I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

As she arrives at her sister's estate, the widowed Lady Prudence Barrington knows she will do anything to avoid remarrying and finding herself controlled again. Living on a remote Scottish estate with only her sister and brother-in-law will be a dream, but when Jacob, the Duke of Argyll, arrives at MacLauchlin Castle, it's more of a nightmare. Jacob's reputation was destroyed when Prudence spread rumours about his philandering ways, and he wants to know why. He can see that the Prudence the ton know is not her true self, but no one has been able to break through that wall she put up to protect herself. What Jacob never expects is that he is drawn to her for more than just friendship, but would she ever put herself through marrying again?

I hated this book to begin with. Prudence was such a harsh character, who had set out to hurt Jacob in the past, and it took some time for me to overcome that, and start to like her at least a little. Jacob, on the other hand, was a much better character. He had loved his late wife, and didn't deserve the hatred he got for the rumours Prudence had spread. Even so, he saw the good in her, and wanted to help her. For the first three quarters of the book, I was forcing myself through it, because I knew I had the other 2 books in the series to read and really wanted to clear my NG backlog, however, the last quarter redeemed it all, and made it worth it. Hopefully the other books are much better, otherwise I'll be in for some bad reads in my near future.

This is the first of a lovely new series, Second Time Brides. It is also a first time read for me by this author but it definitely won't be my last. Prudence's past hurts have shaped how she views the world and actions of people around her. Coming out of an abusive marriage, she is skeptical about trusting anyone and keeps them at bay, not wanting to get hurt again. Her deceased husband has left her a cold, scarred woman and she has vowed never to marry again. Prudence had met Jacob years ago and had nearly ruined his good name by spreading rumors about him, and almost succeeded in costing him his marriage. They meet again when Prudence goes to visit her sister in Scotland. Jacob is her brother-in-law's friend, and also visits. He has lost his wife and still mourns her loss. Both are widowed but come from very different situations. Jacob remembers Prudence from all those years ago and the damage she caused, but meeting her now, he sees past the cold exterior into the pain she is hiding underneath and is willing to put his own hurt and vengeance aside and offer her friendship. A beautiful friendship begins to blossom between them which grows into something more. They are set off track a bit when Prudence learns of a secret Jacob had been keeping from her, but no happy ending is without some bumps and challenges along the way.
A well-written, sweet, and passionate romance with interesting characters. The story was entertaining and enjoyable and I look forward to continuing the series.
I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing and Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

When we meet Prudence, Lady Barrington, she is staring the first day out of mandatory old-timey mourning periods. Party time! Prudence references the domicile as being her prison over the years, “seeing nothing but darkness ahead with a cruel, careless husband” and her lady’s maid, Agnus, was hired in part due to her “inability to attract former Lord Barrington” so we can infer <i>THAT GUY</i> was a jerk. No RIP for him.

Good news: we’re off or Scotland at the request of her older sister, Maude, and her Scottish husband, Laird of MacLauchlin Castle. Immediately we get a reference of some “Lord of Rothesay turned Duke of Argyll if she…who was a flirtatious beast much like her late husband” so I believe we have met our MMC! What happened between Prudence and the Lord turned Duke?

The Duke is Lord MacLauchlin‘s bestie and Maude has gotten it in her head to setup her formerly vivacious and loving sister Prudence and the Duke (Jacob). Turns out Jacob had hoped for years to come face to face with Prudence “Hoped he would someday come face to face with the woman who had tried to ruin his good name. Who could have very well ruined his marriage, had his late wife not trusted him.” Uh-ohh, is it vengeance Jacob seeks?

At first Prudence is a snob. Just straight up a snob, but we also learn that prior to her awful decade long marriage she looked down on no one and was determined to marry well but never forget who she was. Jacob wants to have his moment of reckoning, but what does that mean?

I loved how we saw the gradual breakdown of Prudence’s walls, walls that she had built up during the course of her awful marriage. I loved the development of friendship between her stern and proper lady’s maid. We see Prudence and Jacob come to an understanding of their past, and a friendship evolves between them to the point he begs her to marry him. But the idea of marriage terrifies Prudence. She wants to treasure her newly found freedom and never be imprisoned in a marriage again. Crikey her ex did a number.

