The Duchess Hunt (Once Upon a Dukedom #2). By Lorraine Heath. 2021. Avon (ARC eBook).

The Duchess Hunt is a slow-burn, workplace romance with both Hugh Brinsley, the Duke of Kingsland, and his secretary of 8 years, Penelope Pettypeace, keeping long-held secrets from everyone. And as Penelope works towards planning an engagement ball and finding the future bride of her boss and man she pines for, Hugh begins to see Penelope in a different light and the temptation proves too powerful to not become lovers for what little time they have left. Heath is a favorite historical romance author for me and The Duchess Hunt did not disappoint. I look forward to continuing the series.

This was a fun historical romance, which I have not read in a while. The author is one of my favorites and so I was excited to read this story. It stars Penelope as secretary to the Duke, Hugh and he has a quest for her to find him a wife by advertising in and ad. But Pen has a huge crush on the duke and he can't really see her until she starts helping him on this quest. I enjoyed the writing and characters though at times I felt bad for Penelope.

I have struggled to write my review of this book. There were definitely things I liked, but there were also things that bugged me.

I loved Penelope Pettypeace, the heroine. She is the Duke's secretary, and I love how competent and clever she is. The hero, Hugh Brinsley, treats her well and comes to realize that she is more than her position. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the trope of her finding a wife for the Duke, but I actually found her interacting with the various women entertaining.

I was a bit uncomfortable when they sleep together while she is still in his employ. That is always an ick factor for me.

The book's pacing was a bit awkward, especially once we learn that both the heroine and the hero have deep dark secrets and the overall plot gets derailed.

I think it is worth reading, but I do not think I would read it again.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Lorraine Heath is a writer who will grab you from page one and take you for a roller coaster ride of emotions until the very last word.

Our hero and heroine are both wonderfully written. They are each their own person with emotions and personalities that flow and respond to circumstance like it's real people would.

The plot is fantastic, it is packed full of emotion and makes you unable to put the book down.

Wonderful read that I highly recommend.

Thank you Avon and Netgallery for an ARC copy. Lorraine Heath is such a incredibly well written author. I absolutely loved this plot. It was a great page turner, I read the entire book in a day. I really liked the characters. Penelope is King’s efficient secretary and has been working for him for several years and is in charge of helping him find a wife.

I really liked that Penelope was an independent, strong and incredibly brilliant character. I like strong woman characters. King is a man who likes to be control, but doesn’t let people in emotionally.

Both characters have secrets they keep from everyone. But they eventually come to light over the course of the book. What will happen next? You will have to read to find out.

I first read about King and Penelope in the 1st book of the series, Scoundrel of my heart. Either book can be stand alone.

I definitely highly recommend this book, it’s a page turner, it kept my interest and it was very good! I highly recommend it!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a cute, flirty Historical Fiction romance that is a fun and easy read. The Duke of Kingsland needs to get married and produce and heir and a spare to secure his title. Determined that he is incapable of love and will only hurt his future wife, he places an ad asking eligible ladies to apply to be his bride. Not wanting to be bothered with selecting a winner, he assigns the task to his efficient, capable and devoted secretary, Penelope Pettypeace.

Pettypeace appreciates that the Duke values her intelligence and capabilities, and he's earned her loyalty by giving her a chance when others wouldn't. Despite knowing a relationship between her and the Duke is impossible, she enjoys her position and is determined to find him a suitable bride, even if it breaks her heart to do so. Both the Duke and Pettypeace harbor a dark secret, and when someone threatens to reveal one of theirs, they combine forces to head off a disaster.

This was a very cute and fun book. I really liked Pettypeace. She was smart, capable, loyal and had a good head on her shoulders. She was practical, but also allowed herself a bit of fancy in her crush on the Duke. I liked that she was strong and had no problem with voicing her opinion and standing up for herself. The Duke was typically clueless about how much he cared about Pettypeace until circumstances made him see her in a different light. Then it was just a matter of both of the parties getting on the same page at the same time.

I've never read this author before, but enjoyed her writing and will definitely read future books by her. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager. All opinions are my own.

I think this one pleasantly surprised me. It was relatively slow, but that actually gave us more time to recognize King and Penelope as a couple. Established relationships are hard, even though they weren't together, but giving us time to see them realize their feelings made it feel more authentic. Both of them had their trauma, but the way it was dealt with was heartwarming, and the epilogue made me happy.

