Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart, had gambled a lot and lost the respect of friends he had grown up with. After his brother's and father's deaths left him the duchy, he is determined to reform his reputation and do better. Daphne Hallworth, the younger sister of one of his former friends, is forgotten at home over the Christmas holiday, and her journal is stolen. Her efforts to chase down the boy that stole it makes her cross paths with Paul, who will help her retrieve the journal if she can improve her brother's opinion of him.

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke is part of the Cavensham Heiresses series so those who read earlier books in this series will recognize the characters. They're in the background of this one, which fully focuses on Paul's family history and emotional upheaval, as well as Daphne and her family. Of course, the two are drawn to each other immediately, and the kisses exchanged as a cover in the gambling den sets off the romance between them. There's no question that the two will fall in love, and that society's strictures are the source of Daphne's dilemma. Just because it's a foregone conclusion to the reader doesn't mean that the emotions aren't a struggle for the two characters. It's still sweet to see how much they care for each other's happiness, and that their feelings are reciprocated.

I received a free, advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Growing up, Lord Paul Barstowe, the second son of the Duke of Southart and Lord Alexander Hallworth, the Marquess of Pembrooke, were best friends, but to Lady Daphne Hallworth, Alex's little sister, Paul was her hero. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, Paul and Alex not only became estranged, but Alex came to think of Paul as his enemy. That happened in the first book, which I have not read yet, but I was enable to glean enough from the narrative provided by the author to understand the dynamics.

Once his mother died, Paul grew up with indifference, bordering on hatred, from his father and became a rake, gambler and alcoholic. Years later, his beloved older brother, his protector, Robbie, died of rheumatic fever, followed shortly afterwards by the death of their father, making Paul the Duke of Southart. As Paul strives to be a responsible man, he is further tormented by his father from the grave. Meanwhile, Daphne has grown up to be a lovely but independent young woman. She has been in love with Paul since she was 9 years old but since the estrangement between the two families has kept them apart, she has decided to remain single and open a home for unwed mothers. Due to another miscommunication, she is left alone in London during Christmas time. A street urchin steals her reticule containing her personal journal, which if read by the wrong people, could cause ruin to her family. Spotting her searching for the boy, Paul vows to help her. Spending a few days together, they both realize that they love the other, but can they have a future together? Aside from the rife between her brother and the man she loves, there is a villain, who learns about the journal, and would do anything to destroy them both.

Endearing characters and a compelling plot are skillfully written. I enjoyed reading this book, which I stayed up later than I should have to finish. However, I have to wonder, if Alex was such a good friend to Paul, why did he not know what Paul was going through at home, that which molded him into the scoundrel he became? A real friend would have known.

This is a lovely historical romance that's great for the winter holiday season. It starts with a "Home Alone" scenario with the heroine being forgotten by her family as they leave for the holidays, and then you also get a redeemed villain as the hero and lots of charitable giving. It's a definite feel-good partnership!

This is the story of Daphne Hallworth and Paul Barstowe , I was do excited to read it.It was a great read with a forbidden romance. Paul used to be Daphne's brother best friend but now longer and is somewhat labeled as a enemy. But Daphne always had a crush on him . Watching their relationship develop was intense.

Wow! Just Wow!
Janna MacGregor has done it again! I loved Paul he was absolutely the baddest bad boy out there, but he has hope...... I mean everyone has a good part in them, they just need someone to help them along, for our bad boy it’s Daphne and she’s a force to be reckoned with!
Their adventures begin when her most personal possession, her journal is stolen by a pickpocket. She’s on a quest to establish a home for unwed mother’s and she’s interested in the same property Paul is. A bargain is struck he’s to help her find her journal, which is of great importance Daphne get back, it’s contents can be devastating to her and her family if it lands in the wrong hands.

