Unexpected and a new author for me. And I loved it. So well written that you can’t help but be glued to the story and not want to put it down, or to ever end. 10 years ago Emmaline had to choose between two suitors, Aiden and Andre, who just happened to also be best friends. When Andrew suddenly withdraws his proposal and leaves the country she marries Aiden and builds a life with him. Now many years later her husband has passed and she is still morning him now even though life has to move on. She has had to return London in the middle of the London-Season. Andrew too has returned to London and now thrown into each other’s lives and now both of their worlds get thrown for a loop. I don’t want to give any detail away. This is one you have to discover for yourself. I promise it’s worth it.
The story is packed with wonderful back stories , great characters, and wondrous chemistry. I am now a fan and can’t wait to read more by Christine Donovan.
You’re going to love this adventure!

In many ways, this is a sad story of loss, betrayal, and conflicting feelings. Attracted to two men when she debuted in society, Emmeline chooses, Aiden Fitzpatrick. As it happened, coming between two men who are best friends, can only end in sorrow. In an effort to spare her, Andrew concocts a story about Aiden's fatal accident, which eventually backfires on him. With guilt holding him back, Andrew waits for six long years to once again approach Emmeline, discovering that the attraction between them is as alive and fresh as when they first met. Unfortunately, as Andrew and Emmeline explore the depth of their relationship, an ambitious mother will do whatever it takes to have her daughter marry the duke. With Emmeline coming into the crosshairs of a killer, it is Andrew who takes the brunt of the damage done, but unearthing the truth of the attacks takes strategy and stealth. Fortunately, the truth is revealed, and the novel comes to a successful conclusion.

In many ways, this is a sad story of loss, betrayal, and conflicting feelings. Attracted to two men when she debuted in society, Emmeline chooses, Aiden Fitzpatrick. As it happened, coming between two men who are best friends, can only end in sorrow. In an effort to spare her, Andrew concocts a story about Aiden's fatal accident, which eventually backfires on him. With guilt holding him back, Andrew waits for six long years to once again approach Emmeline, discovering that the attraction between them is as alive and fresh as when they first met. Unfortunately, as Andrew and Emmeline explore the depth of their relationship, an ambitious mother will do whatever it takes to have her daughter marry the duke. With Emmeline coming into the crosshairs of a killer, it is Andrew who takes the brunt of the damage done, but unearthing the truth of the attacks takes strategy and stealth. Fortunately, the truth is revealed, and the novel comes to a successful conclusion. I received a copy of this romance as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Ten years later....

Ten years ago, when Andrew was nineteen and Emmaline was eighteen, they met at a ball and it was infatuation at first sight. But Andrew's best friend, Aiden also saw Emmaline and ended up marrying her when Andrew withdrew his proposal to her and left for India. Aiden was jealous of Andrew and there were problems with their marriage and he died.

Now, ten years later, Emmaline is a widow, long out of mourning and Andrew is back in London for the season.
He's now a duke with him as a marriage prize. Everyone feels very young and immature.

Aiden and Andrew are friends who fall in love with the same woman at first sight, Emmaline. Actually, everyone is very very young, and you hardly get to see any relationship between any of them develop. We are told through summary that Emmaline loves both Aiden and Andrew, and she is about to accept Andrew when he bows out of the race. Why? We aren't told! It's so frustrating. And then Aiden and Emmaline go on to have a good marriage, but struggle when Emmaline has a miscarriage. Aiden harbors jealousy still that Emmaline ever loved Andrew, which frankly, is immature since she married Aiden. The jealousy leads to an idiotic horse race, and Aiden dies. Fast forward ten years, and Emmaline and Andrew suddenly are desperate to be together.

I really wanted to like this book, but there just wasn't enough character development. Why on Earth would Emmaline trust Andrew again after he proposed and then took it away for no reason? And what is so alluring about Emmaline? If I had more answers, I could have enjoyed this book more.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emmeline must decide between two best friends who to marry. The story takes us through that very tough decision and into the events that follow. This is heartbreaking because her choice does early in life, leaving her on her own. Years later, she has a second chance with his best friend but there is so much baggage that the outcome isn't exactly an easy road. A short yet well paced story that will have you grabbing for your tissues.

This is the second book of this historical romance series but takes place at more or less the same time as the first. Because of that you will meet several of the same characters, but they don't really spoil either of their stories.
It is a slightly steamy read with wonderful characters. There are a lot of emotions both tears and laughter. The danger comes as a surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of the series.
Good fun.

3.5 Stars
Ten years have passed since Emmeline Fitzpatrick tearfully debated which of two suitors to marry. She chose Mr. Aiden Fitzpatrick after the other gentleman, Andrew Hampton, unexpectedly withdrew his proposal. Four years later, Aiden died in a tragic hunting accident, and a heartbroken Emmeline vanished from London Society. Now, with her cousin’s young widow under her care, Emmeline is thrust into another London Season—and face-to-face with the man she once might have chosen. Andrew Hampton, now the Fifth Duke of Blackstone and her late husband’s former best friend, has returned from the West Indies with lingering guilt over Aiden’s death and a heart still tethered to Emmeline.
The second book in the series & it’s easily read on its own even though characters from the previous book do appear. I liked Andrew & Emmeline but didn’t love them, that all important chemistry was missing for me. I found there was a lot of angst & soul searching, especially from Emmeline & it did begin to grate on me. However I do like a second chance romance & I did enjoy the book but I wouldn’t read it a second time
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

Pursuing the Duke is the second book in the Widows of Mayfair. I did not read the first of the series, so I have nothing to compare in style and presentation.

