Samantha Holt: Secrets of a Duke’s Daughter

A duke’s daughter must be prepared for whatever life—and love—throws her way…

Lady Cassandra Fallon is finally ready to take control of her life and join her late mother’s investigative society. She’s more than confident she can do the job—even when her first case involves a potentially deadly scandal. What she’s not quite prepared for is her brother’s attractive (and increasingly distracting) friend acting as her self-appointed bodyguard…

When Lord Luke promised his best friend he’d keep an eye on Cassie, he meant it. But the brazen and entirely too alluring woman she’s become is a far cry from the mischievous, freckled girl she used to be. Luke knows a lowly viscount has no business longing for (or touching) a duke’s daughter. But against all reason…he does…

She craves independence. He only craves her. An epic battle of the sexes is at hand. But will love be enough to get them to happily ever after? Cassie and Luke will soon find out…

If you like the brother’s best friend trope, this one is for you! Its got action, adventure, MCs fighting feelings, and just enough of the Regency flavor to make this a great escape.

This was my first Samantha Holt, but I couldn’t resist when I saw the beautiful cover and read the back cover. I am so happy I picked this one, it was super fun and gave me some nostalgic feels…something about the structure and the pace that reminds me of many staples from the mass market genre in the early 00s. Its the first in a new series about an absent minded Duke and his daughter’s who are carrying on their mother’s legacy of investigations.

Luke is a recovering rake who has promised his bff (who he owes a lot to) to watch over his youngest sister while away on his honeymoon. Little does he know, the Duke’s youngest daughter is trying on her first case for her dearly departed mother’s secret investigative society.

And this case is a big one. A friend is convinced something is amiss with her brother’s death and his will. And the more Cassie pulls at the threads, the more things start to unravel…with villanious threats trying to chase her away.

This one kept me guessing, and indeed the neat ending was a bit surprising, so it was fun to immerse myself in the mystery along with the romance. The romance is a bit of a slow burn and a lot of will they/won’t they until the middle. I liked Cassie’s take charge spirit, and although a lot of rakes are alpha-hole territory, I found Luke to be much more balanced.

There is some spanking dialogue between the two MCs, a whole lot of action, and some great supporting characters in Cassie’s sisters and eccentric Aunt (she stole several scenes with her cat confidante, Simon).

There is a fair amount of hand wringing/resisting on the part of Luke to pursue his interest in Cassie…but that is to be expected with the brother best friend trope. Cassie, for her part, finally realizes her attraction to Luke (even though she has sworn off men and marriage) and dives in with both feet. Holt toys with the “teach me” trope, to have Cassie request intimate lessons with Luke, which help give the MCs enough freedom from the thought of “no strings attached” to give themselves the room to explore their feelings.

Regency era is tied into some of the plot constraints/gender norms and there are a few ball scenes, but generally the focus is on MC interactions and the action of the investigation.

Overall, I highly recommend this one for readers looking to check out a new author who writes thrilling and fun Regencies with a mystery element.

5 Stars 4.75 out of 6 First in a series about a secret Ladies Investigation Society and the youngest who falls for the brother’s bestie