This was a very nice, clean romance. I liked both characters. They treated one another with respect. Overall, it was very heartwarming.

I think this is a good story and I could see that i would have loved it as a teenager. As an adult, it made me upset and angry at parts. I hated Ezra. I wanted him vanished from the story. I did enjoy the romance though and it was written well, just didn't love the people

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After being accused of thievery, Miss Julia Wallace can't believe that the handsome Duke is blaming her for his own misfortune. Forced to work in close proximity, as a sort of 'good luck charm', Julia soon realises that the one they call the Duke of Madness, Matthew Colburn, is only a man in need of a friend. As they spend more time together, Matthew starts to imagine a life full of love and happiness, and not worry about turning out like his father. But with his uncle's machinations drawing them apart, will Matthew be able to stand up for himself?

I have conflicting feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was an extremely quick read, so that's a plus. On the other, the characters were all a bit meh, and I was rolling my eyes at a lot of it. The book is 288 pages, but not a lot happens. Matthew is 21, and has been duke for a few years, but he is so under his uncle's thumb, it's honestly ridiculous. His uncle Ezra was a right sod, undermining Matthew at every turn, and making him doubt himself. I feel like he didn't get enough of a comeuppance either, which was disappointing. Julia and Matthew were an alright couple, though, and I'm glad it all worked out in the end. I will continue the series, but mainly only to clear my NG shelf, not because I was blown away by this book.

Jennifer Monroe has a great gift! She writes beautiful books. Duke of Madness is such a great book. The characters are great!The plot flows effortlessly and keeps the reading wanting to read more. Great job.

Mr Duke here starts off by accusing our heroine of... theft! Right away, I was rubbing my hands in anticipation. You know he's going down... love these 2. The uncle is definitely a villain we love to hate. He's clearly manipulative to us as readers, but one can see how if this kind of influence starts young, it can be hard to see clearly once the child grows up. Due to some experience with this via a close friend, I loved watching our hero break through.

Not my favorite story by Ms. Monroe, but enjoyable all. I anticipate my future enjoyment of the series. I am looking forward to meeting other plucky heroines and likeable though oftimes clueless heros.
Thank you Jennifer Monroe, Wolf Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Good historical romance with an atypical twist. Happily ever after without cliffhanger. Nice feels.
I was provided this free of charge but make this review of my own accord.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. While reading it, I considered deducting points for a few reasons, but ultimately, I enjoyed the book far too much to allow a few issues to affect my review.

My issues were… First of all, Uncle Ezra was too obviously a villain right from the start so it bothered me how long it took for Matthew to figure that out. The fact that his mother had left was a bit too convenient to account for Ezra’s influence over Matthew. I was also bothered by Matthew’s tendency to be easily manipulated by Ezra, allowing him to repeatedly keep Matthew from Julia when it was clear he wanted to be with her.

The other issue was that Matthew had no friends. Like all other young men of the gentry, wasn’t he sent away to boarding school? Wouldn’t he have made friends while there? Why were none of them in his life, offering advice and counsel, potentially opposing what his uncle said? Not having friends made Matthew particularly susceptible to Ezra’s machinations and it seemed unbelievable to me. I realize he was young, but he was exceptionally uncertain and insecure.

The narration is good. It starts in the present, with Mrs. Rutley (Julia’s former headmistress) asking Julia to tell her the story of how she met her husband, Matthew. Yes, she already knows the story, but her reasons for requesting this make sense. By retelling the story, Julia travels into the past to describe their meeting. Unfortunately, she narrates as a third-person narrator. It only works because the reader is drawn into the story and forgets that it is Julia telling it. That said, had I edited the book, I would have suggested switching to Julia’s first-person POV to keep it consistent with the concept of her retelling her story. (I hope the author does this in future books in this series, but it won’t be a deal-breaker for me if she doesn’t). The other thing that was hard to miss was the frequent usage of exclamation points! In The Elements of Style (Strunk & White), exclamation points are addressed thusly: Do not attempt to emphasize simple statements by using a mark of exclamation… The exclamation mark is to be reserved for use after true exclamations or commands. The author would do well to remember this! ;)

