Lorraine Heath novels are usually slam dunk winners for me, but unfortunately, The Return of the Duke just left me feeling a little cold. The spy genre is not one of my favorites, and right off the bat, the majority of this plot is dominated by uncovering a conspiracy of people plotting against the queen. Esme is an agent of the crown, who once pretended to be the mistress of Marcus' father, and Marcus is the disgraced son of a traitor.

Marcus has popped up a few times in previous books, but I'll admit that he never struck much curiosity in me, and Esme never really captured my interest much either. I like characters who have a bit more nuance in them, and both Marcus and Esme are portrayed as completely capable with nothing really that they need to grow or evolve into. Esme's only reason that she can't properly be with Marcus is an inability to have children which neither really seem to want, so it doesn't create much of an issue.

Also, spoilers here, but the ending just feels like it wraps everything up too neatly. By that point, Marcus doesn't really long to be a duke anymore so to have it handed back to him and for everyone to learn that his father wasn't really a traitor, it feels like a past that no longer suits the character. Earlier in the book he indicates that he would have become a private investigator and honestly, him and Esme teaming up together as an investigative unit probably would have made more sense for the two of them in the grand scheme of things.

While the book is well-written and paced well, it just doesn't capture the normal magic of a Lorraine Heath book and I'm much more looking forward to her next one that will hopefully not fall into the spy genre.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath is a story of revenge, romance, and mystery that take readers on a long and twisted journey. This is the third and final book in the Once Upon a Dukedom trilogy and draws the series to a nice close.

Our hero, Marcus Stanwick, was raised as the son of the Duke of Wolfford but loses everything when his father is convicted of treason in an assassination plot against Queen Victoria. Marcus is working to expose who was actually behind the treason plot when his investigation leads him to our heroine, Esme Lancaster. Marcus has been led to believe that Esme was his father’s mistress, but things are not always as they seem.

Long story short, this book has a lot going on. Maybe too much?

Thanks to @avonbooks for an advance copy of The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath, out July 26th!

I actually read book one, Scoundrel of My Heart, after book two, which worked out well since The Return of the Duke takes place where Scoundrel left off.

Marcus and Esme both have their reasons for wanting to uncover who is behind the plot to assassinate Queen Victoria. Reluctant to admit their attraction to each other or even to trust one another, they agree to team up with unexpected consequences.

This book is full of surprises, so I don’t want to say too much and risk giving anything away, but I will say this: buckle up, because this book is full of spies, conspiracies, and secrets! This book was like the grown up Nancy Drew mystery I didn’t know I needed.

As the eldest child and the one set to inherit everything before his father’s treason turns his family’s life upside down, Marcus understandably has the hardest time of all his siblings in coming to terms with what has happened and moving past it. I really liked how Heath took the time to delve into this: it definitely shapes Scoundrel of My Heart, but Griff makes it pretty clear that he’s interested in moving forward, not dwelling on the past, where Marcus needs to understand it in order to get beyond it.

Esme is such a fun character, and she reminded me a lot of Alexia from the Parasol Protectorate series, which is one of my all time faves!

While I can’t say they edged out Kathryn and Griff for my favorite couple (I have such a soft spot for them!) I read Marcus and Esme’s story cover to cover in a day and really enjoyed this conclusion to the Once Upon a Dukedom series! I already have more Lorraine Heath novels lined up on my TBR.

CW: sexual content

The Return of the Duke is book 3 (and the final book) in Lorraine Heath’s Once Upon a Dukedom series. This was one of my most anticipated historical romance releases of 2022. LH is my favorite HR writer, I’ve read just about 40 of her books at this point and it hurts me so much to say I did not enjoy this book. This felt so different from her usual storytelling and writing style and just was not was I was expecting or hoping for when I went in. The spy/espionage trope just is not really my jam and on top of that I found the romance sadly lacking and even the characters not that enjoyable.

Marcus Stanwick was once the heir apparent to the prestigious and powerful Dukedom of Wolfford. He was born into a family that had been a favorite among royalty since the days of William the Conqueror. But after his father is found guilty of treason with an assassination plot against the Queen, the family is stripped of their titles, estates, and possessions. This story picks up one year after his father was hanged for said treason and Marcus sets out to find any possible people his father might have conspired with. He wants them to pay like his father had to. This is how Marcus comes to be at the house of Esme Lancaster, also known as “the heartless harlot”. Marcus’ father claimed Esme was his mistress before his death and Marcus wants to find out anything Esme might know about his father’s possible conspirators. But once he meets Esme, Marcus realizes not all is at it seems and there is a whole lot more of the story to uncover…

If you enjoy spy historical romances, this might be the read for you: spies, an Agent of the Crown, working to protect the Queen, hidden weapons, a street gang, breaking and entering, decoys, and a whole lot of scheming. This leaned heavily into the espionage side of things for me, which is just not a trope I enjoy much. It didn’t help that the romance and chemistry with the characters just wasn’t there either.

