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

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this novel prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating. A Duke in Time is a well written Regency novel set in the glittering world of the ton in Regency London. The pacing pulled me in from the first page to the last. This is the first book in Ms. MacGregor’s newest series, and it certainly starts the series out on a high note. Katherine is an endearing character with all the qualities I most admire in a Regency heroine. Her heart is as wide as the ocean, and she exhibits an amazing amount of loyalty. Her shock and pain when she finds out her late husband had two other wives tugged at my soul. I could feel her anguish over wanting the hero but believing she had too many secrets that could destroy him if they ever came out. Christian, Duke of Randford, is an amazing hero. His tenderness and determination to protect Katherine and the other two wives of his late rogue of a brother, won my heart, and his desire to right his late brothers wrongs is admirable. At first, I feared this book would be an enemies to lovers story which isn’t my favorite troupe, but the romance between Katherine and Christian is lovely, and I truly enjoyed them as a couple and wanted them to find their happy ending. If you enjoy Regency romance with engaging characters and an emotionally charged plot, then you will love A Duke in Time as much as I did. I can’t wait to read the next book in the Widows Rules series. Happy reading!

I loved, love, loved reading A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor, book one in her Widow Rules series. How does one handle the news that your husband not only suffered an accidental death but that he had married two other women? Katherine Vareck handles it by taking the other two wives under her wing, providing a temporary home and establishing a bond and friendship with them. To make sure she doesn’t lose her business and all she has been working for, especially if word of the three wives leaks out, she seeks out her husband’s brother Christian, Duke of Randford, for assistance. Christian is not happy to be pulled into these problems, especially after years of avoiding his hedonistic family, but knows he has to do something to help these women. Working together and forming a friendship, Katherine and Christian soon recognize the magnetic pull and sizzling chemistry they share. When an opportunity to partner in a business venture brings them even closer, Katherine and Christian will have to face their pasts and secrets before they are able to share a love as strong as them. I was quite impressed with the strength, warmth, and intelligence Katherine, Kat, possessed. She was a natural leader, taking charge of the other two wives, keeping them together, and finding ways to help. This was an extension of the work Kat was doing with her linen business, hiring women in need of a job, especially those supporting their families. It was these strengths that attracted Christian to Kat and Kat to Christian. He too was a leader and overly compassionate, wanting to find positions for the men who served with him against Napoleon, once they returned home. The world needs more people like these two. Ms. MacGregor, a talented author, wrote an amusing, entertaining, and emotional story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with humorous escapades, amusing banter, strong women, sizzling chemistry and endearing characters giving Katherine and Christian a chance at love, happiness, and a future together. I highly recommend A Duke in Time to other readers and look forward to the next book in this series. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Christian Vareck, former soldier, now Duke of Randford, returns to England to find he must settle his late (half) brother’s estate. At the solicitor’s office, he meets Katherine, Lady Merriweather Vareck, his brother’s widow, well, one of them. It turns out there are three. Christian and Kat are wonderful characters. They are both caring, good hearted people. Kat is a successful businesswoman who operates a linen workshop and an emporium where the goods are sold. She hires women who otherwise would have few if any options for respectable employment. In addition to his duties to the duchy, Christian wants to help the soldiers who served under him adjust to civilian life, including having a decent place to live and honest employment. He hates seeing them begging in the street. Working together, they begin to solve the dilemma Meri has left them; they come up with some ideas to help Christian’s men, and they fall in love. Along with Kat and Christian, the story is teeming with great characters. Kat’s companion Willa and Constance’s Aunt Ventia are delightful and devoted to taking care of Kat, Constance, and Beth. Wheatley and Morgan, Christian’s butler and valet, are indispensable to him. All four bring humor to the story. This is an interesting and engaging story. There are a lot of challenges, some surprises (good and bad), and a secret or two to be revealed. I enjoyed Kat and Christian’s story. I look forward to the rest of the series. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

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.