My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid
my rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book follows, intelligent and desperate Kitty who decides to take matters into her own hands and find herself a place in Society by claiming that the reclusive Duke, Alexander, is her intended. After hearing of this mysterious Kitty, Alexander decides he’s done being reclusive and wants to come out into Society and see who this woman is. This book does have somewhat of a Beauty and the Beast touch to it.
This was an enjoyable book. I loved how this book started off. The concept of Kitty lying her way into an engagement with a man she’s never met is the perfect set up for what’s inevitably going to be an entertaining read.
Compared to “If Ever I Should Love You”, I definitely felt more romantic tension between these two characters. I also really, really loved the Duke. I loved how the author wrote a male main character who uses a wheelchair and a cane.
He really was such an interesting character to read from. I loved his relationship with his little sister and his staff and how deeply he cared for them. It added so much more depth to his already complex character.
My only main complaint for this book was that Kitty felt a bit flakey, especially towards the end. Authors tend to set out writing their story with the intention of creating a strong minded female lead who doesn’t bend under the annoying, immature tantrums their male counterpart throws. Especially during the time period, a strong, independent woman is a rarity, something that wasn’t exactly invited or encouraged. When writing characters such as these, there needs to be a balance with the female lead’s personality and belief system in that she needs to be strong and independent but also vulnerable and open. I think that sometimes, author’s loosen their grip on this balance and we end up getting female characters who are a bit wish washy and their independence and inner strength feels a bit forced and unauthentic. By wish washy, I mean that often times, characters are written to be a certain way and act that way but a couple of pages later, they act exactly opposite of what they told they’d act like.
I’m not sure of that made sense but I felt like this was the case with Kitty. I really enjoyed reading about how she stood up for herself against the Duke, no matter how much he lashed out at her. So I was pretty disappointed when in one instance, she didn’t fight for herself and just took herself out of the situation. I wanted more from Kitty, I was confused as to why in all the other situations, she understood why the lashing out was happening but she didn’t in this situation.
I understand conflict is necessary but I wish that Kitty stood her ground a bit more towards the end.
Overall, I liked this book. It was a quick read, easy to read, and it was a bit slow at parts but entertaining enough to keep you hooked. I wasn’t a fan of the ending and wished the character would have dealt with certain things a bit better but that’s more of a personal opinion than an objective fact.
If Ever I Should Love You by Cathy Maxwell
my rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
This book follows our couple, Leonie and Roman, who reunite after a tumultuous encounter, one that left Leonie broken in more than one way. When Roman comes into Society demanding for retribution or payment for his good deed, all those many years ago, Leonie tries to refuse him but fate pulls them together in a marriage of convenience.
Major trigger warnings for: rape, sexual assault, addiction, alcohol addiction/alcoholism.
What a book. This book is a tough one to review and analyze. It has a deeper tone and this somber feel to it that I haven’t seen much in other historical romances. I think the somber feel to this romance is easy to assume given the list of trigger warnings.
I did like parts of this book but there were also parts of it that I’m not sure how I feel about. I definitely cannot speak with a sense of knowledge or experience on the issues that I struggled with in this book, so please add to this post or feel free to read this book with care and be aware of these elements that I’ll soon mention that made me a bit wary.
Let’s start off with what I did like.
I liked the tension between the Roman and Leonie. I definitely could feel the love from the Roman’s side. The author’s did a real good job writing out his struggle with his love interest and accepting her alcoholism. It made him, as a character, feel a lot less two dimensional and flat. It added this rawness to this already complicated relationship.
I loved how this book was filled with flawed characters. The acknowledgements section of this book introduced readers to the author’s desire to differentiate the meaning of her work from others’ by developing a female character who isn’t in the norm of Society. The author wanted to write about someone who struggles.
Leonie struggles a lot. She’s dealing with her addiction but also with so much emotional and physical torment from both her past and her rocky present. I really liked being in her mind and thought the author did a good job in producing a character who wants to do good, wants to be better, but is struggling to do so.
Overall, I thought the dynamic between these two characters made for a really interesting read. There was so much sacrifice, old hurt, and a lack of trust between them that sometimes, it was just a bit hard to read.
What I didn’t like.
I thought Roman was insensitive at times. He put so much of the blame for Leonie’s addiction on her parents not being good social or classy role models rather than realizing that her problem with alcohol is a byproduct of being raped and abused and then having to live with guilt and shame for years. At times, I thought Roman’s attitude towards Leonie was going to change because he became more aware and involved with Leonie’s addiction and her past but most of the times, his narrative was a bit too insensitive. I don’t know if this was on purpose and if it’s meant to be a nod that he too is a flawed character. I read a review online that stated that there was a real power imbalance in this relationship and I think that after reflecting on the certain situations I had problems with Roman and the way he treats/thinks of Leonie, I think I’d agree with that statement.
I also didn’t think that their first night together was romantic. The author led the scene in Roman’s perspective, and the entire time I was reading the section, I was confused if Leonie was enjoying it or wanted to participate in it at all. Don’t worry she did, as the next chapter very much revealed. I don’t know, while I definitely could sense the love and affection and deep emotional care these two had for each other, I didn’t feel much physical chemistry between them. This is probably just a me thing though.
I don’t know much about the recovery process for addiction, more specifically alcohol addiction. The author did show the main character struggle with her recovery but I don’t know if the way the book ended will come off insensitive to people who have gone through recovery or working at recovery and sobriety.
Over all, I thought that this book talked about very important things. It’s hard for me to determine if this is a book featuring a somewhat messy couple with a multitude of flaws or if things just truly were a bit insensitive. If you’re comfortable reading it, go ahead.