Moments I liked: we do get a slightly older heroine, younger hero (she’s 33, he’s 30). I do also love how expansive LH’s books feel because of being set in the same universe, and we get to see familiar characters again. This book connects to a few: Marcus’ brother Griffith’s book is Scoundrel of My Heart, the first book in this series, and their sister Althea’s book is the last book in the Sins for All Seasons series, Beauty Tempts the Beast. We get to see both of those couples in this as well as a minor mention of Dr. Graves (from Scoundrel of St. James series) and get to see almost all of the Trewloves (Sins for All Seasons series). I will forever be a LH fan and cannot wait for the Chessmen series next.

2.5 stars/rounded up for GR. Thank you to the publisher (Avon Books) for an e-ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own. The Return of the Duke has a pub date of July 26, 2022.

Lorraine Heath is one of my all-time favorite go to authors for historical romance. Her Dutchess Hunt series installment number three starts with Wolff, Marcus Stanwick coming out of the shadows to confront his father’s mistress Esme. Living in hiding, he is out to clear his and his family’s names as accessories to treason. Esme is not at all what he is bargaining for. She’s younger than he thought, and the chemistry at their meeting in undeniable. Beneath the surface of her outward facade id much more than meets the eye. The two work together well as a team. There were a few stale moments with their informant “O,” but overall, I tore through this book.

Readers will also lean about the relationship between Queen Victoria and her personal guardsman as well as early spy trinkets in the final chapters, epilogue. Victorian Romance with a twist! I cannot wait for the other characters to tell their stories and the Chessmen. Bring on more books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a free advanced reading copy of this book for review purposes.

As with so many of Lorraine Heaths books, this was bananas, but In the best way. A son falls for his fathers former mistress, and some how it ends up ok. Heaths books are worth reading just to see how she gets her characters out of the situations she’s put them in. One specific criticism is that the book gives two different numbers for how many prior lovers the female Li has had. She gives one number in her internal monologue and then another number verbally much later to the duke. It’s confusing. Otherwise this was a great romp, and it’s always fun to see characters from previous books make a reappearance.

I really enjoyed this one! I probably would have enjoyed it more if life hadn’t gotten in the way and I wasn’t so stressed out, but things are like that sometimes. I still really liked this one, even if the reading timing wasn’t quite right, and I think that says something!

This one’s about Marcus Stanwick, older brother of Griff, who was the hero in book one of this series. He was the heir to a dukedom until his father was arrested and executed for treason for his role in a plot to kill Queen Victoria. Since then, Marcus has been on a mission to find the co-conspirators and see them brought to justice in the hope to clear his family name.

As part of Marcus’s mission, he makes a visit to the home of Esme, his father’s mistress, to see if she has any information that could help him. She doesn’t volunteer information, but he feels an undeniable yet disturbing attraction to her. When they meet again soon afterwards and he finds her rummaging through the desk of a viscount suspected to be in on the plot to kills Queen Victoria, he insists they work together to solve this once and for all.

The chemistry between Marcus and Esme is absolutely great! Anyone who loves “kissing as a cover” trope and/or the “sexy sparring” trope will definitely enjoy this one. And individually, I enjoyed their characters and I enjoyed how they opened up to each other while working together. I especially loved how capable and clever Esme is. Definitely check this one out if you love lady spies!

Normally, I’m very skeptical about external plots in historical romance. They usually aren’t my favorite, but I felt like there was an excellent balance in this one between romance and plot, and I found the plot engaging. It was a little bit predictable at times, and I wish there had been a bit more tradecraft, but I think it would have upset the romance/plot balance.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a romantic book with some mystery and action to it!

This one was adorable! And it didn’t go in the direction I expected, in a good way. I love historical romances that give us experienced (but not ashamed of it) heroines so I really liked that. Next I’d love authors to make the hero completely ok w and not jealous of the heroines experience, & it’d be great if the other men she’d been w had also given her orgasms because the whole “I’ve slept w other ppl on purpose but you’re the only one yo ever give me an orgasm” schtik is kinda annoying, but still, we’re getting there. I thought from the other books that Marcus would be a total alpha hole hero but he ended up being more cinnamon roll than I’d expected, & I really enjoyed that!

