Forgotten & Remembered - The Duke's Late Wife

by Bree Wolf

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He never thought he’d love again. She never thought she’d be loved at all.

They married for duty. Neither expected love to follow. Graham Astor, Duke of Kensington, has buried his heart beneath loss. His days are lived in silence, his nights in solitude. What he needs is a mother for his daughter—not a companion. Not a love story. So he chooses Rosabel: quiet, obedient, forgettable. Or so he thinks.

She entered the marriage knowing nothing of love—least of all her own. Rosabel was never asked what she wanted. Her uncle made the match. Society whispered. And she obeyed. At the altar, she met her husband for the first time—and feared him instantly. But behind Graham’s cold stare is a man fighting ghosts. And behind Rosabel’s timid façade is a woman with more strength than anyone ever noticed.

Together, they learn that love doesn’t arrive loudly—but sometimes, it stays quietly. As Rosabel draws close to Graham’s daughter, her warmth begins to chip away at the stone around his heart. And Graham sees not a wallflower—but a woman he didn’t know he was waiting for. Yet love asks for risk. And trusting again isn’t easy when you’ve both decided it isn’t for you.

🕊️ If you’ve ever made peace with a life that felt like less—and slowly dared to hope for more… this story is yours.

NOTE: The novels in this series can be read in any order; though most readers prefer to read them in order.

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Book Details

Genre

Historical Romance

Subgenre

Regency (1811–1820)

Series

Love's Second Chance Series • Book 1

Audience

Adult

Bell Peppers

🫑🫑

Profanity

2 Mild

Violence

2 Mild

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

2 Mild

Publication Date

November 22, 2015

Language Versions

English

Fiction Form

Novel

Sensitive Themes

Arranged or forced marriage, Grief or loss of a loved one

Representation

Adoption or foster-care representation, Single-parent or widowed-parent protagonist

About the Author

Hi, I’m Bree Wolf—a USA Today bestselling author, former academic, and life-long lover of stories. I studied English and Specialized Translation, wandered the halls of universities, spending more years than I should have trying to be reasonable.Eventually, that quiet, persistent voice in my head said: It’s time to write.I’ve since published over fifty historical romances, each one stitched together from pieces of my own heart: doubts, regrets, fears, and messy, hopeful dreams. I love chocolate (especially when chapters get emotional), cry far too easily at my keyboard, and have a deep spiritual bond with cats… which is tragically one-sided, as I’m terribly allergic. A lifelong heartbreak, truly.

Hard Pass for Me

I always find the obsession with dukes and other nobility in Regency, or Georgian as here, novels to be annoying - they're not as dime a dozen as these books make out. Granted this book does qualify the setting as a variation. Which was wise as it was full of a sickening number of anachronisms (parents were mama and papa, children did not eat with parents, housekeepers were not addressed by their first name), though not as bad as many for the genre. But still irritating as the errors here could easily have been researched or noticed from reading true Georgian novels like Jane Austen (or even watching the movies!) or well researched ones like Georgette Heyer. Perhaps if I didn't have a bad cold I wouldn't be so critical...

Either way, if not for an immature obsession with nobility and royalty (immature in going for the squealing, dreamy idea without bothering for any realism), the story would have been much better suited to an American setting, where it would have been much more correct in its writing and style. Still, the premise of a wife only as a mother, while ridiculous for the setting - even Jane Austen's parents, of the lower gentry, weren't directly, routinely involved in the day to day rearing of their infants and children - intrigued me so I gave it a shot as it was free. However, far more than the historical errors and editing failures (needed better proofing), what really put me off was the story itself! An unlikable hero who, more than any I've encountered, was the exasperating author of his own problems - and who short sightedly spread the pain around to all in ever escalating stupidity. I did not find the progression of his inner demons realistic at all, and while I pity his pain, he was frequently difficult to empathize with, especially in his physically aggressive reactions and frequent lack of control. Again I empathize with loss of control, but not with how he dealt with it - and even, often, with how the heroine responded. Some women find physical mastery appealing, but I do not, unless it's consensual, given. Here it was one sided yet, for me, sickeningly rather enjoyed at first by the heroine. That's too slippery a slope to physical and sexual abuse for me and staying with a man, however sorry he is after the fact is not god enough for me, not with a pattern. I'm not going so far as to say he was undeserving of love, but that he needed to demonstrate remorse - positive action from sorrow over failings. I truly believe the lead was sorry and that he was trying his best, in his broken way, to prevent future harm, emotionally or physically. However, I didn't like the lack of real reason or of character and relationship development to repair the leads and to create a foundation for their "love", which came across far more as lust. Instead, the solutions were just a bubble gum bandaid bound to fail.

So basically I found this story unrealistic on every level and the characters deeply dissatisfying. It was a struggle to finish... I feel like I really finished it just to leave this review to warn off those hoping for a higher caliber novel - for a decent facsimile of a Georgian/Regency story. Those who don't care about accuracy and who like angst and melodrama will probably enjoy book. For myself, I will not be continuing the series, though I'll look out reviews of later books by the author to see if quality improves, and I might try again then.

