From the publisher of the USA TODAY bestselling Timeless Romance Anthology series, comes FALLING FOR A DUKE.Three brand new Regency Romance novellas by Rebecca Connolly, Nichole Van, and Janelle DanielsON THE DUKE’S ERRAND by Rebecca Connolly. Lord David Chambers has one goal—to put his father’s Scotland estate to rights. Even if it means leaving in the middle of the London Season and avoiding … Season and avoiding the matchmakers. As the second son of a duke, David looks forward to facing the wilds of Scotland, and trying to make something of himself and prove his worth to his father. But David’s not prepared for the censure he receives from the local Scottish gentry, especially Ceana Shaw, the baronet’s daughter who not only mistakes him for the duke himself, she seems determined to think the worst of David.
VINGT-ET-UN | TWENTY-ONE by Nichole Van. Eliza Mail had found the perfect place to live out her days as a young widow, away from the pain of her past and lost love. Seemingly by chance, Eliza’s childhood neighbor, Liam Trebor, Duke of Chawton, comes to her village for a visit. Eliza hasn’t seen Liam in over five years, and his presence panics her. Will he reveal what he knows to her friends and neighbors, destroying her current life? Eliza must avoid Liam at all costs, but he seems equally determined to flush her out of hiding. What happens if Eliza’s past does not stay where it belongs . . . in her past?
I KISSED A DUKE by Janelle Daniels. Madeline Maybury will do anything to be invited into the inner circles of the ton. She takes on a challenge from a high society lady to kiss the Duke of Hargrave. When she finds Ethan alone and explains that she needs to kiss him, instead of turning her away, he’s amused. He also obliges. Madeline believes she can report back and achieve all of her ambitions. Instead, she’s given an even greater task. Once she accomplishes it, she realizes that the Duke of Hargrave is a very different man than she expected, and she’s in grave danger of falling in love.
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I really enjoyed all these stories. Eventhough they were short I still felt I got a full story. The story wasn’t rushed and if ever the author’s decided to turn it into a full length novel I’d definetly snatch it up. Each story had I could enjoy and like. I thought the story ideas were original and well written.
I really enjoyed most of the stories in this anthology. I’m not always a fan of novellas, but they were delightful and definitely made me want to check out more of the authors’ work.
What a fantastic collection of novellas! Despite the shorter length of each novella, they read like full-length novels with great characters and detailed plots. I rarely like all the novellas in a collection since the authors, plots, and even time periods vary greatly in a collection but I thoroughly enjoyed all three of the novellas in this book. They are all very well-written.
Rebecca’s Connolly’s On the Duke’s Errand has great dialogue and humor. The setting is Scotland in 1817 with David, an English duke’s second son, traveling to Scotland to oversee the farming and sheep-raising trouble that is occurring at his father’s Scottish holding. Ceana is a Scottish baronet’s daughter whose land is adjacent to David’s family’s land. She is headstrong but tender and he is funny, intelligent, and compassionate. Their romance slowly blossoms as they work together, become friends, and try to help the people working the land.
Nichole Van’s Vingt-et-Un has a unique voice and is very cleverly constructed. Nichole Van never fails to surprise me with her creativity. The setting is England in 1814 with Duke Liam returning from war against Bonaparte as a hero to take over the dukedom after his father’s death. Eliza is his childhood best friend and first love, now widowed. They were separated seven years ago when Liam went into the army and a tragic circumstance five years ago severed their relationship and saw Eliza married to another. Flashbacks help readers understand the background of their relationship and plenty of twists and turns makes this novella quite fun to read. Long time best friends becoming something more is always satisfying to read.
Janelle Daniels’ I kissed a Duke has an interesting and unique premise to the storyline, though the title is a bit mundane for this story. The setting is England during Regency Era and Duke Ethan becomes involved in a dare through Madeline, who is being initiated into a group that can only be described as a 19th century sorority headed by the wicked witch of the west. Ethan is polished, lovely, but also compassionate, funny, sweet, thoughtful and kind. Madeline is sweet, innocent, naive, but also honest, practical and loving. Their romance is physical attraction at first but love quickly follows as they spend time together.
I received a review copy of this book from the authors. I was not required to write a review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Such a great collection! Each story captured my interest and held it with interesting characters, unique plots, and great settings. I especially loved the creative way the author incorporated the past with the present in VINGT-ET-UN | TWENTY-ONE. The story starts with Eliza and Liam resenting each other, but as we learn of their former friendship layer by layer and see them come together again in spite of the obstacles, the emotions heighten and I could not stop reading! I KISSED A DUKE was pretty fun and I liked seeing Madeline learn to stand on her own in a demanding and unforgiving society. ON THE DUKE’S ERRAND had an amazing setting in Scotland and it was interesting to learn about the conflicts there and how David did his best to get to know the people and their circumstances. He and Ceana had great chemistry and worked together well with his charm and her fiery personality.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)