When I saw The Duke in Question described as Bridgerton meets James Bond, I knew I had to read it. The story sounded so intriguing! Plus, it’s written by Amalie Howard, and I love her historical romances. Her storytelling and writing style is fantastic, the plots are always entertaining, and the romances are super swoon-worthy. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. The Duke in Question is one of the most entertaining historical romances I’ve read all month.

Bronwyn and Valentine are such fantastic protagonists, and I like that the story includes both of their perspectives. Bronwyn is an intelligent, capable, and independent woman who plays the stereotypical debutante, but underneath she has a big secret. She’s a spy known as Kestral. Sailing to Philadelphia to pass on a message that could save the President, Bronwyn meets her match with Valentine, a former agent to the Crown. He and his partner are trying to expose a spy known only as Kestral. Little does he know the spy he’s looking for is the beautiful and enticing sister of his friend. Valentine is as developed and layered as Bronwyn, and boy do they make a great couple!

The story takes place around the globe as Bronwyn and Valentine become embroiled in overlapping missions, and Bronwyn becomes a target of a deadly and unknown enemy. Valentine is determined to protect her no matter the cost. It’s an exciting and suspenseful game of espionage, and the relationship between Bronwyn and Valentine is fantastic.

I love when the MMC is desperately in love, and everyone else knows but him. That’s Valentine. He’s so closed off with his feelings that he doesn’t even realize what he is feeling. Bronwyn knows her heart better, but she’s afraid to give it to a man she believes is incapable of love. There’s so much yearning and a sense of forbidden love between them that creates tension and angst. And the heat between these two is sizzling! Their chemistry is on fire, and I enjoyed every clandestine, scandalous, and steamy minute of it! Between that and the delicious banter – oh my word, I love these two together!

I loved this story! It’s entertaining and exciting, and the romance is perfection. I also love all of the history. I always enjoy reading Howard’s notes about the historical elements in the novel, and I’ve learned a bunch about the time period from her books. From the political and social climate to the cities and people, to the foiled kidnapping and assassination of Lincoln, the story is steeped in history and includes strong messages about bigotry, privilege, sexism, and more. I swear, I’ve learned more about history from romance novels than I ever did in school.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Lady Bronwyn Chase may appear to be a proper lady however unbeknownst to her family and most of her friends, she lives a second secret life as "The Kestral", a spy who is being hunted by the British government. As she sails to America in order to deliver a letter and documents that could easily be considered treasonous, she runs in to her brother's best friend, The Duke of Thornbury who happens to be the one hunting her. But he isn't the only one...

This book ultimately tried to do so much with the plot that I ended up skimming a lot of it. I think the plot was a bit chaotic and suffered from being just a little too long. I also feel like the character's motivations weren't completely consistent. This book feels like a 90's bananapants Historical Romance but ultimately just didn't quite succeed in my opinion.

I will say that the spice and the relationship were the highlights of this book for me. I really liked Bronwyn and Valentine together, even if they are big idiots when it comes to their relationship. The funniest part of the book for me was when they finally capture and lock up the bad guys and then are so overcome with....adrenaline? horniness? that they literally cannot wait and bang it out in a tack room next door to where they have locked up the bad guys. Only to finish and then almost get killed again because the bad men woke up in the meantime.

This was a 3.5 star read for me, rounded down. Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have come to adore this author's work - her novels are always so well-researched and the characters so believable and idealistic that I can't wait to dive into the world she creates.

This novel is no exception - with intelligent leading characters, a sizzling hot passionate love affair and a plot with many twists and turns, I was devoured the book in one sitting and gave myself a headache for reading for too long. Totally worth it.

I really thought I was going to hate this book. The first few paragraphs were really just not to my liking at all. But I'm glad I stuck with it. While not my favorite in the series, it follows the half-sister of Courtland from Rules for Heiresses, it was still a decent entry and I finished it in a day. So obviously it got better. I really liked Bronwyn. Amalie Howard is great at writing really strong female characters and Bee is no exception. Her need to be taken seriously by Valentine felt honest and his slow acceptance was really organic. There were some slight time jumps that I wish we had more info on, what happened on the ship back to England and why did we not see their wedding, but other than that the story was well fleshed out. I appreciated that Courtland and Ravenna made meaningful appearances in the story and not just offhand mentions. Hoping we get to see what happens to Bee's siblings at some point too.

I think 2022 has definitely been the year of some pretty phenomenal historical romances. This was everything I wanted and so much more. The writing was amazing, the characters were all well developed and each had a place and a purpose. I loved the historical context and references to the American Civil Rights movement. This book didn't try too hard to be anything, everything was well proportioned and thought out.