The story begins with Emmeline being presented at her first ball and a group of friends talking about finding brides when they are ready. But once Aiden and Andrew see Emmeline, they are instantly taken with her. It is not long before she receives two quick marriage proposals, which is not unusual in historical romances, with Andrew withdrawing his for the sake of the friendship. Emmeline is happy and sad to not have to choose between the two men she loves.

Several years later Aiden and Emmeline are grieving the loss of a child after she miscarries. While recovering they are invited to a house party. Aiden for some unknown reason is jealous of Andrew. His success and his love for Emmeline cause him to take it out on Emmeline, who appears to be happy in her marriage despite everything. A horrible accident happens when Aiden who is drunk races against Andrew and is thrown from the horse and dies.

Andrew who has also been struggling after withdrawing his marriage proposal to Emmeline, lashes out in guilt at Emmeline. They are parted again for several years in grief, until once again invited to a house party. Will they rediscover their love for one another, or will someone decide to put Emmeline in danger so Andrew can marry another?

There is much angst in this story. It does not bother me since it is interesting to see where the characters will end up. What did make me wonder, was the story seems to be flat. The first few chapters are written quickly as if the narrator is repeating a story. I stuck with it and was rewarded for my efforts, but it did not leave me satisfied until the ending. The book is only 243 pages. In my opinion, the story could have been fleshed out a bit more to make the reader care about the characters more. I realize there was a lot of story to tell, but maybe it could have been longer or made into two books. Still worth reading.

I did not enjoy this book. The pacing was odd and it felt like there was a lack of organization. The use of excess monologues by all the characters was not necessary and made the meaningful monologues less meaningful. There was no flow to this book which made some many parts hard to get through. I kept waiting for it to get better, but I feel that it got worse. I also did not like that so much conflict got thrown in at the very end for what felt like no reason. But again, that goes back to the pacing and flow.

Thank you NetGalley. Emmeline is having her first season and falls for two of her suitors. They are best friends so Andrew steps aside. She marries Aiden. They are happy but she has a mischarge and he takes it quite hard. They go to a house party which his friends attend also. Aiden drinks quite a lot. The friends go out on a hunt but instead of going with rest they go alone. Aiden is thrown by the horse which belongs to Andrew and dies. Then Andrew goes into business with his other two friends. Emmeline still loves him and he loves her. It takes ten years before they can come together. Then he is cornered by a mother to marry their daughter. Will they ever get together?

being in love ended up costing more than one persons heart in this book. but our characters all made choices. many regretted but often felt the choices were a must for their situation.
Emmeline loves two men. one pulls away so she marries the other. then her love dies. and so she is just about coming to terms with her lot. until family ties cause her to need to be amongst it all again. and thats when her old, other loves comes back. and questions and answers and hearts need answering. can they? should they? will they?
the friendship group was a good theme throughout this book and that of the other series. this is part of a larger whole but easily works on its own merit.
an enjoyable read and one that felt realistic in how complex and nuances these things sometimes have to be or turn out to be. love isnt always easy, kind or straight forward. but it can be. it can be.

I enjoyed this book! I’ve read the first book in this series previously - this book has overlapping characters, but could definitely be read as a stand-alone. I thought Emmeline and Andrew were both well developed characters and I loved that they had a strong friend group that they turned to in times of need. Second chance love stories aren’t my favorite trope, but I think this was done well and the storyline was interesting. The dialogue was smoothly written and easy to follow. My only real complaint was that Emmeline seemed to get a bit over-dramatic and then feel sorry for herself over things she couldn’t control. Otherwise, I enjoyed all other parts of this book!

Overall, this was a good book and I’m looking forward to the next books in this series and what happens next with their group of friends! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free advanced copy - this is my honest and voluntary review.

Ugh this book, a love triangle that resolves itself quite conveniently after a lot of heartache and pain.

This book was definitely not for me. I found the premise and little icky and the actions of the 3 people involved in immature (they were only 19).

#netgalley #PursuingaDuke

This story of a love lost is a written beautifully. Christine Donavan does a fantastic job of telling and weaving a story that will grab your heart! Free ARC for honest review-NetGalley.

3.5 stars.

A NetGalley ARC

An enjoyable read with a nice tomance between the characters however there are a few errors in the copy I read that made the reading experience a bit jarring.

Emmline meets Andrew and Aiden in her first season.
She falls in love with both men and they both court her.
But she can only marry one man.
As she chooses, there is passion and heartache.
Changes occur in all three lives with the outcome uncertain.
A good storyline with romance but I personally did not like the idea of two men left hanging.

Emmeline is in love with two men, best friends Aiden and Andrew. She chooses Aiden. When he dies in a freak accident, she waits many years for Andrew to come back to England to pursuit him. They must overcome many obstacles to finally be together. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.