A beautiful historical romance set in the backdrop of the holiday season but is so much more than a holiday novel.

Lady Daphne may not be married and may be considered to old in society eyes (which is ridiculous when you think of how young she truly is) but she is not a wallflower. She feels forgotten by her family at times and at other times a burden. She is quiet but has a kind and brave heart. Her ultimate goal is to purchase property so that it can be converted into a home for unwed Mothers. She wants to honour a young woman who died and pursue this dream of helping others as she has been given a high place both with her status and her finances in society. The only drawback? Someone else wants the same property – the Duke of Southart. Who also happens to be the man that she has had a huge crush on despite her family despising him. Paul has quite the reputation, some if it earned and some of it unfairly bestowed upon him. He grew up with his Father hating him and only became the Duke by chance when his brother and Father died. His Father made it his life goal to torment Paul, even continuing to do so beyond the grave.

These two are brought together again over the property and Lady Daphne’s stolen journal that contains secrets that could destroy her family. We watch as they work through their past pain, open their hearts to each other and truly trust each other with their secrets and pain. You find yourself hoping and praying that they can not only find a way together but to also find forgiveness and acceptance of their relationship from her family.

This is a beautiful story of healing, faith and tied into an well written, suspenseful plot full of twists and turns. I loved every moment.

I enjoyed this holiday romance with a twist of "Home Alone". Lady Daphne Hallsworth is left behind at home among all the excitement of leaving for the country but she uses this time alone to think about her future and the handsome Paul Barstowe, the Duke of Somerset.

I knew as this series progressed that Paul was going to get his own story; I honestly didn't know how his story would turn out. I thought that this was a very well developed romance between him and Daphne, with very strong characters and a fitting part of the series!

Fairly predictable plot with a few twists to hold your attention and well-rounded, charming characters. The time period felt right without being obtrusive. Recommend.

I couldn't get into this book unfortunately, I'm not sure if it is the writing style or maybe just the characters.

I would be willing to try another book by the same author, this one just was not for me.

I have loved absolutely every book from this author so far, and was so excited to read Paul and Daphne's story. It is however the weakest thus far.

Daphne gets left behind at Christmas accidentally and the n also gets her journal stolen. Paul agrees to help her find it as it contains some scandalous secrets.

There is also a story line where they are both trying to secure the same property for their own charities.

Basically, the ideas for this book are great and I liked the characters, but something just felt missing for me. I really enjoy this authors writing style and did not have a problem reading it at all, it just wasn`t as enjoyable. I think that the whole property for the charity plot line ended up being an afterthought in the end. It was kind of a tool to get some tension between the Paul and Daphne, then didn`t really end up being a big deal. Also, I found Paul`s angst at the end to be kind of overkill.

If you have read the first 3 in this series, I would absolutely recommend this. Definitely don`t read this one first though.

An enchanting read. Paul and Daphne we're a great couple. Loved the invisible concept as I often feel like that.

The sparks fly between the two main characters. This story has colorful characters that are lots of fun!

Lady Daphne Hallworth and Lord Paul Barstowe the second son of the Duke of Southart family used to be friends. As Daphne grew up she never forgot Paul but also realized she could never be his friend like before since Paul and her brother were at odds. Sixteen years later Daphne is all grown up and wanting to do things on her own. As Daphne is getting ready to leave for the Christmas holidays with her family she is suddenly left all alone in the house with her family gone. Daphne is upset at first but takes it all in stride she isn’t going to let it ruin her holiday. As Daphne plans what she is going to do and spends her time in a park with her journal a young boy takes her journal. Daphne is devastated. She must get her journal back because it contains secrets and desires that no one knows about plus could ruin not only her but her family. Daphne enlists the help of Paul who is now Duke of Southart. As Daphne and Paul spend time together looking for the boy and her journal their attraction blossoms into a stronger love despite knowing her family will protest against them. Can their love stop an old family feud plus survive hidden secrets that both Daphne and Paul must face together?
What a wonderful story bringing the magic and heart of Christmas to two people that not only find miracles but love during the holiday! The story is told sweetly but with lots of heart. Sure there is a lot going on: being left behind by family, stealing, salacious writings in a journal, intrigue, hidden identities, good intentions and love. The book moves quite beautifully without getting bogged down. Paul the sarcastic, witty, cynical hero despite his harsh behavior can’t help but get caught up in Daphne’s schemes and mishaps going along with them all willingly. Sure he did things to Daphne’s family which were unforgivable Daphne never held it against him. Plus Paul is written in a very unflattering light too. That’s what was so great about Daphne. She had such a forgiving heart and truly cared for Paul despite everything that happened between her family and him. Their behavior of him also was mean and is a little off-putting but in a sense understandable. Still it’s hard to take because they should be more forgiving. The story is nonetheless enjoyable and well worth the read!

This book has me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I laughed and cried as my heart broke and rejoiced with every chapter read. The hero is the notorious bad boy in previous books hses the man you love to hate but cant help but love. She has loved him since she was 9 years old even though she knows hes a rakehell. Hell do anything to help her and shes determined to be a spinster. This story is not only well written but a fantastic read as well. As always, excellent writing Ms. McGregor

Daphne’s and Paul’s story is fun and enticing to read. I didn’t want to put this book down for one moment. It’s amazing how Daphne’s intentions backfires and leaves her and Paul head over heels with each other. Loved this story and can’t wait to read more from this author. I recommend this book to all lovers of romance!

