Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a historical fiction novel that was very interesting in terms of the dialogue and concept. I felt that the dialogue at times was out of historical context. The concept of a wounded soldier, a grieving widow, and a baby stirred into a plot worked overall. The author brought in social injustice based on gender and race for the widow and soldier. I kept feeling like I had missed part of the story with the windows Grace and how it started, operated and was led. Romance did not have sexual scenes and I appreciate that. Overall an ok read for me.

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby
Series: Book 1 in the Rogues and Remarkable Women series
Rating: 3
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

This was an okay read for me. As I was reading it I really didn't get that much into the story. I really didn't care for the MCs love story, which I feel that it really wasn't the main focus of the story. It was mostly about Patience trying to find out about her husband's illegal dealings and avoiding the villain of the story. Also, she had to deal with the guilt of her husband's passing. Though she does get peace of mind when she finds out the truth of how he died. She was a strong character that didn't let herself get bullied by the duke and that was one of the things that he liked about her.
Busick was dealing with the after effects of going to war. He was physically very damaged, but I liked how he didn't let his disabilities hold him back. His obsession with structure and schedules were a little too much, especially when it dealt with Patience's baby. What made up for it was how devoted he was to the baby. He immediately developed care for him. That was very sweet.
I was a little confused with the point of views of the story. Her's was told in the first POV, while his was in third person. There were times when I had to back and reread a certain part to figure out who had said it.

If you're looking for a lot of moments of laughter, a wonderful romance and a sweet baby, then look no further! When Patience is falsely imprisoned and separated from her infant son by her husband's wicked uncle she is determined to do everything in her power to win him back. When the Duke of Repington comes to claim guardianship over his cousin's son they must work together in order to care for the boy and prevent his uncle from exacting revenge.

I really enjoyed seeing the relationship develop btw Repington and Patience, there were several moments when I was laughing out loud--particularly the times when Repington attempts to put military preciseness on baby Lionel's habits XD While there were times when Patience was a little too hysterical for me in her overall tone, the determination she had to care for her son despite the odds was very admirable.

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley is about Patience Jordan, mistress of Hamlin Hall during Regency England, and Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington. We meet Patience at her lowest: her husband, Colin, has committed suicide, Patience was taken advantage of and thrown in Bedlam Asylum by Colin's wicked uncle, Markham. After escaping with the help of The Widow's Grace (a home run by Lady Shrewsbury who protects and strengths widows who've been disadvantaged), Patience travels back to Hamlin Hall to find her son, Lionel, who she was taken away from. Patience entire gambit is to get her son, find a ship and head back to Demerara, her home island in the West Indies. But Patience hits a roadblock when Repington shows up, takes over Hamlin Hall, kicks our Markham and makes plans to support and raise his ward, Lionel (Repington is Colin's cousin). The Widow's Grace gets Patience a job as a wet nurse and nanny to Lionel, and Patience brings her machinations into Hamlin Hall, becoming friends with Repington and growing to love him. But, there is a giant mystery surrounding Colin's death, his finances, and his seedy doings with Markham.

I struggled rating this book because some parts I really loved! Patience especially - her love of Lionel, her strength and how she learns to think and do for herself. She was wonderful to read. I also loved that this is a woman of color, black woman, biracial woman leading a Regency HR novel. This is rare y'all and not rare in history. Riley really dove into the experiences of mulattos and Blackamoor's during this time - the amount of racism, the subtle and not so subtle microaggressions and racial violence that Patience experienced it real. And rarely something read about in romance novels. Lastly, I loved the West Indian cultural aspects, the Caribbean history/religion highlighted, and the food (read until the end for a special surprise!).

I wanted more from the passion between Patience and Repington - it definitely felt like a slow burn which I liked, but I didn't always feel their passion. Plus I like a little more sex in my romance. I wanted Repington to be SWOONIER - I wanted to just melt. And I got some melty parts in the early slow burn, and when we was holding and talking to Lionel, but I wanted more.

With that being said, I will definitely be reading future books in the series: I need to know about Gantry's WIFE (where she at?!), I need to know about Jemima and her life (what is she not remembering?!). So many exciting things on the horizon.

*Posted on Goodreads. Will share on IG closer to pub date*

The story was fun, but I really did't like the writing style. I restarted it three times before getting past the second chapter because it was off-putting.

Touching story about two hurting people coming together to make a family. Full of rich historical details, believable characters with struggles and growth, and a satisfying romance. I was a little thrown by the alternative 1st and 3rd person narratives, but not so much that it harmed the story. I'm hoping we will get to see side characters Jemina, Thackery, and Gantry in future books.

