Upon the death of her husband of one year, Katherine discovers that he was a polygamist. While Kat was his first (and therefore legal) wife, she can't help feeling responsible for the other two women duped by him. She also enlists the help of his brother, Christian. Soon, she and Christian begin to fall for each other. But what will happen when he discovers the secrets about her past?

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. This story is well-paced and the plot never lagged.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This is the first in a new series. There is a prelude short story in Where There's a Will, and I do recommend readers check that out first.

Christian, Duke of Rankford, is not quite a cinnamon roll hero but his heart is all in the right place. As a war hero, he is concerned for his former soldiers, and he's fundamentally unable to walk away from those who need help. All he really wants to do is take care of his roses, a hobby he learned from his late mother. And on second thought, maybe that does make him a total cinnamon roll. Christian is faced with untangling the mess left by his late brother, Meri. And oh what a mess! The mess is part of the plotline for all the books in this series, but it is also an avenue for some laugh out loud moments and some bananas things tossed in along the way.

If you want a strong, competent heroine, Katherine is for you. Katherine is a smart and successful businesswoman. She runs a business embroidering and providing linens to the aristocracy. She has developed a unique shopping experience for the women of the ton, and provides jobs for single women who need to provide for themselves and their families. She is especially sensitive to women who have had children out of wedlock. She personally knows the burden and judgement that society places on these women, from her own childhood. She sees opportunity for expanding her business and takes calculated, reasoned risks. She battles a nasty competitor who wants to play dirty. And like other women of the era with her past, she tries to protect her life from her past by hiding facts, and creating the aura of respectability that is the only way she can maintain her success. Or so she believes.

These two come together through the mess left by Meri. At the same time, Christian and Katherine have an instant attraction and work to fight it, while inevitably falling in love. And falling in love they do. Much of the story is about them falling in love, not a short realization at the end after the dark moment, as in many romances. And I loved that! They have a chance to learn about each other, work together, learn to trust, learn to reveal their true selves. It's a romantic journey to happily ever after.

Sexy times are on the page and hot. Consent is fully present. Discussion of avoiding pregnancy is present.

Found family is the theme for both characters, and that's one of my favorite tropes. For both Christian and Katherine, the found family is in the support of those around them who work with them, and their peers and friends. These are the people who know them, the ones they rely on, and in Katherine's situation, those who are in the same boat due to Meri's mess, and will stand with her as they assist each other in finding a way out. I really liked this exploration of the family that supports you and has your back no matter what.

I was worried at the dark moment that what had otherwise felt like a pretty positive story, would fall into the familiar habit of a character running away to prevent something from the past being revealed. And while there was a little bit of that, the real point of the moment was for Katherine to take control of both her past and her future, and I loved that. On top of that, Christian believed in her and did not ride to her rescue. Again, thank you! A full partnership and Katherine was not suddenly reduced to a quivering mess who couldn't take care of herself, not was Christian simply the rescuer. I really appreciated it.

Set ups for subsequent novels in the series are present and it will be interesting to see how those develop. It's clear whose stories are coming and I felt vested enough in the women to be interested. The future heroes are more enigmatic, so there is plenty still to come.

Highly recommend this one. Janna MacGregor fans will enjoy this, and any historical romance fans looking for a new series will find a lot to enjoy.

CW for death of a parent, loss of a spouse, cheating spouses, sexism.

A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor Is the first book in a brand new series Called the Widow rules. This book has an interesting twist and has all the key elements to a lovely historical romance. The interesting twist is the dead man has three wives.

Katherine Varitek married Meri the Duke of Randford in a quiet ceremony in an old church. Meri stayed through the wedding breakfast, but then had to run to Portsmouth for an errand only to never return, as he is dead. However Meri had plenty of time for other things like marrying two other wives. Katherine and the other wives all meet and decide to band together to find the truth. Meri's younger brother Christian becomes the Duke of Randford. He is the one that has to figure out this morass. The only problem is he really likes Katherine. But jeez, she is his brother's widow, a little creepy.

A Duke in Time is a fun read. There were great characters, lovely twists and turns, serious hotness and more still to discover in the books to come. Janna McGregor's newest book, A Duke in Time is a good read.

Janna MacGregor is one of those authors that people tend to either really love or really hate. For me a lot of the time, her books seem to fall into the "this was an okay read" for me. Her writing style is strong, her plot-lines interesting, but sometimes I don't feel like her characters do the whole thing justice.

Christian and Kat, while adorable together more often than not crossed into the realm of outright cheesiness. For example, after they make love for the first time, he tells her that he held heaven in his arms. Cute maybe, but it was just another example of the over the top lines that made me roll my eyes.

