Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of The Secret Duchess. Unfortunately I did not get to this before it was archived. I'm looking forward to checking it out at my local library or independent bookstore!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I finished this one up early this morning (and will probably nap soon). Joan spent five years married to a pretty awful Duke, and upon his passing he’s left her barely enough to live on. After years of cheating and illegitimate children, his heirs are now accusing her of infidelity so they can take what little she has left. No one knows about a house purchase in Inverley years ago, and she flees there, incognito, until she can figure out what to do.

Enter is Maeve, whose mother is getting remarried and leaving her high and dry in Inverey. She’s got no marketable skills but will need lodging, so she convinces the reclusive widow to let her board in the house. As the two get closer, Joan’s secret gets more difficult to hide, and when the family shoes up again, hellbent on taking everything, the women hatch a plan to get it all back.

This was a fun, little read. Sometimes I just need traditional style, historical romance, but with ladies, and this hit the spot. It moved quickly, had good supporting characters, a heroine in trouble, and a partnership rather than a prince on a steed, which I appreciated.

I really enjoyed the setting and the development of the characters the plot was also enjoyable . The books in the series are focused on different couples, however there are recurring characters that the reader keeps getting to see snippets of added that to the fact that all the stories standalone which means you don't have to had read them in order or the one before to understand what is going on.

This book is easy to read and fast paced, ideal for fans of historical romance.

I really enjoy Jane Walsh's books. I love the setting, the characters and their development and the plot. I also love how in this series, even though the books are focused on different couples, there are recurring characters that we keep getting to see snippets of.
This book is easy to read and fast paced, ideal for fans of historical romance.

I think I might be too middle class for this book.

I really wished I could have enjoyed this book, the writing is decent, the romance is cute for what it is however the characters are so lacklustre and lack interiority from start to finish it made the book interminable to finish and I'm not talking about Joan being my main issue.

Honestly, Joan as a naive young woman in an arranged marriage who knows not much of anything and kind of goes with the flow wouldn't be a bad character arc to start with considering it's strongly stated she's never allowed her own agency, however as someone who grew up in a culture where arranged marriages are common, it has never stopped women I know from having interiority, emotions, hobbies beyond what their duty was, which Joan lacks to a level she comes across as a blank slate. Her queer awakening is very sweet and it does give me more to engage with, however Joan until almost the end feels almost resigned to injustice and never truly gets angry, yells, has an outburst beyond a smart remark or hiding herself, which yes can be a good starting point however even at the end she never stands up for herself, her maid does the heavy lifting.

And here we come to my biggest grating issue with the plot- Maeve and the existential crisis of the rich. Like, the shock of having to enter the job market, having to work for yourself after a life of not doing that is something I can sympathise if not get get, however the sheer amount of waffling and brooding about how easy her life was and how she's single does hit somewhere maddening in my modern non trust fund baby person trapped in capitalism soul.

It's not even the amount of jobs she went through, that happens when you're trying to figure out what you *can* do, it's the constant whining about how good her life was and the "Caroline Channing from 2 Broke Girls but so much worse" characterisation that started to downgrade my enjoyment thoroughly. Her slow building friendship and relationship with Joan being her only remotely interesting feature, but that's simply because there's the only spot we see true want or desire to do something in Maeve.

The book feels leisurely and dull like a boring party where you're sitting with a plastic plate with chips and warm glass of coke as it limps to an unsatisfying and "revelation that forces the villain to change his mind" ending.

Joan didn’t particularly care for the Duke of Stanmere, but she did enjoy her life as a Duchess. Unfortunately for her, it turns out her late husband barely mentioned her in his will, causing people to assume she was cheating. Now that her step children and in-laws seem to be up to no good, Joan has one massive scandal on her hands, which is why she flees to her secret home in Inverley. Now she’s disguised as the widow of a sailor and watching the scandal play out in the gossip rags. To further her disguise, she takes on a boarder: Maeve Balfour. Surely no one will expect the Duchess to rent rooms out!

