Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title. While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

I've been pleased with Kensington's romances. This one includes plenty of mystery, which I always appreciate as a page-turning element.

Regency romance/ mysterious inheritance

So it has been a while since I received the eARC of this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review, and it has taken me nearly 2 years to get to it.

This is the first in a series where a Duke bequeaths his fortune to three mysterious women. This is the story of the first one.

Minerva has a past that she doesn’t want people to look too closely at. But when she receives and inheritance from a mysterious Duke, someone she’s never met before, and who died in mysterious circumstances , it raises the possibility of her past being dug up. Unless someone finds out how the Duke actually died. It’s a good thing that she knows how to carry out an investigation.
Chase has been trusted with the responsibility to investigate into@his uncle, the Duke’s death, and his first suspect is Minerva. Ofcourse he needs to get close to her to investigate her and her possible involvement in his uncle’s death.
But then they got more than they’d bargained for.

I liked Minerva’s character. She’s clever, she’s brave, outwits even the hero who’s a veteran in detective investigations on assignments occasionally. Chase ofcourse complements her by being smart himself, intensely loyal and head over heels, even if it takes him some time to realise it.

This book is an intriguing and entertaining start to Madeline Hunter's latest series. I appreciated the amount of depth to the characters and the way that they came together in order to help heal one another and grow. There is one unresolved thread at the end of this book, but I've already picked up the second book in the series in hopes that it is resolved in that story.

This book was witty, charming, all the spice. You know the h is going to a joy to read when her name is Minerva! This is the perfect enemies to lovers' romance!

"Murder She Wrote" meets "Knives Out"... but historical romance. Since the death of her husband, the heroine (Minerva) has discreetly set up shop as a private detective. She and the hero (Chase) team up to uncover the truth about his uncle's demise and as you might expect, sparks fly. My one major complaint is that as far as detectives go, Minerva is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. As a mystery lover, I might be a bit biased, but overall, I definitely found myself doubting her abilities more than once.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5

As reviewed on Boobies & Noobies, a romance novel review podcast. Listen to the full review on your favorite podcast platform or on Boobies & Noobies website.

This did not work for me and I have decided to not review this rather than force myself to finish it and then write a negative review. I thought I would come back to this at a later point but I just never do so.

I really enjoyed this book. However it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, so know that going in! For about half the book this felt like a standard historical mystery in the vein of Anne Perry, Laura Joh Rowland, or Sherry Thomas. In the second half of the book the romance kicked into higher gear. But overall I read this as a mystery with romantic touches.

I loved how the author left the ending open to neatly lead into the next book. I’m excited to read more!

Not a great start to the series. I finished the book less than a month ago and can't even remember enough of it to write a review. Since I received an advanced reader copy of both this book and the next in the series, I've read both and #2, Heiress in Red Silk, is much better.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Kensington Zebra through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This is Minerva Hepplewhite and Chase Radnor’s story, book one in A Duke’s Heiress Romance series; a standalone, happily ever after, no cheating, historical romance with some heat.
This well written romance kept my interest throughout, the characters are well rounded with great interplay between the hero and heroine. A mystery along with some sizzling moments. I look forward to the next in this series.
I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this historical romance because it also mixed in a little cozy mystery into as well. I was very intrigued in both the romance and the mystery and I definitely wouldn't mind seeing more historical romance mystery hybrids like this in the future! I also really liked Minerva because she was a very independent and strong woman trying to have her own business in the 1800s by becoming an investigator. I also really liked Chase, I felt like he always had Minerva's back but really let her do what she needed to do. This was my first Madeline Hunter book but I am looking forward for the rest of this series and will definitely be checking out her backlist as well!

Heiress for Hire had an interesting concept, and I wanted to connect with this story but just didn't. I found this book to be slow-paced and quit reading about a third of the way in. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

what an amazing book!! The author is a master of creating stories and characters. I will definitively be reading books of this author!! Great job.

Oh how I love Madeline Hunter's books. Her characters are well developed and must have been dreamed of for days before ever landing on a page.
Minerva and Chase are not friends. In fact, they're definitely on two different sides. He thinks she murdered her husband and she thinks he's exasperating. Time spent together changes their views and leads them to forever.

I liked this book but it really didn't stand out for me. The circumstances behind the inheritance, three strange women unknown to the family? I wanted to know more. I will probably read the rest of the series just to find out.

3.5

this book was dull. so, so, soooooooo dull. The mystery element wasn't engaging, the character were annoying as heck, and the writing was bland.

Minerva Hepplewhite can take care of herself. The young widow proves this one night by hitting an intruder over the head with a convenient warming pan. Of course, the intruder turns out to be one Chase Radnor, a (distractingly handsome) investigator who tells Minerva the shocking news that she's inherited a fortune from a duke she's never met. Minerva herself is starting a private investigation firm, and the rivals find themselves at odds as they try to find out what happened to the duke, and what might be his connection to Minerva.

This was an entertaining story of spy vs spy. Minerva is an endearingly independent character, and never falls into damsel into distress territory. This first book sets up Hunter's new series well, and I look forward to the next one!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.

TW: References to past abuse (not shown).

I was looking forward to this story but it did not get into the story for a few chapters. It just didn't capture my interest but I kept reading and it got better. I thought Chase was a bit stalkerish at times. I felt Minerva was too trusting with him despite her past. But overall it was a pretty good story

Melt-your-Kindle hot and a great romantic story. Loved this one! Minerva and Chase are adorable together.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Heiress for Hire is the first book in the Duke's Heiress series and the concept itself is interesting. A Duke dies under mysterious circumstances and leaves the bulk of his fortune to three women he has no relation to. The heroine, Minerva, is one of those women. She has no idea why she was given this fortune because she had never even met the late Duke. Chase is one of the late Duke's many nephews and his entire family is enraged that his uncle had decided to give away most of his money to three strangers. Given his career in inquiries, Chase investigates his uncle's death as well as the three mysterious women who were bequeathed a fortune. Minerva also has a knack for inquiries and begins her own investigation because she doesn't want to be considered a suspect in the late Duke's suspicious death.

First of all, who in the hell wrote this blurb? Quoted directly from the blurb: "...Chase Radnor, the man who nearly got her convicted of her late husband's murder." This is FALSE. This never happened. Chase didn't even know that Minerva's late husband was murdered. The blurb would lead you to believe that Chase not only knew about the murder, but had even tried to get Minerva convicted for it. And based on the way the blurb is written, you are led to believe that this all happened before the drama with the Duke's death and will. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN!! What a terribly misleading blurb. 

Heiress for Hire was unbearably dull. It is perhaps the dullest book I've read this year. I've enjoyed Madeline Hunter's books in the past, but I genuinely don't recall her prose ever being this unexciting. The romance is dull and boring. The hero and heroine have zero chemistry. We are told that there is a superb attraction between Chase and Minerva, but I didn't feel shit. The mystery is also dull. I can't believe that the author managed to make SLEUTHING and MYSTERY SOLVING boring?? The prose is apathetic, unengaging, and quite simply, boring. There is emotional development, but the prose is so dry that I didn't feel anything for the hero and heroine. There is no life in this book. Why did I keep reading? Well, I was curious enough to find out just how the Duke died...and guess what? His suspicious death doesn't even get solved! It looks like this simple mystery will be dragged throughout the series. I am not curious enough to continue the series, so I will stick to Madeline Hunter's older books from now on.

P.S. Parts of this book gave me Kat Holloway vibes. I feel like Heiress for Hire would have been a lot more engaging and compelling if Jennifer Ashley had written it.