This was a one-sitting and very enjoyable read for me! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed historical romance, and I'm excited to learn that this book is the first in a series.

Tess and her friends are spunky, intelligent young women who refuse to be limited by society's rules. Their close friendship is heartwarming and provides so many hilarious moments. Combine this with Tess falling for a dashing duke, and it makes for a very entertaining and somewhat steamy read!

Highly recommend!

I really wanted more for this first installment in this new series. Tess is basically sold off to a 70ish year old duke by her father. Well the wedding night doesn’t happen and her two friends were willing to do anything for their friend. Now Tess wanting to keep her freedom has to worry about who the next person will take over the duchy. It’s Justin but he actually doesn’t want the title but ends up in a marriage of convenience with Tess. I liked the beginning a lot more than the rest of the book. It just didn’t hold my attention as much and I just find I wanted more excitement in the story. I’m hoping the next one will be better.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Top Pick!!

“As if sensing Tess’s presence at his side, the stranger raised his head. A shock of something elemental, almost like recognition, flashed through her as their eyes met. If someone had asked her to describe a “dangerous man,” it would be him. Flint-gray eyes, high cheekbones. Lips that looked like they could command- or kiss- with consummate ease. They’d never met in person she was sure, but she knew him: he was every wicked fantasy she’d ever dreamed, come to life. Handsome seemed too weak a word. Shrewd intelligence blazed in his eyes, and Tess had the strangest sensation that he was looking right through her, through dress and skin, to the very heart of her. She felt exposed, all her secrets laid bare.”

This was such a fun one! Kate Bateman is a master of her craft. She never misses, and always delivers a sensational historical romance full of heart, wit, and mind-blowing chemistry.

I was fully immersed in Justin and Tess’s relationship from the beginning, and I loved how everything came full circle with them. Almost as if it was destiny that they ended up together.

Tess was not just beautiful, but brave and bold. She has a secret that she has been carrying that could ruin her, she never consummated her first marriage. She knows she can never take a lover for fear they might spread rumors of her virginal state, but she decides to take matters into her own hands and attend a pleasure party to seduce a man and gain her pleasure. Once Justin fell under her spell, he had it bad for Tess. He had to do anything to have her and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

I do love a hero who knows what he wants. This was full of swoony heart-stopping moments with just enough mystery and intrigue without overwhelming the romance or the relationship development. The next book in this series can’t come soon enough!

If you’re a fan of historical romance authors such as Joanna Shupe and Eva Leigh then you won’t be disappointed.

~ Michelle

Kate Bateman has become a go-to must read author for me. I love her stories!

When the elderly lecher her father forced her to marry dies, Tess Townsend becomes the Dowager Duchess of Wansford, without the horror of having to share a bed with someone old enough to be her grandfather. Since her husband's death left her a wealthy widow, she and her two best friends open an investigation agency that caters especially to women. But, while she treasures her independence, she longs to experience the pleasures she has thus far missed out on. Her wealth and status make her the most desirable catch of the ton, and a target for gold-diggers looking to line their own pockets. Will a masquerade, a red dress, and the most compelling man she's ever met, give her a glimpse of what she's missing out on?

Shipping magnate Justin Thornton never thought he'd inherit a duke's title. He was something like 9th in line, but when all the others die, the title falls to him. Discovering that the woman he kissed at the masquerade is the Dowager Duchess of his own estates, he sees an obvious way to check "find a wife" off of his list of duties. They can marry "for convenience", stay together for 3 months, then go their separate ways to live the lives they really want. But, he didn't count on the passion they share leading to a love he never wanted.

As Tess works on a highly sensitive case for the queen, will her suspicious behavior turn Justin against her?

The characters in this story steamed up the pages from their first interaction with one another to the closing page. Neither had a reason to trust the other, but it was trust or the lack of it that finally put a wedge into their relationship. I enjoyed the intrigue threaded through the story. I also loved Tess' two best friends and business partners, Daisy and Ellie. They were a hoot.

Readers who love historical romance with a substantial amount of heat, will enjoy Second Duke's the Charm. I can hardly wait to read the other two girls' stories!

4 When their Marriage Becomes More than a Convenience Stars!!

I love starting a new series with new characters and romances that keep me captivated from beginning to end. With Second Duke’s the Charm Ms. Bateman has delivered on everything I love about her books.

Tess’ life changes dramatically on her wedding night but not the way she was expecting and dreading if she were being honest. When she becomes a Dowager Duchess before she can take that “final step” into womanhood. As she’s working on an investigation for Queen Charlotte with her two besties, her new husband to be Justin Thornton doesn’t trust her thanks to her being quite evasive when he questions her about what she’s doing.

