Absolutely delightful start to a new series!

I always adore Kate Bateman’s books, since they feature strong female characters, and in this book there was no shortage, as Tess, along with her friends Ellie and Daisy work as private investigators. This creates a little mystery for the reader that I really enjoy.

The chemistry between Tess and Justin is undeniable, and I loved that they decide on a marriage of convenience, with all of the good stuff.

Also shout out to the publisher/author/cover designer. The red dress was spot on. IYKYK.

I am so excited for the remaining two books in this series, this first book really set up the reader, especially with the foreshadowing the author provides!

Tess is engaged to a man old enough to be her grandfather. So after an endless ceremony she’s ready to get the rest of the night over with. To her utter shock and delight, she’s left a widow not a moment too soon. Being a widow she’s afforded a certain amount of freedom with men except this widow’s still a virgin. Determined to turn over a new leaf, she sets her eyes on Justin, a new arrival to town. It’s only after a few sparks fly that Tess learns the real reason behind Justin’s arrival and why that just might complicate things a little.

Our male hero doesn’t think he’s capable of loving anyone, not after watching his parents' love fall apart. She’s happy with her independence and isn’t about to compromise that for any man. They try their best to resist their feelings but as Lord Vader says, “Resistance is Futile.”

This book just had all the right vibes. It’s sexy, scandalous, cheerful while somehow packing a deeper meaning between its many lustful moments. From Tess and Justin’s first meeting (which may I add was not only fun but had me questioning how either of them were able to walk away) until the final pages I was absolutely hooked.

This book will be sure to land you on this year’s naughty list.

This is the second novel of Bateman’s that has me seeing stars, 5 stars in fact, and I’m positive I will be seeing more of them as I delve straight into her backlist.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

When her first husband, a duke dies on her wedding night, it’s perfect. Tess never wanted to marry him and now she’s free. Her and friends create a detective agency for crimes the Bowstreet runners don’t have time for, mostly helping women. What Tess doesn’t expect is the new duke to be handsome and making her offering to become a duchess, again.

It’s to be a marriage of mutual pleasure and convenience. No feelings. So sets the tale of this fun story by Kate Bateman.

I was all in on this story from the beginning. The fast friendship of the three women. I felt for Tess. I wanted her to get her kiss and more. Justin was handsome and seductive. This book was a quick fun sexy read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a great start to what I hope will be a new series. I love Tess and her friends. What great , strong woman. This is a must read for all those who love historical fiction romance.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really love Kate Bateman books and this first book in a new series did not disappoint. The series is called Her Majesty’s Rebels and after finishing the first book, it is a perfect name!!! This book is a charming balance between romance and mystery. The story revolves around Tess Townsend and Justin Thornton, who is a shipping magnate and just became a duke overnight. He inherited the dukedom from Tess’s husband, who dropped dead the night of their wedding. Tess had been forced to marry someone she did not want to marry and she gained her freedom with the death of her husband. Tess and her friends can now run their business, King & Co as London’s most exclusive investigative agency (and how all the fun happens).

I had to laugh at how practical Tess and Justin’s agreement was. The fun started when they realized they could not control themselves around each other and had some sexy times in unconventional places. *swoon*. Tess is smart, funny and independent. You are really rooting for her to have a happily ever after. If you love historical romance you will love this marriage of convenience, forbidden love, mystery, adventure and great friendships. This book will be out December 26, 2023. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I highly recommend this book.

This was just OK for me. I felt that there was a certain lack of emotion between the main characters. I believed in their attraction to each other, but not their love for each other. Aside from that, I had no interest in the subplot and skimmed through those parts.
It was not bad, just OK.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I honestly couldn’t finish this one, purely because of the way it was written. Nothing about this book felt believable. The dialogue and actions of the characters didn’t feel appropriate to the time, the male lead would say one thing and contradict himself immediately after. This felt like a contemporary romance play acting as a historical romance. If I had been reaching for contemporary, I don’t think I would have minded but I think the author needs to do more research about the time periods she’s writing for and adjust her dialogue and character actions appropriately.

Second Duke's the Charm by Kate Bateman is the first book in the new series.

