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Full of action, romance, passion and historical beauty.
Mary consistently writes wonderful books about the lives of ladies and gentlemen who lived and loved, and the chemistry that they have together .

This one is lovely, a very engaging read and a great way to spend a few hours curled in front of the fire.
A little action, some passion and a lot of love.
What more could you want from a book.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Mary Lancaster is one of my go-to authors for reliably entertaining, fast-paced Regency Romance. Her newest series, The Duel, begins with Entangled.

Major Giles Butler is an honorable commander in the King’s army. So when he overhears a slander against his superior officer, who was recently killed in battle, he takes offense. Boldly. Unfortunately, the slanderer is an arrogant duke who doubles down on his insults to save face. Insults are exchanged. A challenge is made. The next morning, the duke is dead. Knowing better than to kill a peer in a duel, Giles had aimed wide but still hit the man.

Giles intends to submit to his punishment, but not until Bonaparte is defeated. So he must hurry back to his ship and return to the fray before he is apprehended by the law. But first, he feels duty-bound to make his apologies to the widow. He changes his mind, though, when he reaches the duke’s estate and realizes that his presence would likely just cause her more pain. Then, hovering at the outskirts, he sees a young woman sneaking about who seems determined to make a getaway from the estate.

Rosamund, the Duchess of Cuttyngham, has no idea that she is now a widow. But she does know that she is miserable, having been neglected and controlled for years. There is no love lost between her and her husband and she doubts he’ll bother to come looking for her. She has purchased a small cottage in a distant county where she intends to live quietly and work as an herbalist.

The two meet. Giles offers to escort her to the nearest town. They maintain anonymity for a while, but before long their innate honesty leads them to confess to one another. That and the fact that the duke’s death becomes news and Rosamund realizes she has to return home for the funeral.

In the meantime, the two have fallen for each other. The rest is a race to outrun the law as well as a couple of villains who have it out for Rosamund. (One is a stalker and one is a cousin of the deceased who is hellbent on becoming the next duke.)

The villains are stock characters, as are Tom and Izzy, two very young gentlefolk who are impetuously eloping and need guidance that Rosamund is quick to provide. The side characters are necessary to the plot but are lackluster.

The chemistry between the hero and heroine is believable and readers will want them to find a way to be together, despite the fact that one murdered the spouse of the other. The HEA ending is a bit too pat, but loose ends are tied up adequately. Although this is not my favorite of Lancaster’s novels, it does provide an interesting entree into a new Romance series.

I think I’ve found a new favorite author! Entangled was a great historical romance with a wonderful couple and a great supporting cast. There were many twists and turns that kept the story interesting and I plan on keeping my eye out for further books in this series. 5 stars

Major Giles Butler sees red when the opinionated Duke of Cuttyngham insults his late commanding officer & Giles makes his opinion of the Duke known in no uncertain terms. The outcome is a meeting at dawn, It was never meant to be a killing affair, and yet the duke lies dead at his feet. Determined to contribute to the final victory over Napoleon before standing trial, Butler bolts for the coast. En route, he unwittingly aids the lovely young Duchess of Cuttyngham to escape her gilded cage. Desperate to live a useful life, Rosamund has left her husband’s cold and stifling house with the intention of becoming a village herbalist. Hopelessly entangled with each other, family machinations, officers of the law, and an unusual pair of eloping young lovers – to say nothing of Bonaparte’s threat to the peace of Europe – Giles and Rosamund flee & finally arrive in Brussels.
The first in a new series & I found it to be a well written page turner. I loved Giles who was honourable, trustworthy & straightforward. I liked Rosamund & the more I read the more I liked her as she grew in confidence away from the stifling dukedom. I was intrigued by Victor & Hera, liked Tom, Izzy & Sophia but disliked Anthony & his machinations. I was routing for Giles & Rosamund to have their HEA, especially as their journey threw up quite a few surprises. My only quibble was questions were left unanswered but as the series is entitled The Duel I presume the thread of the duel will feature throughout the series & alll will be revealed in the final book but I wanted closure for Giles which I didn't get
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A great start to a new series which is full of mystery and with lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed it very much but what stopped it being 5 stars is that things are not resolved fully. I don't know if this was done or purpose or not but it left me with questions and a feeling of frustration. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Major Giles Butler is never one to let an insult slide, especially when an obnoxious duke insults the memory of his late commanding officer. What should have been a simple duel with Giles aiming wide somehow turned into a tragedy when the duke fell dead from a bullet to the shoulder. How could this have happened? Now Giles is being hunted for the murder of a peer. On his way out of town, he meets Rosamond, who unbeknownst to Giles, is the late duke's widow. Rosamond is desperate to leave her controlling husband and has no idea that the man who offers to escort her to the next town is the man who killed her husband. Thus starts a wild ride of cat and mouse as they try to evade the authorities; all the while, their feelings for each other blossom. Can these two find a way to overcome their circumstances, or will Rosamond be forced to say goodbye to the man who ignites such passion within her?

