Katherine Vareck is in for the shock of her life when she learns upon her husband Meri's accidental death that he had married two other women. Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is everything she's been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives.

Now THAT is how you introduce a novel. It's also not a plot that I have ever read before. It's a wonderful start to a series and one that grabs your attention from the jump. The romance that blossoms between the H and h is so sweet and steamy that I dare you not to fall for them. Fully recommend

This is my first time reading this author and I was not disappointed. The story starts off right away with Katherine meeting Christian at the solicitor's office for the reading of her husband's will. Her husband was the duke's half brother. At this meeting its discovered that her husband had two additional wives. Everyone is in a bind for what to do to avoid the scandal this will cause.

Katherine invites the other wives to stay with her until things can be sorted out and wonderful friendships are developed between the women. Christian gets involved as well to try and spare all the women from scandal, and while he works with Katherine through this bizarre situation they fall in love.

Both main characters were winners for me. I loved the way the Katherine referred to her former husband throughout the book as the "trigamist." Christian was honorable and endearing. Together they made a great pair. The story was well paced and had interesting secondary characters.

If you are a fan of historical romance novels, this will not disappoint.

This book started with a great premise, by the execution fell a little flat for me.

I absolutely loved the relationship that grew from the three wives. They were my favorite part of this book. Several of the side characters captured my heart as well.

Kat’s upbringing and her hard work to becoming a well known business woman, is not something we see regularly in historical romance. I really liked this aspect.

The hero of this story started out as an alpha, but then suddenly turned into a cinnamon roll hero, and I had a hard time connecting the two.

3.5 Stars

What a lovely, yet steamy, historical romance!

I love strong heroines who stand up against societal norms! I absolutely loved how she stood up for herself, and the other two wives to Christian!

He has to help make this right, right!?!

Their interactions just might make a few other things happen as well! :)

I really enjoyed this story!

Katherine is a woman who can take care of he self. After a whirlwind marriage to the son of a duke, she has created her own successful business. But when her husband is killed, she finds her self left with a lot of questions. The author developed many of the characters really well, and I look forward to reading more about them in the next installment. The steamy scenes were VERY steamy. The plot moved quickly and was devoured easily.

I feel so bad about this rating. The premise of this book is so good: three wives? Yes please, give me the all drama. But I absolutely forced myself through this book, particularly the last third, and I am so glad to be done with it. I just do not vibe with Janna MacGregor's writing, I found it really stilted which stopped me from getting into the story. It would also jump around sometimes, so a conversation could be happening and all of a sudden it would do a complete turn onto a totally unconnected topic which I found so jarring and hard to follow. It affected my entire reading experience; I didn't feel or believe the romance and I found the steamy scenes so dull. I also really disliked Katherine, she annoyed me and I don't know why Christian liked her.

I hate leaving negative reviews so I don't want to go into more detail than that. This book mostly has really good reviews and again, the premise is really cool, so I think this may be a it's not the book it's me situation.

"A Duke in Time" by Janna MacGregor
Another winning story
Loved this story, and yes, it had a few scenes with a bit more detail than I cared to read, so there were a few skimmed pages. That said, the rest of the story was so engrossing that I am ever so glad I got to play this story as a movie in my imagination. Oh, to be as strong as Katherine. And a bonus, Rosalyn Landor is the narrator of the audiobook. I have yet to be disappointed when reading one of her audiobooks. I expect I may need to get a copy of the audiobook, too! Happy Reading ! !
NOTE: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher. This review is my honest opinion.

A Duke in Time

When I pick up a Janna MacGregor book, I know I will be enjoy it. Her books have strong, independent and intelligent female characters, developing heroes and a good story. A Duke in Time is the first book in the Widow Rules series (but can be read as a standalone) and is true to form.

Katherine is the recently widowed wife of Lord Meriwether ("Meri") Vareck. She is summoned to hear Meri's will. So were his other two wives: Beth and pregnant Constance! They each want to know what happened to their dowries.

Meri's half brother is Christian Vareck, the Duke of Ranford. He is a war hero freshly returned from the war. When he arrives at the solicitor's office, he discovers Meri's 3 wives. He has always disliked his brother and his family and refuses to help the 3 women. Katherine takes charge and the 3 women band togtehr to help each other.

Katherine is a successful owner of a linen business and 2 charities for women. Christian ignores society and wants to help displaced soldiers. As Katherine and Christian square off, sparks fly! Plots, strange gifts from Meri, secrets, and romance ensue.

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion: I enjoyed reading it and can't wait to find out what hapens to Beth and Constance!

I received this book for free for my honest opinion through Netgalley. I love that this book begins with a strong woman who is made a widow out of no where. The more I learned about the main widow, the more I loved this story. She was a strong independent woman, "she don't need no man"!! A business woman who used her original marriage to go up in society, that is my kind of girl. I loved the Duke as well because at first he seemed terrible but the more you got to know him and understand him, you fell in love. I found the love connection between them to be believable, which I find in a lot of romance novels I rarely ever "believe" or understand why they fell in love in the first place. I would definitely read another book in this series and other books written by this author!

