Title: The Duke's Got MailAuthor: Samara Parish
Series: England's Sweethearts #2
Pages: 400
Publication Date: April 28, 2026
Publisher: Forever
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical
Synopsis:
Anonymous love letters are all well and good… until you discover you’ve been flirting with the enemy.
Eleanor Wright is the best compositor in London and in high demand with every printing press in town. But when whispers spread of a new machine that could put her out of a job, writing to a mysterious pen pal quickly becomes her only relief from a life that’s coming apart like a badly bound book.
Peter Montgomery, Duke of Strafford, has spent years trying to get his estate out of debt. Now he finally has the solution in a machine set to revolutionize the publishing industry. If only finding a wife was as straightforward. Peter wants a lady who cares about him, not his title. Someone like his charming, witty pen pal—the only person in London who knows his most intimate secrets but not his real name. But when Peter’s invention makes them bitter rivals in person, can the bond they’ve created on paper survive the test?
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I have mixed feelings about this story. I’m super bummed because I generally love this author’s historical romances, but I didn’t love the main characters or the love story. I really disliked how they spoke to each other. They hurled insults and hurtful comments, questioned each other’s character, integrity, and more. It was too much for me, and I questioned how either character could eventually forgive and fall for the other after everything that was said and done.
I did like the use of letters throughout the story. It added a lot of depth, not only to the characters, but also to their relationship. It also gave Eleanor and Peter so much more context about each other and their real feelings once they learned the truth. Their reactions to the realization didn’t sit well with me, though.
The secondary characters, for me, were more likable than the main ones. I liked Eleanor’s friends and Peter’s family. They all had dynamic personalities, and the meddlesome nature of Peter’s siblings was charming and funny, even though it frustrated Peter to no end. lol
This is a well-written and well-paced story with interesting conversations about literature, progress, and the future of printing. I also liked many of the secondary characters and Peter’s family. For me, those were the strengths of the story. And as much as I wish I liked the main characters and their love story more, I do think other historical romance fans will enjoy this one.
Samara Parish is an award-winning author of historical romance. Her debut novel, How To Survive A Scandal, won the Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year (RuBY) award in 2022.
How To Deceive A Duke and How To Win A Wallflower both released in 2022. You can download the series epilogue – https://samaraparish.com/rebels-serie…
Her short story, The General’s Daughter, is available for free when you sign up to her newsletter – https://samaraparish.com/newsletter
She is always looking for an excuse to procrastinate, so she’d love it if you asked her a question!
As an Australian army brat in the ‘80s, Samara grew up moving from city to city—always with plenty of book boxes (to the movers’ annoyance). She reads anything that lets her escape – in particular romance, YA fantasy, and epic fantasy, although she has been known to read the occasional blockbuster suspense novel, even though she is a total sook who has a tendency to shriek at anything slightly scary.
When she’s not writing or reading, she’s walking her dogs or trying to tame her out of control harder. She lives in Canberra with her husband (a true romance hero) and her menagerie of pets. (less)