Also, can we just talk about the chemistry for a second? The pining, the sexual tension. It was so well done and so real. Everything about this book was just amazing and left me grinning.

I can't wait to read more by Amalie Howard. I could not recommend this enough, especially to fans of Sarah MacLean and Evie Dunmore!

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book came out of nowhere and knocked me on my ass. In the best way possible.

I was not entirely sure where this one was going to go because the first third of it seemed like a complete story in and of itself and I was constantly thinking, I have over 150 pages left, what else could be done? Reader. SO much more could be done and I had a BLAST. Valentine and Bronwyn were a match made in hell and their constant awareness of the other that made for the most delicious tension make them one of my favorite historical couples. Speaking of deliciousness: a tree being the first location for them? A beautiful choice.

This was my third book by Amalie and possibly my favorite, if not tied with Always Be My Duchess. It was refreshing to have a duke constantly proposing and the heroine constantly saying no, not because it was creepy, but because they were both hopelessly in love with other and feared their feelings were reciprocated. Val and Bee being SPIES and that being the reason for their not so meet cute? obsessed. And the inclusion of actual female spies and the era of espionage that hinged on people of color during the civil war rounded this story out impeccably. I loved the history that was included and the thoughtful author's note showed that Amalie tried to be as informed and tell this story with as much care and appreciation for those she included.

I read this book in under 48 hours and I would do it again.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casa for my advanced copy of this!

The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard

I loved this book! The description likens it to a mixture of James Bond and Bridgerton and I agree! The Duke of Thornbury is an ex-spy brought in to discover a current spy’s identity who has been very active and very troublesome. On the course of this journey, he comes across an acquaintance, his best friend’s sister, Lady Bronwyn Chase. The coincidence of that throws him off as he tries to keep moving the investigation forward and figuring out how she is a part of all of this.

It is a constantly evolving, spy game with two characters drawn together by an internal pull and by their surroundings. The limiting societal structure of old that we all know, and love is ever present reminding them both that what happens in public has consequences. The storytelling is modern and fast paced with the feeling that something else is always about to happen.

I really liked both main characters, Lady Bronwyn & Thornbury. They are great standalone characters but even better together. They have such similarities in viewpoint, skill set, outlook on society, of right and wrong, but refuse to show the other that truth given their current predicaments. The more the truth comes out from each of them, the deeper their connection gets and how wrong their initial views of the other were. All this emotional loveliness partnered with steamy loves scenes made for a really good read.

- Enemies to Lovers
- Spicy perfection 3 out of 5
- Dual POV
- A strong female lead and supporting characters, no damsels here
- Diverse characters
- Plot lines deal with real historical events
- Multiple locations: America, France, Britain
- Fast Paced with lots of dangerous action around every corner
- HEA

I really recommend this book if you love a historical, spy thriller with all the feels and sexy time. It’s a book you won’t want to stop reading, I sure didn’t! Thanks, Amalie Howard for a really great read!

**I was given the ARC from Net Galley for my honest opinion.

An amazing tale of love, spies, secrets and plots and steamy romance. The heroine is smart., quick witted and dedicated to the welfare of the less privileged. The hero doesn’t know what hit him. Both deny their attraction but in the end, the threat of loss opened their eyes. Exciting read.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

4.5 Stars

This book is a complete wild ride, from start to finish! Woven into the history of the Civil War (please make sure to read the authors note at the end of the book), this action adventure, started quickly and did not slowdown. You’ll be in the edge of your seat the entire book.

Bronwyn is such a firecracker, and mischievous. Which is why Valentine is absolutely helpless in falling for her. Her stream on consciousness in the book is quite naughty, and very hilarious. They literally cannot keep their hands off each other, and it was absolutely delightful.

I greatly enjoyed some of the side characters in this book, especially Aunt Esther. She was an absolute hoot.

Absolutely obsessed! Amalie Howard has captured by heart and I will 10/10 be running to read her backlist.

This is the perfect brother's best-friend romance with all the spice and witty banter. You will not be disappointed!