There were also a lot of things that you had to overlook in this story - for example a lot of it read as though it could be taking place in PRESENT day instead of the regency, and that was a bit off-putting as were the constant (and very odd) things that kept turning up for Christian from his dead brother's belongings. Instead of getting everything all it once, it would seem he got them in bits and pieces - tigers came one day, a few days later (or maybe it is weeks) erotic statues get delivered, etc, etc.

I also didn't care for how things wrapped up with the wives. It would seem as though Meri was even more of a jerk than we thought (and trust me we all thought he was a pretty big jerk from the first). And it was never even resolved why he would do what he did (and trust me when I say it was bigger than him just supposedly marrying three different women).

All things considered, if this is a story that appeals to you, please don't let me thoughts discourage you from giving it a try. I felt it was an enjoyable story even with its faults. I would read more from this author.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Before this book, Janna MacGregor was not one of my go-to authors, but that has certainly changed. Although it took me a few chapters to get into the story, once I did, I was hooked and ended up reading the rest of it in one sitting, staying up well past my bedtime. I can't say exactly what it was that held me so enthralled so I think that means it was a little bit of everything, which is the sign of a great book. From about a third of the way through, I kept thinking, "I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.". I didn't just want book two, but book three as well.
I suppose part of my hesitation with the story at first was the initial premise of the three wives left behind by the trigamist. That they so quickly and easily formed a bond was simultaneously odd and understandable. Katherine, who to that point had been a bit brisk and efficient, began to thaw as the dust settled. The Duke, Christian, also took a bit of time to warm up to, as dukes often do. But, once he warmed up, he quickly became rather steamy until, together, they nearly exploded.


The chemistry between the two characters was undeniable. Waiting for them to get together was frustrating in a good way with the reader feeling all of their own irritation and impatience. What was best was that they came together fully accepting the other. There were still secrets to be exposed, but they were each ready to take the other as they were.


I thoroughly enjoyed the secondary characters as well. The other two wives will certainly have great stories of their own, but Christian'd group of former soldiers he had gathered as servants in his household were interesting additions, especially his valet. And Katherine's companion Willa was a vital part of the story, supporting her friend at every turn.


I am grateful to #NetGalley for providing me a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Duke in Time
Book 1 in The Widow Rules series
Rating: 4 sweet stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

A Duke in Time kicks off a new series by introducing us to three women who end up marrying the same man. They find out when they are called in for the reading of his will.
They all realize that they have been swindled by him since all three had given him their dowries. It is Christian, the Duke of Ranford, who steps in to help out and clear out the mess his half-brother made. He meets Katherine that day and is captivated by her.
He decides to enlist her help to establish a charity to help those soldiers who returned from war only to find themselves as beggars, homeless and in dire need of financial assistance to help out their families.. Christian served as Captain against the French and now that he's back home he realizes how much his fellow soldiers need help. Katherine is a very smart business woman and runs one successfully. As they get to know each other better they realize that there's something between them, but Katherine realizes that her past seems to find a way to prevent their HEA.
I really enjoyed this story. Their romance story was very sweet and Christian always said the right words to Kate. Though he's this big guy who might seemed arrogant, he actually has a big heart and he sees how Katherine is the one for him. I liked how Christian always valued her opinions and how when learning the truth about her past he did not care. He knew that she was a good woman and would make him happy.
Overall, I think it's a great start to the series and I can't wait to see what happens next to the other two widows.
I highly recommend it to those who enjoy reading about heroes that are sweet and protective and heroines who will stand up for themselves but still enjoy being loved.

3.5-star read!

The premise of this series is quite interesting: Our heroine, Katherine, went to see the family solicitor upon the death of her husband, who was the half brother of Christian, the Duke of Ranford, just to realize he had two other wives whom he married after their marriage (that was yet to be consummated!) So now the three widows were on the verge of ruination if words got out. Katherine, as an independent entrepreneur with her own luxury linen boutique, offered to take in Constance and Beth while they tried to sort out this messy situation...

I love that both Christian and Katherine are very kind-hearted and generous. Christian, a return war hero, was working hard to help his fellow returning soldiers find jobs and transition back to civilian life. Katherine, a self-made woman, was running her thriving boutique shop and hiring women to work for her. However, I feel like the book was dragging for the most part. The chemistry between Christian and Katherine was just lukewarm (though their sexy times were HOT!) and I didn't feel really invested in their love story. The conflicts were not very convincing, and then it got repetitive at some point. It went better toward the end though, and we got glimpses of the next 2 couples that are very intriguing and promising. So I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

*Special thanks to St. Martin Press for gifting me this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Release date: June 29, 2021.