I picked this up expecting a fun romance with some mystery involved. We follow Joan and Maeve through their rotating perspectives beginning with their lives turning upside down. Joan has a cheating scandal on her hands and is dealing with the theft of nearly everything she owns. Meanwhile, Maeve’s mother just remarried and left her to fend for herself. Maeve refuses to marry because she has no desire to ever be with a man, but she’s used to living the lavish life her parents' money provided. Now she’s left to find a husband or find a job, and it turns out that finding work is much harder than she ever anticipated!

I really liked Joan. There’s certainly some foul play going on with her in-laws, and it’s interesting to watch it develop as she tries to come out of it unscathed. She seems like a caring character who married well only to be left hiding out in a house her father pressured her to buy in secret. I think I would’ve liked the book more if I liked Maeve more, but she’s rather spoiled and truly out of touch with reality for the first half of the book. I had a hard time reading Maeve’s chapters mainly because Joan usually had far more interesting chapters than she did. I feel like Maeve finally grew a solid personality about halfway through the story, which is when I really started to enjoy her chapters.

The mystery of sorts was really interesting to follow and that was probably my favorite part of the book. It was crazy seeing what Joan’s in-laws were doing and seeing her slowly learn who her husband really was as a person. The slow revelations were predictable but crucial to the story, and seeing who really had Joan’s back and was willing to help and defend her was excellent. The romance was very light and cute, but Joan’s backstory and crazy life events was the core of the book.

When Joan’s husband dies, and the society turns on her, fuelled by awful rumours, she only has a house in Inverley to run to. There, she disguises herself to avoid the public eye and further destruction of her reputation and her fortune and begins to face the reality of her future. When Meave finds herself similarly rudderless, she finds a surprising ally in Joan, and the two of them form a friendship which blossoms into more than either could imagine.

This book, and all the wonderful historical romances by Jane Walsh fulfill all my teenage dreams. Every single book hits just the right spot, and this one is no different. Jane Walsh has two characters used to a life of luxury, maybe a little bit spoiled, and made them likeable and relatable and had the readers falling for them and their story. I also loved also to see some old friends pop up in the story Arabella and Caroline.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book is an interesting read. The both main characters had a new change in their wasn't in a positive way. Joan's husband die and this family doesn't want her to have anything. And Maeve's mother gotten remarried and Maeve needs to defend for herself with the little money that her mom gave her. Maeve ending up staying with Joan and ending up falling with each other. Plus each find something new within themselves.

I do like a bit of regency, and this series has been good so I was looking forward to reading this book. Happily it didn’t disappoint. The romance works well. The difficulties for women in trying to live a life in that era that didn’t involve marriage to a man are well explored. A perfect bit of escapism. Some of the clothes sound rather lovely too.

I’m always so impressed by people who read historical romance. What are you, a scholar?? I had to look up so many words!

But I think I get it now! I had a great time with this. Good setup, distinct characters, good tension and reason for keeping secrets. The storyline with the duchy is well done and adds some extra excitement.

Towards the end the romance got a bit too overwrought for me, but I know that’s part of the genre, so I can’t blame the book. Overall I liked this a lot and would recommend it!

The third book in the Spinsters of Inverley, widow Joan and spinster Miss Maeve Balfour's story is well written with a very good storyline that held my interest throughout. Joan had so much hurt from her deceased husband and his family, I was happy when Maeve came into her life. The story is well worth reading. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Secret Dutchess is the third installment in the series. This is a great addition to the series and can also stand alone. A very enjoyable read with some interesting back stories. The main characters complement each other. I loved their journey as the overcome all the obstacles and hardship. Well done, Jane.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC.

The Secret Duchess is the third installment in Jane Walsh’s Spinsters of Inverley series. It can be read as a standalone, although I do recommend checking out the others. I continue to love how Walsh grapples with the issues women faced in the Regency, especially if they happened to be queer, while providing them both realistic and hopeful paths to an HEA, and this one was no exception.
Joan and Maeve are each great spins on common historical romance archetypes, and are very sympathetic as a result. Joan is a widowed duchess, having endured a loveless marriage and is now reckoning with a scandal related to her late husband’s long-buried secrets now coming to light. Maeve finds herself compelled to leave home following her mother’s remarriage, and I love how, as someone who loves fashion and style, she has to find a resourceful way to make her own way in the world.
I really liked the romance between Joan and Maeve. I wasn’t sure at first about Joan hiding who she was from Maeve, but it does come from a realistic place of shame for the scandal, and later fear for what could befall her. And once Joan is comfortable letting Maeve in, the two women really bond over their shared struggles navigating the world, helping each other and finding solace in each other.
This was a fairly sweet read, and I’d recommend it to readers who are looking for historical sapphic romance.