This was a thoroughly enjoyable regency romance and pulled the reader in with the first chapter. The plot moves along well, and there are some unexpected twists and surprises throughout the story. Rosamond was a strong lady who finally found her voice to control her own destiny, and I was glad to see her finally exert her influence. Giles is the consummate gentleman whose growing feelings for the ducal beauty make him want to protect her at all costs, even if it means facing the authorities about the duel. The growing feelings of Rosamond and Giles are sweet, and after a few more twists and turns, they finally get their HEA. The one criticism I have is that after casting so much doubt on how the duke died, nothing was ever resolved and the charges against Giles were never explained. The epilogue seemed very rushed. Did he get a pardon from Wellington? Was the case ruled inconclusive? Was he cleared of all charges? I was disappointed that the issue was not resolved, especially since it was talked about so much throughout the book. That brought the book down to 4 stars. I like Ms. Lancaster's books and look forward to reading the next one.

5 stars

An excellent start to a new series. The Duke was being obnoxious and slated Giles's deceased commanding office. Not surprisingly Giles retorts and the Duke demands a duel. Giles intends to delope by shooting wide but the Duke is shot and killed. Giles in a moment of impetuousity heads to the dukes estate ready to apologise to the heir and widow. He doesnt get that far because he finds Rosanna sneaking out to make a new life. Giles volunteers to escort Rosa to her new cottage but on the way they rescue ecloping teenagers and eventually the full truth comes out.

One of the things I love about these series is spotting the overlap in the stories. Mary is very clever at doing this. Who is the woman in the woods when the duel takes place? Why does the Duke stagger into the shot? Why didn't he have his breakfast or at least coffee before the duel? What other machinations is Anthony up to? Who are the near leads in the next book? Heartily recommend.

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

Fun! This one kind of reminded me of a soap opera - a super diverting to watch nighttime soap opera like I used to watch back in the 90’s and early 00’s … there’s violence, there’s falling in love with someone ‘scandalous’, there’s developing news about existing family relationships, etc, etc.; in short - drama. While I don’t like it in my own life, I do, on occasion, enjoy reading it - especially this kind.

This was my first time reading Ms. Lancaster and I enjoyed my time reading Entangled so much - I’ll definitely check out more of this series and her work 🙂



Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC!

This book is amazing and had me from the beginning all the way to the end. The romance in the book will have you feeling the emotional edge that comes with the story and will have you falling in love with the book and the writing.

What an insanely crazy , wild ride! From page one you are thrust into a very dysfunctional family led by a very egotistical despot of a husband and father. I loved how Rosamund stepped out of her very boring comfort zone and decided to make her own life. Giles was the perfect hero, courteous, kind, a gentleman and willing to take his punishment for what he thought he committed after he stopped Napoleon. This was a great story, full of twists and turns. Not sure if there is a “cliff hanger”, but the decision of how the Duke died was never resolved, at least not in this book..maybe in the next book? This book will NOT bore you!

I received this ARC for free and these are my own opinions.