This is the third book in a series, and the first I have read. I was enjoying it so much by halfway through. I went straight and bought the first two. The female characters are fascinating, and I need to know how they came together.

In this book, our heroine is a Duke's sister and a thief. That alone would have made her interesting to me, but she is so much more. For a historical romance heroine, she is most unusual. Her hero might not approve of everything she does, but he's playing a very similar game.

There is danger and intrigue as well as giggles and sexy scenes. Every page is filled with adventure and fun. I can't wait to get into the other books .

Really great fun.

This friends to lovers trope is very well done. Summer Winter and Eliot Blackpool have known each other since they were children. They are brought together trying to get her Aunt George's stolen art back to her. There's lots of witty banter and Summer and Eliot have smoking hot chemistry.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Lady Summer is a diamond of the ton who is tired of being compared to summer and diamonds. Not finding a match as a debutante she immerses herself in other activities. Lord Blackpool is all that and a bag of chips and everyone wants to be with him or seen by him but he has only ever loved one woman. As they share interesting tidbits and seen some robberies they found out who is what and something a little deeper. This book was a little steamier than I usually read BUT havng said that the steam did not take away from the book but only heightened the drama. This was an intriguing book (pun intended). I really enjoyed seeing where this was going. Because I guessed the cipher shortly after it was mentioned and the culprit I figured out at 68% through. Now I usually don’t read mysteries because I am not a sleuth. But I have really enjoyed this series and how she writes. I only remembered the previous books when they were mentioned lat into the book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with guidelines.

Lady Summer and Lord Blackpool have been childhood friends. Eliot has been in love with Summer since then.
They have always loved to push each other to the limits .Now they are working together to take down traitors to the Crown. During this time, they give in to their attraction. I enjoyed the intrigue. It was a fun read.

A new to me author, The Husband Heist offered a new twist on the spinster-rake dynamic that is so popular in the genre. Summer, our spinster heroine, may be in her 30s but that doesn't mean she became some outcast. Because she is the sister to a duke, Summer retains her title/nickname as The Diamond, known to be a trend setter and a society miss despite her spinster age. And because she is older and knows more about her identity, her wants and needs (including sexual needs), she enters the relationship with her partner in equal terms. Also, the banter they have? *chef's kiss*

So good I went back and read the first two books in the series.

I liked that the main characters here were both striving to be seen as more than just pretty faces of the ton. I'm not sure I totally bought that Summer could have made it to 33 and still be so popular. I also couldn't figure out why Eliot would wait that long to tell her how he felt. If this case and the circumstances that brought them together to solve the mystery had never come along would they have just continued as they were? I guess these two felt they had wasted too much time considering how quickly their relationship shifted. I liked the mystery part of the story because it kept the story moving forward and ultimately showed Summer and Eliot what a good team they make when they put aside their squabbling. The supporting characters of Maggie, Beatrix, and Aunt Georgie added some humor. The "villain" of the piece came as a surprise but I found I also wanted to know more about what happened to the other people present at the auction. Overall, this was an enjoyable novel with some really great/entertaining characters.

Fun, challenging, and steamy the way I like it.
Second book in the series portrays Eliot and Summer always at odds in the race to one up each other.
Smoldering attraction, hot kisses, and a few spy twists.
Hard to stop reading.

Steamy, cloak and dagger type heist and suspense.

A copy was provided for my review, but all opinions are my own.

Summer, the sister of a duke is securely on the shelf at 31. Her brother's friend Eliot a duke, has been in competition with her for years.
She is helping her Aunt Georgie get back some of her art mementos that were taken by the art society when her husband passed away.
I loved the competition, protectiveness, and relationship between Summer and Eliot.
If you like a lot of steam in a book, this one is for you.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and these are my opinions.

5 stars

I haven't read the first two in this series but I assume all the heroines are dainty. Summer is the sister of a Duke and though she isn't a big fan of her mother she's old enough 31 to be leading an independent life in London. The hero is an old friend of her brothers. Eliot has teased and been in competition with Summer for ages. Summer is a bit of an odd name especially when her surname is Winter. With some friends, Summer is slowly pinching back some of the art works that her aunt lent to an Art museum. Summer has found that one of the collectors has been selling bits off including some of her Aunt's precious but not classy Art. Eliot gets roped into helping her. Eliot is a spy and needs to search through the art to find a hidden list of female agents. He wants to warn the agents before their names are auctioned off. Good story.

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

Alexandra Harvey has quickly become one of my favorite romance writers. I adore her characters and her steam is always hot hot hot. “The Husband Heist” is no exception. FMC Summer is the 33-year-old I married sister of a duke (his unconventional story is told in “The Duchess Games” but this book definitely works as a standalone). The MMC is Eliot Howard, Duke of Blackmore, someone who Summer has known forever, and who has always known and enjoyed pushing Summer’s buttons. Improbably thrown together by Summer and friends’ “art heist”, Summer and Eliot find their relationship becoming something more.

And that something more is delicious. Eliot and Summer have long known and cared about each other, and on some level, wanted each other. Their chemistry is palpable and their banter amusing. But more than that is their acceptance of the other. They drive each other batty but at the same time, neither really entertains trying to get the other to change. Both have pasts and neither care. Summer’s age is a positive rather than a negative in Harvey’s world and I am here for it. And the secondary characters are wonderful. Everyone should have an Aunt Georgie, and I would love to see Beatrix and Maggie in future books.

5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. These opinions are all mine.