A Duke in Time

Written by Janna MacGregor

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Katherine Vareck is in for the shock of her life when she learns upon her husband Meri’s accidental death that he had married two other women. Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is
everything she’s been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives.

Meri’s far more upstanding brother, Christian, Duke of Randford, has no earthly clue how to be of assistance. He spent the better part of his adult years avoiding Meri and the rest of his good-for-nothing family, so to be dragged back into the
fold is … problematic. Even more so is the intrepid and beautiful Katherine, whom he cannot be falling for because she’s Meri’s widow. Or can he?

With a textile business to run and a strong friendship forming with Meri’s two other wives, Katherine doesn’t have time for much else. But there’s something about the warm, but compellingly taciturn Christian that draws her to him. When
an opportunity to partner in a business venture brings them even closer, they’ll have to face their pasts if they want to share each other’s hearts and futures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705034583

Janna MacGregor

Janna MacGregor writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Kansas City with her very own dashing rogue, and two smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pugs. 

Reviews for A Duke in Time

[Andrea Author · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Upon the death of her husband of one year, Katherine discovers that he was a polygamist. While Kat was his first (and therefore legal) wife, she can't help feeling responsible for the other two women duped by him. She also enlists the help of his brother, Christian. Soon, she and Christian begin to fall for each other. But what will happen when he discovers the secrets about her past?

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. This story is well-paced and the plot never lagged.

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

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had already planned to read MacGregor's Cavensham Heiresses series, but hadn't gotten to it yet when NetGalley and St. Martin's Press offered me an advance copy of this book to review. So this is actually my first by this author, and I really enjoyed it. So many aspects that reeled me deeper into the story or made me chuckle or had me pausing to think 'aww, that's so absolutely precious!'.

The couple had a really nice connection, I felt like I was really able to revel in all their longing, and appreciation and affection. The hero, especially, *adores* the heroine and says the sweetest things! There's a nice amount of steam, and also an emphasis on consent, which I liked, (no dubious consent here!). And the two are both generally admirable characters, which is nice. There's a slight secondary relationship that is a pretty good balance between not distracting from the main couple, but also not all supposedly happening off page and then popping out of nowhere in the end.

The pacing after the engagement felt a little bit wonky at times, but was generally good on the whole. And an incident in the heroine's past felt kind of blown out of all proportion. Either the heroine just had sort of a personal complex over it, and it had ballooned in her mind, or the incident should have been made to be more of a serious issue than it was. But those are pretty small complaints.

I'm extra looking forward to reading the Cavensham series now! I hope they're written as well.

[cathygeha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Kiss in Time by Janna MacGreggor The Widow Rules #1One half-broth to deal with Three widows married to brother.Where did their dowries go? This is not a new plot for a book but well done and a lot of fun. It is What I liked: * Katherine: strong, smart, business minded, survivor, has secret and a backstory, giving, warm, capable, I liked her. * Christian: duke, half-brother, war hero, problem solver, wants to find jobs for war veterans, loving, generous, interesting back story, I liked him. * Meriwether: half-brother to Christian, charismatic, bigamist, schemer, gambler, collector, problem-magnet, deceased. * Willa: companion to Katherine and skilled in healing* Morgan and the other men that were in the military with Christian.* The other wives – they will each get a book of their own.* The relationship as it developed between the two main characters* The way both main characters were working to help others* Trying to figure out what the deceased was up to and how he ended up collecting and bequesting as he did. * The friendship that developed between the three women.What I didn’t like: * Being reminded of the way veterans were and often still are treated when they return from war. * Meriwether…though he was charming his deceit was damaging to many.* Skeats: I can see him twirling his mustache in a cartoonish evil wayDid I like this book? YesWould I read more in this series? YesThank you to NetGallley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4-5 Stars

[firstreader-313058 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Katherine, Lady Vareck’s husband dies and she finds he has two additional wives, she’s shocked and dismayed. Because she is the first wife, her dowry will be returned unless the solicitors find out that the marriage was not consummated, that she has a hidden past, and that after six hours, her husband left her never to return. However, the Duke of Ranford, Katherine’s half-brother, has said that he will give her back her dowry. As vexing as the Duke is, there’s still something appealing about him …This story had such potential – it’s a historical, it’s got secrets (lots of those), and a main character who is a strong-willed businesswoman (when there were not many women business owners and those were not a part of “polite society”). However, the author failed to deliver on that potential. She seemed to lose the focus of her story and wandered about for a while. She also seemed to have some difficulty with her characters’ names. She used modern colloquial language on several occasions and took me right out of her story.If you’re looking for a light historical romance to read this summer, this may be exactly what you’re looking for. However, if you’re looking for a well-written and researched historical novel, pass this one by. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Edelweiss for an eARC.

[grandmacootie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Historical romances are such fun, full of extremes of good and evil, dashing, dangerous men, beautiful, clever women, gorgeous dresses, breathtaking landscapes. In the hands of a skilled author they can present you with the most outlandish circumstances and make you believe them, feel them, and transport you to that time and place. Janna MacGregor is just such an author. If her past books are any predictor of what to expect, the new The Widow Rules series is going to be a wonderful escape.A Duke in Time gets the series off to a marvelous start. When Kat learns of her husband’s death she also learns of his two other wives. Wait . . . what?? Kat learned very early in the marriage – very early – that he wasn’t going to prove to be good husband material. He left just six hours after the marriage and she hasn’t seen him since and has received only a few letters. But she had her own secrets and reasons for marrying him and intends to keep her place in society and run her textile business. If word gets out that her husband was a trigamist she’ll be ruined.Meri was a scoundrel. Charming, but a selfish, deceitful spendthrift and gambler who married primarily to acquire the dowries of his wives. Meri’s brother Christian, the Duke of Randford, is as different from Meri as can be, and he has spent his entire adult life avoiding his good-for-nothing scandalous family. He is not at all pleased that his priority must now be to sort out the mess Meri has left: multiple wives, possessions, debts, and ridiculous bequests, like the tiger he left to the Duke. And not pleased that Kat keeps reminding him of that priority, of his duty. No, he’s not pleased, and he wants Kat to go away and leave him alone. Except that he doesn’t. He is drawn to her like no other and starts imagining the “what if’s” of a future he never thought possible. And he only has to look at her to know Kat is feeling this same strong, steamy attraction.A Duke in Time is a delightful story. From the moment they meet, rocky as it may be, you know Kat and Christian are destined for each other. It’s just a matter of navigating through the wives, babies, businesses, enemies, secrets, debts, wild animals, old friends and unwanted family to find their happy ever after.Janna MacGregor is so good at this. Once you start reading you can’t stop. You’ll sigh and flutter your eyelids and press your hand to your heart, and wish you could step into the pages and knock some sense into these two. A good plot, fascinating characters, some passion and heat, and some danger to keep it all interesting. A great read. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of A Duke in Time via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. I loved this book and can’t wait to see what The Widows are up to next. All opinions are my own.

[libstaff2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good start to a new historical romance series. Plenty of fun characters and I love the subplots and how the author encompasses some social issues within the storyline. It's lighthearted and addresses important themes at the same time. I look forward to the next one in the series. For historical romance fans.Net Galley Feedback