cover image A Most Unusual Duke

A Most Unusual Duke

Susanna Allen. Sourcebooks Casablanca, $8.99 mass market (288p) ISBN 978-1-72823-039-9

The second paranormal Regency in Allen’s Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series (after A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing) is just as filled with heat and humor as the first. Arthur Humphries, Duke of Osborn, is a bear shifter without a sleuth. Having witnessed the painful dissolution of his father’s sleuth after his parents’ deaths, Osborn’s made the decision to never again put himself through sleuth politics—or even search for a wife. But the prince regent, Osborn’s cousin and fellow shifter, has other ideas. When the prince learns that Beatrice, the frosty human widow of a marquess, knows of the existence of shifters, he deals with her forbidden knowledge by decreeing that she and Osborn must marry. Beatrice is decidedly displeased with the match and has no problem demonstrating her disapproval. But as the pair retire to Osborn’s long-empty estate, she takes charge—and slowly captures the attention of both the man and the bear sides of Osborn. Beatrice’s icy demeanor hides a fiery temperament, and the strong but vulnerable spitfire of a heroine and broody hero are sure to capture readers’ hearts. Allen continues to make this unusual genre mash-up sing. Agent: Julie Gwinn, the Seymour Agency. (Dec.)