A good historical romance. I loved the relationship between these two. I do recommend. I will read more by this author.

They both have secrets. Rowles is a Duke and Joan is a debutante. I enjoyed the sweet and entertaining tone of the book. It's very well written and the characters work well together. It touches on mental illness which was very misunderstood in those times. It's takes a minute to get into but it finishes beautifully


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book a lot, but I might just be tapped out on regency romance for now. Rowles and Joan are likeable characters that each have their own passions and interests. Overall, good, but not memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

My Dearest Duke by Kristin Vayden is an adorable love story about two people with their own inner strife, finding love with each other. Rowles, a scholar at heart, never wanted his brothers Dukedom but nevertheless has it along with it's responsibilites that he's shied away from because of his familys' illness. Lady Joan, his love interest turns out to be quite the intellectual with her own desires that sends all the Duke's doubts into a void and in turn fills him with the ultimate and overwhelming feelings of love. I enjoyed this story from start to finish in the 2nd book of the Cambridge Brotherhood series. I recommend and can't wait for the next one.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This book was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I just lost myself within this amazing story. I most definitely will read more by this author.

This was an odd one. First of all, it's very verbose. Every conversation goes on for pages and pages. There's a spy subplot, but it's kind of non-essential. The heroine seems to be psychic, but then she's not. There are biblical and religious references shoehorned in to otherwise secular passages. There are some uncomfortably violent scenes, especially when the hero and his best friend beat the shit out of each other for no real reason. (Why everyone tolerates Morgan's broken-stair behavior is unclear.) The obstacles keeping the main characters apart are... not really obstacles. It seems like it's going to get steamy in places, but doesn't. I'll admit I started skimming halfway through, so maybe I missed some things, but my review pile keeps growing...

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a wonderful book that was just a good read. Rowles and Joan both have secrets but together they can save each other.

Most of what you need to know about My Dearest Duke -- and really, the entire Cambridge Brotherhood series -- is that the inciting incident is a house fire that kills nearly all the firstborn sons of the ton, leaving the "spares" to give up their previous lives as academics and assumer their dead brothers' titles. Not really the "upper" I'm looking for in a romance, but still -- from sad beginnings can come happy endings, right?

Well... sort-of. My Dearest Duke brings dementia, death of multiple parents, secret adoption, child abandonment, and more to the table. Each chapter start with a quote from Joan of Arc, everyone's favorite romantic icon. The FMC's intelligence and autonomy are undercut by her brother (and really, her entire absent family) for most of the novel, and despite the fact that she's ALL ABOUT women's equality, she's not really mad about it!

Strong Christian themes throughout. This should be shelved as "Christian historical romance." Overall, a snooze.

This was so boring. I saw somewhere that it's about grief and love but I don't see it at all. Nothing happened.

This is a beautiful story that touches on a few sensitive topics in an enlightening manner with grace. The love story of Rowles & Joan was a natural transition of friends to lovers. Being intrigued by her older brother's best friend comes with it's complications. When said friend finds himself falling for his friend's sister, he faces the reluctance of his friend. With a mother who suffers from mental health issues, there are many doubts over his worthiness. With determination and attraction, they muddle through to a lovely future. I thought the gentle brush over the mental health issues was handled beautifully. Showcasing not only the struggle for the afflicted, but also the pain of those around them. I enjoyed this story.

This is a lovely story about two truly lovely people. Kristin Vayden is a new author to me, so I did not read the first book in the series, but that is totally irrelevant. The series is about several younger brothers who all lost their older brothers, the heirs, in a fire at a house party. None of them wanted the title as they were happy to be ensconced at Cambridge. Now they must change their lives.

Rowles Haywind, now the Duke of Westmore and Morgan, now the Earl of Pendedale were best friends at Cambridge, until the untimely demise of their brothers. All that is left of Morgan's family is his younger sister, Joan, who is now ready for her coming out. Rowles only has his mother and she is suffering from dementia. Morgan asks Rowles to dance with his sister at her first ball. Rowles is enchanted with her and she with him, but Morgan is concerned about the rumors of Rowles' mother and basically tells his friend to stay away from his sister. But Joan has a special talent, which she learned at her father's knee; she can tell lies and detect forgeries. Morgan now works for the War Office and brings work home for his sister to see. Her identity is a secret, but she is known as the Saint. She detects Morgan's duplicity and tells him to bud out and she confronts Rowles, who confesses his true feelings, but wanted to protect her. I really like the characters, the little bit of intrigue, the honesty between Rowles and Joan, not keeping secrets from each other, the banter and interesting facts . I found the mourning customs fascinating.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher . This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