There is no going wrong with any romance novel by Lorraine Heath. While this is another gem, spy motifs are not my personal preference. The love story wasn't lost like I find in most spy romances but it definitely close to being compromised at times.
4 stars for the love story and characters
3 stars for plot
3.5 stars for best level
3.5 stars overall (rounded to 4 because it is Lorraine Heath.

Marcus Stanwick is looking to bring honor back to his family after his father was hanged for being a traitor. He finally decides to visit his father’s mistress Esme. She is really an agent for the crown, a protector of the queen. They develop a partnership to find the remaining people involved in the plot to kill the queen. They become lovers but Esme knows that she will have to move on to her next mission. They foil the plot. Marcus is a hero but it means nothing without Esme.

The book was wonderful, it kept on the edge the whole time. I can’t wait for Lorraine Heath’s next book.

Return of the Duke is a historical romance with a bit of spy and enemies to lovers thrown in. Marcus, the ex heir to the Duke of Wolfford is on the hunt for justice for his family's name. His father was hanged for being involved in a plot to murder Queen Victoria and all his titles and lands were stripped leaving Marcus and his brother and sister out on the streets. While his brother and sister have recovered finding love and family with others Marcus will not relent in his pursuit.

His journey leads him to the doorstep of his father's supposed mistress Esme. Turns out Esme is an agent of the crown and was never really his father's mistress at all. What proceeds is an excellent tale of cloak and dagger. I really enjoyed the mystery/thriller aspect of the story at first. But somewhere towards the middle the story began to drag. I just got bored I'm sorry to say. The romance aspect was great but I feel they gave into one another far too easily. I do love that later Marcus didn't give one care that she was unable to produce children and didn't really care about how many lovers she had or how she appears to society as the "heartless harlot". I love that he supports her career as a spy for the crown and even joins her missions sometimes, we love a supportive husband!

Overall a solid historical romance, maybe just too big of a lull in the middle that really brought my rating down. Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-arc via NetGalley!

This is the final book in this series. I am not a fan of spy novels so that really detracted from the story for me. Esme is 30 which we don’t normally see in a female historical character Also she has female problems (cyst and polyps) which lead to a hysterectomy, again something I have never read in this era of books. The chemistry between esme and Marcus is sizzling and the love between them is plain to see

Alright. I’m calling it. 30% in. I don’t care about anyone, I’m so bored. Why are these characters so lusty? Spy trope ain’t working for me. It’s a DNF for me, maybe pick it up another time? But probably not.

Lorraine Heath is an auto buy for me but this one just fell short for me. It dragged on and on and I just couldn’t force myself to get into this book. Not when the FMC is the hero’s dad’s old mistress. I couldn’t recover from that image.

Sigh.. I was swooning so hard by the time I finished this. I love Heath’s romances but I wish they were a bit steamier! I do feel like this lagged in the middle a little bit, but otherwise I really enjoyed this. I can’t wait to put this beautiful book on my shelves this summer!

I have been WAITING for this book for what feels like forever! Marcus is the oldest of the Stanwick children - the man who would have been the Duke of Wolfford if his father hadn't been hanged as a traitor and stripped of all his property and titles. As a result, for the last year Marcus has been living in the darkness and trying to find his father's conspirators - to bring them all to justice and maybe restore a little goodness to the family name. Esme was Marcus's father's mistress before he died. Esme is definitely much more than what she seems to the outside world.

Esme and Marcus are both combustible and totally sweet together. Esme is a very serious badass - and I love that about her. She is tough - but not mean or cruel. She is just entirely capable, competent, and responsible. I think what is the best thing about it - is that even in a world that was so male dominated and sexist - Marcus sees her and isn't looking to change her. In the same turn - Esme sees Marcus. She see's who he used to be - and how much better he is now for all the experiences he's had. In the other books that involved Marcus he kind of came across as a self-interested jerk. This book gives you a lot of perspective on what real change looks like.

So the only thing that kept this from being a five star read for me was the speed of Marcus's transformation from the Victorian equivalent of a playboy to fierce operative - skilled in fighting and blending in. Esme trained for years to get where she is - and Marcus did the same in a very short period of time? Obviously he had the advantage of probably having some training in boxing or fencing as he was growing up - but street fighting and underground skills not so much. With the rest of the book being so wonderful - this was a bit of a let down.

Overall - this is a great moment in the small triology of the Stanwick family. I am also glad we got a little glimpse of King and the other Chessmen in this book to hint at things to come! And for huge Lorraine Heath fans like me - a tiny glimpse of Dr. Graves!