This was a fantastic read! I urge lovers of historical romance to pick this series they are wonderfully addictive, almost as much as chocolate. I knew Paul was hiding a heart of gold that the right woman with enough persistance would bring forth. Daphne saw this as well and she never once looked back.
Well written and emotional, the chemistry was sizzling the dialogue witty and the characters were AMAZING! The reader is engaged to the very last page. A truly enjoyable read!

I recieved a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

I loved reading Paul and Daphne’s amazing story in The Good, The Bad and The Duke by Janna MacGregor, book 4 in her Cavensham Heiresses series. Poor Lady Daphne Hallworth; almost a spinster living with family, her finances controlled by her brother, yet somehow unseen to others. How they could have forgotten her when they left for the Christmas holiday just reinforced her feeling of being invisible. Daphne decided to make the best of the situation and prove her independence. Unfortunately for Daphne her journal of private thoughts has been stolen by a street urchin. Enter Paul Barstowe, a man we discover is not only a better man than we were led to believe in earlier books, but with a depth of reasons for his previous behavior. Paul, he former best friend of Daphne’s brother, has worked hard to redeem his reputation. With Paul’s help to find the journal Daphne shows signs of recapturing her former self and the adventurous spirit she kept hidden since the death of her sister. Paul and Daphne are amazing together. He sees her, really sees who she is and she has been in love with him since a young girl. Plus their chemistry is off the charts. I loved how Daphne stood up to her family to accept Paul and realize that he is a changed man. This story is a definite celebration of the redemptive power of love.

Ms. MacGregor wrote an emotionally rich and moving story filled with sexual chemistry, fun dialogue, and endearing characters that are not to be missed. I highly recommend The Good, The Bad and The Duke to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I am adored this book. The characters have such chemistry, Daphne doesn’t let anything stand in her way or get her down. She goes after what she needs to protect those she loves. I love how protective those in her family and her friends are towards her. Such an exciting and captivating adventure..

Great historical read with plenty of drama and suspense. Daphne and Paul and amazing chemistry and their characters have excellent depth. I was hooked from beginning to end. I loved it!

I loved the earlier books in Janna MacGregor's Cavensham Heiresses series, so I was pleased to be chosen by the publisher to read and review an advanced copy of the latest installment, "The Good, the Bad, and the Duke."

While this was not my favorite entry in the series, it was charming in its own way. I have been intrigued by the hero, Lord Paul Barstowe, ever since his first appearance as the villain in book 1, so I was glad to see him featured here. It's not an easy thing to redeem a villain and turn him into a worthy hero, but Ms. MacGregor manages to do so superbly with Paul. Learning his side of the story as well as more about his childhood certainly explains his actions in earlier books, though it does not excuse them. His heartfelt apologies to Claire and Emma made it clear that he had turned a corner and become the true gentleman he was always capable of being.

The heroine of this story, Lady Daphne Hallworth, also appeared in earlier books as Alex, Lord Pembrooke's, younger sister. I must admit to not remembering much about her from earlier stories, but perhaps that is the point since much of her character development hinges on her feelings of invisibility in the wake of her sister Alice's death and her brother's subsequent marriage to Lady Claire Cavensham. Her relationship with Paul helps her come out of her shell and learn to reach for the things she wants in life.

While the characters were mostly likeable, there were a few things that bothered me as I read. The story revolved around two main quests: first, to find Daphne's stolen journal, and second, to mend fences between Paul, Daphne's brother Alex, and their mutual friend Nick. Most of the first half of the book was focused on Daphne and Paul's search for the journal, which still hadn't been found when that quest was basically set aside in favor of exploring the book's second theme, the men's strained relationship. It bothered me that Daphne, especially, could seemingly stop worrying about the journal to focus on matters between Paul and her brother after the loss of the journal had caused her so much heartache in the beginning. When the search for the journal finally came back into play near the end of the book, it felt a bit like an afterthought solely designed to keep Paul invested in his relationship with Daphne after he had decided to break things off with her in the wake of the revelation of his family's painful secret.