The first 80% of the book had me not wanting to put it down. I wanted to know what Jacob’s plan was, what the horrible ex did to Prudence, what happened between Jacob and Prudence. I wished the ending was fleshed out a bit more. I wanted face to face groveling from Jacob. A lot of the story was told via letters, but instead of letters I wanted interaction. The end felt rushed and a bit like an over dramatic soap opera. On the whole I really liked the book, but had to knock half a star for the rushed ending.

3.5⭐️/5
2.0🌶️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade publishing for the advanced e-copy. The review is voluntary and my own honest opinion.

Jacob, the Duke of Argyle, has a kind heart. He makes it his mission to help the widow, Lady Prudence Barrington, find peace and happiness after her cruel and abusive marriage. With occasional visits and long weeks apart, they form a close friendship writing letters. Eventually they fall in love. Just when she decides to accept his marriage proposal her heart is broken and a tragic accident tests their love.
A well written extremely emotional love story.
Descriptive open bedroom door.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I enjoyed the story. Readers will love the entertainment between Pru and Jacob. The story reads rather quickly. I felt that the story was loaded with a lot of details. The romance was very sweet. Adam and his Scottish persuasion ignited a burning passion in Prudence. The story is an easy read.
I received a copy of this book for a voluntary honest review

I really liked this story with Prudence and Jacob. Both torn by their pasts and trying desperately to come into a future separate from their former spouses. In Jacob's case, the love of his life has died and he still morns for her. Missing her but trying to move on. Prudence was the victim on an abusive husband and is keeping people at bay, so she doesn't get hurt again. It's these situations that both Jacob and Prudence must confront before they learn to live and love again. I liked the fact that even though they start falling in love with each other while at Prudence's brother-in-law's castle, they don't immediately decide to head to the alter or shack up together. Instead, they take their time and get to know each other through letters and meeting up at Prudence's new manor to finally come to the realisation that they do indeed love each other and like each other enough to give marriage a second shot. Loved Jacob's willingness to be patient and understanding with Prudence and not force her to wed. Overall, a sweet romance and well worth the read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and all opinions and feedback are my own.

Jaded from her first marriage she leaves London a different woman than she arrived as. Visiting her sister and her current guest is all the start she needs to heal. This is a VERY steamy book. So much so I was skipping chapters at a time so I could focus on the storyline. However I did have to go back a read some of them as they were vital to the plot. This is a spin off of anotherseries but yiubdint need to go read it to understand where it came from..
I recieved a free copy so that I might tell you what I honestly think. Hope you enjoyed my review. Now go enjoy the book.

It never ceases to amaze me the extent of the damage that abuse can cause to an individual. Lady Prudence is a typical example in that she viewed the world through the distorted lens of her own suffering, misinterpreting the actions of others who had the misfortune of falling foul of her internal anger. Despite being one of her victims, the Duke of Argyll sees past the hurt she caused him to the wounded woman who needs his friendship. I found it difficult to like Prudence at first, but as she unbent and accepted the olive branch that Jacob extends, she begins to set aside her anger and distrust, allowing her true nature to emerge. However, she is not the only one who needs healing and Prudence is surprised to discover that her lady's maid steps in to bolster her when she overhears unfortunate gossip. The romance that developed between Prudence and Jacob is both tender and passionate, although an unfortunate accident almost derails the relationship. The novel nevertheless comes to a happy conclusion, bringing hope for the future. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Never Second Guess a Lord
Second Time Brides #1
Sky Purington
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lady Prudence Barrington has had a horribly cruel and loveless marriage. Now that her husband has passed and she's out of mourning she is determined to make her own way through life without ever marrying again. What she doesn’t expect is to see the Duke who's good name she once slandered for being what she thought was too flirtatious. She also doesn't expect her sister Maude to try and play matchmaker between the two of them either.

Jacob, the Duke of Argyll, has just found out that he is going to have the chance to confront the Lady who once slandered his good name. He is not exactly angry he just wants to talk to her, get her to admit why she did such a mean thing and perhaps make ammends. Maybe even be friends. Or so he thinks until he discovers what an intresting, passionate woman she actually is underneath her uppity facade.

Friendship soon turns to desire, but nothing is ever as easy as it seems. They seem to find love, but will that love last? And a new love can be a very fagile thing.