Historical romance between two women. An entertaining story even if some of it is a bit unlikely for the time. But it is fictional and I did enjoy it. I can sometimes get a bit pedantic about historical accuracy.

A sweet slow-burn for lovers of sapphic period romances!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for approving this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is my second Jane Walsh sapphic romance, and the third in the “Spinsters of Inverley” series. Here, we meet Joan, the sheltered Duchess of Stanmere, who receives several nasty surprises at the reading of her deceased husband’s will. Fleeing scandal, she arrives to the seaside town of Inverley, determined not to let anyone find out her real identity.

When fashionable spinster Maeve’s mother remarries and leaves her to fend for herself, she asks to board with Joan’s manor while she seeks employment. Joan is reluctant at first, but decides to take Maeve in. With time, the two women begin to learn more about each other, about themselves and what it means to have something of their own… but it might all fall apart when the missing duchess is found.

I enjoyed this! The main characters' backstories and motivations were interesting, and they complemented one another and went through their own arcs while supporting the other’s journey. There were some angst and darker topics (mostly IPV and femicide, referenced), and also some open-door smut scenes with vulnerable conversations about pleasure and bodies that I really liked.

If you enjoy historical sapphic romances that are spicy and tender, be sure to check this one out!

Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for access to this arc.

Maeve and Joan both have flaws that actually made them well rounded if at times frustrating. Maeve has always lived in genteel society but with her means of support – her now remarried mother – gone, she realizes she’s going to have to learn to earn her own keep. Easier said than done as Maeve likes how she’s lived and doesn’t initially want to start working. Joan is the daughter of an Earl and now a Dowager Duchess. She’s had men taking control of her life from day one and even when she did question her father about anything, he did the usual dad/man thing of that day and told her not to worry and leave details to a man. To her later regret, she did. Unused to making plans, Joan does stumble a bit.

Yes, I wanted to shake Maeve but it’s also understandable that she’d like to continue living high on the hog. Who wouldn’t? She does face reality and try gainful employment before finding a niche only to face facts about how this affects others. When Maeve is offered a position for which she’d be perfect, she’s finally embraced her new status and goes for the opportunity. Joan also has missteps as she slowly realizes what she faces from the Dukedom and how her choices could end up harming others. But she does begin to act and make decisions on her own.

Maeve has known her sexual preferences for a long time and acted on them when she could. She is friends with two lesbian couples (Books 1 and 2 of the series) and longs to find her “someone.” Joan was sheltered and married off then endured her husband’s matter-of-fact visits to her bed but she heard other debutantes discussing things so is not surprised when Maeve carefully hints at what she wants. Joan isn’t that experienced in any type of sexual relationship but Maeve takes it slowly and I can believe that they’d be able to carry on a relationship in private. No, there’s no hot and heavy public displays of affection but women walking arm in arm was common then plus a generation of women missed out on marriage due to the Napoleonic Wars so two women living together was also accepted. Besides the two other couples, there is a male character who is described in a way that leads me to think he’s asexual.

Some of the historical aspects of the book caused me the most problems. Joan does own her home but on a mere £200 annual budget the idea that she’d be able to employ the size household she does – plus maintain a carriage and horses – stretches belief.

I liked the real character growth displayed by both Maeve and Joan. Past characters don’t crowd the story. And if the Found Family, “we’re all equals” parts seem more modern than historical, they make up for the darkness to which Joan is subjected until All is Righted in the End. B-

The Secret Duchess and I got off to a bit of a rough start because I didn’t initially care about either of the main characters. They seemed rather shallow, self-indulgent, entitled women, and while I felt bad for their rude awakenings, I wasn’t prepared to be particularly sympathetic to them. Had this not been a Jane Walsh novel, I’m not sure I would have kept reading.

