The Unexpected Duke by Julia Justiss
The Unexpected Duke by Julia Justiss Series: Soldiers to Heirs Series Book #1
on February 25, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Victorian
Pages: 272
Goodreads
Escape to 1830s England when the worlds of a soldier turned duke and Cinderella are about to collide!
A duke
In sudden need of a duchess!
When Lieutenant Hartley returns home, it’s to become—reluctantly, he might add—the new Duke of Fenniston. If he’s to thrive in the ton, he must call on the help of widow Claire Hambledon, sister of the previous duchess, to guide him into society and help him find a wife!
Penniless and with a young son, Claire is well aware that she’s totally unsuitable for a duke. But she’s also completely unable to ignore the ripples of desire every time she’s near dashing Hart… Or the temptation to start a forbidden affair!
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
Soldiers to Heirs
Book 1: The Unexpected Duke
I have always enjoyed this author’s stories. She is a talented writer with her own unique voice. The Unexpected Duke is the beginning of a new series about three soldiers who share a deep friendship with each other and who each find themselves in an unexpected place of inheriting a title and all the trappings that go along with those circumstances. Lieutenant Hartley Edmenton is the hero in this first book. When his cousin the Duke suddenly dies, the title falls on Hartley’s shoulders. I enjoyed the dynamics of life at the time and Justiss’s ability to make her characters come alive – reacting to their surroundings with historical accuracy. Though there were parts of the book that got into too much nitty gritty of running an estate for me, overall, I thought that this was a very well told story. My biggest complaint is the male model on the Kindle cover. He resembles Adrian Lukis who played the villain George Wickham in the 1995 rendition of Pride and Prejudice. I would never equate the character of Lieutenant Hartley Edmenton with George Wickham. But beyond that, I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