There is a sequence of events in the story that didn’t make sense. In chapter 19, the girls eat dinner, Julia comments on how delicious it was, and then Mrs. Rutley goes out. (I think this has something to do with what happens in Emma’s story.) Julia goes upstairs and finds Bridget, her lady’s maid, in her room. Bridget asks Julia if she’d like her to help her get changed for dinner (but she just ate dinner). Julia agrees that it would be best to do it right away. Meanwhile, Ruth enters her room and informs her she has set up a meeting with Matthew at 10 pm in the garden. She follows up by telling Julia she’d better get dressed soon because the hour is growing late. By the time Bridget has finished getting Julia ready to go meet Matthew, it’s time to go.

The tension is good and I found myself stressing for Julia and Matthew near the end, even though I knew they would end up together (not just because this is a romance, but also because she is telling how she met him). Somehow, the author managed to inject uncertainty into a guaranteed outcome. I thought the characters were developed well, with multi-layered personalities and backgrounds, even secondary characters. In fact, this was so well done that I am anxious to read Emma’s story, even though I’m fairly certain I know one of the secrets that will be revealed.

I really enjoyed Jennifer Moore’s storytelling and would be happy to read more of her books. I’m hoping the next in the series will also be offered by Netgalley and I’m keeping my eyes open for that.

A wonderful story that warms the heart. He thinks he will fall into madness like his father. But his lucky watch is like a talisman to keep it at bay

She does not believe in luck but works hard at the school and is touted as lucky by the head mistress.

Can this almost broken man realize that he can depend on the feelings he begins to have for her and be happy? Great characters and storyline!

A story about lifelong friendships, first love, family secrets, facing ones fears, and giving in to the ultimate madness of love. It is a heartwarming tale that leaves you with a happy ending. This was my first book by Jennifer Monroe and I will likely finish this series. If you are looking for a historical romance with vivid or graphic sexual encounters, this story will leave you unsatisfied, be warned this is a clean romance and the MCs only share a couple kisses. Even so, I am intrigued by the set up and can’t wait to read the next story.

3.5 Stars ⭐️ | 1 Flame 🔥

3.5 stars

The start of the series but for probably not one I'll follow. There was an interesting start with Julia going to see her ex headmistress to tell the story of her romance with the Mad Duke. The villain was a bit obvious, the duke's lack of confidence annoying and the sisterhood not really my thing.

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

Duke of Madness by Jennifer Monroe is the first release in the new Sisterhood of Secrets series. This is my first read of the author and I honestly found some of the story to be a bit repetitive. I also found it hard to believe that Matthew could really be that naive and would have liked to see him have more backbone from the outset. I liked the connection Julia had with the other girls and Mrs. Rutley. I look forward to reading the other ladies stories. Lovers of sweet clean regency romances will enjoy this story.

***1/2 stars- Matthew Colburn, 5th Duke of Elmhurst, is afraid that he will become mad one day like his father. He is known as the Duke of Madness. He does not want to marry because he does not want his wife to go through what ihs mother had to endure when his father became mad. Miss Julia Wallace is the daughter of a Baron. She attends Miss Rutley’s School for Young Women. Julia and the girls from the school have a grand camaraderie. Mathew lives next door to the school. Matthew is sweet and innocent. He does not realize his Uncle Ezra is manipulating him. His Uncle uses Matthew’s fear that he will become like his father and go crazy. Unfortunately he lets fear rule his life. Can Matthew overcome his fears? Will he be able to fall in love? Julia is a ray of sunshine and hope to Matthew. They cannot help but be drawn to each other. This was a sweet courtship. Julia believes in Matthew. Will Matthew be able to believe in himself? Julia is a strong woman. Can she help Matthew become the man he was meant to be? This is the first book in a new series. The book was easy to read and held my interest somewhat. The story did drag a little but it does get better. I am curious to read Emma and Andrew’s story which is the next book. I definitely plan on reading more books in this series. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This is a clean and utterly sweet Regency romance and is the first in the delightful new Sisterhood of Secrets series. In this first installment, we have a heartwarming story of opposites attract. A young duke, Matthew, who recently lost his father to madness, fears that the same fate will fall on him. Because of this fear, and his parents' unsuccessful marriage, he believes it's in everyone's best interest if he doesn't marry. He meets Julia and although they didn't start off on the right foot, their friendship begins to grow and develop into something beautiful. However, his uncle doesn't like the way Julia is helping Matthew and encouraging him to stand on his own. Julia and Matthew are a wonderful couple and I found it heartwarming and endearing how they bring out the best in each other. This was a truly entertaining and captivating story and I think it is a fantastic start to the series. I look forward to reading more!