Sky Purington is one of my go to authors. A fabulous writer who literally just blew my socks off. I had no clue she could write regency like this. The characters were absolutely fantastic and there are some surprises that I definitely didn't see coming. All in all I really enjoyed this book and im excited to read the rest of this series.

The Widow and the Duke

Prudence and Jacob did not start out on the right foot. When she was married, she spread rumors about him. Now, they were both at her sister's. He wanted to make things right, but he did not count on falling in love. Though she resisted with all her being, Prudence fell in love with the man she once despised. She realized that she misread the duke. However, Jacob had a secret that might ruin the trust he built with her. What was his secret? Could he salvage prudence's trust once she discovered it? If you like enemies-to-lovers, historical romance, you might enjoy this story.

My biggest problem with this story was that it took me a while to come to like both Prudence and Jacob. Prudence is not especially likeable (and it doesn't have to do completely with how awful her first husband had been). She was rude and condescending toward Maude (and really, who could be mean to her, she's pretty much the nicest most positive person in the world) and believed that any man showing even the most basic courtesy to her must want to get her into bed. As for Jacob, he seemed to think that he was a gift to all women and that only he could save them from their sad lives. I guess in a way their arrogance kind of also made them perfect for one another. What I liked best about this book was that, although the attraction between Prudence and Jacob developed very quickly, the romance between them was stretched over a year. These characters were allowed to get to know one another better and see that they really truly loved one another. I did want to smack Jacob when he first proposed, but only because it was like 2 pages after he had told Prudence he respected that she did not want another marriage. I also wish that Prudence had gone to Jacob to reconcile without the need for his near-death emergency. It just would have been nice for her to make that decision on her own.

This was such a lovely story. The story was quite alow in the beginning, but picked up and was hard to put down. This story has quite of emotions flowing from the pages. My heart even broke at times. A little hot passion at times, but all well written. I will definitely be looking for other Sky Purington books.
I received this book from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for an honest review.

Wealthy widower Lady Prudence Barrington is determined to make her own way without remarrying. What she does not expect upon arriving at her sister’s castle in Scotland is crossing paths with Jacob, the Duke of Argyll whose name she once slandered for his flirtatious ways. Or that her sister intends to make a match of them. When Jacob learns coldhearted Lady Barrington will be visiting MacLauchlin Castle, he is eager to confront her and perhaps make amends or so he thinks until he discovers an interesting, passionate woman underneath her uppity façade. Friendship eventually turns to scandalous desire, but nothing is as easy as it seems.
The start of a new series & a well written enjoyable romance, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I really liked both Jacob & Prudence & became engrossed in their journey to a HEA. There are some surprises & things don't go smoothly but these added to my enjoyment
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Never Second Guess a Lord is the first book in the new series Second Time Brides.

Lady Prudence Barrington is finally out of mourning and on her way to her sister in Scotland. Finally free from the cruel man she was married to, but time left her heart scarred and cold.

Prudence is determined to make her own way without remarrying. The last thing she expects upon arriving is crossing paths with a duke whose name she once slandered. Or worse yet that her sister intends be a matchmaker for them.

When Jacob, the Duke of Argyll, learns coldhearted Lady Barrington will be visiting MacLauchlin Castle, he wants to confront her and perhaps make amends. But after spending time with her he can see she is wounded as he once was and is determined to help her.

The was a wonderful love story of wounded hearts. I loved the characters and kept rooting for them to get together.

Trapped, Letters, Proposals
First time reading this authors stories. A nice solid romance story with very interesting characters and a good plot that was easy to follow.
We meet Prudence first who is now a widow and finally free. Arriving at her sisters castle in Scotland she is surprised to see Jacob a former acquaintance that she was not happy to see or wanting to rekindle any kind of friendship. After many attempts to clear their past. They finally come to make amends, and this is where a delightful romance story begins.
The story is filled with a few surprises and some flirting of course. A sweet romance turns into an emotionally passionate love story that was a joy.
The conclusion is delightful and very satisfying.
Heat Level🌶+

I had a great time read this Book. The characters are amazing and the storyline amazingly entertaining with plenty of steam and twists to satisfy my reading needs. I look forward to reading more by this author.