A Year Without a Duke Books in Order

A Year Without a Duke has one of Pearce's neatest hooks. The Duke of Beckworth is dead, nobody knows who the new duke is, and the people who depend on the estate are left in limbo. Set in 1816, the so-called year without a summer, the series uses that uncertainty to create a world where money, status, and everyday survival all feel suddenly unstable.

That is a smart foundation for romance. When the person at the top of the social and economic pyramid is absent, everybody below has to improvise. Servants, estate workers, gentlewomen, agents, and guests all feel the ripple effects. Pearce then adds scandal and attraction to the mix, which is exactly the right instinct.

The weather is bad, and so is the uncertainty.

Because of the monthly framing in the titles, the series has a slightly seasonal rhythm. Each story can focus on its own couple while still feeding the larger question of what happens to a community when authority vanishes and nobody is quite sure what comes next.

If you like Regency romance with a strong estate setting and a social problem large enough to touch everyone, this is a satisfying concept. It is not just about the missing duke. It is about all the people left waiting, worrying, hoping, and falling inconveniently in love while the future remains unresolved. That gives even a shorter romantic story a nice sense of shared stakes.