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A Bride for the Tormented Duke: A Steamy Marriage of Convenience Regency Romance Novel
“Are you trying to tempt me into madness, little mouse?”
Miss Aurelia is desperate. Disgraced, dismissed, and nearly ruined, she has no prospects—until a strange old man makes a shocking marry the infamous, reclusive Duke Sebastian...
Duke Sebastian lives in isolation by a windswept lighthouse, haunted by tragedy and branded a murderer. No woman dares approach him—until Aurelia appears, desperate enough to accept his cold-blooded marriage until she gives him an heir. Then, they part...
He doesn’t believe in love—he buried that with his past. But his new wife is far from diplomatic as each stolen kiss breaks a new rule. And soon, the broken Duke must let her go... or risk everything to keep her.
Each book in the Marriage by Midnight series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order and can be read for free with Kindle Unlimited.
Miss Aurelia is desperate. Disgraced, dismissed, and nearly ruined, she has no prospects—until a strange old man makes a shocking marry the infamous, reclusive Duke Sebastian...
Duke Sebastian lives in isolation by a windswept lighthouse, haunted by tragedy and branded a murderer. No woman dares approach him—until Aurelia appears, desperate enough to accept his cold-blooded marriage until she gives him an heir. Then, they part...
He doesn’t believe in love—he buried that with his past. But his new wife is far from diplomatic as each stolen kiss breaks a new rule. And soon, the broken Duke must let her go... or risk everything to keep her.
Each book in the Marriage by Midnight series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order and can be read for free with Kindle Unlimited.
419 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 14, 2025
30 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 21, 2025
Great read. This story blends emotional depth, resilience, and a beautifully tender romance.
Aurelia is a feisty, loyal, kind, and brave heroine whose life has been shaped by hardship. She never knew her father, a titled gentleman who refused to acknowledge her and with her mother and uncle gone, she’s left to carve out her own path. Working as a companion to the Duchess of Fenwick gives her stability, until the Duchess’s awful nephew tries to take advantage of her, costing Aurelia her position.
Just when her prospects seem bleak, Mr. Arnold presents an unexpected offer: marriage to a duke.
Sebastian, the tormented duke in question, is a man who has locked his heart away. Grief and past wounds have left him determined never to love again. Yet beneath his guarded exterior lies a kind, loyal, and deeply protective man.
As Aurelia and Sebastian come together, their strengths complement one another her courage and warmth meeting his quiet devotion. Their journey is one of healing, trust, and learning to open their hearts despite the shadows of the past.
Claire Devon delivers a touching romance where two wounded souls find exactly what they need in each other.
Aurelia is a feisty, loyal, kind, and brave heroine whose life has been shaped by hardship. She never knew her father, a titled gentleman who refused to acknowledge her and with her mother and uncle gone, she’s left to carve out her own path. Working as a companion to the Duchess of Fenwick gives her stability, until the Duchess’s awful nephew tries to take advantage of her, costing Aurelia her position.
Just when her prospects seem bleak, Mr. Arnold presents an unexpected offer: marriage to a duke.
Sebastian, the tormented duke in question, is a man who has locked his heart away. Grief and past wounds have left him determined never to love again. Yet beneath his guarded exterior lies a kind, loyal, and deeply protective man.
As Aurelia and Sebastian come together, their strengths complement one another her courage and warmth meeting his quiet devotion. Their journey is one of healing, trust, and learning to open their hearts despite the shadows of the past.
Claire Devon delivers a touching romance where two wounded souls find exactly what they need in each other.
December 27, 2025
Very good story that will have the reader feeling a lot of various emotions as the characters and their lives are very believable
Aurelia is a very strong woman. She is brave, determined, and resilient.
She has not lived an easy life, the hardships she has endured shape her character
She is all alone in life and has to rely on herself to survive. She is part of the working class, she is companion to the Duchess of Fenwick who isn't the nicest person
It just takes one situation and Aurelia's life changes completely. The Duchesses nephew attempts to take liberties with Aurelia and of course, she is blamed. She the victim is sacked!
After leaving she finds she has the opportunity to wed Duke Sebastien
Sebastien is grief stricken, he has a lot of emotional wounds, he never wants to love again but he also needs an heir - a marriage of convenience is the perfect solution
Aurelia is desperate and agrees to wed Sebastien but the situation she is in, isn't much better as he has a set of rules she must follow and his home is not a happy place. Not only does she have to deal with his indifference but his staff treats her horribly too
Sebastien may start off cold and heartless but the time they spend together, the strength and light within Aurelia, the attraction and draw he has to her - it soon is apparent that this marriage of convenience is turning into far more
Their journey starts off rough but with time, with healing, with trust - they both find a true love and HEA
thank you to the author for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own
Aurelia is a very strong woman. She is brave, determined, and resilient.
She has not lived an easy life, the hardships she has endured shape her character
She is all alone in life and has to rely on herself to survive. She is part of the working class, she is companion to the Duchess of Fenwick who isn't the nicest person
It just takes one situation and Aurelia's life changes completely. The Duchesses nephew attempts to take liberties with Aurelia and of course, she is blamed. She the victim is sacked!
