A Most Reluctant Widow: A Slow-Burn Regency Romance of Secrets and Second Chances

By: Wakeford, M. M.

A guarded widow. A steadfast protector. A voyage that will change them both.

Alice Ashcombe is a widow determined never to trust a charming gentleman again. After years trapped in a cold and controlling marriage in Calcutta, Alice is suddenly free-and utterly alone. With three young children to protect and a gruelling voyage to England ahead, the last thing she needs is the scrutiny of a perceptive and dangerously attractive stranger.

Simon Reeves has spent years navigating the world on family business. The guarded widow he once encountered in the East should be none of his concern. Yet when fate reunites them in Colombo, Simon finds himself unable to walk away-and drawn into a family he never expected to claim.

Trapped together on the high seas, an uneasy closeness grows between them. While Alice keeps her distance, her children have no such reservations. Before long, Simon finds himself drawn into their world in ways he never expected-and slowly breaching the walls around Alice's carefully guarded heart.

But Simon is more than simply a merchant, and his origins are further from England than Alice could ever imagine. As they sail beneath the stars, Alice may discover that the man who saved her family carries a secret that challenges everything she believes about the world.

A Most Reluctant Widow is a slow-burn historical romance with a sci-fi twist, book 4 in the Reeves of Reeves Hall series, but it can also be enjoyed as a standalone.

Perfect for readers who love: Forced proximity voyage - Protector hero - Slow-burn with a deeply sensual payoff - Found family - Healing from a toxic past - Genre-bending romance with heart

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1068273925
• ISBN13: 9781068273926
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: M.M. Wakeford
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"