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and this is my freely given review.

This is a clean and sweet Regency romance that is the beginning of a series. In general I found I quite enjoyed this sweet romance, but not just for the development of the relationship between the hero and heroine, Matthew and Julia, but because of the relationships between the Julia and the other girls from her school, and her maid, Bridget, and the headmistress, Mrs. Rutley. It rather brought to mind stories I used to read about MacDonald Hall, by Gordon Korman - waaay long ago, and the relationships the boys had. They are young ladies, but grew up as girls together in the boarding school, becoming close as sisters, but still mischievous, with hopes and dreams for the future.

The hero, Matthew, is a very young Duke of Elmhurst, at the age of 21, having lost his father 2 years prior. It was a rather tragic loss, as the father was slowly declining for years it seemed, from some kind of either early onset frontal lobe dementia, or some other debilitating neurological illness that causes hallucinations, delusions, disinhibition, loss of memory, and then I presume a loss of function, and early death. It was labelled as madness, and the current Duke is severely traumatized by what he witnessed and his own fears that is his future. It did not help that following his death, his mother took off to Scotland, and left him with no supports other than his Uncle Ezra.

It is pretty obvious from the get-go that Ezra is in it to gain control of the young Duke and his wealth. He is in general manipulating him, controlling, and undermining him whenever possible. The Duke was made to feel from the beginning and overwhelming sense of guilt and gratitude for his uncle, and cannot see him for the manipulative snake that he is, and the uncle plays on his fears of his impending madness, and dragging his family name further into the muck. Ezra sees the wealth of the dukedom as his, and wants to control all business dealings, and also to control the future through whomever Matthew marries.

Matthew meets Julia when he goes to the school to try to get Mrs. Rutley to sell him some of her estate property, as it edges on his property. He literally bumps into Julia in the hall. However, as he gets home, he finds that his pocket watch is missing and determines that she is a thief and goes back to confront her. He has this unreasonable belief that the pocket watch carries his luck and he needs it to be successful in his business dealings. Mrs. Rutley manages to convince him that Julia will be his replacement for his luck, and he accepts her presence as either her punishment, or to get her to confess. A bit ridiculous, but OK, fine, he thinks he's going mad anyways and has an unhealthy belief in lucky charms, and obviously Rutley is matchmaking, so we shall go with it.

Anyways, Matthew is enthralled by Julia's beauty, and comes to love her, and trust her, no longer believing that she stole his watch. She does not believe he is going mad, and they agree to court, but he is convinced that he will destroy her future with his impending madness, and Ezra plays on these fears.

In general this is a pretty light and sweet romance with some mildly gothic overtones with the poisonous, manipulative relative. The relationships and actions of the "sisters" are sweet and amusing, and there was hints of a history between Ezra and Rutley, as well as some mystery to her past and relationships too. No conclusions or resolutions were given to questions I had about the latter, and I wonder how much will be told of it in future books in the series.