I enjoyed this book very much. The author did a good job with her characters and storyline and will keep the reader entertained while reading it.

Katherine has just found out that he dead husband has two other wives and his brother is a Duke. Since she met the Duke in the lawyers off and he declined to assist the wives with returning their doweries and one of them is pregnant. Katherine takes them into her home until she can get.the Duke to help them.

Christian comes home from war to find his half brother has left.him with a.mess to clean up again. When he meets.the.first wife Katherine he is intrigued with her. After hearing Katherine out regarding the wives he has decided she would be the right person to help him with his charity to help veterans who returned from war to no jobs. He is determined to help these men so he approach ex Katherine for her help with these men. But they have to fight the attraction they have for one another or do they?.

I received this book for an honest review

Thank you for the ARC book. There are some parts of the the book that are fun and other parts that are too predictable just some that are just flat. I like the storyline, the three women married to the same man, but the writing is shallow for the women. One of the most enjoyable things for me about reading HS fiction is the discription of place and clothes. This author really only describes the sex scenes, which gets boring.

This is a wonderful love story. Their hearts are really on display. No two people could have deserved it more. Great characters with a heartfelt romance. Absolutely loved the book!

When Katherine Varek is summond to the reading of her husband's will, she finds much more than she bargained for. With her marriage she gained respectability. She has used that to build a successful business. Now everything could be ruined through no fault of hers. Our heroine has lots of secrets, but also a big opportunity on the horizon.

Christian, the Duke of Randford gave up on his brother years ago. This latest mess is going to be nearly impossible to put right. He has concerns of his own to deal with and no interest in getting involved with anything to do with his brother.

Our hero came back from the war and is using his status to help those old soldiers who came back to nothing.

This is a very amusing, and unusual historical romance with fabulous characters. The surprises keep coming and the problems keep piling up. It will be just as interesting to read the other books in the series. I will definitely be reading them.

Great fun.

After the sudden, accidental death of his half-brother, Meriweather, War hero Christian, the Duke of Ranford, has a bit of a problem. Make that three problems, or rather, three widows. His brother, a profligate spendthrift and bonvivant marred three different women in three different towns for their dowries or what not. It's a scandal! And for Christian who has been cleaning up after his brother for years, it's just another headache. He's certainly not interested in the fascinating first wife of his half-brother, the refreshing and forthright Katherine nee Greer.

Katherine has always had to look out for herself. Born on the wrong side of the blanket, she clawed her way up the social ladder to become a successful businesswoman. Now with a Royal contract on the line, her husband's death and subsequent scandal could not have come at a worse time. Even worse, the Duke seems uninterested and unwilling to help her and her fellow widows with recovering their dowries and reputation. What's a woman to do?

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First off, Despite the title and sort of dreamy cover art this is not a Time-Travel Romance.

Okay, that out of the way, Janna MacGregor is a new to me author and the premise of a widow of a "trigamist" (because two wives isn't enough) would do when faced with that scandal in Regency London intrigued me. The story was well done and you can definitely see the set up for the future books in this one. One of the major historical conflicts (the fact that one cannot marry one's brother's widow per Church of England Law) was solved fairly interestingly. And it was solved to my historian eyes' satisfaction.

I found Christian a refreshing hero. He walks the line between an alpha and beta hero. He's respectful and even admiring of Katherine's abilities and doesn't try to stop her from being competent, in fact, he cheers her on. While at the same time he's definitely protective and expects to get his way. I liked him.

I really liked Katherine. She was competent and resourceful and genre-savvy. She got into trouble but she also got herself out. She was kind and considerate but also had a backbone. Frankly I really liked her.

The writing style was okay. I found parts of it stilted and some anachronisms slipped through. Enough that I noticed and enough that it lessened my enjoyment.

But in all this is a solid start to a series and I'm interested in reading more so this gets:

Four Stars

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley

This book really does open with a bang! It starts off in a solicitors office where our heroine, Katherine, is waiting to be told her late husband’s will. Only for two other women to show up–women who claim they were also married to Katherine’s husband and one of whom is now pregnant! Katherine is shocked but immediately shows her strength of character when she offers the other two women stay with her whilst they sort everything out. All of their dowries have gone missing leaving all three of them in trouble. The main plot of the story is taken up with trying to find out where their dowries have gone, and how they’re going to avoid the scandal of being married to a trigamist.

In this book though I will admit I didn’t like the hero, Christian, who is the brother of Katherine’s husband, much to start with. He shows up with some documents for the will but then pretty much leaves the women to it, even after discovering what a mess his brother has made. He does have an attack of conscience (or is moved by Katherine’s beauty) and turns his coach around but when he gets back the women have already disappeared. He did grow on me though. After finding out the reasoning behind his initial abandonment, and later when he offers to help, his true character starts to shine through. He also has some issues of his own to work through with regards to his brother, and I enjoyed seeing how Katherine helped with that.

