Beatrice Wolfe has too much experience organizing funerals. When she is called upon to help her Aunt Lydia after the death of her husband, she does so without hesitation. But when Fletcher Pryde, the Duke of Greycourt arrives, and not knowing who he is, she doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind regarding his rudeness. Just looking at him, she knows exactly what a man of his ilk are like and she wants nothing to do with him.

Grey is instantly taken with the woman who gives him her blunt rebuttals to his inquisition. When his brother shares concern that the woman’s brother may have been involved in a murder, he offers to spend time with her to learn what he can. Soon, he’s battling a mixture of emotions that offer him no peace except to claim Beatrice as his own.

Poor Grey. He had an awful childhood that left him untrusting of people in general. Trying to fit in with his half-siblings, he struggles with old wounds even as he hungers for Beatrice and the satisfaction that her presence brings to him. I loved that he adored Beatrice for her hoyden ways and her straight forward honesty. The very thing that would keep her from finding a suitable husband, and the things his mother’s project would fix, were the things that drew him to her. Sigh. Exactly what I look for in a historical romance.

”She was perfect for him in every way. And all she asked was that he let her look inside his very soul.
He should let her. It meant nothing, right?
It meant everything. It meant sharing his secrets with her, taking hers on faith, trusting her to hold his heart in her hands and not crush it, the way everyone else had. Because apparently he did have a heart if he were to judge from the searing pain in his chest.”

Beatrice was amazing. She was so kind and caring, always ready to help at a moment’s notice. With the weight of the her and her brother’s world on her shoulders, she’s fighting to do what needs to be done to assure they are not cast aside and found homeless. But as suspicions of murder arise, she can’t help but worry that they are true. She was a strong heroine, determined to solve her problems in the best way society would allow. Her ability to speak her mind to Grey and stand up to him made me like her even more.

This has a lot of steam for a regency, but I LOVED it! If I want to read a flat historical romance, I’ll pull out one of my momma’s old books. Instead, this is what I want. A romance with suspense, mystery and intrigue all laced with sizzling passion. With enough uncertainty and drama to keep the story moving and a pace that matches it, I found myself reading this within an afternoon. I couldn’t stop.

Project Duchess sets up this series as we meet the characters that I assume will have their own books. There isn’t a one of them I don’t want to know more about. With the possibility for danger and mayhem as this series progresses, I’m eagerly awaiting the next book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Kensington Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.