Also, there is some time jumping, as the story starts out in the "present" of 1825, where Julia, as the Duchess (so obviously an allusion to an HEA), travelling to visit Rutley as she was summoned as Rutley is dying, and Rutley asking to be told the story of Julia and Matthew's love and how it came to be. A sweet device, and they go back to 1805 to the start of it. So in theory, it is a narrative by Julia, but as you read the story, there are scenes between Matthew, his uncle, other lords in business negotiations, and with Matthew and other female characters that Julia would not be privy to, which takes it out of the context of a narrative from her POV. Another quibble I had was the mother. I understand she lost her husband and was grieving, but to abandon her son for 2 years or so, knowing what type of person Ezra was? It sounded like other people, like the servants, knew what was going on; one would have thought that she would have still had some communication from someone in the household, or from Rutley, if they were such friends, about how Ezra was behaving, so where the heck was she the past couple of years???

I was still able to enjoy this story though. There was a sweetness in the relationships with the girls, and between Julia and Matthew that I found very beguiling. I am not sure if I like it enough to continue with the series though; maybe the second book, but there better be some movement along the lines of clarifying the questions about Mrs. Rutley or I may not bother. Though there was a statement about one of the other "sisters" being dead and two moving to America in the "present" of the 1820s, and I am now curious as to their stories...

Ahhh, curiosity... it always pulls me in... it's just a matter of how deep the hook gets set now.

So a 3 out of 5 stars for me.

This is the first book in this series. He believes in luck and in charms but she does not believe in either. He thinks she is the most beautiful woman he has seen and believes she is lucky. He is also afraid of the madness that runs in his family. I really enjoyed the characters and the story line

Matthew Colburn, the 5th duke of Elmhurst has dismissed marrying for love, having witnessed his father’s decline into madness and their marriage collapsing. So Matthew focusses instead on growing his family empire and all he needs to gain him luck is a watch. , has outright dismissed the notion of love. After all, if he is destined to become as mad as his father had been why make any prospective bride suffer? Delving into work to avoid the reality of his future, Matthew focuses on an ever-growing empire, all due to the luck he gleans from a family heirloom – a simple gold pocket watch.

Yet when Matthew meets Miss Julia Wallace, he is at first captivated by her beauty; however, when he believes her to have stolen his watch, he demands its return. Mrs. Rutley, the owner of the school that Julia attends, convinces him that Julia has been known to bring good fortune and suggests that he take her to his upcoming party. Whilst this story is far from the truth, Julia agrees, and they soon start to see each other in a different light.
This was a sweet story, with great friendships developed between the girls at Mrs Rutley’s school. Whilst it took a while to warm to Matthew who seems to take the advice of his uncle without thought for his own position as duke. Julia’s positive nature and strength of character were delightfully and seemed to be what Matthew needed to gain his own self-confidence. An interesting start to this series, and I look forward to reading more about Mrs Rutley and her young girls.

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

The Duke of Madness was an entertaining book to read. Julia is a young lady at the girls school. She and her friends all have dreams of meeting someone and getting married. One day, Julia is going to the headmistress office and quite literally runs into the Duke who lives next door to the school. Matthew, the Duke, thinks she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Later, after he leaves, he discovers his pocket watch is missing, and he assumes the girl is to blame. She isn't, but it takes time for him to realize this. they soon become good friends, and since Matthew believes strongly in luck, he thinks of Julia as being very lucky. They fall in love and he begins courting her, but he has something that worries him greatly, he fears he will lose his mind as his father did. His uncle helps encourage this idea, so that he can stay in control of the dukedom. Excellent clean story I greatly enjoyed!

I enjoyed reading this book. I did not want to put it down until l had finished it. I was so relieved at the happy ending because at times l thought the wicked uncle would get in the way with his lies and deceit. I do recommend that you read this book.

This is the story of Matthew who fears he might eventually succumb to the madness that killed his father and Julia who is manipulated by hers. Add a scheming uncle who feeds into Matthew's fears for his own personal gain and a matchmaking headmistress of Julia's school and sparks fly. Matthew has to find his voice and face his fears or lose the woman he loves.