I loved this book. A dearly loved sister and a despised man who recently inherited a Dukedom....
People are never what you see on the surface. Good girls could have secrets and reprobates have redemptive qualities. In fact, the ill treatment of this Duke in particular was at times difficult to swallow. Paul was a decent man who had reasons for his past behavior and some actions in particular. He was kind and loved the people in his life.
Daphne was a younger sister and was born protected and treated fondly as most younger sisters of the time were. Unfortunately she also kept a diary in which she wrote both secrets and thoughts about others. When this diary is stolen and the reputations of all involved are threatened Paul comes to Daphne's rescue. Paul's love for Daphne and his loyalty to past friends causes others to join his side during a difficult time. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a Paul on their side.

Normally one I’d be all over plotwise, but I think this is one of those books where one really benefits from having read the prior ones, as the backstory angst played a rather heavy role. Without that knowledge things just dragged a bit.

Sweet story about a young female who gets left behind her family estate, loses a journal that can make life scandalous if it was read or published and her charming Duke of a neighbor who offers to help her. I enjoyed it.

First time reading Jenna Macgregor and I completely enjoyed reading this book. A cute and romantic story about redemption and fated love set during the holidays. The characters were good, the plot entertaining, the conflict enjoyable, and the love story was sweet. This was so full of intrigue and suspense.
Paul was a wonderful male protagonist. I just fell in love with him. He was so wonderful and protective of Daphne that I was completely smitten. Daphne was such a warm loving person that it is easily to be enchanted with her.
I can't wait for the next installment. The author does a fantastic job of writing that the reader is not confused. I so enjoyed reading more of the prior characters and getting a glimpse of their continued story.
his book was absolutely delightful. I could not put it down and stayed up much too late saying "just one more chapter".

~~Reviewed by Shell~~

Well, what can I say, this book was brilliant and one that I can highly recommend? This is the first time I have read this author and she is one that I will be reading again.

At some point in our lives we’ve kept a journal (diary) where we put all our secrets, and could you imagine if the journal went into the wrong hands it could be devastating for your family, this was the dilemma that faced Daphne, and Daphne being the feisty woman that she is had a plan to get the journal back…but as we know no matter how much you plan something will go wrong or in Daphne’s case she comes face to face with Paul who was a friend of her brother’s.

I simply adored Daphne and Paul, and my heart just melted when Paul called Daphne Moonbeam (sigh). Of course, the path to their HEA wasn’t easy and at times this was tested.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

I will give 5/5 stars, if I could I would love to give more.

Sometimes you want like a book but it’s just impossible.

The premise was quite good, in my opinion. Daphne Hallworth, a Lady setting herself for a spinster’s life, has been left behind on her house while her family went away to celebrate Christmas. To make things worse her personal journal was stolen and she is afraid of the repercussions to her family if her secrets end up being exposed. And who better than the rakehell Duke of Southart to come help her in her time of need?

For what I gather that is the main plot line and in mine opinion that should have been it. But there are a dozen other secondary plot lines that just make everything overcomplicated and sloppy.

The pace was completely off and we were given far too much too soon in the romantic and the erotic department. Not that the more steamy scenes weren’t nicely done, because they were the redeeming feature of the book, but they were delivered too soon and didn’t let the tension build up.

As for the romantic side it was also just too soon, too much. That matched with the insistent proclamation of the characters feelings and their not so original and border line repetitive thoughts made the narrative stale and just plain aggravating.

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke was my first foray in Janna MacGregor and I had a difficult time falling into the writing. I adore the trope of the forbidden brother's best friend, especially when there is animosity, and I figured that mixed in with the historical genre would be a hit, but for some reason I didn't feel the raw attraction between the two (and that's really needed for the pay-off of the love-hate to work). The connection never had any substance to sink my teeth into and unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I'll certainly try Janna in the future as I hope this title was just an anomaly.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This book was a hard one to put down. This was so full of intrigue and suspense. I just loved it. Ms. MacGregor really does a fantastic job in capturing the reader's attention. The plot of the book just flowed so smoothly that it felt like I was watching a movie in my head. The plot was such an original one that it really was a joy to read. It was not one that has done before (at least not that I have read a similar one). Some authors seem to write the same story over and over but with different character names and a slight change to the plot. Not here. I so enjoyed this.

The book was written in my favorite dual POV format. Being able to read the character's thoughts really helps me, the reader, to understand the character's actions so much better. This is especially important with reading historicals. The morals then are so much different than those of today's. Understanding some of Paul's actions would have been so hard to decipher without such insight.

Paul was a wonderful male protagonist. I just fell in love with him. He was so wonderful and protective of Daphne that I was completely smitten. Daphne was such a warm loving person that it is easily to be enchanted with her.

The only disappointment, it is over!!!! I can't wait for the next installment. I will probably re-read the entire series over again after it is over. I will say this, do you have to read the prior books to enjoy this one, no. The author does a fantastic job of writing that the reader is not confused. I so enjoyed reading more of the prior characters and getting a glimpse of their continued story.

I so highly recommend this historical romance.

I started this year with a fun, little Regency romance. I'm fond of these books. This one has a lot of twists and turns. Lady Daphne Hallworth has been in love with Paul, the new Duke of Southart, For most of her life. Paul was estranged from his father and tried to get his father attention by being a rake and a scoundrel. After his father's death, the family lawyer has been giving Paul letters, mostly about past debts Paul needs to pay. The last letter, however, contains information that devastates Paul.
At Christmas, Lady Daphne's family leaves London for their estates. They also leave her behind, each part of the family believing she is with another. This allows Daphne and Paul to meet again and reestablish their feeling for each other. Both want to establish charities in the name of a dead relative. They bid on the same piece of property for their charities.
Add in a gambling club and gossip paper and a missing diary and you have a very convoluted story. It made for several hours of enjoyable reading.
I read this copy of the book for this review on NetGalley.