After her husband's death Katherine, Lady Vareck, expects to have her dowry returned and continue on with her linen business. Imagine her shock when she finds out her husband had two additional wives and one is pregnant. She jumps in to help and forces Christian, Lord Randford, to help her all while trying to maintain her secrets. Katherine and Christian are drawn together to help the two other wives and soldiers returning from war. The story contains the requisite scandals and will they or won't they moments. All in all an entertaining story.

A widow goes to her solicitor for the reading of her late husband's will, only to discover that she isn't the only wife attending. Shocking!

Katherine is a self made business woman with a secretive background. She isn't who she claims to be. Christian is a Duke, and her late husband's half brother. He is not very courteous upon meeting Katherine for the fist time. That isn't to say that he is indifferent to her. Will he help the destitute widows or will he try walk away from his brother's latest surprise?

Katherine is kind hearted and finds ways to assist the other widows. Not something everyone in her position would do. Christian is impressed by her approach and the more he gets to know her, the more his attraction to her grows. His brother has left a few more surprises in his wake. Not the pleasant kind. It's a tale of unhappy childhoods, and helping those in need. The friendship between the widows is astounding. The romance appears to be impossible, but somehow, love prevails. It's a good storyline.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

Christian and Katherine made a very interesting couple seeing as how their first meeting was at the lawyer for the reading of her husband's will (he is the brother) not quite a enemies to lover story but close for a bit, the things that occur and the slow burn romance weaved in with a very good story and the always required it seems "big secret" was done pretty well and did not resort to the hero having to ride in on a white horse with sword drawn everything there was a problem since our heroine was very resourceful . The thing is you keep thinking the "big secret" was going to be the turning point but there are plots and subplots and parallel plots, all of which I enjoy but it seems with female authors many of them don't give revenge junkies like me a full measure of satisfaction but the ending was very satisfying otherwise. 4 Stars for a story that kept my attention, sexuality that was done well (not great but well) since it seemed a bit more 21st century than Victorian but the relationship proceeded fairly normally for the most part with some unforeseen twists that I did not see coming in the story which made it even more entertaining. I can hardly wait to see what becomes of her 2 friends since it is obvious they will be the other "widows" this series is about, good entertaining reading ahead it would seem .

A Duke in Time is the first book in the Widow Rules series by Janna MacGregor. A steamy historical romance with chemistry that is off the charts. I was pulled in after reading the first page and did not want to put this one down. The characters are well-written and develop at a smooth, steady pace with intriguing backgrounds that slowly come to light at just the right time, making it easy to get lost in the story. A Duke in Time reads like a movie, and I cannot wait for the next book in the Widow Rules series by Janna MacGregor.

With the first in the The Widow Rules series you will meet some interesting characters under  extremely mortifying situation that weaves a story that will hold you spellbound as three astounded women find out they are married to the same person. A Duke in Time is full of emotion as Katherine and Christian try to overcome their emotional scars from their past. Christian just returned from the war and can't believe the tangled web his half brother has left behind upon his death. Katherine will do anything to save her friends from the scandal that will happen if others find out. She will do anything to keep those she loves safe from the tons vicious tongues. As Katherine and Christian journey takes them on a emotional rollercoaster ride that brims with suspenseful twists that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat until you reach the last satisfying sentence.

Jana MacGregor has woven a story from beginning to end with threads of intrigue, anguish and secrets and sizzling passion. It's an unforgettable romance that is beautifully written, filled with characters with such depth and individuality that they come off the pages and will pull you into their tale, great and humorous situations, and an wonderful plot that brings this read together perfectly!

The sneak peak of Constance's story, Rules of Engagement, leavese you eagerly anticipating the next in the series.

What a wonderful great book. It’s amazing what a man will do when he loves a woman and in the same time what a woman will do to protect him. I enjoyed every word and look forward to the next in the series

Upon the death of her missing husband, Lady Katherine (Kat) Vareck discovers he also wed two other women. She turns to his brother Christian, Duke of Randford recently returned from the battlefront, to help resolve the situation. Kat is independent, runs her own linen making business and only wishes for her dowry back and there be no scandal.

Christian is tired of cleaning up the messes of his half brother but really has no choice. He finds Kat enthralling and is bothered that his brother found her first. He likes her business skills and requests her help in setting up a charity to help soldiers returning from war who don't have jobs. The attraction is sizzling and steamy. It feels very modern with lots of emphasis on consent.

I like Kat's independence and work ethic. Her genuine kindness to the other wives is wonderful. I also like heroines that can save themselves and not need rescuing. The focus on veterans and their issues was a nice addition. For some reason I didn't love the romance. It feels more lust driven. Christian talks to his friends more about it than he talks to Kat. I did enjoy this historical romance overall. (3.5 stars rounding up). Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a start to a new series! Katherine is a strong woman that is trying to hold on to her business when she finds out that her husband had married 2 other women. I love reading romance novels with strong women, women that stand up for themselves or others, and don't let men take care of them just because they are supposed to be the "weaker" sex. Katherine proves over and over again that she is not weak and can more than take care of herself and everyone under her care. I can't wait for book 2, to see how widow #2 fars in finding her happily ever after!