Two stubborn people, one already in love and the other endearingly clueless for most of the story. This story filled my airplane ride so beautifully.

Penelope is strong, organized and the perfect partner for Hugh. She has learned to anticipate his needs and take care of the little thongs so he goes through his days oblivious to how much she truly does for him.

I liked how they each supported the other through revealing their deep dark secrets. Yes, one handled it with more care and a plume, the other made up for it in a very large way. Both secrets caught me off guard, but they had the advantage that I have not seen either in a story before. It was a delight to be surprised .

The characters are so well developed you instantly feel like they are your friends. The secondary characters are wonderful and I enjoyed that they knew Hugh's heart before he knew. Their smug knowledge was so warmly delivered Hugh remained clueless until the end.

I LOVE a grand gesture and this one was superb. Hugh made it clear to the ton that there was be no gossip about where things stood between him and Penelope. The final several paragraphs of the story filled my eyes wth tears. Well done, Ms. Heath, a wonderful story. I look forward to more ...I am hoping the Chessmen get their stories.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in anyway.

In this historical romance novel by Lorraine Heath, Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland is searching for a wife and has been using very pragmatic ways to search for her: by placing ads. Supporting him in this endeavor is Penelope Pettypeace, his secretary, who is quite in love with him yet having to go along with his plans. Full confession: I had trouble getting on board with the premise. I know, I know, historical romances already require so much suspension of disbelief. A female secretary was pushing it, along with a duke of all men, using the newspapers on top. In the end, I didn't quite believe Hugh's transition from seeing Pettypeace as simply a super efficient and amazing secretary to his actual OTL. Two months later I'm afraid I recall little about the novel. However, it may very well be someone else's cup of tea. 3.5 stars.

Netgalley generously shared an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

The Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. He places an advert encouraging the single ladies of the ton to write why they should be the one chosen, and leaves it to his efficient secretary, Penelope, to select his future wife.

But when an anonymous note threatens to reveal truths best hidden, Kingsland has no choice but to confront the danger with Penelope at his side. Beguiled by the strong-willed, courageous beauty, he realizes he’s willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe within his arms. Could it be the duchess he’s hunting for has been in front of him all along?

Lorraine Heath writes romances that defy the social stations of her couples, proving that the heart doesn't recognize those artificial barriers to true love. Recommended.

Cute historical romance, but I wished for more - the characters are very stiff but I guess its the period style. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this book and it was a great addition to the first book in the series as we get to know Kingsland better as well as learn more about Penelope. The characters are well developed and the story kept me turning the pages to see how things were going to turn out for these two. I would say if you are going to pick this one up, consider reading book one in the series first so you get a bit of the backstory. It may not be 100% necessary but I think having read it, I had a bit more exposure to Kingsland that added to the story in this book.

Lorraine Heath has definitely made it onto my auto-buy list as her books never disappoint and they give me the HEA I am typically looking for!

** spoiler alert ** I really love an independent woman in historical romance, and I really loved Penelope Pettypeace. Therefore, I really believed it was "out of character" for her to sleep with the Duke. Pettypeace was certainly smart enough to know that she would have a hard time with "one time," especially since she was clearly already in love with him! Also: I wish we would have gotten more of her backstory--especially concerning her family and the "photographs." It seems like that just came out of left field. Yes, Pettypeace did mention a scandal several times, but there was no hint as to what it was. Nevertheless, these are small grievances. Overall, and entertaining read.

True Rating: 3.5 stars

So, I am a fan of everything I have read by Lorraine Heath. Sadly, this one is the weakest book I've read from her so far.

For me, this book felt more like a historical fiction, than a historical romance. Though the mutual pining our characters had was fantastic, I felt like it went on too long, and suffered for the sake of the greater plot. That was so disappointing for me, as I am used to the sweeping romances I usually get from this author.

That said, this book wasn't bad. It just wasn't what I expected. I will continue to support this author. I'm just hoping this isn't her new normal.

While I very much liked the story and the two main characters, I didn’t feel like there was as much of a catalyst for Hugh to suddenly see Pettypeace as Penelope after 8 years as his secretary. For Penelope, it was when he announced at a Ball last year the name of the woman he was to marry and that makes sense. But for Hugh it is mentioned that he suddenly notices her as a woman even though he hasn’t for the past many years. Besides that it was a good story although I have to admit that both of their secrets were pretty shocking. We still didn’t get to learn much more about Hugh’s friends the Chessmen but hopefully we will in upcoming books.

The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath is a delightful historical romance. This is author is an automatic buy for me, this was no exception.
This is the 2nd book in a series but works very well as a stand alone. The Duchess Hunt has a lovely quick pace & emotional intensity that engrossed me in from the very beginning. Looking forward to her next release!

This ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love a romantic trope involving one character helping the other to find a partner, but falls in love with them instead! This book had all the pieces necessary to make a really swoony romance, but it fell flat in a few ways.

Penelope's secret that could ruin her reputation was hyped up so much that by the time it is revealed and wrapped up neatly, I was left feeling very let down. It was so anti-climatic since so much of Penelope's inner thoughts revolve around her stressing over it. Hugh had a bigger secret and never loses any sleep over it the way that Penelope does.

Overall I wanted more emotional stakes between them as a couple.

It's been about a while since The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath was released, but I just got around to posting a review for it! Even though I'm a huge mood reader, I've made an effort to read spooky books this month. So, The Duchess Hunt was actually my last read from September and surprisingly it was something that I really enjoyed. And I say 'surprisingly' mainly because I can count on one hand the number of 2021 historical romance releases that I actually enjoyed, even though it's one of my favorite genres! Even the lastest Lisa Kleypas book which was a highly anticipated read for me ended up being a huge disappointment. Fantasy and HR are two of my favorite subgenres and I read these books the most, but this year was one for contemporary romance books for me and I have no complaints since I've loved almost all the ones that I read. So, I was so happy that I found a new HR release that I fell in love with since the last one was Bombshell.

Lorraine Heath has always been one of my favorite authors, and she always manages to write beautiful romances which are a little angsty with secrets and stuff, but with amazing characters as well! I'm rarely ever in the mood for angst, but I can always read her books because I love her writing and characters, and I trust her I suppose?😂 Anyway in this one, we've got Hugh, the Duke of Kingsland, who hands over the task of searching for a bride for him to his secretary - Penelope, who's been in love with him for eight years. As much as it pains her to do it, she sets about to get the job done, but both of them have secrets that might threaten their orderly lives and an anonymous note could mess things up for them!

Things that I liked :
✨ Workplace romance - Boss/secretary relationships are so fun to read about and I loved watching these two navigate and develop their relationship
✨ Pining - I'm a sucker for pining heroes/heroines and Penelope has been in love with Hugh for a long time, while Hugh has started to like her as well but he refuses to own up to his feelings (typical stubborn HR male🙄)
✨ Angsty pasts of both the characters
I love the class differences that they had to navigate and the slow burn development!

On the other hand I'd have loved more glimpses into their interactions from when Penelope started working for him and how she fell for him. And Hugh really needed to be hit on the head at times. As much as I loved certain aspects of him he was too stubborn at times and really needed a wake up call. Plus, I just wanted more between them you know? Like why did he not notice Penelope's characteristics all these years? That could have been done better. And while the secrets that they'd been keeping from each other were heavily hinted at, his was just glossed over in the end. I felt that equal precedence should have been given to both of them! But, in the end, I loved seeing them coming together and the chemistry between them was amazing! I'm glad that I enjoyed this book as much as the first one in the series! Looking forward to the next one!❣️✨

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

A great follow-up in what's shaping up to be a wonderful series. I'd been dying for this book ever since Penelope showed up at the end of Scoundrel of My Heart. How do you turn a character who seemed so cold, high-handed, and distant into someone you want to root for? You give him an equally as prickly and competent love interest that he clearly adores.

These two have such gooey centers for each other, that every single page I equally wanted to hug them and bash them upside of their heads so that they would realize that everything they wanted was within reach.

cw: child pornography, pedophilia

I've heard about Lorraine Heath's books before, but I never read them, and after finally reading The Duchess Hunt, I realized I was missing out. Now I want to read all her other books. The Duchess Hunt is exactly what I love about historical romance: a complex heroine, a swoon-worthy hero, scorching chemistry between them, and a taut conflict. I highly recommend The Duchess Hunt and I cannot wait to discover more of this author's romances!