started out great, catching my attention from the first chapter, but quickly slowed down. It picked back up again around 70%, and I was very easily hooked until the last chapter.

I really liked that Catherine was very involved in her own future, investigating causes and investments. Her grandmother was one of my favorite characters in the book.

The relationship between Catherine and Quin felt a little like warm to begin with, and felt very sudden when they started professing their feelings. This is a closed door romance, and very much had a slow burn feel to it.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read. There are two distinct elements of the plot. Catherine and Quin are dealing with the loss of his older brother/her fiancé. The second element is the concept that. 19th century women were not financially independent.
The loss of the brother/fiancé is handled very tastefully. The romance is closed-door but does have moments of sensuality. I generally don't like the closed-door style, but it was appropriate given the scenario. The emotions of the characters are believable. I especially liked the Duke's mother.
The feminist aspect of the story was a bit unnecessary. I had a difficult time believing that Catherine was able to write up multiple business plans literally overnight in order to foil Lord Bircham. She was even able to cook up a philanthropic venture! Really?
The character of Lord Bircham was a bright spot in the later parts of the book. He started out very flat and villainous. I was completely shocked that his investment plans did not somehow involve slavery in the Americas! I think that he definitely has a story that could be told in a later book.
I liked the character Morgan but I was not so keen on his sister Joan. She will be a troublemaker. But...Joan could be nicely paired with Lord Bircham. He is a traditional man and she is a progressive woman so there would be some fireworks. Lots of time was spent with Morgan and Joan so they are bound to be featured in later books.
I managed to finish this book in one day even though it was much longer than it needed to be.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free preview copy for my freely given review.

This is a story about overcoming loss and second chances. It starts out with the bachelor party of Avery Errington, Duke of Wesley, set days before his marriage to Catherine Greatheart. He and his cronies are set to leave for a few days of celebration before the wedding at a hunting lodge, and his brother, a professor at Cambridge must say good bye, as he is unable to join them.

Unfortunately, because of a terrible accident, Avery and several of his friends, other noble first sons, are killed their first night there and Quinton becomes the next Duke of Wesley, and Catherine loses her fiancee. She is alone in the world, except for her grandmother. But the Duchess of Wesley, Quin and Avery's mother, seems to care for her and how she is coping and welcomes Catherine and Lady Greatheart to social gatherings and asks Quin to look in on them to make sure Catherine is coping well.

Quin realizes that he is very attracted to Catherine, but rejects this because she was his brother's fiancee, wanting to just be friends. Catherine enjoys their friendship, especially as he seems to realize her intelligence and respect her independence. She also comes to realize that perhaps her feelings are more than merely friendship, but also feels qualms because of her engagement to his brother.

Things become complicated when Lady Greatheart becomes gravely ill, and Catherine realizes that if she loses her grandmother, she would lose control of her estate to a distant cousin, or her husband, and decides that, to take control, she must marry a man of her choosing. As she is alone while her grandmother is incapacitated, she asks the Duchess to help her.

Quin and Catherine get closer and realize they want to be together, and work towards that, but with some challenges in the way, including some nefarious mechanisms from an unexpected quarter, but overcome it to reach their HEA.

I enjoyed the characters of Quin, Catherine, Lady Greatheart, and the Duchess. I felt that there was a good acknowledgement of their grief, and the conflicted feelings Catherine and Quin had about their attraction, after her relationship with his brother. I really enjoyed the sparkling character of Lady Greatheart and her relationship with Catherine; I was pretty angry at first when she fell ill, thinking "Oh know - do NOT kill off my favourite character so far!". But she obviously is a grande dame with a quirky and eccentric sense of humour and it seems like Catherine may have been raised in her image, and encouraged to be strong and intelligent.

However, I felt the imbroglio that comes up later in the book to challenge Catherine, and her relationship with Quin was a bit far-fetched and over the top, and the characters involved were rather flat. I also felt the fears of the scandal of being involved with his brother's fiancee, after the brother's death was a bit much; but I guess it could be considered scandalous and she could be painted as a title seeking huntress. But overall, this was an enjoyable novel. I am intrigued by the characters of Morgan and Jane as well, and wonder what is in store for them in the future, as this novel appears to be the first of a series.

So a solid 3 stars out of 5. Enjoyable love story, but with some parts that are a bit over the top for me.