I’m so glad we got to see Camille get her happy ending. Initially, it seemed like she might just be the cautionary tale, but St. George finally gives us a glimpse inside her world. Like the rest of the books, this novel is sultry and feminist. It has such a heart, from both Camille and Jacob. Their chemistry absolutely sizzles. We really get to see into their lives and thoughts, with both showing substantial growth. I’m sad this series is over, but excited for what comes next.

Ah! It's hard to say which of Harper St. George's book is my favorite, but this one might be it. Camille and Jacob are sexy and smart and feel very real. It was nearly impossible to put this book down once I started. St. George is an incredible author who makes historical romance feel real without making any of it feel antifeminist or vague.

On top of all of that, I think this is a wonderful story for those who have been through intimate trauma. St. George wrote a respectful and romantic story - without sacrificing. Highly recommend.

I think if I had read the first books in this series, I would have been invested more in the characters and the storyline/world.

I enjoyed jacob and Camille, but the story felt a little disjointed. The flow of their romance running parallel with the abuse, womens suffrage, and Paris club opening didn’t really feed together much, making it feel like filler or rather different storylines.

All that being said, I do love stories in this time period and I see the potential of me enjoying the other books more (especially since in the acknowledgments it’s mentioned that this book was an after thought to the series).

I guess my recommendation is that this might not be the best as a stand-alone but I have a feeling a good Series companion novel.

Thanks netgalley for the advance copy.

So excited to see Camille’s happy ever after, she deserved it. Great descriptions of abuse and loss of control, and well dealt with by everyone. Jacob was exactly the right kind of hero. This didn’t have the zing of her first book, but solid and good regardless. It was nice to see everything tied together,

While this is not my favorite from St. George, The Duchess Takes a Husband wraps up the series beautifully.
This story is largely about Camille growing into herself: she decides to go for what she wants and asks for it, and is fearlessly involved in political issues. I enjoyed it a lot! We also get to see characters from the previous books, which is always nice.
I really really LOVE the covers of the books in this series. I'd buy them for that alone. The bonus is that the stories are actually really good!

Thank you to the author for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Harper St. George title but based on the excitement about this novel I think I’ll have to look up her others. There’s a lot about this novel that’s fairly typical for the sub-genre: historical romance. There’s a young woman and a young man (although he’s much more experienced and several years her senior). From the opening pages of the book Camille wastes no time telling Jacob exactly what she wants - or at least, what she thinks she wants. And Jacob tries oh so hard to resist, except that he can’t really say no to Camille. And so, their lives become intertwined YET Camille has this incredibly novel storyline where she and Jacob’s sister fight for women’s suffrage and help at a local home for abused women and single mothers.

I liked the pace of this novel, the storyline holds on to readers just enough to keep us guessing and I certainly had some preconceived notions/ideas that didn’t end up being right - but in this case I’m glad to have not guessed correctly! A fun, historical romp! With a gorgeous cover to boot!

The slowburn is burning a bit toooooo slowly for me. I'm just not motivated to spend any more of my time staring at this book and dreading reading it

Thank you to Berkley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I was offered this ARC, I didn't realize it was #4 in a series. Whoops, but saying that I don't think there were any issues with jumping in, it seemed fairly self contained all on its own.

The book was cute -- it wasn't anything that I was totally blown away with. One thing that I really liked that was included in this book was women's rights and consent issues.

But overall, I don't have any deep or meandering thoughts about this book. I felt like there really wasn't much of a plot, and at turns I was a bit bored as I was reading.

I liked the book, but I don't think this is one that is going to be super memorable, a fun afternoon read, however!

I wasn honestly surprised when I read the "Acknowledgments" part of this book, whereas the author said "Camille and Jacob’s book was never part of the planned Gilded Age Heiresses series". I thought, "WHAT?!? After what Camille had gone through in her marriage, in the course of three books, how could the author NOT thinking about getting her a happy ending?!?"

Well, I was happy that the author changed her mind ... and this book becomes the final book of the "Gilded Age Heiresses" series.

Camille and Jacob's story was sweet! Jacob was already taken with Camille, even when she was still married to Duke of Hereford. So now that Camille was a Dowager Duchess, Jacob was really wonderful with her. The only thing "wrong" with Jacob was his stupid notion that the Halston men was obsessed with love, and he didn't want that. Yes, like I said, STUPID notion *smack Jacob's head*

I loved how Jacob dealt with Camille - and I loved that Camille slowly learned to stand tall and be courageous. Some parts of this book also dealt with Camille taking "lessons" in the bedroom with Jacob, and while I usually don't care too much about sexual scenes, I found these ones to be deliberating for Camille. Because during her marriage, she was abused by her husband, like she was only used for her womb and ability to provide a child. So she never enjoyed it, and with Jacob she learned that she could.