I really like this book... it was an interesting read

A lot happened and I never felt bored reading this...
the story is well written and cleverly done

Patience, a widow with brown skin in the 1800s must do all that she can to protect her baby Lionel after the death of her husband, even if it means deceiving the Duke of Repington...

A Duke, The Lady and A Baby is the story of Patience Jordan - a recent addition to the Widow's Grace. Her husband, Colin Jordan, has recently passed away and she is left to fend for her baby against Markham, a scheming man. She then meets Busick, the Duke of Repington (and Colin's cousin) and Patience's life heels from a quiet existence to one where she must do all she can to keep her baby, Lionel.

The story mostly centres around Patience and her endeavors to keep her son. Patience is a daring woman and she fights for Lionel like a knight:
"Each time I picked up my son, felt his skin next to mine, I became a revolutionary. For him, his life, his liberty, I charged forward"

Her audacious personality is infectious and you route for her throughout the story. The novel begins by placing her in a 'Damsel in Distress' trope which she manages to break out of in a way that doesn't rob the story of romance or excitement.

The novel is set in Georgian England and I absolutely enjoyed reading about the scene, the social dynamics between men and women, people of colour and those with disabilities were touched on without feeling like a history lesson, but a part of the world you are visiting.

Patience's antics and the first few awkward moments with Busick had me smiling at times. Even though the story touched on sullen themes, it did it in a way that doesn't linger with much weight (which isn't a bad thing, sometimes you just need a light read, you know?):
"... humor is the best way to deal with troubled hearts"

I did, however, find Patience's first interaction with the Duke to be an overstated attempt at an awkward first impression.

This was my first book by Vanessa Riley. I loved the premise and the cover really grabbed my attention. I also thought the baby trope was very well done. I just didn't overall love the book. It could be that I have read so many fantastic books in the last few weeks that this one just didn't stand out. I will definitely check out more by this author.

This book felt like a chore to get through. For the first 50=60 pages I was so confused, I didn't really know what was happening or why I should care. The language and sentences didn't have much flow, the dialogue seemed choppy and even one sentence to the next would leave me confused about what was happening, where people were etc. When I finally understood a little more about the characters and the premise the book was still just ok. I didn't really feel the connection between the main characters other then the baby. I will say this book was probably more realistic with regards to the way women were treated in the 1800s in England, but I would rather live in the fantasy romance.

At first, the title makes you think of something you'd find for $4 at the Walmart book section.
However, I really enjoyed the premise.
*thanks to Netgalley for approving the arc
The book captures you from page one, and I loved that about this book. The main character shows charisma, bravery and perseverance right off the bat.
It was such a fun read, I can't wait to see what more Vanessa Riley is capable of!

*Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing a free ARC for an honest review*

I was first drawn to this book by the fun cover and my love of historical romance. A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby is the story of Patience Jordan, a widow going through a harrowing ordeal in order to protect her infant son. In the meantime, the Duke of Repington comes into the picture, but she isn't sure if she can trust him with the truth.

I did appreciate that this book included a wide arrange of representation that you would not often find in a historical romance, including POC female lead, a handicapped hero and discussions of mental health. For me personally, this was the first novel that I have read that discussed breast feeding and the effects on a women's body in such detail.

I however, did not enjoy as much as I hoped to. I found myself on more than one occasion getting angry with either MC's for making rash decisions. At one point my husband had to come into the room to check on me as I was yelling at my EReader. My favorite part of the book was shortly after that moment, but my enjoyment did not last long as I was not as satisfied with the conclusion as I had hoped I might be.

I would also like to note that this was a pure romance, with very little to no steam. (I am not holding this against the book, but in case anyone else was wondering)

Based on the cover, this wasn’t really what I was expecting. I was expecting a cute fluffy romance and this really wasn’t. There were some heavy topics covered in this. It wasn’t your typical romance. Maybe if I had different expectations going into this, I would have appreciated it more. It was just a darker read with babies getting taken away, false imprisonment, etc. I appreciate the copy to read and review.

I wanted to love this book so much but somehow I couldn’t get close to any of the characters and I think, because I don’t like children in my books , this one was a miss for me unfortunately.
Yes, I love the cover and the blurb and title mention a child but I’m always taking chances to find a great story regardless.
It’s still a great book that many people will enjoy but not for me.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

I received the e-ARC from NetGalley for an early review.

CW: False imprisonment in mental hospital, forced separation of mother from child, suicide, war wounds and their effects, memory loss, drugging, murder.