This book it witty, bawdy, and refreshing to see such a strong female lead.
She may not have been able to prevent her first marriage, but she's certainly embraced her widow status. Now, she finally gets to experience passion and more. Join us as the Duchess meets her match.
Justin never thought he'd be the next Duke, yet here he is. And they perfect plan has fallen into his lap by offering to marry the current Duchess. Of course, he's applying the same rules to his marriage as all his liaisons. If he only knew what he was getting into and the difference he's not prepared for.

Tess didn't want to marry the Duke but she did- and then he dropped dead before the marriage was consummated, making her a Dowager Duchess. Justin didn't know he was going to inherit the title and he didn't know about Tess. These two realize that their goals would be best served if they marry one another but there are so many other things at play here. Most notably, that's the work Tess is doing for the Queen (no spoilers). This has a nice bit of steam along with the intrigue. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Kate Bateman always finds a way to make her historical romances seem very fresh and different. You never know where they mystery is going to go and that's what makes her books such fun to read. I can't wait to read more from this series.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. Tess ends up widowed on her wedding night, which is a GOOD thing as she was forced into marriage by her father. I loved how her two friends came to rescue her, even though the poor guy was already dead. One of the moments between Tess, her friends, and the dead guy had me laughing out loud.
I loved how independent Tess became, she not only took care of the Dukedom while they were searching for the next in line, she made it thrive. Not only that but she and her friends started their own PI firm, and even got a job from the Queen!
I loved the banter and smexy scenes between Tess and Justin, and while I didn't really get his big gesture to win her back I thought they made a great couple and was happy how it ended. I did wish we got more of the PI stuff involving the blackmail and whatnot, but I'm hopeful that we will get more of that when we get the next book.

This series opener had a lot of potential and started out strong, but fell apart in the second half. I liked Tess as a character -- she took control of her life after being sold off by her father to the first Duke and used her new role as duchess to gain practical skills and improve the estate. I never really warmed up to Justin, though. His big "gesture" to show that he suddenly was capable of love wasn't very satisfying (nor did it make much sense). In some ways I felt like Tess would have been better off as a dowager Duchess and living in her own cottage than marrying him.

A big issue I had with the second part of the story is that, at times, there were too many plot threads introduced, many of which never went anywhere. What appeared to be a major conflict and threat to Tess and Justin was resolved off-page and with no real connection to the main plot. Adding in the intrigue involving Tess and her friends' private investigation business and assignment by Queen Charlotte -- which admittedly was more interesting than anything involving Tess and Justin's trust issues -- the story felt like it was trying to cover too much without doing real justice to anything or anyone.

I normally am a fan of Kate Bateman's books, so I will give the series another shot with book 2 to see if gets better.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

I love KateBateman books and this is no different. I didn't this suffered from the classic 1st book series symptom . The introduction of all characters fit well into the story .
I love the bit about he did fall in love with her before but now was not going to do it conflict . i also liked that Kate didn't spend long time explaining how he made the money .

Tess and Justin's romance is definitely charming, and hopefully the start of a new series involving Tess's co-investigators at King & Company.

This novel meets all my historical romance requirements. Strong characters who don't whine -- Check. A mystery that is at least mildly interesting -- Check. Genuinely funny banter among friends and romantic partners -- Check.

Add in a dead duke and a marriage of convenience to his heir, and this is a complete winner in my book.

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

You had me at marriage of convenience! This book was a lot of fun! Fast paced and easy to get through, I really enjoyed reading this! I've never read anything by Kate Bateman before, but I will defineltly be contiuning this series, and checking out Kate Bateman's other books. This was a lovely historical romance, and I really liked the main characters Tess and Justin, they had great chemistry. I also liked how there was a light mystery thrown into the plot, along with the romance.

Overall, this was a light fluffy read, and was just what I needed to get out of a reading slump.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

What a gun and quick steamy read.

I loved Tess. I loved Justin. I loved Ellie and Daisy.

Tess is a virgin widow with some independence and decides to open and investigative agency with her friends at which she is successful.
She u officially meets Justin at a risqué house party and the steam just felt ike I was in the Sahara.

She officially meets him a week later only to discover he the heir to her late husband's dukedom. A proposal of convenience is made by Justin. Marriage for 3 months only after which they stay legally together but live seperate lives. Things definitely do not go as planned. There's falling in love, separation, groveling, a flea ridden horse that wakes up to win a race, plenty of steamy sex and a hea.

Justin is grooooovy. Self made business man. Very passionate, Very open about his attraction. However his parents love, has closed off his heart and he never stays with a woman for more than 3 months to avoid emotional entanglement. Ha so much for that. Tess breaks that wall so quickly it leaves him staggering. Unbeknownst to her, he had his sights set on her 2 years earlier but knew he would not be accepted in her father's sphere.

Tess was forced into a marriage with the first duke, luckily he dies on the wedding night on the way to her bed. She covers up the fact that she's a virgin, and throws Justin into a spin with her "scenes" pretending to be a virgin. She is incredibly smart, managing the dukedom and making it very profitable and running a successful investigative agency. Her current mission is to solve a problem for the queen.

What a read, the dialogue was great, the characters fab, envious friendships and some mysteries thrown in. Cannot wait for the others in the series

3.75/5. Releases 12/26/2023.

Vibes: marriage of convenience, secret virgin, verrrry slick hero, and light mystery

Heat Level: 3/5.

Following a very short-term marriage (as in, he had a heart attack right after seeing her naked) to a gross old man, Tess is left a widow with some degree of independence. With that, she starts a secret detective agency with her best friends. All is well until the dukedom unexpectedly falls to cynical businessman Justin Thornton, who upon meeting Tess has a risky offer–why not have a marriage of convenience? Three months together, and they’ll go their separate ways, him dodging matchmakers, her securing a stable future. Tess agrees; but doesn’t quite anticipate the full risk to her heart.

This was a fun one! While mystery plots are hit or miss for me in romance, this one was light enough to enjoy–and surprisingly (for me) the rest of it was pretty much a feelings book. I do have some quibbles, but if you’re looking for a fluffier read with some solid heat, I think you’ll like it.

Quick Takes:

–This is a very heroine-forward romance, and places a good emphasis on Tess’s friendships with her detective-coworkers and mains, Ellie and Daisy. I loved their rapport from the start (and this book does have a very evocative beginning that immediately hooked me). They were a bit bawdy, very supportive, and just fun.

I do suspect that, because this book has a bit of a modern edge (I don’t get the sense that Kate Bateman was super concerned about historical accuracy, and I honestly respect it) it might not be for the Bonnet Brigade. I expect complaints. If you actually want to have fun when reading, kindly ignore them.

–Justin and Tess have a bright chemistry from the beginning, and he’s so expressive of his attraction to her. He doesn’t hide it at all. (And sidebar: love that Tess is beautiful and just knows this. She’s not shy about her looks and using them to her advantage, which I so appreciated.) It kind of adds to the stress Tess feels about actually falling love with him, because he is very charming, and it would be so easy for her to fall despite him wanting what is essentially a no strings attached marriage.

–Like I said earlier, the mystery is on the lighter side. It also involves Queen Charlotte. I was less than enamored with this. it felt to me like an appeal to the Bridgerton crowd, and I kind of couldn’t care less. In general, I find that shoehorning real (famous) historical figures often takes away from the general experience of a historical romance. It’s kind of awkward, as they’re almost always portrayed as being much more gracious and grand than they actually are.

–One thing I did struggle with a little was that there is much more of Tess’s perspective than Justin’s. His POV is there enough for you to get a tease, but not enough to really establish his feelings for Tess, in my opinion. I knew she was falling in love, but his emotional arc felt rather rushed at the end. It kind of felt like he fell in love with her all at once, and I wanted more insight. Ultimately, this took away from what was otherwise a solid love story and a good grovel.

The Sex:

It was hot, and it started early. There is one particularly good Carriage Cunnilingus scene, as well as a bit of… he thinks it’s virgin role play? But it’s not, Tess is an actual virgin. That’s a big part of the tension, sexual and otherwise, in the first half of the book. For valid reasons, Tess has been hiding her virginity since her first husband died, and it’s kind of hilarious for her to VERY successfully convince Justin, a super experienced man, that she is also experienced. His “oh yes, you must know this from all your lovers” “my God, you are so good” is really… something.