I also enjoyed Camille taking part more on the society and the cause of women's suffrage movement. Yes, this book, for me, was about Camille taking back her power. Jacob as a love interest was a bonus 😄 

Oh, and I adored the friendship between Camille and the Crenshaw sisters, also Jacob's relationship with his half brother, Christian Halston, Earl of Leigh. Those moments were fun to read.

A good way to finish this series, for sure.

"A scandalous arrangement between a London rogue and an American duchess leads to lavish stakes - perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Despite her illustrious title, Camille, Duchess of Hereford, remains what she has always been - a pariah. Though her title means she's technically accepted by London Society, the rebellious widow with her burgeoning interest in the suffrage movement and her American ways isn't exactly high on every hostess's guest list. But Camille starts to wonder if being an outcast is not without its perks when the tantalizing answer to her secret fear appears in the shape of Jacob Thorne, the illegitimate son of an earl and co-owner of London's infamous Montague Club.

Jacob is used to making deals with his club members - he's just not accustomed to them being beautiful women. Nor have the terms ever been so sweetly seductive as Camille's shocking proposition. To finally buy his own club and gain the crucial backing of investors, Camille offers Jacob the respectability of a fake engagement with a duchess. In return, the tempting widow has one condition: she wants Jacob to show her if it's possible for her to experience pleasure in bed.

The lure of such a bargain proves too delicious to resist, drawing the enterprising rogue and the wallflower duchess into a scandalous game and an even more dangerous gamble of the heart."

I'd say more for fans of Lisa Kleypas personally...

While this book was a little slow to start, by the end I really enjoyed it! Both of the characters had a lot of healing to do, so when they finally come together it was beautiful to see.

The Duchess Takes a Husband is the fourth and final Gilded Age Heiresses series installment. It's Camille's story, which I was so excited about because Camille was a cautionary tale in the preceding three novels -- a young heiress married off to an older, cruel duke. Camille deserved a happy ending, finally, and this book delivers!

Jacob was the perfect match for Camille. He's handsome, understanding, patient, and protective. While Camille's marriage to her now deceased husband was alluded to in the first three novels, and there were overtones that he was cruel to her, this book delves deeper into the issues, making it clear that Camille is a survivor of abuse. Jacob, recognizing this, is so careful with Camille. Given this plotline, this story is a bit more of a slow burn than the previous three books. Camille takes initiative and wants to gain control over her body and pleasure.

I really enjoyed this one and it was the perfect story to conclude this chapter of the heiress series. That being said, there is a new series set in the same universe that I can't wait to read!

I have read and enjoyed Harper St. George’s Gilded Age Heiresses series and have been eagerly awaiting Camille’s story. I desperately needed Camille to finally get her own happy ending.

The Duchess Takes a Husband exceeded all of my expectations. I adored Camille’s story, her growth, her determination to take back power from all those who made her feel powerless, and to stop allowing the memory of her miserable dead husband to dictate her future happiness.

The first step in her plan to move forward is a scandalous proposition to Jacob Thorne. Camille is afraid of intimacy after the abuse she suffered at the hands of her dead husband and Jacob is the only man she is willing to trust with not just her body, but also her deepest fears.

Jacob is intrigued, but certain it could never work, and after initially declining the proposal, he realizes that they might be able to benefit each other. He will help Camille understand that there can be pleasure in intimacy and in turn she will help him prove himself to a potential business investor by pretending to be his fiancée.

Obviously, their arrangement soon leads to very real feelings, and I adored every minute of Jacob and Camille’s story. Her courage, his patience, protectiveness and care for her, their very real attraction and developing feelings, her journey of self-discovery and healing; all absolutely beautiful.

The Duchess Takes a Husband was a perfect ending to a fantastic series and everything I wanted for Camille. Jacob was the perfect hero, and their happy ending was perfect.

've only read the first book of the Gilded Age Heiresses series (which I enjoyed) so I was already familiar with the main character, Camille, who was in a horrible arranged marriage. This book begins with the aftermath of her marriage as Camille is now a widow and is interested in pursuing a relationship with Jacob, the illegitimate son of an earl.

✔️ Hurt/Comfort
✔️ Teach Me
✔️ It's Just Sex

I love the Teach Me trope and I don't come across it often. It's such a vulnerable position a character puts themselves in to ask for help, yet here, for Camille it felt like a
show of strength as she works to claim back ownership of herself, her body, and her pleasure.

I am so glad that this book also shows the negative light in the arranged marriage trope, where so little power and agency is with the FMC. I rooted for Camille and wanted her to find her own happiness and get away from everyone around her dictating her life.