My Dearest Duke is a darling best friend’s sister romance is almost call it a Christian romance. However, I'm not sure this is the intent. It's a nice wholesome story that doesn't lack intrigue or a strong female protagonist.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I like this series a lot, and this didn't disappoint, the cast of characters is supportive of each other throughout and it wasn't an easy book especially with illness and mental health in volved but good and well done.

Lord Rowles Haywind has always shied away from the spotlight of the dukedom, worried it would bring too much attention to the family secret. Now that he is the new Duke, he needs help navigating glittering society, but he's not sure he can trust anyone. Until he reconnects with Lady Joan Morgan…
It was an interesting read. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

I have been provided with a review copy of My Dearest Duke from NetGalley for an impartial review. This book was just so easy to get lost in. I completely got lost in the story and I just loved getting to see these new characters come together. I just absolutely love this story and I just didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

A lovely regency story of 2 unlikely characters, meeting and falling in love. Rowles Haywind has been content as a second son, until his brother was killed in a horrific accident. Now he must step into the shoes of a Duke. Lady Joan has secrets of her own, and where she longs to help Rowles, she isn't sure how he will react to her other "life". It's a page turner, filled with spark, some mystery, and a whole lot of regency era. I enjoyed this one as I enjoyed the first in the series. I look forward to see what trouble the rest of the 2nd sons get into.

OVERALL RATING – 5

RECOMMENDED for those that like: historical / brother’s best friend / independent heroine

First my usual points:
- I do not do spoilers unless warned.
- Read the summary above; it will tell you what the book is about. I will not reiterate.
- This is a standalone but second in a series. I did not read any others in the series. It’s a good standalone but other characters to make appearances.
- No errors that I caught as far as editing.
- The author was not new to me

BOOK:
- Cover adequately reflects the story
- Genre/troupe: contemporary romance
- 3rd person alternating POV

Star Ratings - 1 (poor) – 5 (READ THIS BOOK)
• Writing Quality: 5
• Story ingredient: 5
• Ease of reading/Pace: 4 – little slow to start but picks up
• Plot strength: 4
• Steam Level: 0 but the romance is there. This is a closed door romance.

Notes/Opinion (personal thoughts):

Author is wonderful with period details. I loved that she portrayed ‘forward thinking’ characters within historical accuracy.
I loved the Christian undertones (H is a professor of Divinity,s o it fits very well) without the characters being ‘perfect’ or preachy. The H definitely was looking forward to the physical aspect of marriage.
The relationship of the h’s brother and the H was enjoyable. The banter, the respect, the overall friendship was realistic.
Overall, it was a mostly low drama, low conflict story wherein any conflict was efficiently dealt with in a reasonable amount of time, and not just to extend the story.

I wanted to read the first book in this series but never got to it before this one. Overall the story is well written and deals with themes of grief and healing. However, and I don’t know how this is going to sound haha, I like my historical romances a little more spicy. This is all fade to black scenes.

Overall this was a good story. Rowles and Joan are likeable characters that each have their own passions and interests. It was refreshing to read a historical romance where the h has plans for her future that aren't solely focused on becoming a wife with status and a mother.

The story was quite long and could have been shorter. It is hard to read about how mental health was perceived in this time as it is such a contrast from how we care and treat these individuals today.

There was some good chemistry between Rowles and Joan and their relationship helped each other overcome their issues and achieve their goals.

My Dearest Duke By Kristin Vayden is a clean Christian historical regency romance and book two in the series. It is a series about the spares becomes the heirs after a fire takes the life of several men. Rowles was a professor and best friends with Morgan. Both of them are now heirs and dealing with the grief of losing their brothers. Morgan is not supportive when his best friend starts having feelings for his sister and asks him to back off. Lady Jane helps her brother with identifying forgeries. She has a skill at identifying patterns and notices details. I enjoyed the scenes between her and Rowles.

Both Lady Jane and Rowles had a lot to manage through as they worked toward a relationship. If you enjoy a clean romance I recommend this one.

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books.