I love regency romance novels, but this might be the first time I rated one so low. My biggest issues with this book is that a lot of it doesn’t make sense. I won’t explain more because I try to be spoiler free. I also felt like the author didn’t do much research into the time period, like really would anyone question if the main character was a virgin after being married or how would that really be checked. This is definably a book that can be skipped, but I hope the author does better in her next.

A virgin MFC who needs to prove that her marriage was consummated appeals to a lord, infamous for past exploits, to bed her.

When they next meet, she’s desperately trying to keep the consequences of their joining secret.

I adored this debut series starter ❤️ - it was exactly what I wanted to read and I’m really looking forward to reading future works by this new voice in historical romance!



Thank you to Harlequin Historical and NetGalley for the DRC

Widowed Isabelle must prove that her marriage of two weeks was consummated, or else she runs the risk of being separated from her stepson. She turns to notorious rake Matthew for help, and after their night of passion he leaves on a tour of Europe, unaware that he has left her pregnant until his return two and a half years later. As they reconnect and Matthew spends time with his daughter, both Matthew and Isabelle must find a way to protect their daughter from scandal while trying to deny the passion growing between them.

For a debut novel, this had surprisingly polished writing and characters that were well fleshed out. Despite the fast start, the love story evolves in a natural way and wasn't based entirely on lust. However, the entire premise felt kind of flimsy to me. The story jumps forward two years after Matthew and Isabelle's night together, and we never again hear anything about the desperate circumstances that drove her into Matthew's arms in the first place. Nor do we hear anything about Matthew's time away from Britain, except that he was apparently lusting after her the whole time. Further, the biggest obstacle to their romance is the worry that people will realize that Matthew is Seraphina's true father, rather than Isabelle's husband, and the resulting scandal will make Seraphina's life difficult.

Instead of a public courtship that would explain Matthew's sudden closeness to Isabelle and her daughter, they decide to sneak around and have Matthew come to her house in the middle of the night, multiple times a week, in order to spend time with his daughter.
When they finally do marry (this shouldn't be a spoiler, because Harlequin romances always have a happily ever after), it's after having interacted in public exactly three times, and they marry in a hurry. Which seems like it would invite just as much, if not more, scandal than speculation around Seraphina's true parentage. Matthew and Isabelle even decide to run off to the country at the end of the book while rumors and gossip die down because (surprise, surprise) their marriage has created a scandal. After obsessing over possible scandal for the the majority of 260 pages, they suddenly decide it doesn't matter and they're just going to carry on with their lives.

All of this was somewhat irritating, but the book moves along quickly enough and is short enough that it didn't annoy me enough to give up on the book entirely. The writing was good enough that I'll probably read the next installment in the series. I'm interested to see what the author does with the side characters in their own novels.

Debut book for a new author. I loved it! I think Maggie Weston will be an author I will follow for a long time to come.
Isabelle married an older Duke to help raise his son. When he dies soon after the marriage, the validity of her marriage is questioned. Since it was never consummated, she needs to find a rake to do it.
Micheal, the Earl of Heather, is number one on her list. He is leaving town to go on his grand tour and be gone for two years.
When he agreed to help her , they both feel a connection that was very strong. But he leaves and she goes on to raise her son.
When he comes back two years later, it's a totally different story.
The story was very good. I thought it was also realistic, in that the measles was a serious illness that caused a lot of deaths.
I look forward to reading Willa's story.
5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

To save her title and stepson, a widowed duchess must prove her marriage was consummated. Her plan? A liaison with a notorious rake. But their fiery encounter ignites unexpected feelings, leading to a secret that binds them forever.

I mostly enjoyed this book but had difficulty overcoming the flawed premise. Marital consummation wasn’t required in England as it was in Scotland. If the marriage ceremony had taken place in Scotland, this book would have been more believable. I liked the characters and writing style, though, as well as the found family aspect.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

For an author's debut novel, this one had a lot of potential. However, if I EVER see the word Duchess again it will be entirely too soon.

