The Duke of Debt

Millcastle #3

by Kate Pearce

When Alistair Haralson unexpectedly inherits a dukedom, he is determined to restore it to its former glory. After being deprived of control of his family fortune by his father’s second wife his prospects are bleak until Miss Margaret Blackthorn makes him an intriguing offer—her industrially acquired fortune in return for a marriage of convenience. Can Alistair afford to ignore her invitation? And, will they both get far more than they bargained for as they work together to survive their enemies and find unexpected happiness?

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Marriage Of Convenience, Romance, Audiobook, Adult, Historical Fiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 8, 2019

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kate Pearce was born in England in the middle of a large family of girls and quickly found that her imagination was far more interesting than real life. After acquiring a degree in history and barely escaping from the British Civil Service alive, she moved to California and then to Hawaii with her kids and her husband and set about reinventing herself as a romance writer.

She is known for both her unconventional heroes and her joy at subverting romance clichés. In her spare time she self publishes science fiction erotic romance, historical romance, and whatever else she can imagine. You can find Kate on katepearce.com.

Reviews

[Leena Aluru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. Great plot and great mcs. Margaret just carries the book on her shoulders and boy! What a heroine.
My only grouse is that there isn't an epilogue. I would have loved to read about her Court appearance.

Wonder if Lottie gets her HEA? Looking forward to it.

Recommended : 👍👍

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Alistair Haralson unexpectedly inherits a penniless dukedom, he is determined to restore it to its former glory. After being deprived of control of his family fortune by his father’s second wife Frederica his prospects are bleak until Miss Margaret Blackthorn makes him an intriguing offer—her industrially acquired fortune in return for a marriage of convenience.
This is the third book in the series & could be read on its own but characters from previous books do appear & are linked to the characters in this book, which I personally love. I loved Alistair from the start even though I did want to shake him at times. Margaret had seemed to be a managing, passionless woman in the previous books but she came into her own in this book & first impressions were definitely deceptive. I love the author’s books & she's a must read for me as she never disappoints – this book is no exception, strong characters & a well written well paced story that drew me in from the start & held me engrossed until the last page. I particularly loved how the relationship between Alastair & Margaret grew & developed, there were obstacles in the way to their HEA & I thoroughly enjoyed how they finally saw the light & worked together
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

[ayiruh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the heroine in this, she was bossy and knew what she wanted! She stood up for herself and her weak husband who was so dumb but i liked them together still!

[Kathy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third in the historical romance Millcastle series. This book had me from page one, I had a hard time putting it down. The characters are well developed and the pace of the story is wonderful. It was an interesting look at royalty and the financial troubles that can become a family when they are not paying attention. Though this book is in a series, I feel it can be read as a stand alone story.

[Elizajane40 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the no nonsense heroine in this book.

[Amana Shahid Ullah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I somehow missed the 2nd book in the series and started on the third book of the Millcastle series.

This book was okay, it had a pretty strong heroine, someone who knows exactly what she wants, holds strong opinions and very confident. I liked her for most of the book, until the near-end, when she blindly trusts someone who is obviously conniving and deceitful and simply ups and leaves without any explanation, although she DOES swiftly fix that immediately when she realizes her error.

Alistair, on the other hand, took some time to become likeable. He was charming, caring and even listens to Margaret, but what really annoyed me was how despite his claims to hate Fredericka, he still stands up for her and tries to excuse her horrible schemes and behavior.

Other than that, the story had a good pace, not too fast, not too slow, and except for a few annoying and frustrating bits, it was a good book overall.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t taken to Margaret Blackthorn in the previous books but I saw a different side to her in this book. She had been the organiser for her family and saw them through their hard times. Margaret was a hard worker and wasn’t ashamed of her background. Alistair Haralson, now Duke of Thorsway, had met Margaret previously and was attracted to her. This was an absorbing read. There were the expected snobbery from some because of Margaret’s past and also a threat that’s causes problems. Added to this is a attention seeking stepmother, some past secrets and the developing relationship of Margaret and Alistair. I am thoroughly enjoying this series and hope there are more to come. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Sassy Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great story. I didn't want it to end. I love reading stories by this author. I can never get enough.

Alistair ends up inheriting a dukedom but he needs help restoring it. Miss Margaret Blackthorn needs a change in her life..she wants to do more but she is limited due to her martial status. She proposes a marriage of convenience to Alistair. While they work to fix up everything that is in ruin, they run into some obstacles. Will they be able to work through everything in order to get their happily ever after?

[Cordelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

To Tame

To my regret this book is nothing like the "Simply' series or some of the other 12 books I have read by Lady Kate. Simply meaning, to boring and not enough sex. REALLY!!!???