I liked Jacob well enough but his backstory and his business were less compelling plot points. I really only liked him in scenes with Camille or where he was thinking about Camille or trying not to think about Camille.

Their scenes together were terrific - I think I just wanted more of them. Overall, I'd give this one 4.25⭐️.

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕

4.5 stars for this great book! Thank you the publisher, author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. We have been wanting a Camille and Jacob story since book one and were so excited to read their happy ending!

Camille is a widow, enjoying her single life and trying to forget her terrible, controlling, manipulative former husband. She decides she wants to chase after passion, so she and Jacob make a deal: she will pretend to be his fiancé so he can close a business deal and he will teach her about passion in the bedroom.

We love that this book talks about abuse in all its forms though not super descriptive for those who have a trigger, including Camille having to come to the realization that was her former husband did was in fact abuse. Once she does, she turns that into strength to advocate for herself and for women’s marital rights. We loved Jacob and OMG that mirror scene was just beyond anything she’s ever written. Soo well done, sexy, lot’s of communication, just yes to it all! Jacob is so patient, understanding and open minded. We loved that she called her parents out and opened up to her mother.

The one small drawback of this book was that because they each had separate goals to accomplish they didn’t spend as much time together. If we had more of them together it would have moved the plot along a little more smoothly.

Overall great conclusion and can’t wait for her next series which we were slightly introduced to at the end of this one.

American heiress Camille, now Dowager Duchess of Hereford, was bartered in an exchange as old as time: money for title. Now that her emotionally abusive husband is dead, Camille sets out to conquer a fear with the help of her best friend's brother-in-law, illegitimate club owner, Jacob Thorne. Jacob has a dilemma of his own, accidentally telling potential business partners that he has a fiancée, in order to close a deal. Can the two help each other achieve their goals without getting attached?

This is the fourth and final book in the Gilded Age Heiresses series. I highly recommend reading books one and two of this series because they establish Camille's ill treatment and lay the foundation for the tone of this book. There is a sadness to Camille's story that is completely appropriate, but better felt when you have the weight of the other stories behind it.

From the blurb, I thought this novel might portray Camille as a widow ready to throw off the shackles of her marriage and engage in an affair, but the pace of this book is actually slower because Camille had a lot of trauma to overcome. I really like how Jacob misread the situation, too, and assumed her could "fix it" with good sex. That was not the case, and he became incredible supportive and consent-driven. I also liked how the suffragette storyline tied into Camille's history as a widow denied rights, with little knowledge of her marriage contract and a surviving heir that wanted to keep her as confined and helpless as her husband did. Overall, it was a well layered story and I am super excited about the spin-off series!

Tropes: Widow, Anti-Hero, Lessons, Fake Relationship, Best Friend's Brother-in-Law/Sister-in-Law's Best Friend

Steam: 3

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

And just like that, this series has ended....or has it?!?! (see end)

Quick summary:
We have watched Camille- best friend of the Crenshaw sisters (book 1 and 2) marry a man, albeit a Duke, three times her age. We've seen her be verbally and emotionally abused by said Duke and seen her joyous light die a quick death over the course of the 3 previous books. Now we see her reclaim herself, with the help of the very handsome (of course) Jacob Thorne, illegitimate half-brother of the Earl of Leigh (book2).

The pace was pretty slow, but it made sense because Camille had a TON of trauma to overcome. Jacob was patient, kind and supportive, as he helped her be comfortable muddling through the abuse she endured at the hands of her deceased husband. WHICH is why it didnt make sense, when he pushed her away. He was only able to help her so thoroughly because he love and cared about her. At the first sign that she may return his affection, he runs. Granted- he realized his mistake pretty quickly.

Great end to the series and I am glad we will see Camille in Harper's next series-- which we got a sneak peak for.
Thank you @NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

I’ve been a fan of the Gilded Age Heiress series since the beginning and the last book was certainly no exception. The Duchess Takes a Husband follows Dowager Duchess Camille as she deals with the trauma of her abusive marriage by making an irresistible and scandalous deal with Jacob Throne, the illegitimate son of an earl and the head of an exclusive club. The two must fake a courtship for Jacob to achieve a business deal in exchange for lessons in the art of seduction, but soon, real feelings come into play beyond the bedchamber. I want to stress that while this had the charm of a trope-filled historical romance, there was complexity beyond the usual expectations. The characters were layered and the subject matters explored were not those of a light read, though they hid within the guise of one.

Camille has acted as a warning for the Crenshaw Heiresses early in the series---the story of a woman sold for prestige and then left to rot. Since the audience is already familiar with her character, it was wonderful to see her take center stage. She is kind without being a pushover, sweet while still maintaining stubbornness, and strong while remaining within the bounds of suto-historical accuracy. It was a pleasure to see her develop into the person she was always meant to be. The author did an excellent job at never painting her merely as a victim, though the impact of her trauma remained a crucial part of the story. Her issues weren’t magically solved to fix a plot hole or avoid a darker conversation, which I appreciated immensely. That being said, her arc related to the suffrage movement was a little out of left field and felt like an add-on rather than a natural progression of the storyline. I enjoy historical women with modern tendencies, but more time could have been spent developing her transition from a high Society heiress trapped by expectations to an eager suffrage fighter.

Jacob was the perfect balance for the rebellious duchess. An illegitimate son who played a role in earlier books, his relationship with Evan and Christian (and his sisters) balanced Camille’s loneliness wonderfully. Since both hero and heroine have been orbiting each other since The Devil and the Heiress, the tension in their relationship was perfect, especially to begin with. I appreciated how Jacob wanted to become his own man and that his strength hid a certain gentleness that wasn’t overshadowed by toxic expectations.

As for the relationship between Jacob and Camille, it is one of my favorites in this series (save for Helena and Max). Since physicality plays a large part in their relationship, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a focus on consent was the most important thing. Clear and obvious consent is rare in historical romances, but The Duchess Takes a Husband does an amazing job of building a healthy relationship from the start. The shift between I’m-attracted-to-you to we’re-in-love was a bit fast, but that is to be expected from a shorter romance.

The writing and dialogue were so transportive that I often forgot I was reading. From glittering ballrooms to underground fight clubs to decadent hidden rooms, this book has it all. It was fun to see the previous couples flit in and out of the story, and I appreciated Violet’s not-at-all-subtle meddling. The Duchess Takes A Husband is a must-read for historical romance fans, especially those who enjoy stories with a feminist spin such as Julia Quinn and Evie Dunmore.

Oh, Camille, my heart--this book *chef’s kiss*
This was a wonderful way to end the series, and probably the best book overall, if you accept such a tight focus. Readers have debated the Suffragette Movement sort of on the periphery here--too much; not enough--but it's really in service to Camille's ultimate goal of self-discovery and self-autonomy. That's the journey you need to be here for.

Brief descriptions of Hereford’s abuse continue to be mentioned here (as the Author's Note mentions), but was already shown and described in the other books, so really, at this point, if you’ve made it this far and hung in there, you know. And if it wasn’t implied already, marrying a horrible person you never wanted concludes that, yes, any intimate relations is sexual assault.
Combined with Camille’s clumsy attempts at trying to figure out if she’s capable of any intimacy with men after Hereford’s death and you get to where she’s at when she propositions Jacob.

I’ve never been in an abusive relationship (and it's a gut punch that, when someone tells Camille that she suffered abuse, she responds with, "well, he never hit me"), so I don’t know if what Jacob does with Camille--a very slow and patient exploration, encouraging her to take the reins--works in overcoming trauma. But it was very respectful, and hot as all get out. Now I feel like I need to re-read the whole series!

I’m so unbelievably happy that Harper chose to write Camille’s story especially as she was the Heiress that started it all.

You’ll know from book 1 (The Heiress Gets a Duke) that Camille was forced to marry the diabolical Duke of Hereford - he’s the worst and in such her married life was one that left her with invisible scars. Since his death, she’s found her rebellious streak and engages Jacob Thorn; the illegitimate son of an Earl and Club owner, in deal. She’s be his fake fiancé to help him close his latest business deal if he teaches her how to experience pleasure in the bedroom.

You’d think from the above that you’ll be need a fan to cool down from the get go but people this is a slow burn 🔥

I adore how Camille really came into her own. She discovered her inner strength to overcome and heal from her previous trauma. While Jacob certainly helped, it had to come from her to make it happen. This applied both in and out of the bedroom. Her involvement in the suffragette movement provided her with the additional opportunity to grow and heal, by recognising Hereford’s power over her. I also felt that this helped Camille align with Harper’s other FMC, who all in some way push the boundaries of societal norms of the time.

Now we cannot forget about Jacob Thorn. He too has his baggage. Jaded by watching his parents love and the impact that had on everyone involved, he’s determined to not only prove himself without using the titles of his half brother and good friends but not fall in love. I knew the latter wouldn’t last long, in addition to the respect and consideration he shows Camille when alone together is enough to make anyone swoon! Plus Mirrors - I’m going to leave you to read the book to find out what I mean!!

This was a perfect ending to a wonderful series. Thank you so much to Harper for having me on your ARC team and to NetGalley.

If you love the below, you’ll love this book
✨historical romance
✨slow burn
✨claiming independence
✨a touch of fake dating