What’s a Duke Got to Do with It

Worthy characters get a second chance in Britton’s masterful second Synneful Spinsters Regency (after Some Dukes Have All the Luck). Katrina Denby’s hopes for more than flirtation with the rakishly charming Sebastian Thorne, Duke of Ramsleigh, are dashed when she is accosted by the amorous Lord Landon, ruining her reputation. The scandal forces her into exile on the Isle of Synne, where, four years later, she works as a companion to the prickly Lady Tesh. Katrina’s life is again interrupted when Lord Landon pursues her once more—only to fall to his death while trying to climb through her bedroom window. Though her friends stand behind her, others hold her responsible for Landon’s death and treat her as an outcast. Things become even more complicated when Sebastian (who is just as dashing as ever) arrives on the Isle as part of an elaborate plan to marry an heiress and save his dukedom—only to be distracted by his lingering love for Katrina. Britton creates high stakes and deep emotion by demonstrating the dangers and constraints of women’s day-to-day lives at the turn of the 19th century and then soothes aching hearts with a swoonworthy love story. Readers won’t want to put this down. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds Literary. (July)