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Two very different brothers, three very deceived wives!

Meri's death revealed his deceitful, gambling history as the three women he'd married for their dowries all learn of the other two. His older brother, Christian, is the stable, staid, honorable opposite of his younger wastrel brother, and while he wants nothing to do with cleaning up yet another of Meri's chaotic messes, he just can't turn his back on the lovely young widow who is insisting he return her dowry so she can continue to focus on her thriving linen business and put her sham of a marriage behind her.

Having last seen her husband only hours after the wedding, Kat is not really mourning the loss of a man she never really knew. When her brother-in-law suggests that he can help her business if she in return helps him set up a charity to provide employment and other assistance to returning veterans, she agrees to help even though her better judgment is telling her to cut ties with the entire family.

This book does a splendid job of advocating for veteran's rights and benefits, reminding us that social status is completely useless on the battlefield and honor can be found in all walks of life. Christian and Kat have a very sweet, slow-burn romance filled with intense chemistry and more than a few wild surprises. We also get to know Constance and Beth, the other two wives, and get a glimpse of what their futures hold for them in the upcoming books of this series.

The writing is fun and engaging, the characters are well-developed with many interesting layers to their complex lives. There are plenty of secrets to be revealed, and a weaselly villain (besides the deceased Mari) who tries to bring down our main characters just before success is in their hands. I was swept away by this enthralling romance, and delighted in the satisfying HEA. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This was my exact brand of female empowerment and swoon! I went in so concerned that the other wives would be awful and hindrances, but they were fully developed characters that I grew to love as much as the rest!

I enjoyed this book and the unique storyline. Kat and Christian are wonderful characters and Kat is a very strong female character. I’m looking forward to reading Constance hea.

This was a delightful beginning to the new Widow Rules series by Janna MacGregor. I thoroughly enjoyed the unique premise of this story. Our widow, Lady Katherine Vareck discovers that she is just one of three women who were wed to Lord Meriweather Vareck when she arrives at the solicitor's office to hear the reading of his will. What transpires from there is an entertaining story full of the trials and travails Katherine faces, all while dealing with her late husband's half brother, the Duke of Randford.

My heart went out to all three ladies who fell under Meri's spell and found themselves in a truly scandalous situation. Katherine most of all, whose past is something she desperately tries to keep buried. Her attraction to Christian is instantaneous, but he's her late husband's half brother, she shouldn't be feeling the things she's feeling.

Christian was quite the Duke! A decorated war hero, he's trying to erase as much of his family as he can from the memories of society, and get the duchy back to a respectable level. He doesn't know what to make of his late half-brother's widows, or any of the other outlandish things Meri has been doing all these years while he was away at war. He certainly shouldn't be lusting over his brother's first wife.

It is always a pleasure getting lost in Janna's stories, as she has such a way of painting a picture of her characters that helps me get lost in the pages. I couldn't put this book down, needing to know if Katherine was going to finally find some peace and happiness that's eluded her most of her life. And would Christian be able to resolve the feelings he's always harbored toward his father and second family, and find love for the first time in his life?

I am most intrigued by several of the side characters in this story, and hope they'll be getting books of their own in this series, and I am in love with Willa, and wish I had someone like her in my life to keep me on the straight and narrow!

Katherine and Christian's story is an excellent start in this new series and I am most excited for the rest of the widow's stories!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advanced review copy of this story in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is my first book by Janna MacGregor, and it did not disappoint. A recent widow, Katherine Vareck, is shocked at the reading of her late husband's will by the revelation that he had married two other women. Katherine takes the other wives under her wing while asking her late husband's brother, Christian, Duke of Randford, to help them from becoming publicly disgraced. The problem is the Duke had washed his hands of his wastrel of a brother years ago.

There was so much that I loved about this book. Katherine's story was beautifully written, and dare I say she was an angel walking among us meet mortals?! She was a bit unrealistic, but finding out her history and how she came to be so independent, everything fit perfectly. I'm excited to hear that this is book one of a series, I can't wait to read about the 2nd and 3rd wives, Constance and Beth.

I don't want to share too much, but one of my favorite parts of the book were when the odd bequests from Meri, Christian's brother the scoundrel, were delivered. Just when I thought they couldn't get worse, they did!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for me to read and review. I'll be sharing my review on both Goodreads, and Instagram in the next day or two. My review contains my own opinion of the book.