4.5/5 stars

Delicious! I've been in a reading slump a bit for the last few weeks and needed a book to capture me from the first page. Yes, ma'am this one did it! I was instantly hooked into the historical world, connected to the story, and loved these characters connection and spice! I don't want to put this book down, and I'm almost finished, and hate to see it end.

book: The Duke In Question
series: Daring Dukes #3 - can be read as standalone
genre: historical romance
tropes & themes: mystery solving, spies, brother's friend, traveling together, intrigue, banter, independent heroine, opposite attract
steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
release date: November 08, 2022

One thing I always notice while reading this author is how incredibly talented she is. It's the wit, dialogue, and construction of the story and characters that do it for me. We have a heroine who acts and thinks outside of the box but we (the readers) are not hit on the head with the points the author is trying to make.

Would recommend it to regency historical romance readers who enjoy a thrilling spy side storyline.

Thanks to @NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinions and ratings!

Lady Bronwyn Chase, the half-sister of Courtland Chase, the Duke of Ashvale, didn’t intentionally set out to be a spy, rather she stumbled into espionage. But once she had a taste, she was hooked and began working for an agent of the crown, just passing on the occasional message, but it soon became apparent that she was actually good at it and the “Kestrel” was born and caught the interest of other agents, particularly Valentine Medford, the new Duke of Thornbury, a retired agent who is helping his former partner track the Kestrel. Which is how they all end up on a ship bound for Philadelphia in March of 1865.

Bronwyn plays her part as a shallow, self-absorbed debutante to perfection and annoys Thornbury to no end. Bronwyn has long had a crush on Thornbury, but he is one of her brother’s best friends and until recently, married, so he is off-limits – or is he? She reminds herself that she has a mission and can’t waste time mooning over a man who could never love her and one who is too smart to fool for long with her foolish society girl facade, so she tries to avoid him and focus on her mission.

Valentine doesn’t know that she is the Kestrel, but isn’t happy about her traipsing about Philadelphia alone and wonders what she is up to. He follows her and is stunned to see what she is up to. And when her mission goes awry and her life is on the line, he wastes no time saving her. But when she turns the tables and saves him, twice – everything changes and he finds himself torn between duty and desire.

This was a very interesting read and I am torn about how to rate this – as far as writing, plot, and character development are concerned, the book is spot on with lots of action, steamy love scenes, interesting characters, true historical events tie-ins, and a HEA, but it is supposed to be a “historical romance” set in the very uptight Victoria Era and that is where it doesn’t work for me. The characters have very progressive, modern views on sex, relationships, and equality, that came across as very cavalier, making this more of a “contemporary in period dress” than a true to the era historical. Then there were things that just shook me – the hero is “divorced” which is almost unheard of in the Victorian era and would take years to accomplish as well as an act of Parliament and a lot of money, not to mention a better reason than “we wanted different things”, but they apparently got it done quickly and quietly and he and his ex are still friends and everyone seems to think this is no big deal as they are not shunned and are still accepted everywhere – but then it is implied that they were not really married, even though the ex still uses the title that she had as his “wife”, but the hero never tells the heroine any of this, which bothered me probably more than it should have. And don’t even get me started on the virgin heroine’s attitude toward sex. I understand that authors are trying to appeal to a 21st-century audience and the popularity of shows like Bridgerton has brought a host of new readers who are not familiar with the rules and strictures of the eras and would be put off by them – so there has to be some leeway – but I feel that this one went too far – I read historicals for those strictures and rules and how different times were – making characters “too modern” ruins that for me and honestly by implying that the views of the day were the same as they are now, diminishes the challenges and hardships people in that time overcame and in some cases are still overcoming. But that is just my personal opinion and if adherence to historical protocols isn’t a big deal for you – I am sure you will really enjoy this story. This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very Mr. and Mrs. Smith if you remember the Angelina/ Brad spy thriller from quite a few years ago! I very much enjoyed the feminist badass spy aspect. Bee had no interest in living a dull life waiting for her husband to have adventures and her hear about them while raising his children- nope she wanted her own so she went out and got them. The FMC was absolutely the best part of this book for me- she was clever and brave and knew what she wanted. The MMC had a difficult time seeing Bee as an equal and I think that part was really frustrating and kept me from feeling the chemistry between them. The adventure was written so well that I tried to focus on those parts instead.

There are some writing points that get a little convoluted- as I was reading I realized it wasn't super clear how they got from point A to B or that they were somehow now in a forest so the writing can be a bit confusing, you just have to go with the flow and not try to sort out if you missed something which is why this book is solidly in the 3/5 range for me. It's fun but you can't turn on your brain too much to over think it or you'll just find more and more plot holes and frustrations but if you take it for what it is it can be a good time.