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I do like the series so far. The characters are dealing with some real issues and in fairly reasonable ways. The writing isn't great but the stories are interesting enough that I am looking forward to more.

[Daryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5☆* Alistair and Margaret are the best couple of the three in this series! I adore a marriage of convenience! There was a great storyline and a satisfying amount of smut. Definitely recommend.

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t get past the narrator’s voice.

[Mephala · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the previous book in the series I immediately read this one, and liked it even more!

It’s again very character driven, and probably that’s why I enjoyed it so much – Margaret and Alistair had great chemistry and their banter was amazing. They met in the previous book, and already it was clear there was a spark. What’s even better, it was the hero who from the beginning expresses great attraction to seemingly prickly heroine. The best kind of dynamics!

The Duke of Debt seems much more conventional than its predecessor, Master of None. The hero is a duke who needed money to repair his estate, and the heroine has that wealth. She sees marriage as a only way for her to find a purpose in her life, so they marry.

I liked how upfront they were about they relationship. Even if later in the book the lack of communication is the main source of tension and conflict in the story.

Both hero and heroine carry the story. I was rooting for Margaret since the previous book, and in this one I felt for her even more. She rally seems to have “oldest sibling” syndrome, even though she wasn’t the oldest – taking care of her family and managing the household, focusing on basically everyone else, but herself. She was very outspoken and strong, even cold, but underneath that all she’s fragile and insecure. Especially when it comes to her husband, charming Alistair. He was also very compelling character; using humor and levity to mask his inner doubts and hurts. His devotion to his sister, Phoebe, nicely paralleled Margert’s to her family. That did not stop him for being annoyed and jealous when she turned to her brother for help, not to him. Even early on in their marriage of convenience he felt for his wife.

They had great chemistry, and I was little disappointed how sparse and low heat their sex scenes were. The hero was very sensual and almost rakish, never hiding how attracted he was to Margaret, so I was expecting much more intimate scenes between them. But it made sense; previous couple was different, their relationship might start similarly, but was not like Margaret and Alistair’s, therefore their sexual life was different. I really like how Kate Pearce incorporates sex so well into developing her characters and their relationships.

I really enjoyed this book, for me it’s the best in the series so far.

[Dar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I liked so much about these two was their practicality! They carried no illusions other than a marriage of convenience, yet, they quickly moved past admiration for each other, to real feelings. A few bumps along the way, for two people who talk a lot and are free with their opinions, they certainly keep much under wraps when it comes to their feelings. It all works out for them in the end, and they get their HEA <3

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scribd Audiobook

The story was a good one & if I reread it in the future, it would be an ebook or physical book. The narration for this audiobook is bad. The women sound pretentious—even the heroine. It sounds like a Monty Python impersonation. The men are worse. I think I read one review describe it best, they sound like walruses with handlebar mustaches.

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conoscevo Kate Pearce come autrice di letteratura erotica decisamente sopra le righe, e son rimasta gradevolmente sorpresa da questo regency, nel quale riesce a rielaborare uno schema abbastanza trito (un matrimonio di interesse che si trasforma in una piena intesa, intellettuale, fisica e sentimentale) tracciando personaggi attraenti e coerenti, con uno stile gradevole e venato di ironia.

[LexiLovesBooks34♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this on scribd, not knowing it was #3 in a series. But it was very easy to follow along. This was a nice book. Margaret is a very likable and strong heroine. The story was bit slow. I even changed it to x1.5 speed in the audio.

[Reader Rpandher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrator was pretty bad! story was okay but the ending was abrupt, like she went away for 2 minutes and came back on her own.. all the while the Duke was being secretive about his step mom which was'nt really resolved.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Margaret met her match. Alistair was no fool when he married Margaret for her money, and she was the same. A few twists and turns but the story was good and include old characters from previous stories.

[Debi Warner · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could a book 0 stars I would. The audiobook version of this title was painful to listen to. I only got about 2 hours into the total 6 hours. Hated the story, hated the characters. A very rare for me DNF.

[Eleni · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining read

This is an entertaining read and another solid installment of the series. The characters are strong and the plot compelling, I could not put it down. Looking to the next book.

[Becky L Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

audiobook (scribd/ everand exclusive). this series has gotten better. worth the listen if you love regency romance and already have a scribd/ everand account. not worth getting a new subscription yet. wait until the unlimited library grows a bit.

[Samantha Holz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super good as usual but I struggled with the narrator. I hate saying that but I felt like some of her male voices were a little for Ed and it was a little off-putting.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t my favorite from this author.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret is fabulous. Alistair…well, he begins to become a man worthy of Margaret by the end of the story.

[Jean Matlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sexy book..recommend

[Glittergirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate's stories are always different. This one is a marriage of convenience, not my usual favorite type of story but it's so much more. It's about being honest with each other and that marriage is teamwork.