Daphne's seeming recklessness also bothered me throughout the book. She was very worried about someone finding her journal and having it cause a scandal, as well as renewed pain for her brother and mother if her private thoughts about her sister's death became public. However, she didn't seem to be at all worried about the potential scandal of repeatedly visiting an infamous gambling den or spending time unchaperoned with a gentleman whom she had no intention of marrying - and one who was her brother's sworn enemy, to boot! I can't quite understand why she continued to compound her initial mistake of losing the journal in the first place by doing things that she knew were dangerous to her and her family's reputation.

At any rate, these annoyances were relatively minor, and overall I enjoyed this book. I very much look forward to the next installment in the Cavensham Heiresses series!

*ARC provided by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

It can be quite a tall order to redeem a character who was a heel in an earlier book in the series - you have to make sure you don’t go overboard with the villainy if you want your readers to buy into this character becoming a hero or heroine in their own right. Janna MacGregor pulls it off very well here with Paul, Duke of Southton, a former rake now forced to amend his ways since the deaths of his father and brother landed him a title he never wanted.

Lady Daphne Hallworth always believed in Paul’s goodness, even though her brother now loathes his former best friend. So when a diary with intimate secrets which could destroy both her and her family is stolen and she has nobody else to turn to, she doesn’t hesitate to ask Paul for help. To his credit, he doesn’t hesitate either, vowing to do anything he can to protect her.

I really liked Daphne and her determination to make her own life, but to be honest I was bemused as to why there wasn’t a steady stream of suitors calling on her day and night. Yes, she’s 25, but she’s also beautiful, an heiress to some fifty thousand pounds, and connected to some of the best families in England. There’s no way a woman like that is treated as a spinster or on the shelf by anyone; there’d be desperate swains coming out of her ears. And similarly, Paul, as a duke, even one with a bad past reputation, should have young women throwing themselves at him left and right. Instead, Daphne was literally the only single, eligible female in the entire book.

If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, you might be a bit lost, because previous characters - and their children! - feature fairly heavily. On the other hand, if you have, you might struggle to recognize Paul from the character who featured as a heel in those earlier books, because he seems very different. His father treated him horribly, but even so, I always think that’s not much of an excuse to behave badly to other people, especially innocents who don’t deserve it. The Paul of this book acts with such honor you’d think he could never do anything awful ever, and he’s a perfect match for Daphne, but there’s a fair bit of soul-searching to be done first.

I did struggle a little bit with this one because there were just a few too many unlikely things all happening at once. Still, it was an enjoyable enough book to lose myself in for an afternoon. I’ll give it 4 stars.

The Good, The Bad, and The Duke by Janna MacGregor
The Cavensham Heiresses #4

When Lady Daphne Hayworth was nine an encounter with Paul Barstowe, her brother’s best friend, made a lasting impression. Years later they are given the opportunity to spend time together during the holidays and what transpires changes both of their lives forever. It takes them a bit of time to get to their happily ever after but with each page read I felt the story building and growing in a way that had me hoping all would work out for both of them in the end.

This story is well plotted and written with both Daphne and Paul people I admired and could relate to. I loved their story and can’t wait to read what comes next. I am unsure who gets their story told next BUT would love to see the vicar appear in a book of his own someday as he is a man that intrigues me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke is a perfect historical romance for readers to enjoy. It is a lovely read filled with witty water, strong characters, and a romance that makes a cold heart feel. The dialogue is fantastic and the personalities you read are deep and true. Two such strong headed characters with clashing goals make for quite an intriguing read!

Daphne and Paul are both intriguing characters. I loved their interactions, the shared history we watch unfold, and the promise of something more. Daphne is a heroine I adore. She is smart; a woman who knows her own mind. Her determination to fulfill her plans and keep her secret, all the while protecting those she loves, gives her a spunk that readers can admire and relate to. Paul is a character shrouded in mystery, making the reader questions his motives, but once his true nature is discovered, you know that there is no better match for him. His redemption is a key theme throughout the book and I loved watching him change before my eyes. These two have so many things going against them, but the heart wants what it wants, and that triumph is my favorite. 