Of course, I did keep reading, and I did soon come to understand the careful undressing of layers here, and how deftly Walsh built not just a romance, but the women within it. They start out seeming shallow and self-indulgent because they were raised to put social standing and appearances before all else. Neither Joan nor Maeve have ever had the opportunity to know themselves, much less be themselves, so being stripped bare of their social standing is indeed a rude awakening.

That rude awakening is a darkness that looms over much of the story, with sorrow, grief, uncertainty, and even horror that colors every moment. It’s heavy, but it’s also necessary for us to shift from understanding to accepting to empathizing with Joan and Maeve. Their struggles reveal the strength of the women inside, and an acquaintance forced upon them by circumstance slowly blooms into friendship before flowering into romance – which is where the book shines brightest. I loved getting to know these women, seeing how they treated others when there was no longer a social ladder between them, and witnessing how they became far more than the roles they’d cast aside.

I quickly came to adore Maeve, and to feel for Joan. I wanted them to be together for Joan’s sake, perhaps even more than Maeve’s, and I loved how Walsh navigated the first stirrings of love between them. Joan is so innocent, so naive when it comes to affairs of the body, and Maeve is the perfect woman to guide and instruct her. Their first fumblings are so sweet in the language and lessons learned, and it’s a delight to see passion and love develop almost simultaneously. As courtships go, this was one of my favorites in the genre!

The story does sort of race towards a climax in the final chapters, but it’s the perfect culmination of the entire story, with people coming together out of a sense of family and love, regardless of role or position, to see to it that the right thing is done – even if (or especially if) it’s not what we expected.

Actual Rating: 3.5

I don’t pick up as much historical romance as I used to, but Walsh always finds a way to draw me back in and The Secret Duchess was so worth it. We have Joan, a recently widowed Duchess who has lost her inheritance due to mysterious circumstances, and we have Maeve, a fashionable spinster who loses her easy way of living and begins to scramble for a means to keep her comforts.

I really enjoyed how Joan and Maeve contrasted and complimented each other, this was especially present in the power dynamic in their relationship - it felt very balanced despite one having more experience and the other having more wealth. Maeve is an absolute charmer and so fun to read, especially side by side to Joan’s moderate naivety. One of my favourite scenes accuranted this difference and honestly made me laugh out loud.

I loved the intimate scenes and really continue to enjoy how Walsh approaches them. It’s an approach that is soft, intimate, creative, and thoughtful. I could read them over and over again.

I didn’t care so much for the mystery element of the story, much as it was a device to get these two women into close proximity. The mystery is resolved pretty much as we expect from the beginning so I wasn’t too invested in that part of the story. I think those looking for a mystery won’t find too much to delve into here, but those who like family drama will be satisfied.

Still, I cannot wait to see what story of Walsh’s will pull me in next.

*I received an eARC from Bold Stroke Books & NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

A lesson in love!

Joan is hiding away in Inverley after her dead husband’s will reveals a nasty secret. In Inverley they all wonder about Joan, but Maeve, who living there after her mother’s remarriage has forced her to be more independent, can’t help seeking lodging with her after being taken with her after one brief meeting.

This was a great addition to the The Spinsters Of Inverley series. I love that these are all standalone stories, so you don’t have to read them in a particular order to enjoy them, and that if you have read others in the series, then familiar faces crop up. Maeve and Joan both had mystery about them, but Maeve was most intriguing with how brazen she still was, even out of her comfort zone and finding things a bit of a challenge. Her confidence never wavered and once she’d decided Joan intrigued her and she was determined to lodge with her, there was literally no stopping her.

Joan had her guard up, and rightly so, but still Maeve managed to get under her skin and convince her to live her life. Of course, Maeve wasn’t aware of the truth at first, but once she found out she was loyal and ready to support Joan when her secrets started encroaching on her secret life in Inverley. That brought the real drama and set them on a bit of an adventure beyond exploring their feelings for one another.

A great historical romance, which is highly enjoyable, filled with scandal, and lots of intimate moments shared between Maeve and Joan as they explored an unconventional relationship for them times.