A Duke’s Daughter and a Navy Commander …a tragic accident, a secret cypher, and a clandestine engagement. A strange twist of Fate brought the unlikely pair together… now nothing will keep them apart.Lady Amelia Atherton is not a woman to be trifled with. Known as the diamond of the Ton, she is beautiful, witty, and the only daughter of the Duke of Ely. The men of the Peerage see her as a prize to … her as a prize to be won, and perhaps a way to obtain her father’s influence.
Commander Samuel Beresford is the brash, sometimes rude, younger son, of the Earl of Blackburn. A Royal Navy Commander who has little time for the affectations of Society.
Two people have never been so mismatched, but when Amelia’s father, The Duke of Ely, dies under mysterious circumstances, and Samuel’s elder brother is poisoned within a mere day of the Duke’s death, both Lady Amelia and Commander Beresford find themselves forced to work together in a desperate search for the culprit.
Amelia was always careful to guard her feelings, that is until she met Samuel Beresford. Now everything Lady Amelia once took for granted has been shattered, and with the Dukedom in the hands of her odious Uncle Declan, Amelia and Samuel plan an elaborate ruse, in the hope of drawing out the murderer.
Lady Amelia Atherton considered herself as tough as a diamond, but somehow Samuel Beresford has found his way into her heart…
Neither could imagine falling in love … now it seems they cannot imagine loving anyone else.
A Sweet and Wholesome Clean Read Regency Romance
A Full Length Novel
From the #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of
Dream of a Duke from Love’s Harvest: A Regency Romance Harvest Collection
Don’t Miss the Passion and Excitement of Regency Romance by Isabella Thorne
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A fantastic story full of surprises and mystery.
A perfect mix of intrigues and love.
Fantastic characters and plot…
If you love Regency and mystery, you will love it!
This is a wonderful book! As usual, Isabella Thorne drew me into the story from the first page and kept me turning the pages until the end. She develops such wonderful characters in Amelia and Samuel. Her plots always have a few twists and there is sweet romance with a happily ever after. Highly recommend!
I felt the emotion of the characters, and their discovery of not only each other, but that life can be what you make it, no matter what life brings.
An excerpt from the book: “Amelia played the song she began to write just after meeting Captain Samuel Beresford. A song of the sea, of love, and mischief, and the sorrow of parting. The sea pulls away from the shore, but always returns home.”
Happy reading! You will enjoy it!
He’s overbearing & she’s spoiled. What could possibly go wrong?
First off, I (usually) really like Isabella Thorne’s books. She’s a fine writer. She is even-handed between her characters thoughts and dialogue, within the balance of her descriptions. Her books are also well paced and each scene moves the story along to a happy conclusion. I usually can’t put them down. This, not so much.
Having stated the above, The Duke’s Daughter just left me flat. Rather than list all that I didn’t like, I need only say that I disliked both the hero and the heroine. For me, it’s imperative that I like the lead characters enough to enjoy the story and feel satisfied with the romance. My dislike of the stars of this novel also tainted the story and the ending. I just did not care about their happy ever after. Interestingly enough, I really liked his brother and her best friend. Go figure.
Last, but not least, this is a clean romance, There is no sex and just a little bit of mild swearing. So, please don’t let my review stop you from reading this book. You may feel entirely different than I.
3.5*
I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I had found the characters more likeable. Amelia is a spoilt little madam used to getting her own way and even by the end of the book she still seems like a petulant child, whilst Samuel is brash and rude. Having said that, they did seem a good match for each other. The most likeable were the wishy washy Percy and Patience. I did enjoy the plot, though I found it unlikely that a Duke without any sons wouldn’t have provided financially for his daughter in such a way that other relatives couldn’t have touched it. Overall it was okay but I am unlikely to re-read.
I had a free copy of this book, but this is my voluntary and honest opinion. I enjoyed reading this regency novel by Isabella Thorne. The characters were interesting and the plot holds your interest with a bit of intrigue. Well worth reading
Lady Amelia Atherton is not a woman with whom to trifle. Known as the diamond of the ton, she is beautiful, witty and the only daughter of the Duke of Ely. Men see her as a prize to win and perhaps a way to obtain her father’s influence. Commander Samuel Beresford is the brash, sometimes rude, younger son of the Earl of Blackburn. Being a Royal Navy Commander, he has little time for the affectations of Society. Two people have never been so mismatched. Amelia’s father dies under mysterious circumstances and Samuel’s elder brother is poisoned within a day of the Duke’s death. Lady Amelia and Samuel work together in a search for the culprit. They plan an elaborate ruse in hope of drawing out the murderer. Lady Amelia considered herself as tough as a diamond, but somehow Samuel found his way into her heart. – Lady Amelia and Samuel were truly mismatched. She thought she deserved someone titled and wealthy. He did not like the ton or the life they led. They clashed and argued a lot, but they were attracted to each other. The relationship between Samuel and his brother Percival was heartwarming. Patience was a good friend to Amelia and her attraction to Percival made the book more interesting. The mystery part of the book was also interesting
I enjoyed this book. Two people who don’t fit the mold and are so concerned with protecting themselves from getting hurt, that they miss that they are already past protecting themselves.