As to romance, I'd rate this as a pg-13 for passionate kissing, arguably attempted assault, and a fairly detailed, but not explicit, fore play scene.

For those looking for a good Regency/Georgian, in the vein of the inimitable Austen and Heyer, I'd recommend Sarah Eden (great romances with a good mixture of the past and our modern world), Jennifer Moore (fantastic historical romances across settings), Mary Kingswood (who still gets in some melodrama with incredible period grammar and vocabulary), Carola Dunn (who gets the closest to a Heyer effect while creating her own style - though some are duds, unoriginal or warm for the eras depiction of "romance"), Rachael Anderson (whose books are pleasantly set in the genre and attempt to reflect era accuracy without becoming pedantic when plot or modern sensibilities conflict) or Carla Kelly (whose books are fun, well researched, but also inclined to the more passionate than is truly era appropriate, ranging from pg to harlequin).

A great start of this series

Can I like a book when I don't like the hero and his decissions? Apparently yes. Even when the story includes a dead wife, which is not usually a theme I particularly like in my books, but I like Bree Wolf's writing, so I gave her a chance. It's not a perfect book, but I quite enjoyed it, mostly those moments when she manages to grab my heart and squeeze it.

Graham Astor is the Duke of Kensington, and after his wife's death, he isolated himself from the world, and even from his daughter. One day, he sees Rosabel, an young woman, orphaned, living with some relatives who did not appreciate her that much, except for her cousin Ellie. He finds her again in a marketplace, consoling one of her nephews, and decides that she would make a good mother to his daughter. So, he talks to her uncle and arranges the marriage, which is obviously accepted given that he's a Duke.

So, they get married, and, without more than a goodbye, he sends her to his home state to take care of Georgiana, his daughter. She's terrified of him, always scowling and silent, as he doesn't speak to her and he doesn't even live with them. Occassionally, they must be seen together at some social events, and with the help of the first wife's (Leonora) brother, she forces Graham to acknowledge Georgiana's existance. He loves the child, but there is something that makes him reject her. After she discovers a portrait of leonora and some of her letters and diaries, we meet that first wife and understand what happened a bit at a time, and how Graham ends up opening up to his new wife.

Rosabel is a great character. She hasn't been shown love since her parents died when she was a child, and she's used to accept orders, be invisible, never object to what's asked of her, so that's what made the perfect wife for Graham, used to get things done his way without question. But little by little she starts to love Gerogiana, and she starts seing the part of him that he tries to hide, and she comes to care for him, though she knows she won't be requited.

And then we have Graham, a selfish hurt hero who would rather hurt anyone around him that let them know they care so they can't hurt him. I don't understand most of his decissions, and I don't like how he treats Rosabel. As she says at some point in the novel, even arranged marriages without love are based on a minimum of respect for each other, which Graham hasn't for her.
There are quite a few moments during the story when the way he treats her makes my heart ache for her and Georgiana, and if I don't give the book 5 stars is because there is not nearly enough groveling for him to deserve her forgiveness.

As always, I can't wait to read the next installment of this series. I really like Bree Wolf's writing.

Sweet, period romance.

Romance, sweet, period; series but stand alone read. PG-13 for some intense moments between married couple
More of a 3.5 for me as a reader but rounded up for the gorgeous cover.
Lots of secrets, misunderstandings but determined Heroine stands up and helps the Duke find himself, his heart, his family and her love.

I hate spending a cent that I don't have to

Let me start by saying I'm a skinflint. A cheapskate and a miser when it comes to money. I hate spending a cent that I don't have to. I downloaded 'Forgotten & Remembered' cos I figured, hey, free book :) Then I read it. Dammit. Now I own all of them :) When I finished Forgotten, I immediately downloaded number 2 and started reading.

This book is great. Charming heroine, suitably broody hero and delightful child. Couple of twists and here is a wonderful couple of hours. What I also found refreshing was the lack of sex scenes. Don't get me wrong, I love a good, erotic and steamy scene as much as the next woman, but sometimes it's nice to have a fadeout, or a love scene with not a lot of detail. I can think up some pretty steamy stuff myself without any help from the author :)

Great plotting, readable and sypathetic characters aand a melodious writer's 'voice' make a relaxing and wonderful few hours. A cup of tea made this perfect. Thank you Bree, for a lovely time :)

Well written, but frustrating

This book is hard to review for me because while it was well written (hence the 4 stars), I personally hated the main characters. The heroine of the story was a limp noodle. She never stood up for herself and while she was constantly "finding the strength", "gathering the strength", "building her strength" she just kept coming back time and time again. She was like a kicked puppy that just loved her owner so much she accepted everything he gave her. Half the time Graham kissed her, he was out of his mind and thinking she was his dead wife and this chick was just like "oh I shouldn't like it, but I do". Tremble, shiver, tremble. I just viewed her as weak and honestly I only finished the book because I kept waiting for her to leave him, but she never redeemed herself. I feel like I disliked her based on my own personal preference though, I need the female lead to have some backbone and self respect, but the story flowed well, kept my interest, and got an emotional reaction from me (even if that reaction is to want to spritz the heroine in the face with water like a bad cat everytime she accepted being second best) so that's why I still gave 4 stars.