Even though their marriage is supposed to be convenient, it’s clear that there’s an undeniable chemistry between them, but Ms. Bateman has written the ultimate slow burn as they get to know each other and figure out that not only are they attracted to each other, but they’re falling in love with each other too! This makes the build-up to their coming together that much more delicious!

I loved how this story progressed. As Tess is on her mission to solve a problem for the Queen, Justin begins to wonder if he can trust Tess in every way possible including his heart. Each time they’re in the same room together, it’s a little bit of foreplay! But it’s not smooth sailing for our H/h thanks to her secrets. Can Tess convince Justin that she truly loves him and he can trust her? Will their marriage become more than a convenince? You’ll need to read this one to get all these answers!

I wish I could provide feedback on this novel but I am supporting the St Martins Press boycott, so I'll provide a review once the boycotts demands have been met.

This is one delightful marriage of convenience. These two can’t keep their hands off one another! But it’s only suppose to be for three months and they will part ways. The Duke has promised never to fall in love. But this feisty little investigator has other ideas. And he seems to be falling , hook, line , and sinker! Wonderful characters, delightful banter, a would be assassin , and a sizzling romance. This book has it all! Loved it!

This was a fun book, from that great first chapter to the “Fool for Love” horse race at the end. It kept you interested with the intriguing main characters who married for reasons other than love and the crazy secondary characters. 4 stars

3.5 stars! Second Duke’s the Charm is the start of a new series by Kate Bateman and this is a marriage of convenience historical!

Tess is 19 when the story starts and already a dowager duchess. She also happens to be a virgin since her very-much older husband, that she was forced to marry, ended up dying on their wedding day! We catch up to her two years later and she’s the most wanted lady of the ton. But she’s busy running her investigative agency with her two friends. Around the same time, Justin, who had made a fortune shipping fur from Canada, finds out he has inherited the Dukedom and comes to London to figure out all he needs to know and meet the dowager duchess. But at a house party, Justin and Tess end up meeting without knowing who one another is. She’s wearing a mask and they share a passionate night together before going separate ways.

Shortly after, they meet again at another party and she of course immediately knows who he is since he wasn’t wearing a mask that night and then surprisingly he recognizes her as well too! I did think this would be dragged out a bit more and maybe have some tension added from it, but there really isn’t any. He ends up proposing an arrangement with her, he wants to keep meddling mamas away from him, wants to enjoy himself without needing to find a mistress, and assumes she’s down too. So he proposes a marriage of convenience where they give into their passion for one another, but their marriage is a business arrangement for the next year.

I really liked the premise of this one and enjoyed the first half more. Once they get married it felt like a lot of extra plot bits were thrown in that I wasn’t as interested in. She’s working with her friends at their agency to help Queen Charlotte, who comes to them needing help regarding her granddaughter being blackmailed. I also felt like Tess keeping secrets from him for so long just added to a lot of unnecessary drama between them and them both assuming something wrong about one another for too long.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, all thoughts in this review are my own.

This was such great fun!

Tess is left as a virgin widow when her much older husband dies on their wedding night. Fast forward two years later, she and her two best friends, Daisy and Ellie, run a private investigation office under the name of King & Co., run by the guise of "Charles King." Still a virgin, Tess longs to experience physical pleasure and attends a masked scandalous party. She meets a stranger at the party, experiences her first kiss, and a little bit of ravishing. When Justin turns out to be long awaited heir of the dukedom, a marriage of convenience is proposed.

I absolutely loved the way they met and how it unfolded. The only thing I didn't enjoy as much was the seemingly quick way they fell in love after a week. Plus, the flipped switch that seemed to occur for Justin. I think there could have been better opportunities for the pacing and perhaps more tension/angst to be created with the conflicts brought up. It wrapped up to neatly in a bow and felt just a little bit too rushed.

I still really enjoyed the reading experience, and Kate Bateman's writing has a way of making her books hard to put down.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After the high of reading, Kate Bateman‘s last series, Ruthless Rivals, I was very eager to start the Her Majesty’s Rebels series with Second Duke’s the Charm, sadly, this one didn’t land as well as the last series.

This one had a lot of potential, but a few main points brought down the enjoyment of this book for me personally. We start out with a young Townsend on her wedding night to her father’s age that she was forced to marry and we are hit right away with the fact that he’s died before consummating their marriage. Not wanting to have to go back to her father’s or be put in the hands of another man, Tess insists that the marriage was consummated and valid, thus giving her all the rights and privileges of a widow.

Fast forward two years and the rightful air to deceased husband, duke arrives and lo and behold, young, and handsome, and looking for a mistress … Assuming the test had been playing the merry widow for the last two years, Justin, the new Duke of Wansford Proposes marriage of convenience/liaison for the next three months. They can slake their attraction, he gets a wife, and she can continue living her lifestyle as the Duchess of Wansford.

This is all well and good, but throat this whole time Justin is insinuating, Tess‘s extreme amount of intimate knowledge, and is shaming her while she pretends to not be innocent. This is very uncomfortable and unnecessary. In my opinion.

All the while, as this romance is playing out, Tess and her two best friends are also running a business as secret investigators and working on a mission from the queen! Adding to her miscommunications with Justin, Tess is running behind his back, doing clandestine affairs with other men, given credence to his suspicions of her merry widowhood.

I had a hard time getting behind the investigation agency, which didn’t feel that well fleshed out and it was difficult to get behind a romance, where they start off with lies and lack of respect.

The series didn’t start out great for me, but I’m excited to see what happens next as the King & Co. agency take on another case and another one of the girls finds romance!

Thanks to SMP Romance for the eBook review copy.

This is my second Kate Bateman series, and I just love her historical romances! The men are always so swoony (and smitten) and the women tend to get a life outside of the home, which is my personal favorite.

We meet Tess Townsend on her wedding night to a much older man that she has been forced to marry. Nothing happens between the two of them though, because he passes away…leaving Tess as the 19 year old widowed Dowager Duchess of Wansford. The real story begins two years later, as lawyers search for the heir to the Dukedom and Tess and her friends have established themselves as a private detective agency.

Her love interest, Justin Thornton, is a wealthy businessman returning from making his fortune in the fur trade in Canada who is - surprise - the next Duke of Wansford!

The two of them have delicious chemistry, and he fully respects the way she has run the properties for the past couple of years. I love a man who respects his partner’s brain as much as her beauty!

I also love when a romance series fully introduces all of the main characters that we’ll see throughout the series, so you’re already invested in them before you get to their love story, so I hope that the series will continue with Tess’s friends and their detective agency!

There are a few aspects of the book that some readers may not love, which I will add to my goodreads under a spoiler tag. (Very mild spoilers.) Neither bothered me, but they might annoy you!

While I overall really enjoyed the book, I do think it lost a bit of momentum in the last third. I find that to often be the case with romance novels, since I trust the author to give me an HEA and if they have done their job well, I understand what the characters need to overcome in order to reach that place!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! Kate Bateman is a must read for me, and this book overall did not disappoint in this new series. Tess is a widow after her first husband, an elderly duke, dies on their wedding night. Her friends and her start a women’s detective agency, and she also decides to enter into a marriage of convenience with the new Duke Justin. So overall this is a romance, combined with a mystery/friendship/adventure plot. I liked this book, but it was not my favorite Kate Bateman novel. The things I liked about it were that it’s swoony, sweet groveling at the end, nice steam between the two main characters, great female friendships, and a fun adventure plot with the female detective agency. My problems with it were that the ending felt rushed, there was a lot of talk about her virginity (not ever a fan of that), the Duke was kind of mean towards Tess and his misconceptions of her, and the grand gesture at the end was sweet, but fell a little flat for me - though the groveling was good. Overall I definitely recommend this for fans of historical romance and Kate Bateman, it just wasn’t my favorite of hers (she has really written some amazing historical romances).

Very fun historical romance. The sismance was topnotch and I found myself laughing out loud at their witty banter and antics. Each character had their own unique personality that added to the charm of the story. The romance was also enjoyable, if a bit fast. I appreciated how direct Thorn was, and Tess was no slouch herself.
I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Huge Thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC

A very pleasant sexy read with an independent no-nonsense heroine entirely capable of surviving on her own. Widowed on her wedding night prior to consummation by her elderly groom, she successfully improves his duchy over the next two years until a new duke is finally identified. Shortly after meeting him they wed and sparks and secrets begin to fly creating havoc and clarifying feelings.

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Kate Bateman, I love all of her work and have yet to find something lower than a 3-star. Typically, I always know how to rate her books but this one had me stumped. I wasn't sure if it was a 4 or 4.5 but after some thought I landed on a 4 star.

Overall, there was so much to love about this book and I am super excited for the other romances. Something that Kate always does is excel at plot but not only did she do that in this book but this was the first time I saw her create a strong girl gang. One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the female friendships and how these girls would do anything for each other! The friendship was so beautifully crafted and I think it set up the next books in the series nicely.

The mystery in this book was also super fun, I liked how we were trying to figure out who was blackmailing the queen's sister (?). The plot helped the novel move at a good pace and constantly kept me engaged.

I also loved the relationship between the hero and the heroine. Both characters were amazing and I really enjoyed their personalities and how they got along. This book is very insta-lust (might even be love to some) and that was something I didn't mind because they were obsessed with each other from the beginning and had some amazing chemistry. With that being said this was very steamy for a historical romance and might even be Kate's steamiest! Which I am in no way complaining about haha

However, some things were preventing me from giving it a 5 stars and unfortunately, that was the relationship. I think (again) the characters had amazing chemistry and I really loved them together but we didn't truly see them together until the second half of the novel which was a huge bummer. The female friendships were the main focus of this book, which I don't mind, I just wish the romance was better balanced.

I also wished we got more of Justin's POV since we only got a few chapters and I wanted to see them both fall in love with each other which we don't really get. I loved the last part of them together and truly loved how it was more than just them wanting each other but the pacing was just off? I am not really sure but I just wanted more and didn't understand why all their time together was in the second half.

I have seen some negative reviews of this book and I don't think it will be for everyone but I had an amazing time with it and if you go in with the right expectations I think you could too.

Some tropes: marriage of convenience, duke & widow pairing, grumpy/sunshine(ish)

Overall I really enjoyed this book and am so happy I got to read it. I am super excited for more in the series!

This was so enjoyable! Fun, lovable and intriguing all wrapped up in a new series that I can’t wait to read more of! Historical romance at its finest!

I requested this book before the boycott. I look forward to reviewing it when St Martin’s Press addresses the racism against Palestinians.

Kate Bateman's Second Duke's the Charm is the first book in her new series - Her Majesty's Rebels and if I haven't said it before, I'll say it now...Bateman is an auto-buy author for me. I know I'm going to get a story with fantastic characters, an interesting story, and plenty of romance.

Tess Townsend, the Dowager Duchess of Wansford is our heroine and I thought she was great. When her (much older) husband died on her wedding night she was greatly relieved. Unfortunately (but not really) the marriage wasn't consummated and the only people who know are her two best friends. They decide that they will keep the secret and use Tess' newfound freedom and wealth to start their own investigation company to solve London's most scandalous crimes.

Shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom but here we are and he will do his duty. When the woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin sees an obvious solution: a marriage of convenience with no danger of falling in love. As Tess works on a new case at the request of Queen Charlotte, her suspicious behavior makes Justin question her motives and past and he's not sure he can truly trust her.

I truly enjoyed this book and if you're looking for a new historical romance, definitely pick this one up. And if you haven't read her other books yet, go get them now. I'll be waiting for the next book from Bateman and can't wait to see where things go with this series.

‘Meet Her Majesty’s Rebels: three brilliant women who run King & Co., London’s most exclusive investigative agency...

The wedding-night death of her much older husband left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford—and still a virgin. Now she and her two best friends investigate London’s most scandalous crimes, and while Tess longs to experience physical pleasure for herself, she can’t risk losing her treasured independence...

Cynical shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he’ll do his duty. When the ravishing woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin sees an obvious solution: a marriage of convenience that will suit them both.

But the passion that sparks between them is anything but convenient. As Tess works on a new case at the request of Queen Charlotte, her increasingly suspicious behavior makes Justin question her motives—and her past. The infuriating woman clearly can’t be trusted, but Justin doesn’t believe in love, so there’s absolutely no danger of him falling for his own wife...is there?’

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Second Duke’s the Charm is the first book in Kate Bateman’s new series, Her Majesty’s Rebels and is a historical romance with a bit of a mystery as well.

I love Kate Bateman’s books, I’ll read anything she writes. Seeing that this also had a bit of a mystery and the potential for danger with the inclusion of an investigative agency, I’d been looking forward to this new series.

Tess, Daisy, and Ellie are best friends and run the agency together under the name of a fictitious Mr. King. They are hilarious together and their interactions togethers are gold. I am looking forward to Daisy and Ellie’s stories to read more of the trio. Running this agency and looking into a matter at the request of Queen Charlotte herself leads to suspicion from Justin. He can tell she’s keeping secrets, but he isn’t what she’s hiding. He tends to assume the worst of her though which was unfortunate. I would have liked to see him have to do more to earn her forgiveness. The whole point of his plan to earn her forgiveness wound up being a big win for him instead of a loss, so I was a little disappointed and didn’t feel like the characters were at the grand declaration stage yet. I still enjoyed it, but it has not been my favorite by this author so far this is the first of a new series, so that could certainly be a factor.

Ready to read Daisy and Ellie’s stories and some more investigating and possible danger, so I’m looking forward to the next book!
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I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sharing an eARC of Second Duke’s the Charm by Kate Bateman. This is my honest review.