This one had so much potential! The heroine was seen to be the mistress of the hero's late father who was put to death for treason against the queen. The hero is determined to get to the bottom of what his father was involved in, and that means confronting his mistress. The heroine, though, has many secrets of her own and the two of them definitely do not plan on falling for one another. This sounded like a fun historical with lots of action and espionage, but unfortunately a lot of this was boring and I just didn't feel the connection between the two main characters. Only the end had more of a fast paced plot, and even then I didn't really care when reveals happened or the characters found themselves in trouble. I really wanted to like this story more, but it misses the mark for me.

This one was a really interesting plot.....at first I was skeptical BUT Heath was able to spin a tale of deceit, Betrayal and lies interwoven with love, family bonds, and friendship. There is a lot more I'd like to say but I don't want to give anything away. Esme and Marcus are really great for each other. I think they complement each other so well and it was so nice to finally see them both have each other to rely on

I loved this book. I have really been enjoying this series, and I was excited to get to Marcus. I love Esme, and I love seeing characters who have reason to dislike each other forced to work together. I also liked them uncovering conspiracies, that's fun. I also love a little light espionage.

The Return of the Duke
Lorraine Heath
Tropes: Spies, Working Women
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🔥🔥🔥

“I’ve wanted you for a while now….” “Then tonight you shall have me”

If she doesn’t want him…I’ll take him cause my goodness Marcus Stanwick is positively delicious! The Return of the Duke is quite frankly…hard to put down. Filled with deceit, lies and espionage, The Return of the Duke is amazing. I loved our MCs and how they transitioned from total distrust of one another to total dependency. The more they learned about each other, the more they found it hard to deny the chemistry flowing between them.

Stripped of everything, Marcus Stanwick has a personal mission, discover who was aiding his father in his plot to assassinate Queen Victoria. When his father was hanged for treason, Marcus’ only goal was to return honor to his family and expose anyone else involved in this plot. Forced to join forces with a woman he despises, Marcus will do anything to see this done.

Known as the heartless harlot, Esme Lancaster has a whole lot of secrets and one of them is that she too wants to discover who’s behind the plot to kill the Queen. When a handsome wolf shows up on her door, she finds him hard to resist. And as the two of them work to save the Queen, they discover that there is more to them than ever could have imagined.

I’ve read all the books in this series…and loved this installment. It’s the perfect ending to a great series.

I am a big fan of Lorraine Heath and was very excited for this book. I loved the inclusion of twists and it kept a nice pace. Very sexy and flirty and an enjoyable read

Sandy M’s review of The Return of the Duke (Once Upon a Dukedom, Book 3) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 26 Jul 22

The Duke of Wolfford, before he was hanged for conspiring to assassinate Queen Victoria, had three children, and they all suffered after the dukedom was stripped of everything. Each sibling has their story in this trilogy, and we finally get to Marcus Stanwyck, who has been the darker of the three, someone readers may have a difficult time with. As well, his heroine, Esme, has also come out of hard times. Can these two work together for their own reasons, despite what they believe about each other?


Esme was purportedly the Duke’s mistress. So you can guess what Marcus thinks of her, and he has no problem voicing those opinions when they first meet. She, too, has her idea of the man he is and she’s certainly not impressed. But when they realize they want the same answers, albeit for their own reasons, they mark a tentative association to share information to get to the bottom of the plot.

Thus begins a mysterious spy game. They learn about the other, fight attraction, and then finally give in to that attraction the closer they come to solving their case. The reader is surprised by all the revelations, just as they are when both information about themselves and the assassination comes to light, as Marcus and Esme delve into the dark side of society, a place Ms. Heath doesn’t frequent very often. So this is a great departure for her fans, going in an unexpected direction.

I love that while both of these characters have had tragic and unanticipated circumstances to overcome, they do succeed quite nicely, all the while discovering a new life together, despite what their investigation might reveal. Both are strong characters, especially Esme. She’s a woman ahead of her times for her gender, trailblazing and paving the way for more to follow her in the future. I also enjoyed the updates we get for Marcus’ siblings, the family coming together to finally get the answers they’ve waited so long for.

Another beautifully written story from Lorraine Heath. With the end of one series, so begins another. Her Chessmen: Masters of Seduction series will begin in February 2023 with the release of The Counterfeit Scoundrel. And you guessed it, I can’t wait for that one!

Grade: A

I've been enjoying all of this series, so I was more than excited for this book.

I really liked Esme and Marcus. They're both so much more than what they appear to be and I loved reading them figure each other out. Of course there's instant banter (due to the assumptions) and a load of chemistry and intrigue.

Plot wise, it was good. I loved how the central story line progressed at a normal pace so that Esme and Marcus could learn about themselves. I loved the honesty and the open conversations. I did not love the pages of inner monologue.

Overall, this was a great addition to the series and I look forward to Lorraine's next book.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

There's just something deeply, deeply satisfying about what Lorraine Heath is doing in romance that works for me from both a story as well as a character standpoint. From the very beginning, even if there aren't as many twists and surprises as you've come to expect from her books, <i>The Return of the Duke</i> manages to take a concept and turn it on its head, leaving you not only delightfully surprised by the reveal but also eager to see what comes next. The spy element was nearly as prominent as the love story, but what we got from Marcus and Esme's romance was really effective for me. Certainly more of a slow burn considering the story, but these are two people who are so individually guarded that it only made sense to have them gradually warm up to one another in terms of displaying true feelings.

Combine that with the immensely romantic story element of "this might be our last night together" + Marcus' titles being reinstated, but they mean nothing unless he has Esme to share it with = another five-star Heath for me and capping off quite possibly one of my all-time favorite histrom series to date. (Also, now I need to go back and read the Trewlove series somewhat out of order, but I have a significant chunk of Heath's backlist to get through, which is very exciting.) And the next series is going to be about the Chessmen! Very much looking forward to that too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A long time favourite author comes back with a great romance story.
I did not know what to expect from this book because I go in blind when it comes to Lorraine Heath . Her titles had me rooting for her characters and their romance and happily ever after for years now.
And what’s not to love when a story so unique like this one, keeps you engaged from start to finish in a short time. But that short time it took me to read was a hell of a ride. Packed with amazing characters, ones that have a more unusual job description, lots of chemistry and heartbreaking moments and also some real life topics that many times we forget that they existed long before we became more aware of them.
I loved it and i would highly recommend it to any romance lovers.

I'm just going to start with the fact that this book made me cry in the end.

In my opinion this a slow-paced, medium angst romance. Heath manages to pack a lot in 300 pages so I felt like I had to take my time reading it to really enjoy some of the things she was trying to portray. I honestly loved both of the main characters but I want to start with why I love Esme so much.

(Fair warning some of what I'm going to say could be considered a character spoiler.)

Esme is the type of strong heroine I didn't know I was wanting so bad. She's self-assured and strong, but not in the way we generally think in terms of confidence. She's *literally* strong. She can box and fence, she can hold her own in a fight, and Marcus, our hero, describes the way she feels as "firm everywhere" so we understand that she's muscular. That's just not something I see very often in HR and as a fitness lover myself, it's very refreshing to finally see. There's also the issue of Esme's infertility that was both sad but also realistically portrayed. There is no Magical D*.

Marcus is just as lovable as well. He's self-aware pretty much throughout the entire novel and it makes the relationship growth so easy to read because both of the characters know where each of them stand and where they are going. Even as we approach the climax of the story, the way Esme and Marcus work together both in their budding personal relationship but also their work relationship. I really don't know how to say that everything about this booked just *worked*.

When I say it made me cry, I just felt the depth of these two and how much they longed for each other. The spice was GREAT but when it came time for them to admit their feelings, I felt my heart swell. I FELT in love with them both too!

I'm very grateful to NetGalley and Lorraine Heath for providing me with the ARC (even if I am late...sorry!). There were so many highlights that I look forward to reading this again when it comes time!

I absolutely adore Lorraine Heath's books! This series and the one before it have been amazing and this one did not disappoint. I have been looking forward to Marcus's story for a long time.
Marcus Stanwick was the heir to the Duke of Wolford and lost everything when his father was convicted of treason for plotting the assassination of Queen Victoria. He has been trying to find his father's co-conspirators and prove that his father wasn't the instigator.
Esme, the woman believed to have been his father's mistress is doing her own investigation.
Marcus and Esme have phenomenal chemistry. This book is super sexy and full of mystery and intrigue.
What a fantastic ending to a fantastic series!

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

This felt like it was missing some romance. It was very heavy in plot. The heroine works for the Queen, and the hero is trying to clear his family name after his father was arrested and hanged. This book focused a lot on the sky plot and trying to save the queen. I wanted more romance.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This year I have been struggling to find those magical stories that sweep me away. Instead, everything has been feeling lackluster and less vivid. I am finding it even harder to write reviews because the books I am reading don't make me want to scream and shout from the rooftops about how much I love them.

I really didn't know how much I needed a story like this until I read it because it made me feel the magic again. The characters weren't boring or flat, and the balance between romance and mystery was perfectly executed. It kept me reading until the end, which is hard these days, and I couldn't wait to find the ways these characters overcame all of their struggles to find their happily ever after.

Lorraine Heath never lets me down, and always shows why she is one of the greatest historical romance authors of all time. Her stories and her characters are full of depth. They don't feel like shallow reincarnations of every single historical romance cliche. Thank you, Lorraine, for writing this book and letting all of us get to read it.

I love a good enemies to lovers trope, this book is the cherry on the top of all the books with the same trope! Heartless heroine? Yes please! A Hero on the hunt of revenge? Double yes please! They absolutely have to work together in order to solve a mystery? YES PLEASE! This book literally has it all and more!

I would rate this a 10 out of 10! The chemistry between the characters were boiling and palpable. I loved how Esme shows herself to be a layered woman and with unexpected depth. I loved this series and originally wasn’t a fan of Marcus, however, Lorraine wins the reader over. It was fun to see old characters but if your new to this series it’s easy enough to pick up. I would definitely recommend for purchase you will not be disappointed with this well crafted steamy story!

This Ebook was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this series and this story did not disappoint. I loved the strength in Esme. Her ability to maintain her role and care for Marcus was beautiful. Marcus has worked hard to get to this point in his journey to clear his family name. His emotions are real and Heath did a fantastic job in the way she expressed his change. I am excited to re read this one!

The Return of the Duke follows the former disgraced Duke of Wolfford, Marcus Stanwick as he attempts to clear his father and family from treason. The book starts off with a visit to his father's former mistress, Esme. The two are drawn to each other from their first meeting and when Marcus discovers that Esme is actually an agent of the crown, the two work together to find the true party behind the treason plot.

I really loved these characters, I loved their interactions and their backstories. Marcus is a swoon-worthy hero and I loved how strong Esme is. I didn't love the scenario they were in nor the way it was resolved. I felt like these characters deserved better, they work really hard to find the characters who are attempting to murder the Queen. The end was sort of anti-climactic. Maybe that was the point, they were both such strong characters and their love story really stole the show.

This had a great start, but then the pace slowed WAY down and I was bored for the middle 50% of it. It did pick up again at around 70% but not enough for me to love it. There was a lot of inner monologue in the middle of conversations which really slowed the pace and the hero was a bit of a pity party hero, really feeling sorry for himself instead of moving on. The heroine was much better, strong and passionate, but I still had trouble with some of the chemistry between the two which was a little hot and cold.

I am in awe of Lorraine Health and I have been looking forward to this book for a hot minute. I can't say I have ever been left disappointed after reading one of her books. Her stories are never lacking in originality and let me tell you, when I read this was about a Duke's heir and his father's mistress...I was ALL in! I loved the espionage added into the MC's unfolding love story, it was a great bonus. The pacing and added thrills were great throughout, which made this a really engaging, enjoyable and quick read. SPOLER ALERT: I REALLY loved how Marcus could care less about Esme not being able to have children. Usually when this occurs the couple end up with a "surprise" pregnancy and Health didn't do that. That alone made this a favorite for me.

I loved how many twists and turns this one takes. It's very typical in the historical romance elements, yet it really stands out with the way that characters are always surprising you with who they truly are and how they act. It's a very romantic story of two souls finding each other, but it also has phenomenal intrigue, assassination plots, and a plot twist ending that felt incredibly satisfying.
Marcus is a bit hard to get to like, but I loved everything about Esme and, as all the best romance heroines do, she brings out the best in her hero. They're a prickly pair at first, but they're a perfect match once things get rolling with the case and the intrigue gets as hot as what goes on in the bedroom.
An excellent finale to a captivating series, this could potentially be read as a standalone but you'll get so much more pleasure seeing the foundations set up by the previous two volumes turn into this great read.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the thrillingly romantic read!