I received "Heiress in Red Silk" from Netgalley and voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Madeline Hunter is amazing. Rosamund Jameson, a hat maker, has just been bequeathed by a Duke she barely knew ... a huge amount of money and half of an invention enterprise.  The other half belongs to Kevin Radnor, the dead Duke's nephew,  and also a suspect in his murder. Together, they learn to trust each other and believe in one another. They develop an attraction for each other while fighting it at the same time. A nice read!

"Heiress in Red Silk" by Madeline Hunter
A fun historical romance story with a wee bit of spice. I truly enjoyed this story. It surely kept me entertained. If the description caught your eye; I believe you will enjoy this story too. Happy Reading ! !
NOTE: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Heiress in Red Silk is the second book in the 'A Dukes's Heiress' series, in which three unrelated women receive life-changing legacies from the late Duke of Hollinburgh. This chapter features Rosamund Jameson, a milliner who receives a fortune along with a 50 percent share in a business. The windfall allows her to expand into territory she never dared to consider and aspire to a being a gentlewoman.

Enter Kevin Radnor, cousin to both the new Duke and Chase Radnor, hero of the previous book, 'Heiress for Hire'. Kevin's intensely displeased by having to share his inventions with a nobody - well, a comely body  - and  thus the old journey of enemies to lovers begins.  He assumes she's too thick-headed to grasp the technical details behind his designs - which she magically does - and she thinks he's a lecherous, if brilliant snob. Class divides, thwarted relationships, lust, disappointment and understanding of each others' abilities combine to create a story best described as Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang with shades of My Fair Lady and a dash of 50 Shades of Gray.

Despite the spice, I was underwhelmed. Rosamund is hopelessly naive in matters of the heart, seeking to remake herself to address a painful past. While her business sense was admirable, I never warmed to her as a character. Lacking depth and nuance, Rosamund was essentially the same person at the end of the novel, albeit wealthier, better clothed and somewhat better spoken.  Her younger sister, whom the heroine hopes to elevate to higher society, had spirit and showed growth over her few scenes.  Kevin operated on two settings - horndog snob and horndog nerd. While I have encountered a few men like him in the flesh, they also had a vulnerability and inability to communicate their feelings, papered over by arrogance and lust. Once you peeled back their first few layers, intelligence at war with insecurity was plain. I wished we'd seen a bit more of the deeper motivation behind Kevin's attitude to life. I didn't feel the "happily ever after" was credible, as these two very different people had only the business and physical attraction in common. The professed love seemed hollow and I would have found a business partners -with-benefits arrangement more plausible.

If you've read the previous book, Heiress for Hire, you'll be delighted to see how Chase and Minerva have progressed. I found their chemistry to be far more believable than that of Rosamund and Kevin. Chase and Minerva sizzle and complement each other, Rosamund and Kevin seem convenient.

3/5 *, for the delightful younger sister, Chase and Minerva as the 19th C. Tommy and Tuppence, and the steamy interludes between Kevin and Rosamund.

Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me to receive an advance copy of this book to read and review!

Inventor, businessman, and all-around eccentric, Kevin Radnor is in a bind. He's invented a device that will revolutionize the steam engine industry, only he needs the approval of the co-owner of the device. It had been his uncle, the duke, but after the duke's untimely death the share had been willed to one Rosamund Jameson. The problem, no one knows who Rosamund Jameson is. That is until a chance encounter in a house of pleasure leads Kevin to Rosamund.

Eminently practical, Rosamund has managed to claw her way up the social ladder after facing near ruin. A successful milliner, she dreams of sending her younger sister to a fine school to improve her prospects while secretly, in her most hidden of hearts, she longs to reconnect with the man who she loved and lost so long ago. When she discovers she's an heiress, she doesn't meekly bow to the demands of the Radnor family to give up her share of Kevin's business. Instead, she throws herself wholeheartedly into the business, disrupting Kevin's carefully laid plans and stirring something in his eccentric heart.

---
I really enjoyed the first book of this series by Madeline Hunter, so when the ARC became available I jumped on it. The book did not disappoint. I found the romance charming and believable. The book featured several of my favorite tropes: marriage of convenience, falling for the enemy, and some mild hurt/comfort. It passed the Bechdel test and the Mako Mori test, the latter is often rare in romance. The overall plot worked well and advanced the series arc plot regarding the mystery of the former duke's death and why he left his fortune to these three women.

Kevin and Rosamund were unique characters i haven't seen much in romance. Kevin showed all of the signs of being ADHD or Autistic but since this was set in the regency, those terms didn't exist then. Instead he's called socially inept and eccentric. But watching him become hyperfixated on the things in his life that bring him pleasure is sort of adorable. I don't know if this was intentionally done by the author, but as someone who is neurodivergent it was nice to see a character who I could relate to and whose thought processes matched mine at times. Kevin is also tough to like at times, he's an acquired taste -- like the escargot they try in Paris. He's at times gruff, impulsive, judgemental, and also suspicious. But for all of his faults, he's also kind, caring, considerate, and gentle. If I liked Kevin, I adored Rosamund. She's a lovely ambitious woman whose kind heart and caring nature lead to both her successes and her failures. I liked that she was the steady hand to Kevin's impulsiveness. I appreciated that she had goals of her own that had nothing to do with the romance or Kevin's storyline. She was a great character who I wanted to see more of.

All of the characters from the first book make an appearance, which I appreciated. But you don't have to read the first book to understand this one. That said, I feel like I liked the first book better. Probably because I adored Minerva so very much. I like competent heroines... and both Rosamund and Minerva are just that.

There are some content warnings that people need to be aware of... so spoilers for that: prostitution and discussion of prostitution, period appropriate sexism, period appropriate classism, sexual assault, physical assault, bullying, and others I probably missed/forgot. This book doesn't shy away from the realities of the time and isn't afraid to go to some darkish places.

In all I liked this book.

Four and a half stars -- rounded up to five

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

The second book in the heiress trilogy/mystery, we read about another of the dukes nephew’s, Kevin who finally finds the other woman who has inherited his uncle’s money, and according to Kevin, half the shares and rights to ‘his’ business.

I love Madeline Hunter and know that with her books I will always get a substantial read, a good plot and satisfying romance.

Rosamunde is an intelligent self-sufficient businesswoman. At her age and the time, she lived in, that alone is an extraordinary feat for her. I liked her character. She was so pragmatic. Life had not been easy for her, she lost her father at an early age, she was cast out of the first place she worked in with no references because she was seduced by her employers son but she still managed to get through life with her integrity intact. A beautiful woman she could have let a man become her protector, but because she believed in (the lies) her love (had weaved), she kept herself true for him.

Kevin was very amusing. He is the eccentric genius in the family and behaved like one. I enjoyed reading his interactions with his family, how as a gentleman he should have known in what way to behave under certain situations and people, and yet because his mind was so often consumed with his inventions and inner calculations, he made faux pas everywhere- to the point that his own family would think twice before inviting him to their affairs. He’s also very honourable. He could have browbeaten or harassed Rosamunde – though she could definitely hold her own against him and his family- over the company and her being a beneficiary of the will, but he set aside his bitterness to get to know her and work amicably with her instead.

I did like the book. It went along with an even pace. The kind of calculating and practical people both Rosamunde and Kevin were, romance wasn’t going to just happen. It was going to be a slow process. She was very aware of her station among his people. He was well known as someone too engrossed in his enterprise to be enthralled by any woman. I liked how the author showed so subtly how Kevin was affected by Rosamunde despite himself but because he’s such a proud and careful man, didn’t see his fascination as love and instead would attribute it to lust, admiration and being forced in her company because of his uncles will. The problem was that it was too subtle and all too soon, I found myself near the end of the book and then Kevin was declaring his love for Rosamunde in the very last page! You could tell MH reached the last page and, in a panic, concluded things.

Which is sad because it was going so well, and the end was just too abrupt. The way they met, and their interactions together were entertaining. He became her friend first, helped her settle in and though he was attracted to her, did not push her until she came to him. I liked how Rosamunde was shown as someone so practical and yet she too had secret dreams, mainly of finding and living with Charles (her seducer) once again and everything she did once she got the inheritance was not just to give her sister a better chance in life but also to make herself finally eligible in his and his parents eyes. It was endearing and sad. The house she bought, the tutors she hired, the way she would ask Minerva for help in inquires but never tried to reveal why she was making them- she knew it was a far-fetched dream, but she still tried to achieve it in her own quiet way. The scene where she finally meets Charles was packed full of emotion and heartbreak. Everything for me was done right in the book. It was refreshing that MH used a female protagonist who wasn’t some fallen gentleman’s daughter trying to become a business woman, or a commoner who may still have been raised like a lady or close to one but a tenant farmers daughter who behaved and talked a bit like one too. She was rustic and it showed.

Their eventual marriage based on practical reasons was exactly how I thought it would happen. It was later that I felt the book started to falter. I would have liked to read more about their married life than allusions to how things were going. And then all too soon they both have another fight and Rosamunde finally tired of Kevin’s stubbornness and antipathy towards her owning half the company, decides to leave him and go back home. It was from here that I would have rather read about how Kevin coped or did not cope without her in his life. This whole story was about how he was forced to be with her because he didn’t want to lose his precious company and how she eventually replaced that obsession with herself. But we don’t get to read any of it. We just get some more pages of her life, her shop and then Kevin showing up saying how much he loves her. I wish there had been a few more pages after that. I would have easily given the book 4 or 5 stars then.

It even would have diverted my attention from the fact that there was no more examination about who may have killed the old duke. Though I think I have solved it as there have been some hints.

So, I was disappointed with this one because of its ending, I still can’t wait to read the last book!

Heiress in Red Silk is the second book in a series where a Duke has bequeathed a fortune (including half a business) to an unsuspecting woman, in this case Rosamund, a milliner, rather than leaving it to a member of his family. In this installment, the other half of the business is held by the Duke’s grandson Kevin, who also happens to be the inventor of the machine the business is trying to eventually produce.

I would rate this 2.5 stars overall. I felt that this story had real potential, but never got anywhere. Kevin had no real personality at all. The author made some small attempts to cast him as a tortured genius, but I did not feel it. Rosamund is supposed to be a capable business woman except for some country manners, but the only thing to show this was a very distracting substitution of “be” for “am” or “are” or “me” for “my” in her speech for the first half of the book. There were a lot of issues between the two regarding who is/should be in charge of the business, but it is wrapped up and suddenly no big deal in the last two pages of the book, even though the relationship didn’t exactly develop enough to get there. It was honestly just boring.

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

I’m a new reader of Madeline Hunter and I read the first book in this series to catch up. I really enjoyed the first! It is historical romance meets mystery investigation. I highly recommend reading the first to fill in the mystery plots, but it isn’t a must.

The late Duke of Hollinburgh died in a suspicious accident and has left all his fortunes to three unknown women. Leaving behind a mystery and resentment with his large family. Some of his family can be extremely rude and abusive.

Heiress in Red Silk by Madeline Hunter finds us with the second mystery woman. Rosamund Jameson is a successful milliner and cares for a younger sister. The late Duke left her half shares in his nephew’s engineering invention. Rosamund is such a refreshing character who won’t give up anything she has achieved and struggles through to do what is best for her business.

Kevin Radnor, the inventor and nephew, finds Rosamund with the intent to take over his business. What he finds is a savvy mind for business and an instant attraction. Kevin was a key figure in the first series and was at one time suspected to be his Uncle’s murderer.

What I loved about this book is how we get to watch a business grow and inventions get made. The romance may seem light but it grows from partnership and friendship. The mystery is delightful and we get each character working things out.

I’m looking forward to the next Heiress and the completion of this mystery! Thank you to Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review.

#HeiressinRedSilk #NetGalley #MadelineHunter

Both the characters were very strong willed and it was very interesting to see their journey. Rosamund was independent and she kept her independence and was actually interested in Kevin's plans. She contributed to his ideas. I felt like their marriage was benefitted from their independent and mutual goals. I really did not like Kevin's family, other than Hugh the rest of them were moochers. It was a very interesting read. Also the trust Kevin had to put in their partnership was very important.

What a Enjoyable story! Second in the series brings the characters who found a place in your heart are back. Heiress in Red Silk will hold you spellbound from the moment you begin the journey until the very end as a web of confusion greed as Uncle Fredrick's will does. Rosamund a millinery shop owner with no title or money receives a surprise inheritance of half a company and a fortune. It's an angry bees nest of Fredrick's relatives Rosamund has to contend with who want her half of the company. Kevan can't believe Rosalind owns half his company! Sparks will fly for these ttwo. Madeline Hunter has written a story that has sizzling passion, that is filled with tension-building twist, with great cast of characters that come off the pages and pull you into this emotional ride that keeps you involved until the very end, that is smoothly written, with a superb plott, and great dialogue.

Rosamund Jameson was rewarded for one act of charity, inheriting a substantial fortune from a stranger. She also inherited partial ownership of another business. She can move up her plans to open a second millinery shop in fashionable London, and to provide her younger sister with a proper education and entry into society.

Kevin Radnor's plans are rocked when his late uncle, the Duke of Hollinburgh, bequeathed half his company to a total stranger. He's been looking for her for over a year, and fears that she will ruin his business. He's determined to do whatever it takes to protect his company, even seducing his partner or offering a marriage of convenience.

Why I started this book: Hunter is a consistent romance author who understands the social, and economical constraints of the past and writes believable and enjoyable novels. So I jumped at the opportunity to request (from Netgalley) and read her latest book.

Why I finished it: Solid characters, both Rosamund and Kevin have authentic motivations and reactions, and while their relationship is built on an arranged business partnership, Hunter gave them time to slowly build more. With two strong personalities, their relationship develops without either of them realizing it was love... until the last big fight and declaration. Not my favorite of Hunter's but still a good story.

I really liked this story. I found both Rosamund and Kevin to be really unique characters, particularly for the time period. Kevin is that type of person who is so smart and successful, but always at least a little out of step from everyone else. Rosamund was such an interesting blend of practical down-to-earth street smarts and naivete. Their relationship grew out of the circumstances so naturally, and I really enjoyed their journey. Rosamund's path toward success was a particular delight, and such an interesting view into what climbing up and out of your class at the time would have been like. *I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

This was a great read! I loved the eccentric hero and down to earth heroine. It was a unique take on the hard working shop girl who gains an inheritance, and the black sheep of a family who wins her over. They really complimented one another and made the story believable. Kevin was perfect as the distracted inventor who took time to learn the art of love making and become anything but distracted when putting it into practice with Rosamund. Can't wait for Nicolas' story!

Kevin has been searching for a woman.. a woman who has inherited half of his business and a whole lot of money.. Rosamund owns her own hat shop outside of London, and when she is told of her inheritance all she wants to do is open a shop in London and send her sister to school..
.
I had a really hard time getting into this story. The plot was very interesting but I didn't feel any kind of chemistry between Kevin and Rosamund. It seemed like they just ended up together because of the business they shared and their close proximity..
.
Sadly this book was a miss for me, soI don't know that I will read the next book in the series, but I would definitely read other books by this author.

Thank you to netgalley and Kensington books

Kevin Radnor is steaming mad that his late uncle, the Duke of Hollinburgh, bequeathed half of his invention to a total stranger, Rosamund Jameson. It took a year to find the hat maker and the family had been looking foward to finally splitting up the money he left her. Ehen Kevin finds her by happenstance, he and the family are determined to prove she somehow tricked the late duke into making her a heiress. Rosamund, a tenant farmer's daughter, has no idea why the late duke left her such a vast fortune and when she finds out she's part-owner of Kevin's invention, it will take all of her resolve not to give in to his demands she give him back full ownership of the invention.

I really enjoyed the first book in this story in the series and was looking forward to reading about Kevin, but I came away with mixed feelings. The plot was unique as is Kevin although his family abhors him and only tolerates his company because Nicholas the current Duke of Hollinburgh befriends him. While there are many instances with Kevin thinking about his invention and how to bring it to life, I didn't feel any romance on his part when it came to Rosamund. It was more about lust for him. There were missed opportunities such as when Rosamund was being taught to dance for him to insert himself in the lesson and begin to fall in love with her. Even though I thought Rosamund's character was well-fleshed out, I got the impression she married Kevin for practical reasons. To be sure there was sexual chemistry between them, but the "falling in love" part just didn't connect the dots for me. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I loved this novel. Although I did not read the first in this series, I could still follow the plot. Rosamund Jameson shares an inheritance with Kevin Radnor after his uncle’s death., not only money but an invention -a machine that could be the steam engine. They meet and Kevin helps her adjust to the wealth but fiercely wants her not to share in the invention. Yet they fall in love and get married. There are a few disagreements from his family but they remain married after a brief disagreement over the engine. I hope that there will be more to come about the Radnors. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
This is a 5 star novel.

I enjoyed the story and characters in this book, and I thought the plot more focused and rewarding than book 1 of the series. While I liked the h&h both separately and together and I thought they had good sexual chemistry, I do not think it really progressed beyond lust for me, at least not in a convincing manner.

Kevin is an inventor and has found out the stake his grandfather owned in his invention was inherited by an unknown female, who has been difficult to find. It turns out this unknown female is a milliner, who has a head for business. The two butt heads at times, but they do have complimentary skills. She is who Kevin needs to turn his invention into a successful business.

I enjoy Hunter’s writing and stories. I appreciate that they are a bit different and tend to have more substance than many others out there. But here, and several of her more recent offerings, the romance has been lackluster. I just wasn’t feeling that aspect. The h&h were compatible, but the development of the characters or the romantic connection was not at the level that Hunter has shown in the past. All in all this was a diverting read, but it probably won’t stick with me for long.


<I>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. Views are my own.

A hat maker, Rosamund James, discovers she is an heiress not just in terms of money but half of a business venture with Kevin Radnor. She moves to London and we get to see their lives as they wade through this development and try to make their business relationship a success while denying their chemistry. Eventually they give in, marry and live happily ever after with the success of their business. Rosamund was intelligent and independent and bowed to no one which I very much enjoyed. She saw herself as an equal to Kevin, which back them was unheard of. Kevin was at times the sweetest, passionate about his projects and didn’t have a care for his families feelings about him being an inventor.

I was very conflicted with this book. I really enjoyed it at time and at others I was bored. There needed to be more consistency in Kevin’s behavior and in Rosamund’s effort to make herself a lady as well as speech patterns. The feelings/romance part were also a problem. It seemed like it was added in because it was supposed to be a romance story, there was no passion and they just had sex to have it. Where were the feelings, the need, the want? They fell in love and it was just said there was no depth to that and we really have no reason to believe they actually ever figured out they loved one another other than the authors words saying they did. The ending was very rushed like she was running out of words/pages and this was really the only place the two main characters feelings are felt.

Overall I liked the idea of the story and it could have been a great read but it fell flat, especially in the romance department.

We received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So many historical romance books have the typical tropes of high borne aristocratic characters. This book goes away from those mainstream plots and tells the story of two people who WORK for living, gasp!

I enjoyed the story between the inventor/engineer and the milliner, and seeing how their relationship grew!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

This is the second book in a series based on an interesting conceit: three unknown women left a fortune by a duke. The duke's extended family are pretty awful for the most part, with a few exceptions, the new duke and two of his cousins. The second heiress is found and since she owns half of cousin Kevin's company he finds he needs to court her, businesswise, since she refuses to sell her shares to him. Kevin is an inventor and known for his forthrightness bordering on rudeness. Newly rich Rosamunde, a milliner with her own shop, is more than a match for him. I totally enjoyed their interactions with each other and with the awful Radnor family.

I love Madeline Hunter's books and I looked forward to reading this one. This story has many of my favorite tropes: marriage of convenience, Pygmalion-like transformation, and unrequited love. This book is one of three in a series about independent, working women who inherit a fortune from a Duke they barely know. In this book, Rosamund is a talented milliner who inherits a fortune and half the business of one of the Duke's nephews, Kevin, who is an inventor. Right away, there is tension between Rosamund and the late Duke's family (who hoped to inherit) and with Kevin as Rosamund intends to be an active partner in the business, which he resists.

There is sexual chemistry between the couple, and the author shows Rosamund's feelings growing for Kevin. But all the emotional development appears to be on Rosamund's side and Kevin's growth in the relationship doesn't really show until the slightly dramatic but anti-climatic ending. I wish that Kevin had to at least grovel a bit more to win Rosamund back in the end.

There are a few plot twists in the story and an unresolved mystery surrounding the late Duke's death and some bumpy transitions that left you wondering about the fate of some of the characters in the book, perhaps hinting at stories will be resolved in future books by Hunter. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book.