Patience is a young widow who has been imprisoned in Bedlam by her late-husband’s uncle, Markham, for being “crazy,” because that’s all it takes. Markham’s taken over as guardian of her 3 month old son, Lionel, and possession of her house. She is broken out of Bedlam (legally) by a cool secret organization of widowed women who call themselves “Widow’s Grace.” Meanwhile, the real guardian (Busick)-who is the cousin of Patience’s late husband-of the baby has found out what happened and finally tracks down Markham, who’s been giving him the runaround, throws him out of the house, and Busick, along with a contingent of other soldiers he’s traveling with, take up camp at the house while he straightens things out. Patience is snuck in pretending to be a nurse for Lionel by the Widow’s Grace.
From there on it is Patience trying to get her baby back, the dynamics between Patience and Busick, and the threat of Markham and what his intentions really are.

What I liked:
-The cover was cute
-The description was interesting and I was super interested about the Widow’s Grace
-I liked the Heroine was a POC (and you got some background info on her, being from the West Indies) and the Hero was a wounded war veteran that actually showed how his injuries affected his life
-All the little moments between Busick and Lionel were adorable 
-Happy ending.

Some things I struggled with:
-The beginning was a confusing start, I had a lot of question marks in my notes where it was like “I think this is what is happening?”
-This cool plot point of the Widow’s Grace and these avenging women, which could have been used FOR SO MUCH FUN…were barely mentioned. 
-The connection between Patience and Busick wasn’t really there?
-It’s mentioned quite a few times that Patience has this cool accent where she rolls her Rs, but the way it’s written on the page makes it sound like she’s stuttering. It really didn’t need to be written out.
-Markham has this typical evil-doer moment where he literally explains his evil plans out loud, to Busick while they’re fighting…

Thank you NetGalley, Kinsington Books and Vanessa Riley for loaning me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I'm not much of a historical fiction fan, but i've trying to dabble in the genre when I can. The title/cover caught my eye, but the blurb was a little more than confusing. I gave it a go anyways.
I guess my issue was I was just bored. I didn't find this to be most thrilling or interesting plot once written out which is a bummer because I think the basic storyline has a lot of promise. I just couldn't get myself invested like I seek when reading a great book!

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby is the first in a new series. There is some world building that will help connect future books in the series, but it's not too lengthy and didn't detract from this specific story. As with other Riley books, the opening scene grabs you and pulls you right in.

Patience is a widow with a son. She's lost custody of her son and her own personal freedom, due to a criminal relative of her late husband. Enter The Widow's Grace, a secret society directed by a titled woman, to help widows recover what is theirs - family, funds, freedom. The Widow's Grace helps free Patience from Bedlam and now is set to help her regain her son. Patience finds herself posing as a nanny for Busick, Duke of Repington, who now has her son and her former home. The Duke is an injured veteran of the first Napoleonic war and he is determined to return to battle. In the mean time, he is enamored with his young ward and the nanny he's "hired" for him.

I enjoyed the characters and the journey they each take to trust again. I especially enjoyed Patience once she revealed herself. There is good push-pull between Repington and Patience. Patience is incredibly reserved, and early language with her is somewhat stilted for me, but once she is revealed to Repington, her character loosens up and the language Riley uses to describe her does as well. Repington never shows himself to be quite the rake he's alleged to be, but Riley does a good job showing his single minded focus, the old soldier mentality, the strength of character that is in one you want to trust. This is a slow burn all the way.

We have some suspense that's done well, and the bad guy gets what he deserves at the end. I enjoyed the side characters a lot and expect to see them again.

I'm interested to see where The Widow's Grace goes in future books. There is a sample at the end for the next in the series and it fully grabbed me as well.

I was really excited about this one but ended up not even finishing it. The cover is so great but I hated the switch in narration styles and just the writing style in general and didn't connect or care about any of the characters.

Everything felt a little forced, and the whole thing just wasn't quite my cup of tea. I certainly felt for the main character and wanted her to succeed, but it just...wasn't a book for me.

I'll admit, it took me a little bit to get into this sweet novel because I felt like I was getting both too much and too little information at the beginning. However, my perseverance was rewarded by the rest of this delightful book. I really appreciated reading a historical romance where the characters weren't all white, since that's actually the way things were. The way the relationship between Busick and Patience developed was captivating, but let's not forget the absolute star of the show, Lionel. Riley managed to write a scene stealer that can't even speak. Not only was the romance delightful, but idea of The Widow's Grace is absolutely brilliant and I adore it. I'm excited to see where the rest of the series goes, since this is just the start.