Margaret Blackthorne is the heiress. In the second book she is Adam Blackthorne's hard working sister who kept the family together. Adam is now a very wealthy mill owner having 3 profitable mills. He's now able to give his two sisters a substantial dowry. Margaret is having difficulty adjusting to being a lady of means and finding purpose, keeping busy. She's used to managing things and being productive. Becoming a lady in society means she'll be pretty useless and she can't abide being bored.

Enter Alistair Haralson who is the penniless Marquess of Hellion, His father did not trust or accept him and gave everything to the control of his second wife. Alistair unexpectedly finds himself inheriting the title of Duke when his cousin dies in an drunken accident. His grandfather and cousin has stripped the estates of anything of value in their drunken debauchery and he's left to take care of unpaid debts and provide for his estate retainers. His only option is to marry money and quickly. When Margaret approaches him with the offer of a marriage of convenience he accepts knowing she'll help manage things and is good with money given her past with her managing her family. I really liked how clever and smart Margaret was. She has a shrewd mind that Alister appreciates and keeps forgetting about. That gets him in trouble, he forgets to trust her. She on the other hand keeps thinking she has to prove herself to him and doesn't tell him everything. They both forget that if they work as a team they can overcome all the challenges life places before them.

I voluntarily read and reviewed tan advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Alda Delicado · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Duke of Debt is the 3rd installment in a remarkable historical series. Set in the industrial town of Millcastle, it’s far from balls, park rides, and the usual Victorian novel settings and that is one of the reasons that is so refreshing and realistic.
In this novel, the main character is a duke riddled with debt looking for a rich bride, not a novelty in this kind of romances, but this time the heroine is the sister of a mill owner, rich but from a very different background. But she also had her score of misfortunes and her resilience is fundamental in this marriage of convenience.
The story develops mainly through the challenges that a mill owner’s daughter and sister must face in a traditional aristocratic family that does not accept her easily. The conflict’s background in the changing world that is facing rapid industrialization is very well depicted focusing on how the aristocratic society faces the changes in their world. Wealth is no longer exclusive of the higher classes and society must adapt to the new order.
In this book, we find some of the characters from the first two novels in the series that have active parts in the plot. I rather liked this sense of continuity but the story can easily be read as a stand-alone for those that chose to start with this volume. I would recommend however that the books should be read in order because they are all rather good.
Overall I enjoyed the story and its developments but the romantic story was somewhat predictable and the final conflict was rather needless. Nonetheless, it is most certainly worth reading since the author’s quality of writing and attention to historical detail is, as always, very good and the story generally is very satisfying. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Curly Bibliophagist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet story. I'm always reminded when I read that so many problems could be avoided or solved if we just talked to the other person.

Alistair inherited the title of Marquess upon the death of his father. He didn't inherit much else, except for responsibilities and no funds to pay for them. His stepmother convinced his father and manipulated the will so that the money would go to her.

Alistair receives word that his grandfather, the duke, is dying. He has allowed the dukedom to fall into ruin and is not a nice man. Alistair goes to see him. Alistair's cousin, the first-born male grandchild, is set to inherit the dukedom. Farrell is a disgusting man who drinks and gambles too much and has wasted away most of the funds that were left. When Farrell dies accidentally, Alistair inherits the dukedom. Now he has more properties in ruin and still no money to fix them. He is desperate for a solution.

Margaret is the daughter of a mill owner. He gambled away the familiy's money and then killed himself. Adam, Margaret's brother, ,leaving Margaret's brother, restores the mill to profitability while the rest of the family works to help him. Margaret is now a commoner with a huge amount of money. She wants a husband and suggests a marriage of convenience to Alistair where he uses her money to help restore the dukedom.

There are obstacles at every turn but Margaret and Alistair try their best to overcome them. But will they be able to triumph over them?

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This is third book of the Mill Castle series and is definitely my fav. The story centers around Margaret Blackthorn, we met her in the last book, and Alistair Haralson. It's set at the beginning of the industrial revolution when the aristocracy started to lose ground and commoners started to find fortune and rise in rank.

Margaret is a formidable woman who is truthful and forthright in all that she does. Now that she no longer has to take care of her family and work as she once did she finds herself bored and out of sorts. What she needs is a husband and a home of her own. Enter Alister, who has just inherited a dukedom that is in dire straights. He is charming and starts to get under Margaret's skin, much to her dismay. With an attraction simmering between the two, Margaret gets the idea that they should marry. Kill two birds with one stone, she needs a husband and he needs money. But, what starts out as a marriage of convenience turns into something both did not expect. Add plenty of misunderstandings, blackmail, and a hilariously outspoken valet,and you have quite a story!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far, and as always, I cannot wait until he next book!