Lady Daphne Hallworth and her family are about to leave town for the holidays, but in all the confusion, Daphne is left home alone. Deciding that she has had enough of going unnoticed, Daphne plans to stay home and enjoy Christmas alone. She is out taking a stroll when her most prized possession is stolen... a journal in which she records her most private thoughts and desires. Daphne is desperate to get it back, so desperate that she risks ruining her reputation by chasing the thief into a gentleman's gambling establishment.

Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, is immediately enraptured by the beauty trying to get into Reynold's, a men's only gambling hall. When he realizes who she is, Paul immediately rushes to her aid. Paul was once Daphne's brother's best friend, but past mistakes destroyed any love her brother had for him. Paul isn't sure Daphne will accept his help, but is relieved when she decides to put her trust in him. Could this be the second chance Paul was looking for? Can he prove to Daphne and her family that he is a changed man; a better man? And what will come of his budding relationship with Daphne?

I must admit, that I have only read one book in author Janna MacGregor's captivating CAVENSHAM HEIRESSES series. It was the first novel, THE BAD LUCK BRIDE. I have been meaning to pick up books two and three, THE BRIDE WHO GOT LUCKY and THE LUCK OF THE BRIDE. Instead I skipped ahead to book four, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE DUKE. I do feel it can be read as a standalone, but there are some details I was missing but not having read books two and three, so I will definitely be picking those up soon. Back to THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE DUKE... it was just my kind of read. I love the sister falling for the brother's best friend scenario. Paul did some bad things in the past, but he more than makes up for his actions in this story. He is strong, stalwart, and sexy. Daphne and he made the perfect couple. She is witty, wicked (in a good way) and has such a big heart. Daphne helps Paul learn to be a better man, although to be honest, he has always been one. I love that Daphne surprises Paul by taking charge like she does. If it was up to him, he probably would have resisted longer, in order to be a gentleman. THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE DUKE is a keeper. I cannot wait for book five in the CAVENSHAM HEIRESSES series, ROGUE MOST WANTED.
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars!!

This was a very sweet book...

Daphne is left behind by her family at the holidays. Paul has been her friend from childhood, but estranged from her family.

There are secrets here, and things to be discovered. Watching these two work together, and those secrets come out, was a lot of fun. A great weekend read!

I loved this book! Daphne was such a great main character, and I liked getting to see Paul slowly redeem himself. I haven't read the other books in the series, so it was hard to understand some of the family dynamics, but otherwise everything was great. I loved how passionate Daphne was, I only wish she'd kept a *little* more of her personality from her youth.

A very enticing storyline from the Regency Period of England. The young Duke of Southart, Paul, is trying to deal with his grief as well as the new responsibilities of being the Duke of Southart.

His grief is from the death of his father and his brother. He is grieved. Not so much for his father but very grieved for his brother’s passing.

From his younger days he has been a free spirit whom spent his time gambling, seducing women and just generally acting poorly. But now he must reform his ways and establish himself as the Duke of Southart and thus gain respect from the community as he takes his place in society.

Then there is Lady Daphne Hallworth, a young woman who is dealing with her own grief and her own issues of society. Her sister has died and Lady Daphne is cut to her core with grief.

Both the Duke and Lady Daphne want to do something to honor their lost siblings. The Duke wants to establish a hospital to help fight the diseases that are decimating the population of England. Lady Daphne wants to open a home for unwed mothers.

The Dukes desire is “Noble,” but Lady Daphne’s desire to open this home is against all societal acceptance. But that is all the more reason to open a home.

The underlying current of the story is that Lady Daphne and the Duke of Southart have known each other their entire lives. The lady has loved the Duke the whole time. But the Duke has been blinded by his own misguided youth.

Will they both establish the charities they want to? Will they find love in each others presence? Will they be able to overcome the grief and issues of societal mistakes that seek to unravel their reputations?

The research is well done, the writing handles all the Regency decorum well and the love that grows between the two is very much true to life.

They are a few scandalous things that MacGregor includes, such as the sexual promiscuity of the time. But while that seems out of place it really isn’t. Sex has always been something that brings ruination to many a decent person.

All in all this is a delightful story, I trust you will enjoy it.

I very much enjoyed the romance of Paul and Daphne! Paul doesn’t have the best reputation, but Daphne has always loved him from afar. Her family forgets her at Christmas and when her beloved journal with all her secrets and fantasies is stolen, Paul assists her and she begins to show him he is a good person.

This book was hard to put down. The romance was sweet and the adventures they go on to get the journal back are fun. Overall, a great historical romance.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

I know it’s early to be reading Christmas-related books, but really – is it ever too early to read Christmas stories? ❤️

Lady Daphne Hallworth quickly became one of my all-time favourite characters. She tried her best to be “the perfect daughter/sister/etc” and she shoved all her feelings in a diary. It actually sounds like something I would do, with the exception that I’ve tried to write a diary several times, but I always end up forgetting to write in it. I personally like to lay at night thinking about what I would write, and sometimes even say it out loud, in a whispered voice, just to put those feelings out there. So I can imagine what Daphne felt when her diary was stolen – as a result of a good action, which is even worse!

But, rest assure dear reader, she is not alone. In comes Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, former friend of Daphne’s brother, and her former (and current!) crush. Paul acted badly in the past and that caused him to alienate his friends, but Daphne never truly believed he was a horrible person, instead she believed he was someone who had made mistakes, but who was truly a good person (which, of course, it’s true).

Daphne is left alone at Christmas and Paul is the one that is going to make her company and help her retrieve her diary. Paul and his Moonbeam.

I loved their relationship, Paul was so sweet with Daphne, and all he wanted was to help her. Even the impediments that might have gotten in the way, it was all resolved and I loved how strong and determined Daphne was, and how Paul tried to be his best version, for himself, for Daphne and for those that now depended on him. That’s one of my favourite things about the book, Paul’s awakening to become someone… not different per se, but someone with new objectives and a different view of life and of what really matters. And that’s also what brings Daphne’s family and friends back to being friends with Paul. They see how he’s improved, and that he is trying, he’s doing his best to become better, and he deserves the vote of confidence.

After reading this book, I decided never to have a diary with me in public and, if I ever do write in a journal, to have it locked at all times, because I don’t know if I could handle the stress of losing or having it robbed, with all my private thoughts. Daphne’s fight and endurance to act the right way not just for her, but for her family and those that might be affected by what she had written, was inspiring.

The Christmas ambience helped the story’s redemption arc, and it was lovely to have the beautiful descriptions of winter and Christmas decorations. I do love a good Christmas romance.

I received this book as an advanced readers copy,I loved this book so much. I could not help but to be hooked and there is a new plot in every chapter which made it such an enjoyable read.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from SMP via NetGalley. This is the first book I’ve read from the this author and I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed the characters and the era. I don’t typically read these kinds of romances but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a well written story. Paul was a misguided lost man who did do some bad things but he’s making up for them now. Daphane is what back then you would call a wallflower. She tries to hide and is still troubled over a tragedy that happened in her childhood. Paul was her brothers friend who she looked up to and harbored a crush on. Then a falling out between the men left her searching the sidelines trying to catch glimpses of him at social gatherings. I’ll definitely look into more books from this author and maybe more era books than my typical contemporary romance.

“Sometimes the heart does what it wants no matter what common sense says.”

Since the tragic death of her sister, Lady Daphne Hallworth has done her best to not be a burden on her family. Shrinking away and becoming a wallflower at various functions, Lady Daphne has perhaps done too good of a job hiding away…especially when her family packs up and leaves for the Christmas holiday without her. Left alone to her own devices, she is determined to embrace her spinsterhood and start working on obtaining her own townhouse and staff, as well as finalizing her dreams of opening a home for unwed mothers. But when an act of kindness causes her most prized position to be stolen, Daphne is put in the path of an unlikely hero coming to her rescue.

Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, has been known as a scoundrel throughout the ton. But when his brother falls ill and passes, this rake of a Duke pledges to mend his ways in order to honor his brother’s dying request. When he spies a beautiful lady at a most unscrupulous gambling establishment, not only is he shocked to discover it is a former childhood acquaintance, but also the sister of his former best friend. Seeing a way to both rescue the fair lady and perhaps get back in the family’s good graces, Paul volunteers his services to assist Daphne in her quest to retrieve her journal.

As Daphne and Paul spend more and more time together, Daphne is finding it harder to hide the fact that she has been in love with him since she was a child…and Paul is discovering that perhaps his heart is not as hard as stone after all…

When I first started reading The Good, the Bad & the Duke, I was thinking to myself this was yet another spinster heroine and rakish hero romance…been there, read that over and over. But as the pages turned, I discovered there is so much more to the romance between Daphne and Paul. These are two lonely people that so desperately want to love and be loved, but both put on a mask of indifference hiding this need from those around them. That is until they take a chance on each other…and then, dear reader, that is when the story ignites!

