Review: Heiress for Hire (Duke's Heiress #1) by Madeline Hunter

Print Length: 304 pages

Publisher: Zebra (April 28, 2020)

From Goodreads.com:  Minerva Hepplewhite has learned the hard way how to take care of herself. When an intruder breaks into her home, she doesn't swoon or simper. Instead, she wallops the rogue over the head and ties him up—only to realize he is Chase Radnor, the man who nearly got her convicted of her late husband's murder. Now, he's insisting that Minerva has inherited a fortune from his uncle, a wealthy Duke. Only one thing could surprise her more: her sudden attraction to this exasperating man...

Chase can't decide whether Minerva is a wronged woman or a femme fatale. Either way, he's intrigued. Since the scandal surrounding her husband's death, she has set up a discreet detective business to rival Chase's own. She may be the perfect person to help him uncover the truth about his uncle's demise. But as proximity gives way to mutual seduction, Chase realizes he craves a much deeper alliance... 

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

I didn't hate this one, but I didn't love it either. It was okay. I think it nicely set up the next two stories as we try and solve the mystery of what happened to the last Duke, but I don't know; something was just missing from this one. Or maybe the whole thing was just too convenient for me? I mean seriously what are the chances that a man who makes a living conducting discreet inquiries is going to meet (not to mention fall in love with) a woman who does the same? I mean it was a lot of fun watching them work together (even when they didn't want to), and it was interesting to see how they both approached the same inquiry, but from different directions. They obviously complemented each other in a working aspect, but I wasn't really feeling the romantic aspect of these two.

Also, the synopsis is misleading. Chase did not almost get her convicted of anything, he didn't even know about what happened with her ex-husband. The funny thing was for as smart as he was purported to be, I solved the mystery of who killed the abusive husband long before he did. All the clues were there. 

All things considered, this was a good start to a new series, and I will likely continue with it just so I can see what really happened to the old Duke. I do believe it will be well received by fans of historical romances. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                 Heiress for Hire is available from Amazon.com