Samantha Holt: Temptations of a Duke’s Daughter

Solving a murder is dangerous business. So is falling in love…

Chastity, daughter of the Duke of Daventry, will not stand idly by while her sister is suspected of murder. Since no one wants to help, she’ll take matters into her own hands. The plan? Simple. She’ll disguise herself as a servant and investigate. But when her ruse leads her to the enigmatic Lord Kendall, Chastity soon realizes nothing in her life will ever be simple again…

As much as Valentine would like to ignore the scheming beauty who claims to be a servant, he simply can’t. He needs her. Bringing his footman’s killer to justice would be impossible without her, because the vivacious Chastity can do what he can’t—talk to people and gain their trust. So, he’ll accept the chaos she brings into his life. Accepting her into his heart, however, is another matter entirely…

Fortunately for Chastity and Valentine, intrigue has a way of putting lovers on the path to happily ever after. But first, they’ve got a killer to catch…

CW: suicide, death in child birth, verbal abuse

The second book in the Duchess’s Investigative Society series, this book features the eldest, widowed sister Chastity on the hunt for a killer.  When a meet-not-so-cute introduces her to the grumpy, reclusive Earl its fate, as he is also on the hunt for a killer.

To get close to the killer, Chastity masquerades as a maid in the Earl, Valentine’s, household.  And sparks begin to fly.

This is a Regency mystery that is more romance with a mystery driving the plot.  She is not exactly sunshine, but definitely more put together and ambitious, while Valentine is grumpy, gruff, and hates the ton. The mystery had some small clues, but it took a big reveal for them to crack the case, so I didn’t feel bad that I didn’t suspect/wasn’t that invested in the killer.

The intimate scenes sizzled, but were fairly brief and not overly descriptive.  I also think the romantic tension was there in spades, and it was super believable these two fell in love.  Both have secrets in their past and this gives them both a unique understanding of each other, enough to finally overcome their reticence to let someone in.  The romance was great.

This was a solid read that was quick paced, with a lovely romance that didn’t have too much melodrama and had some heat. It worked well as a standalone, and there were no set ups for the next book in the series.

There is an altercation, some mentions of violence, and some adult themes as well as intimacy although nothing is very graphic its still too much for kisses only or cozy mystery readers.

I would recommend this one to readers who love a bit of mystery with a quick hate to love set up and generally MCs who have incredible chemistry and passion.

*Samantha Holt has been an ongoing supporter of the site via sponsorship ads.  However, I have never been asked to review her books and I purchased this book with my own money. I strive always to give honest reviews, and have waited until Samantha Holt ads are not currently on the site to share this review.