This is the first book I’ve read by Janna MacGregor, and I loved it so much, that I ran out and bought the first installment to this series! While this is the 4th book in the series, it can be read alone. Highly recommend and look forward to reading more!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋
Oh , I’ve waited and hoped for Paul’s redemption, and him to be seen as he truly is , not how he believes he is .
Hoped that he could earn the respect and love of a good woman , someone who would fight for him , and who would see him for the strong , honourable man I knew him to be deep down.
Janna has given him a brilliant story an adventure with his perfect partner, a feisty woman who won’t let him back down and give up , She’s awesome.
Daphne is all I wanted to see and more ,in his life .
Paul needs her , and together they make for the best so far that I’ve read in The Cavensham Heiresses romances .
A wonderful and addictive book you really won’t want to finish .
I received an advance copy of this book and chose to submit a review

I have not read any other books in this series, so I can't compare this book to the others in the series. I had difficulty getting into this story because I found Daphne to be a paradox and not believable. I felt the relationship between Daphne and Paul stilted, especially early in the book. I enjoy a happy ending, but with a little less angst.

I was given an ARC for my honest opinion.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.

I enjoyed this regency romance. The circumstances made for a plot out of lines with Polite Society which was interesting. I liked both the main characters. The ending is heart melting.

However, I forgot what this was about and had to reread the ending. So while I enjoyed it, this won't be in my favorites.

Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, and Lady Daphne Hallworth are the stars of the 4th book in The Cavensham Heiresses Series. This is a standalone, HEA, historical romance with sizzle and slow burn.
This story has great character development, redemption, forgiveness, touches of humor, interesting supporting cast, human and animal. A nicely developed romance that is emotionally heart wrenching. Loved it, and look forward to the next in this series.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A great historical romance that was able to keep my interest from beginning to end. Our heroine is in love, from an early age, with our young, second son, of a Duke. Move forward 16 years and we find our second son has become the Duke after the death of his older brother and father which is a title he does not want. In addition, owing to his life style up to that point, he has alienated the heroine's family and extended family. Is it possible for the heroine and hero to rekindle their love and rejoin severed family relationships? Do miracles still happen? You will be rooting for this couple from the beginning to the end of this excellent story.

I have rated this book 4 stars and recommend it to you.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

Janna MacGregor knows how to write a book. Fast-paced, terrific characters, and a believeable storyline. I would read anything she writes.

The Good, The Bad, And The Duke by Janna MacGregor is a phenomenal historical romance. Once again Ms. MacGregor has impressed me with her story-telling abilities and enchanted me with her lovable characters. Paul became the Duke of Southart when his beloved brother died, followed by his father. Daphne is the sister of Paul's ex-best friend. When Daphne accidentally gets left behind when the family leaves for the country and she gets in trouble, Paul swoops in to help her in return for a favor. Paul and Daphne's story is loaded with drama, humor, action, steamy sex and suspense. This book captured me from page one and held me captive until the end. I loved reading The Good, The Bad, And The Duke and look forward to reading my next book by Janna MacGregor. The Good, The Bad, And The Duke is book 4 of The Cavensham Heiresses but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Daphne and Paul new each other from childhood. There was a falling out. Paul wants to build a hospital to honor his brother. Daphne wants to build a home for unwed mothers. They both want the same piece of property. Daphne agrees to let Paul have the property if he helps her get back her diary that was stolen. It contains information that cannot get out.

Good story. It probably would have been better if I had had read the other books but it can definitely be read by itself.

Romance, intrigue and forgiveness are all part of the journey that Paul and Daphne find themselves on.
Janna is a masterful writer who engages you from page one and makes you feel like you're part of the story. I can't wait for her next book.

3.5 stars

I need to confess that I haven't read any of the rest of the series. In some cases this doesn't matter but I think when an author is reclaiming a semi villian it's probably best to know his back story. It seems that Paul has been misjudged and blamed unnecessarily for actions in previous books and that Daphne was the only one that was in his corner. Most of the book was great but for me Daphne lost a little of her sparkle towards the end and even though Paul's would be sacrifice was noble I did think it dragged a bit towards the denouement. I don't see myself reading the others in the series.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGallery in exchange for my honest review

I received a free copy of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE DUKE by Janna MacGregor through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Lady Daphne Hallworth has spent years being good. She has only shared her true feelings and fantasies with her journal. When a street urchin steals her reticule with her journal inside, she’s desperate to get it back. An old childhood friend, Paul Barstowe, the Duke of Southart, gets entangled in the search for the stolen diary. Extra pressure is applied when a newspaper publishes a tawdry entry from the journal.

The good is that I was excited to read a Regency Romance with a defined goal and a clearly established storyline. This genre, in the past, has been less lurid than bodice rippers. It was more about courtship. The bad, for me, is that this book was extremely sexual. Lady Daphne has explicit fantasies, and most of the interactions between the two primary characters were sexually laden. There was no attention paid to the societal expectations of behavior during that era. There is a brief respite about mid-book where the story progresses, but it, too soon, returns to explicit sex. Also, none of the men are likeable; even the vicar is a letch. Only Lady Daphne’s brother seems to be honorable, and he’s a jerk.