I do have to nitpick one little thing. Before Tess and Justin marry, she has some worries about contraception. She and her friends discuss several period-accurate options and methods, and I was like “oh great, she’ll pick one that works for her”. And then she just went “well, I’ll risk it”. Despite acknowledging that Justin is going to dip and leave her in London after three months, and that, though she likes the idea of a baby, she doesn’t like the idea of raising a baby essentially fatherless… She just decides to risk it?

And this really wasn’t considered much further. There’s this vague implication that Tess perhaps likes the idea of being left with a baby (though Justin makes it clear that he’s fine with her getting pregnant by another man once he leaves, and he’ll legally claim the child, no questions asked–so she can have a baby either way) but I don’t know. I didn’t really love the sort of “fuck it” vibe to all of this. It felt weird, especially for a woman in a relatively precarious situation. Other than that, I loved the way the sex scenes in this book were handled, but that nagged me a little.

While not a perfect read, I found Second Duke’s the Charm fun and charming, with the brisk sense of fun I’ve come to expect from Kate Bateman. It’s a good read for the winter.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I adore everything Kate Bateman writes, and once again, I was not let down. This book was just as wonderful as I hoped it would be!

Second Duke's the Charm is the first book in the new Her Majesty's Rebels series. It features a marriage of convenience trope, which I absolutely love.

Tess and Justin are an amazingly hot couple. Some of the scenes in this book were truly swoon worthy. There was a bathtub scene (I won't go into detail), but just know I won't stop thinking about it for a very long time. Justin is a captivating and magnetic hero, and all of his interactions with Tess were extremely seductive.

There was just the right amount of angst and conflict to make things dramatic. With a resolution and grand gesture that didn't quite go as planned, but that made it all the more charming.The next book in this series can't come soon enough!

Thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a fun read! I love a marriage of convenience so I was here for this as soon as I read the description. I think a bit longer of a timeline could’ve improved things since it was a little too insta-lovey for my taste but that’s a subjective thing.

I thought Tess was a great character and loved how smart and strong willed she was. It was sweet and kind of funny how Justin fell for her almost immediately despite the fact that he was constantly thinking about how he “didn’t have a heart” and totally would never be in love with someone. As mentioned earlier he started thinking he was in love with her pretty fast for my liking (it was maybe 2-3 weeks into their whole arrangement like dude chill I know you think she’s hot but you’re a grown man not a 6th grader), but I’ll let it slide I guess because a book bf should always be obsessed with his girl and I’m sick of historical romances where the hero treats the heroine horribly. Also I wasn’t mad at the third act break up like I usually would be, especially considering how much I enjoyed the grand romantic gesture.

I also thought the side plot with Tess and her friends’ detective business was interesting and I’m excited to read the next books in the series for what I’m assuming will be Ellie and Daisy’s stories. I do think things with the investigation were kind of unrealistic and clues were just constantly falling into Tess’s lap but also this was a romance book and I was not actually reading this to learn about the intricacies of crime investigation in the 1800s let’s be real. I do think it was strange that Justin’s side plot where he thought someone might be trying to kill him or whatever did wrapped up super quickly and we didn’t actually get to read about how things got resolved and it was just told later.

Overall I good time reading this and will be reading more Kate Bateman, including the rest of this series, in the future. If you’re looking for a fun and light hearted historical romance then I’d definitely go for this.

After being forced into marriage with a decrepit Duke, Tess becomes a widow on her wedding night before the Duke even has a chance to touch her. Offered the freedom that widows are afforded, Tess creates an investigative agency with her two best friends. Though she doesn't desire to give up her freedom to get married again, Tess does desire passion and to lose her virginity. At a masked party, she meets someone who gives her the adventure she desires...only to find out the next day that he is actually the next Duke who has inherited from her deceased husband.

This book was just a blast! It hits my favorite trope (marriage of convenience) but with some unique twists that made it even that much more enjoyable. I loved the detective agency that Tess runs with her two friends and loved their friendship as well!

The grand gesture was both delightful and hilarious. The whole book is really fun, funny, and sexy which was exactly the mix I was looking for!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.