The writing and story building in this book is wonderful. This is my first Janna MacGregor book, but you best believe that I went out to grab the rest of this series! With the holidays coming up, this book is the perfect escape, a beautiful story set during the holidays. Between the covers, you will find hope, romance, second chances, and the most delicious forbidden love.

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke is the fourth book in Janna MacGregor’s Cavensham Heiresses series of Regency-era historical romance novels. I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book because I’ve enjoyed the other books in the series, and I was especially intrigued by the possibility of redemption for Paul.

Readers were introduced to Paul Barstowe in the first scene of the first book, and it was immediately clear that he was meant to be the villain of the piece. He served as an antagonist, but it is finally time for redemption. It has been several years since the series began, and Paul has inherited the Southart dukedom after the deaths of his father and older brother. Paul wants to make up for the mistakes of his past, but he didn’t factor falling in love into the equation.

Daphne grew up admiring her older brother’s best friend. Paul has not been part of her life for many years, not since the friendship dissolved into acrimony. When her journal is stolen, her quest to recover it leads her directly into Paul’s path. It’s clear that there’s a connection, but there are so many reasons that a relationship between them could never succeed. Can they overcome secrets of the past to find happiness or are they doomed to fail?

This was such a sweet book. I loved that part of the book took place over Christmas, but there was a nice balance between the holiday theme and the rest of the book. Paul and Daphne are a delightful pair, and it’s clear that Paul wants to atone for his past misdeeds. Likewise, Daphne has her own charitable endeavors, and while she loves her family, she wants her own life. She sees a future with Paul, and he cares for her, but there are so many obstacles in their path.

I would recommend The Good, the Bad, and the Duke to fans of historical romance. I do think that potential readers should read the previous entries in the series in order to fully appreciate Paul’s redemption arc. MacGregor is a talented author with highly original characters. Her writing is the perfect blend of humor and angst, and I always look forward to her books. I can’t wait until the next book is released in June!

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

I throughly enjoyed reading this book. The romance from an earlier childhood promise, belayed through letters never received, reblooms once again, or should I say never went away, as the Duke and Abigail are in each other lives again. With the Duke in London and her wanting independence from family, Abigail decides to be the governess of her neighbor, the Dukes younger sister. Due to weather, the Dukes London entourage ends up having to detour to the Dukes country estate. And the intrigue begins...

What do you do if your family forgets you at home while they all leave to spend Christmas at the country? Well, if it happened today, you could call them and they would turn back before they made it to the end of the block. But not in Lady Daphne Hallworth’s time. So she does the only thing left, waits for Christmas Day and for them to notice her absence. In the meantime, what is a girl to do? Well not lose her dairy to a street urchin and chase him to a gaming hell for one. But that is exactly what happens and with the dairy holding not only her darkest, deepest and most sensual fantasies, but also her family’s secrets, she has to get it back as soon as possible without anyone reading it and finding out that it belongs to her. Well, it’s a good thing that she has her knight in shining armour at her side to help her, the very hero of her fantasies, Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart.

Paul has been the black sheep
of his family and friends. Living the frivolous life of a spare, he has been forced to take a serious look at his life and actions when he looses both his older brother and father one after the after and finds himself the new Duke of Southart. But it seems that his father is determined to haunt him from the grave and he not only finds himself repaying old gambling debts but also Daphne’s saviour. He has promised her that he will find her diary no matter what and is determined to keep his promise. Not only that, but he has also started to see that the little girl who used to follow them around as a child is now a full grown woman who is stunning, compassionate and a force to be reckoned with. A story that not only brings the warmth of Christmas to our hearts but also shows us that some people are just destined to be together no matter what.

Another amazing addition to this great series. Janna MacGregor has fast become one of my favourite writers. I really hope that William’s story will be next and that Davin will get his own story!!!