After leaving she finds she has the opportunity to wed Duke Sebastien
Sebastien is grief stricken, he has a lot of emotional wounds, he never wants to love again but he also needs an heir - a marriage of convenience is the perfect solution
Aurelia is desperate and agrees to wed Sebastien but the situation she is in, isn't much better as he has a set of rules she must follow and his home is not a happy place. Not only does she have to deal with his indifference but his staff treats her horribly too
Sebastien may start off cold and heartless but the time they spend together, the strength and light within Aurelia, the attraction and draw he has to her - it soon is apparent that this marriage of convenience is turning into far more
Their journey starts off rough but with time, with healing, with trust - they both find a true love and HEA
thank you to the author for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own
December 23, 2025
"This "mouse" has found her voice.
Aurelia Dufort has been so overworked and so unappreciated as the companion in a rich household. The Duchess of Fenwick is rude, a social climbing, gossip who has always been relentless towards Aurelia who she considers worthless.
Her nephew, Lord Redwood tried to seduce Aurelia and was lied about and the Duchess told her to leave immediately. She found herself out on the street where Mr. Arnold finds her with an unusual letter requesting marriage.
Turns out Duke Sebastian isn't much better ! There are RULES that she must abide by. To leave him alone until he needs his heir His butler, Fellows and his housekeeper look down their nose at her. And Fellows is SO rude, that he should be the sacked ! They need to start with a new staff but it also seems that regular staff don't stay very long. Rumors, rumors, rumors. The whole village wants nothing to do with him or her. They are afraid of the Duke.
Aurelia finally makes a friend. Lady Mary and her father Lord Ware are delightful ! The only other person in the house that was truly on her side was her maid, Jane who had accompanied her to her new "house" and husband.
Sebastian has "plans" about Aurelia but we'll see how long he can really stand against her. He's already starting to lose ground about that !
The story is emotional and has a great ending ! I thought it was cute that several people called her "little mouse." That is until they found out she could Roar !
Aurelia Dufort has been so overworked and so unappreciated as the companion in a rich household. The Duchess of Fenwick is rude, a social climbing, gossip who has always been relentless towards Aurelia who she considers worthless.
Her nephew, Lord Redwood tried to seduce Aurelia and was lied about and the Duchess told her to leave immediately. She found herself out on the street where Mr. Arnold finds her with an unusual letter requesting marriage.
Turns out Duke Sebastian isn't much better ! There are RULES that she must abide by. To leave him alone until he needs his heir His butler, Fellows and his housekeeper look down their nose at her. And Fellows is SO rude, that he should be the sacked ! They need to start with a new staff but it also seems that regular staff don't stay very long. Rumors, rumors, rumors. The whole village wants nothing to do with him or her. They are afraid of the Duke.
Aurelia finally makes a friend. Lady Mary and her father Lord Ware are delightful ! The only other person in the house that was truly on her side was her maid, Jane who had accompanied her to her new "house" and husband.
Sebastian has "plans" about Aurelia but we'll see how long he can really stand against her. He's already starting to lose ground about that !
The story is emotional and has a great ending ! I thought it was cute that several people called her "little mouse." That is until they found out she could Roar !
December 18, 2025
Iam not a real fan of Marriage of Convenience stories, but this one caught my eye and I am so glad I chose it. Aurelia literally has no place to go after being wrongly dismissed . Being offered a marriage to a total stranger seemed to good to be true…yet there she was! Sebastian is a Duke who mourns his dead wife,(or is he?) but needs an heir. What they go through makes the reader want to sigh, swoon, shake some sense into both of them and then sigh again. I was not at all enamored with the Duke at first, very cold and heartless, but Aurelia’s light and charm cracks the shell he built. Aurelia’s issues were well flushed out and it was fun watching her grow into the role of “Duchess”, especially around her former ‘boss’. The epilogue was precious and loved the bonus epilogue as well, though was perturbed hanging on one important element that was not disclosed.. Some heavy sex scenes, but no crass language(thank you Author!) and a very enjoyable story! I received this story for free and these are my own views.
December 18, 2025
A Dukes/A Marriage/A Bet…
Aurelia is saved, so to speak, by marrying a Duke who has plans for her immediate future when she might have a child & then he’d send her on her way. But he has a secret ,
a former wife…and no one will speak a word about it. The duchess finds out the hard way which makes her still more determined. She has a secret also …but little by little everything changes.
Aurelia is saved, so to speak, by marrying a Duke who has plans for her immediate future when she might have a child & then he’d send her on her way. But he has a secret ,
a former wife…and no one will speak a word about it. The duchess finds out the hard way which makes her still more determined. She has a secret also …but little by little everything changes.
December 17, 2025
An unusual tale.
She had just been fired as a ladies companion when she received the Duke’s offer of marriage. He just wanted heirs and not a true marriage, after all, most people believed he killed his first wife.
She had just been fired as a ladies companion when she received the Duke’s offer of marriage. He just wanted heirs and not a true marriage, after all, most people believed he killed his first wife.
December 19, 2025
Hot and steamy
Wonderful characters that you love from the beginning Aurelia born the wrong side of the blanket and looked down upon and Sebastian thought a murderer yet by a twist of fatal find love with each othwr
Wonderful characters that you love from the beginning Aurelia born the wrong side of the blanket and looked down upon and Sebastian thought a murderer yet by a twist of fatal find love with each othwr
December 24, 2025
Auielie and Sebastian
This was a good book and it kept my interest until the very end. This was a love story between Auielie and Sebastian.
This was a good book and it kept my interest until the very end. This was a love story between Auielie and Sebastian.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews