The Naked Duke
Naked Nobility • Book 1
by Sally MacKenzie
Why You'll Love This
She wakes up in a stranger's bed, he happens to be a duke, and somehow she's the one who refuses to apologize.
- Great if you want: a light, fish-out-of-water Regency with a feisty American heroine
- The experience: breezy and fast — fluffy fun that doesn't demand much from you
- The writing: MacKenzie leans into comedic setup over historical depth or tension
- Skip if: you prefer Regency romance with sharper wit or emotional weight
About This Book
Waking up in a stranger's bed is mortifying enough. Waking up in a duke's bed—with half the household watching—is something else entirely. When sensible, respectable Sarah Hamilton travels from Philadelphia to London, she expects culture shock, not outright scandal. Yet there she is, thoroughly compromised and absolutely furious, facing a charming aristocrat who seems more amused than apologetic. Sally MacKenzie's debut Regency romance builds its central tension on this delicious collision of worlds: a no-nonsense American woman who refuses to be swept along by Old World conventions, and a duke who has never met anyone quite like her.
What makes the reading experience here so enjoyable is MacKenzie's light, quick-witted prose and her instinct for comic timing. The humor never undercuts the romance—it deepens it, letting readers feel the genuine warmth developing beneath all the bickering and blushing. Sarah's outsider perspective on Regency society gives the familiar setting a fresh angle, and her stubborn refusal to simply capitulate keeps the pages turning. It's the kind of historical romance where the sparring feels earned and the eventual softening feels real.