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

* Thank you to Avon, Lorraine Heath, and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of "The Return of the Duke" in exchange for an honest review *

I recently discovered Lorraine Heath earlier this year, and I love her writing. I am really satisfied with this book, as "The Return of the Duke" is the final in the "Once Upon A Dukedom" series. While this wasn't my favorite of the series, it was a solid end.

I am going to preface this by saying that I don’t enjoy spy romances, in-fact I usually try to avoid them. I was much more interested in the story when it was Marcus teaming up with and falling for his father’s former mistress, so when it was revealed that she was was an agent for the crown tasked with spying on his father, I was a lot less interested in this book, but I did finish it and thought it was good but not my cup of tea.

This book, while technically being Marcus’s book as he is our connection to the rest of the series is so much more about Esme which I’m not mad about. Esme was a very interesting character with a lot of complexities. I particularly found her story of getting ovarian or uterine cysts and essentially having to have a hysterectomy very interesting as I don’t think that is something I’ve ever come across in a historical romance novel. While Marcus was the less dynamic of the two characters, I did really enjoy seeing his growth from when he was first introduced in Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons series, book 6).

While the spying plot was not for me and I knew who the villain was the second they were introduced, I did find Esmee’s pocket watch camera very interesting and I liked that Lorraine’s end note explained the history of that particular piece. I am excited to that the next books from Lorraine will be about the Chessmen as we’ve have them teased for a couple books now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Are you in the mood for intense, sizzling chemistry? Heartfelt moments? Characters that you make you want to scream and yell at to just freakin’ kiss already? Look no further—“Return of the Duke” absolutely delivers. A fairly decent historical standalone with strong characters with such intense chemistry you can feel it bleed through the pages. It was a fun, swoonworthy banterful romance novel that will have you come back to this author for more.

Though it was a fairly enjoyable read, there were chapters in this historical read that dragged hence the 3.5 star rating. The pace fluctuated throughout and I wished it was a bit more consistent, especially in the second half of the series. Nonetheless, well worth the read and for obvious reasons, I will keep this author on my future reads radar.

First I have to say that every single book I've ever read from Lorraine Heath has been a winner! She is a one-click author for me and can do no wrong in the writing department by me.
Having said that, THE RETURN OF THE DUKE is the BEST LORRAINE HEATH BOOK I have ever read - and I've read them all!!
I wasn't to be Esme Lancaster!! She is the best heroine EVER! From the moment we meet her she is simply enthralling and the fact that Marcus thinks so too - despite himself - makes this book evermore delicious.
I hate spoilers so I won't tell you their tale or plotline, but suffice it to say it involves keeping Queen Victoria safe and restoring the Wolfford name.
This is one sexy romp. I'd venture to call it historical romantic suspense at its best.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a sneak peek. People, get this book when it comes out. You will be thankful you did.
5 amazing- wi h I could give it more - stars!

The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath was a wonderful read about two legit adults who have made their way in the world and know what they want. I couldn't put it down!

Marcus Stanwick (the former heir to the Duke of Wolfford) is trying to clear his family name after his father was involved in a plot to assassinate Queen Victoria. He knows he won't get the title back, but he's hoping to at least retrieve a modicum of respect, and also secretly wants to understand what his father was thinking.

In the very first scene (and wow this was a charged scene), he goes to visit Esme Lancaster, his father's former mistress and "enemy" of his family. Marcus believes that Esme knows something that could help him in his quest. And I won't spoil the plot, but I'll say that Esme isn't what she seems, she knows a lot (so of course they team up reluctantly), and this is not a gross story about his father's mistress. She's also in her thirties and I found it refreshing to read about an older heroine in a regency novel.

This turns into a sort of spy/mystery novel halfway through, so be prepared for a lot of action. The stakes are high because both of the characters are so invested in finding out who is behind the plot, but there's also this wonderful sexual tension simmering between them right away (my favorite scene was when they practice boxing in Esme's ring and things get hot). Over time, this grows into love and WOW does Heath know how to write a great lust-to-love story. The arc was just beautiful.

Esme is a GREAT leading lady. She's talented, aggressive, and fierce. She has a pretty sad backstory and lives a rather lonely life with her dog Laddie, so she's surprised when she falls for Marcus. Unlike many other regency heroines, she isn't afraid of going for it.

By the end of the book, they care for each other so much that they're willing to sacrifice themselves to save the other, something that's clear in each of their internal monologues. I can't recommend this installment enough!

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

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