There are few things as nice as reading a good redemption story, and The Good, the Bad and the Duke definitely delivers. The novel was one of the best historical romances I read this year (and I've read a lot). The author ticks all the boxes on the enjoyable book list: tortured hero, intelligent, headstrong heroine, great chemistry and the road to forgiveness. This is a wonderful novel filled to the brim with the holiday spirit.

Step back in time as Janna MacGregor takes you on a journey that will turn your heart upside down and satisfy every emotion needed in a historical romance. A newly title Duke, Paul Barstowe was looking for redemption to overcome his past foibles. Oh, yes there were many as he tried to defy the father that never felt he was good enough and had no love to give him. But his father passed away very quickly after his brother, who on his deathbed, wished Paul to become the Good Duke.
Lady Daphne had her own trials when it seemed she was the insignificant family member as she was left at home for Christmas by mistake! But why not take advantage and pursue her dream of opening a home for Unwed mothers and be independent with the money that was left to her?
Of course, her plans go astray when her journal with all her thoughts (oh yes, there were some great fantasies there about Paul- wait, yes she knew him from when she was young!) was snatched by an urchin!! But who else would she run into but Paul at the gaming house the thief ran into!!
The adventure begins as fate steps in and throws them together. Yes, they need each other and Daphne is a force to be reckoned with! Loved both of these characters and in this author's amazing style, they came alive and pulled me from page to page!
I want give anymore away because you will enjoy everything about this tale and have a heartsmile as you turn the last page. Although part of a series, this can be read as a standalone, but why would you want to do that? Read the entire series and fall into the wonderful world created by this author!!

Daphne is left behind at Christmas, and she decides to make the most of it and makes plans for a home for unwed mothers. A street urchin steals her reticule, but the journal inside is worth more than money--it has her deepest secrets inside--and she's ready to do anything to get it back.

Paul, a new duke and reformed rake, is haunted by the reminders of the sins of his past from his deceased father reaching from the grave. He has plans for atonement and to honor his brother, but one very beautiful woman stands in his way--his former best friend's sister.

As they vie for land and spend time together to find her journal, forbidden passion ignites between them. Paul knows her family will never accept him, and he's prepared to sacrifice his happiness for his "Moonbeam."

Secrets are revealed, a surprising alliance is made, all hope may not be lost, but time is of the essence.

**received an ARC from Netgalley**

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke (The Cavensham Heiresses Book 4) by Janna MacGregor is the 4th book in this series but can be read as a standalone... I loved the book it was a captivating story of Forbidden love ...The plot is interesting ,very well written & presented... Janna has a simple style of writing easy to follow...

The story is of Lady Daphne Hallworth whois a spinster ...she is sister to Alex, Duke of Pembrook. Daphne's character is bold,strong, brave and self-sufficient, her thinking ahead of her times.Dapne is working toward building a home for unwed mothers. When she is forgotten and accidentally left she decides to celebrate alone .. When her journal is stolen,she tries chasing the thief down as she must get it back since it holds so many family and personal secrets.Our hero Paul Barstowe, second son of the Duke of Southart now the Duke rescues her and promises to help her retrieve her journal.

Paul & Daphne get attracted & fall in love with each other when they are thrown together while searching her diary ... Paul stands in bad books of Daphne's Family for his past indiscretions ,bad conduct, actions...Will he be able to rectify his mistakes & redeem himself by making himself a man worthy of Daphne's love ???? will Daphne place her trust, belief , faith, support in Paul to stand upto her Family ????

This story was so heart touching , full of lovable characters, intense emotions, love , Romance , sizzling chemistry ... I love it when the character of a women portrayed in a story that too based in Regency era is strong ... It was a beautiful Romance ...Kudos to Janna for a beautiful Romance

A delightful of redemption and finding love. Janna MacGregor is best known for her wonderful regency romances and this is my favorite one yet!