I mean I get it, at the start it seemed like it was an odd term of endearment that he had given her in deference to her rank. But then Matthew just keeps referring to her thusly. Even when it seems like she is at death's door, it would seem he would rather refer to her as Duchess than Isabelle. Each time he did so was an immediate turn off for me because I felt like despite everything that they had been through he still didn't see her as Isabelle, even though he claimed to love her.

Aside from the overuse of that word, this novel just.... didn't make sense from a time-period standpoint. Isabelle loses her virginity to Matthew because she somehow has to "prove" that she and her late husband consummated their marriage in order to keep guardianship of her step-son. The actual reason is never made clear and in fact, the "cousin" she is so worried about doesn't even come back into play until near the end.

However, her liaison with Matthew results in her having his child (not a spoiler as far as I am concerned considering the synopsis alludes to it as well). Ok cool. This should make for a good plot point right? Except even though the child looks NOTHING like her late husband, and enough like Matthew that he and his mother both clock her true parentage from the moment they see her, we are led to believe that NO ONE ELSE in society does? His mother even says that little Sera is the spitting image of Matthew's sisters with the same dark curls and stormy gray eyes, and not one gossipmonger in the entire ton put two and two together?

I was willing to overlook this however because when we did see these two together there were moments of undeniable sweetness and chemistry. I enjoyed watching Matthew interact with his daughter, and all of the little things that he did to try and prove to Isabelle that she could trust him with both herself and their daughter.

Well, at least until they finally slept together again. At which point it became easily skippable pages and pages of them having at each other. Which if you're invested in that part of the story might add something to it, but if you're like me and just want them to have their happily after you can do without.

But wait we need some drama! Poor Sera gets sick. And just as she is starting to get better, her mother falls ill. And when I say ill, I mean she's overcome with fever, can barely walk on her own, but yet can still get married?! This still has me reeling because while I can understand someone wanting to get their affairs in order, I cannot understand why her solicitor would be pushing her to get married when she's supposedly so ill she's practically on deaths door. How can she consent to marriage? Honestly, it just seemed like an easy out especially since it solved none of the issues that Isabelle was worried about (speculation from the ton, their daughter being ruined etc).

After that, the rest just seems rushed, but at least things are settled. I do wish we would have seen more of them in their new lives together, but as it stands, I will read at least one more book from this author as I am curious to see how they take constrictive criticism from this novel and apply it to future stories.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This is a fresh, lovely romance with a unique premise and extremely likeable characters. It’s a shorter read but still enough to follow Isabelle and Matthew’s story to their happily ever after and the side characters truly enhanced the story. Already looking forward to the other two books in the trilogy! Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC.

oh man. this book was amazing. i was not expecting to feel so emotional over a surprise pregnancy! i need more books by this author. asap!!!!

Virgin widow has to fix that for Romance Reasons! Secret baby! Threat of scandal! A father who Steps Up! Sickbed scene that necessitates more Romance Reasons!! This category has it all. Very fun and tropey victorian romance, and the start to a series about more widows.

Heat level: 4🌶️

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC.

Decisions that affect lives and create scandals that are overcome by great family / friends support and love.

Widowed Duchess Isabelle needs to lose her maidenhead so she can protect her young stepsons (Luke) and his dukedom from an unscrupulous cousin. She reaches out to Matthew, who is under a cloud of scandal after his affair at 25. One night is all it takes, and 2 years later, Matthew returns from his continental tour to find that he has a daughter. (Sera)

He wants Isabelle, Sera, and Luke in his life, but knows that scandal could follow Sera because of her resemblence to him. Isabelle is protective and does not allow him in. Over time, Matthew proves his undying love to his child and Isabelle to change her mind.

This is my my first time reading this author. The book was fast-paced, emotions rather raw. The writing style was choppy at some points, but you do see character growth. There is also a 12 year age gap between the protagonists. Supporting cast was good, and I am guessing we will see the friends' love story next.

#netgalley #maggieweston #onenightwiththeduchess