MM Regency Romance Review: The Duke’s Midnight Ride

My rating: 5 of 5 stars | Goodreads | Amazon | Genres: mm regency romance, historical romance

Introduction

The Duke’s Midnight Ride is a novella-length MM regency romance that sees a virginal, repressed Duke dive headfirst into the romance he’s been waiting his whole life for. It’s very spicy, and what I would consider boundary pushing for regency romance in the best of ways. 

The Duke’s Midnight Ride isn’t deep, there’s not a lot of story, but it’s full of delicious spice that is perfect for a novella-length story like this. The narrative is tight and uncluttered by extraneous details, making it an ideal evening’s read. 

Blurb

Edgar Hunton Smythe, Duke of Lovell, has spent six Seasons sidestepping the marital trap with a carefully curated air of gruff detachment, general roguishness… and one humiliating secret. Though society whispers refer to him as a stallion in more ways than one, Edgar has never once been able to make those whispers a reality. His solution? Enlist his dearest friend, Giselle, as a faux mistress to preserve his reputation and buy time. But when Giselle offhandedly suggests his desires might lie not with women—but with his golden-haired, ever-watchful valet—Edgar begins to wonder…

Liam has secrets. Far too many for a valet. Chief among he’s been hopelessly in love with the Duke since the moment they met. And just as his former lover, a wanted man living under an alias, now serves as the Duke’s groom. When Edgar returns home with a mistress on his arm, Liam’s heart shatters. But when one raw, revealing moment gives him away, Liam panics—convinced he’s ruined everything—and begs his old flame to help him disappear before scandal, or worse, catches up.

But when Liam arrives at the carriage ready to flee, he’s stunned to find Edgar waiting—nervous, uncertain… but hopeful. Perhaps a dark, overnight carriage ride is all the Duke needs to dip his toes into desire for the very first time. But Liam’s old flame already has plans in motion—and what awaits them in the woods is wicked, wild, and anything but innocent. The Duke can either turn back… or dive in headfirst.

The Duke’s Midnight Ride is a spicy, queer Regency Romance novella brimming with forbidden touches, stolen glances, a night that changes everything—and a satisfying happily ever after.

138 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2025
Genres: mm regency romance, historical romance

Plot 

The Duke of Lovell, Edgar, is plagued with performance anxiety. He’s a virgin; he’s never been able to “perform” with a woman. He gets a push in the right direction from a long-time friend and finally realizes that he just needed to be seeking out pleasure with men and not women. Good thing his valet is deeply interested in being the one he seeks out for that pleasure. The valet, Liam, is delightfully naughty under his straight-laced facade, and he’s very much ready to take on what the Duke has to offer. Because, oh right, the Duke is hung like a horse. It’s been going to waste for so long, Liam is ready to remedy this dreadful oversight.  

What happens next is very spicy. There are multiple partners, roleplay, voyuerism, dirty talk, double penetration, and more. And the cherry on top? The wonderfully deep feelings that are acknowledged between the love interests.  

Themes

Be Yourself 

Lovell was almost there on his own. He is said not to care what the ton thinks of him. But he needed that final push so he could live a more fulfilled life. His longtime mistress, fully aware that he cannot perform with women, pushes him to reflect and understand he’s gay. You know that in those times being gay in England was not a legal thing. Regency romances have to deal with that in some way, or they’re anachronistic or alternate history. So, discretion is needed, but to completely deny himself would be denying himself happiness. 

Edgar realizes that it’s not quite enough to not care about other people’s expectations about what he should do. He has to embrace who he is fully, no matter if it goes against society’s expectations. He gets one turn in this game called life, and if he’s not himself, and he’s not fulfilled, what’s the point? So what if he has a former sex worker as a beard and a former valet as his companion? He’s happy, and that’s what’s important. 

Recommend?

I loved this quick mm regency romance and found it deliciously spicy and surprisingly tender. I see that this is the start of a series, and I look forward to more from Wolfe’s Rogues get Ravished series. Solid recommendation from Fae!

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I received a free copy of this book via BookSirens and am voluntarily leaving a review. I write reviews on my blog, Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon, and more. If you want me to read and review your upcoming novel read my review policy and submit a contact form.