Opposite of Christian, I loved Katherine right from the start! She’s a very strong character with secrets in her past that could ruin her, and any relationship she begins with Christian. She’s all for some action though and she definitely believes in taking what she wants. She’s a hard-working heroine, having built a successful business which is famous for only hiring and catering to women.

I did enjoy seeing their relationship develop, although it did go quicker than I usually like. I’m definitely more for a slow-burn and this was almost insta-lovey. I definitely swooned a bit though when Christian comes over one day bearing flowers–not just for Katherine but for all the women. He was wonderfully protective at times too!

Altogether this was a sweet romance between two people with caring hearts who really just want the best for everyone. They both have issues to overcome and it was an enjoyable journey seeing them come together. I’m assuming there’s going to be two other books in the series dealing with the other widows and I’m curious to know how their stories are going to turn out!

This is the first in what is going to be a good series. This story was filled with warmth, sadness, joy, and romance. I loved how there were so many, I didn’t see that coming! moments. It was filled with many surprises that kept you turning the page. The characters were well developed and filled with feeling. The storyline was different making it an enjoyable read.
There was a lot of sex in this book which this reviewer skip as usual and it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. I will be looking forward to reading the rest of the series as this book set them up very nicely. I received this as an ARC and freely
give my review.

Lady Katherine is in mourning for her husband, Meri, when she finds out that she is one of three women that he was married to. To add to the scandal, one of the women is pregnant and all of their dowries had disappeared. Enter Christian, the Duke of Randford and Meri’s half brother. Christian is a war hero and has his own issues managing his estate and finding jobs for the men that he commanded during the war. While Kat has no interest in remarrying, Christian soon changes her mind, but not without a little drama along the way.

I liked Christian and Kat, but the amount of sexual escapades Kat is willing to participate in despite being a virgin, was a surprise. I also thought her big secret was really a lot to do about nothing.

I loved this story of three women who discover that they have been married to the same man. Who knew that this was such a fun trope? I love how it sets the women up for a strong friendship. It clearly shows set up for the next two books, but in the very best way. I loved how Katherine became the unofficial caretaker of the women. Her strength and work ethic were the perfect characteristics in this role and set her up perfectly to be a match for Christian. Their relationship grew in friendship and tension in all the best ways. I can't WAIT for Constance's story. It had similar vibes (but historical and open door) to Lauren Layne's Love on Park Ave series. It's a solid 4.5 stars

This novel was a delightful and charming read. Janna MacGregor's start to this new series, about three widow's who have something in common and form their own family, is sweetly and softly crafted. I found that the situations at the start of this novel to be a very engaging way to draw in the reader. MacGregor's writing has a nice even pace to it, and it is a comforting and gentle read. I think MacGregor also peoples her world with wonderful characters who are multi faceted, and a wonderful support system for both the hero and heroine. Also, due to their captivating craftsmanship, I am extremely excited for their own stories and am highly looking forward to the continuation of this series.

The heroine-Katherine, is a strong, independent and caring woman. She runs her own business and helps to employ women who need a way to support themselves no matter their histories or circumstances. She boldly stands up to the hero-Christian, when it comes to their first meeting, and his help with the situation (and her lost dowery) after the death of her husband (Christian's half brother). Christian at first comes off as closed off and unattached, but as his morals and goodwill war with in him the reader can see that he is very kind hearted and wants the best for the people he cares for.

Katherine and Christian are both able to mutually help each other and it is through this time that they spend together that their initial attraction is able to bloom and flourish. I loved watching both of their respect grown for the other as they were able to uncover wonderful qualities and strengths that are not readily noticeable on the surface. I definitely felt like this respect created a solid foundation for trust and then a physical and loving relationship to grow. This novel has a delightful steam level as the hero and heroine begin to explore each other and express their love.

As the third act conflict began to play out I was a bit fearful that misunderstanding or miscommunication would play a heavy hand, but was ultimately glad with the way things went. There are multiple times throughout the novel that Katherine withholds information from Christian perhaps longer than I would hope for, but Christian is actually very level headed and always listens to Kat as she speaks her truth (this was something I really loved about the hero).

I would recommend this both to any historical romance reader. It is a softly charming story, that is more gentle and character driven than action packed, and I really found that to be a lovely way to start a new series about found family. I am absolutely going to continue on in this series and can not wait to find out about what happens to our other widows.

Katherine Vareck is in for the shock of her life when she learns upon her husband Meri's accidental death that he had married two other women. Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is everything she's been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives.

Meri's far more upstanding brother, Christian, Duke of Randford has no earthly clue how to be of assistance. He spent the better part of his adult years avoiding Meri and the rest of his good-for-nothing family, so to be dragged back into the fold is…problematic. Even more so is the intrepid and beautiful Katherine, whom he cannot be falling for because she's Meri's widow. Or can he?

I love Katherine and Christian. Such likable and complex characters. The secondary characters are interesting too. A great storyline and wonderful characters.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC.