A Duke in Time: The Widow Rules

Janna MacGregor

Jun 2021 · The Widow Rules Book 1 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this eBook

"If...looking for something new with Austen’s spirit, humor, and dashing heroes, they can’t do better than MacGregor." - Entertainment Weekly

A Duke in Time is the first book in a three-story arc that will have you rooting for leading heroines, searching for lost dowries, and falling for swoon-worthy heroes.

Katherine Vareck is in for the shock of her life when she learns upon her husband Meri's accidental death that he had married two other women. Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is everything she's been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives.

Meri's far more upstanding brother, Christian, Duke of Randford has no earthly clue how to be of assistance. He spent the better part of his adult years avoiding Meri and the rest of his good-for-nothing family, so to be dragged back into the fold is...problematic. Even more so is the intrepid and beautiful Katherine, whom he cannot be falling for because she's Meri's widow. Or can he?

With a textile business to run and a strong friendship forming with Meri's two other wives, Katherine doesn't have time for much else. But there's something about the warm, but compellingly taciturn Christian that draws her to him. When an opportunity to partner in a business venture brings them even closer, they'll have to face their pasts if they want to share each other's hearts and futures.

Ratings and reviews

4 Stars! Aww! I love this story! It has such a unique storyline & I’ve never read a book like it before. This is the first book in a new series that has a HEA ending and can be read as a standalone. Katherine, the heroine, was likable and relatable. Christian, the hero & brother to a trigamist, was likable and I find myself wishing for a real life Christian of my own! I can NOT wait for the rest of the series! I definitely recommend this one! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one & REALLY can’t wait for the other wives books! Also - This book had me thinking of all the men that had gone away to fight only to come home with injuries and no job and that’s only IF they were ‘lucky’ enough to come home! *I received this book at no charge from NetGalley & I voluntarily left this review.*

This book is the first in a series and has an interesting premise with the heroine going to a reading of her late husband’s will and discovering that he had two other wives. The hero, an ex-soldier, has recently returned to England, and the last thing he wants is to deal with his dead half-brother’s shenanigans. Katherine is shocked to learn she was Meri’s first wife. When wives two and three have nowhere to go, Katherine offers them a home. Katherine, as a character, is likable, kind, and determined to make a success of her business despite her more humble beginnings and her back history, which led to her setting up a new home and life in London. The Duke, Meri’s half-brother, is an ex-soldier who wants to help other returned soldiers when they’re left with nothing after the war ends. He’s also attracted to Katherine, and he asks for her help to set up a business where ex-soldiers can regain their self-respect and earn a living. Unlike many other dukes, he is decent and kind and not a womanizer. What I loved about this story were the characters—both primary and secondary. Even Meri, the man who caused all the trouble with the three marriages, keeps doing unexpected things from the grave. Some characters did things that struck me as modern rather than historical, but I suspended my disbelief and enjoyed the read on the whole.

I liked this book but didn't like everything about it. To start I want to say that I did find the whole concept behind this series intriguing. While it wasn't a brand new idea, I had never come across it before in the historical romances that I have read, so I felt it had a freshness to it. I also really liked Katherine and Christian. Katherine was no shrinking violet and was quite spunky and as for Christian, he was just simply a great guy. Upstanding, without being stuffy and with a caring heart, I found him the very definition of swoon worthy. The chemistry and the sparks are sizzling and when these two get together things get very steamy. Now, what didn't I like so much? Well, this book is written very much in what I personally call the "Modern Historical" way, meaning the a lot of the pomp, social norms and typical behaviors of the time are completely ignored to let everything occur in a much more present day manner. I won't say I flat out hate this but it does impact my enjoyment of the book. Still, I felt this was a very good read and I look forward to reading more of this series. I am posting a frank, volitional review review.

About the author

Janna MacGregor was born and raised in the bootheel of Missouri. She is the author of the Cavensham Heiresses series, which begins with The Bad Luck Bride.

Janna credits her darling mom for introducing her to the happily-ever-after world of romance novels. Janna writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Kansas City with her very own dashing rogue, and two smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pugs. She loves to hear from readers.