This is not your typical Regency Romance-it is so much more! A mystery, a matching up of a shy elder son of the Earl of Blackburn and his sea-going younger brother and 2 young ladies that are close friends. These ladies have appeared in other books and give a sense of continuity to this series. Patience, that a reticent, unsure-of-herself young lady, and Amelia, the brilliant star of London society, who has rejected most of the eligible men of the ton. Amelia, the star, lost her mother a few years ago in childbirth and has a fear of that happening to her as well. That fear, as well as her mental acuity that has not yet found it’s equal, has kept her from forming any attachments. However, she sees how her father, a Duke, has aged since her mother’s death and as he has dealt with his Dukedom’s responsibilities. As she can not inherit, her father’s death will result in the passing of the title and estate to her Uncle Declan, who has had uneasy relations with her father, a fact that is prodding her to think of marriage more seriously.
The stage is set by all of our characters , including Amelia’s father and her maternal Aunt, attending a ball where the 2 young ladies will meet the 2 young men for the first time. Percivil, the elder brother and heir apparent, and Patience the shy young lady, make eye contact and smile at each other. However, they are not yet introduced. The Naval officer, Samuel, is encouraging his brother to make an effort to meet and dance with young ladies, with the hope of ultimately finding a bride. Samuel sees Amelia, learns she is rather a terror to young men, and takes up the challenge of showing Percivil how it is done: to boldly approach a lady of interest, ask her to dance, and thus establish a relationship with her. Off Samuel goes, bruskly interrupting a conversation Amelia is having with another man, and whisks her away to dance. His boldness, his ability to verbally fence with her, and his physique all impress Amelia.
While Samuel and Amelia are dancing, Percivil snacks on the food and drinks. By the time the dance is over, Percy is quite ill, and Samuel takes him home. It soon becomes apparent that this is not a simple case of food poisoning, as no one else becomes ill, and Percivil continues to spiral downward despite the forced emesis Samuel had induced shortly after they had arrived home. They deduce Percy has been deliberately poisoned, but the who and the why are not known.
The next morning, Amelia’s father appears tired and worried and makes a cryptic remark when Amelia tells him to not be late coming home that night:
“ ‘I cannot promise,” The Duke said, “After what happened at the ball last night. I fear …” He broke off and Amelia asked “What happened father?” Her father smiled wanly, but it did not reach his eyes. “Nothing you need worry about. I will take care of it.”’
Later, after shopping with her Aunt Ebba, she receives a message that her father was killed in a carriage accident that very day. As if the shock and grief were not enough, her Uncle Declan, who now inherits the title and estates, soon let’s her know she will be removed from town, have a reduced allowance, and is expected to marry as soon as possible. Off she goes to the country, to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
In the country home, Amelia finds a book with unusal markings and writings that do not make sense. This book was found accidentally in a hidden compartment in her father’s desk. Meanwhile, Percivil and Samuel also have removed to the country to help Percivil recuperate, out of the sight of society, which is left with the impression that Percivil is dying of some malady. It happens that the 2 homes are not far apart, and when Patience comes to visit Amelia, they go with Aunt Ebba to visit Percivil and Samuel. Samuel discovers his brother with an unusual book, damaged by water and with an unusual symbol on the cover. When Amelia is trying to figure out what her book is all about one morning, Samuel walks in, recognizes the unusal symbol on her book is the same as the one on Percivil’s book. Samuel finds his brother’s book, and they make a bit of progress in deciphering some of the numbers- they are latitude and longitudinal readings, which Samuel can follow up on when he goes to London. Samuel shares what he has learned with Percy, and Percy confirms he and Amelia’s father were working on this together. This solidified the belief that Percy was deliberately poisoned and Amelia’s father was killed purposefully, not as an accident.
Will Percy and Samuel be able to master the code to understand what the words and numbers mean? Amelia, not to be left out of the search, goes to London, posing as Samuel’s fiancé. Will this working relationship develop into something deeper? Will Percy recover and begin a relationship with Patience? Who was behind the death attempts and why? This intriguing book will keep your interest until the very end. Readers of all ages will enjoy this mystery around which 2 love stories develop.