I enjoyed this book so much.
1. I love a romance on a ship and this has not only one trip across the Atlantic, but two.
2. The pacing was on point. I loved that it got right into the action of the story and that their connection was steamy and hot from the beginning. That kept me reading when I should have been doing other things.
3. Spys. Romance with intrigue? Bring it on.
4. Howard brings diversity to a space where historically there hasn't been much. She brings perspective and parts of history to light that we don't usually get. It's done so well and handled so carefully that I learn as a love the romance. It makes me want to google things.

“𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞.” 𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧. “𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐞.”
“𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐦𝐩?”
“𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧.”
𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲.”

“𝐀 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.”

𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜.

_________________

Bronwyn Chase is by all appearances a socialite and a lady. As the half-sister to a new Duke, when she boards one of his ships to America the world is none the wiser to her reasons. But underneath it all she is an international spy transporting delicate information from Britain to Philadelphia to try and thwart an attack on the American President in the heat of the Civil War. Valentine Medford, the Duke of Thornbury and retired agent to the Crown, is traveling on the same ship with his long time partner and ex-fake wife seeking out the notorious spy known as the Kestral. While trying to focus on the task at hand and find his mark, he finds himself instead deeply distracted by his best friend’s younger sister. When they reach Philadelphia, however, all plans go awry as Bronwyn finds herself at the center of an ambush for the information she carries and is unwittingly saved by Valentine. What follows is a scalding hot “I hate you/I should be arresting you” romance followed by an international game of cat and mouse where both the cat and the mouse soon come to find that they have each met their own match.

I adored every second of this book!! Billed as Bridgerton meets James Bond it was exactly that and SO much more. Bronwyn is such a strong, independent, self-sufficient female lead and watching her control her narrative and in turn her future in the regency setting was refreshing and inspiring. Valentine can rival Jamie Fraser as my favorite Scot any time he’d like!! The man is an aloof powerhouse and watching him being brought to his knees before a woman and a spy was absolutely everything, especially with the witty banter, piping hot spice, and of course the warm bubbly declarations of love you experience all the way down. Beyond our main characters, the action, and the romance, the representation in this book was absolutely excellent and the discussions surrounding the different races and ethnicities that you encounter in the story were raw, honest, and beautiful to read both for the time period and today.

I cannot recommend this book enough!! It is number 3 in the series but is perfectly fine when read as a stand alone novel. If anything it has me rushing to pick up the prior books so I can get more of Bronwyn’s brother and his fiery romance. 10/10, all of the stars, if you are a regency romance reader do NOT miss this one!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 A very steamy historical with an enemies-to-lovers story. The witty banter between the very liberated Lady Bronwyn and Valentine, the titular Duke, was fun and Bronwyn's internal dialogue sassy. The spies have to find who the traitor, while keeping from creating a scandal. Bigger themes like Lincoln's assassination, slavery and racism are all addressed. While I liked Bronwyn, I don't know that I was a huge fan of Valentine and the timing of their sexytimes was a little weird. Mixed bag for me.

For me the best part of the book was the author's note. So I think it says it all.

The story was quite interesting but the sex scenes and the obsession with it ruined the book for me. Perhaps for middle age ladies with many cats, the sex scenes are a necessity but the book could have been so much better without them. The character development was so weak that I have no idea why the main characters felt in love with each other apart from the physical attraction.

From this author I expected more but perhaps I am not the right audience.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

Historical romance in Victorian England, America, France, book 3 of the Rules for Heiresses series. Bronwyn, the younger sister of the duke from the previous book is now some sort of female spy known as the Kestrel, and she’s en route to America on her brother’s ship to give a warning of an abduction attempt on the president. Her brother’s best friend and former spy is also on board the ship and aggravated by her silly debutante behavior. Meanwhile, they’re both intensely attracted to each other despite their adversarial relationship. The spy/action-adventure part definitely gets the adrenaline going for these two, leading to lots of steamy scenes where their instincts have taken over logic and control. Seriously, lots of passion in this one. And then of course, the danger of it all and figuring out how everyone will end of up safe and content at the end will keep the pages turning for you.

Lady Bronwyn Chase is a lot more complex than she appears. None in her family or society would believe the lengths she will go to for the cause she supports.

Valentine Medford, the Duke of Thornbury is supposed to be retired from his work for the Crown, but he is still hinting for the spy known as The Kestrel.

This is an action packed, steamy historical romance with great characters. Both our protagonists are exceptionally clever, inventive and commited to their work. Unfortunately that is their biggest stumbling block. The sparks never stop flying between them.

This book is part of a series. While you don't need to have read the previous ones to enjoy this one, it would help you to understand our heroine's motives.

I loved it.