Forever My Duke
Unlikely Duchesses
by Olivia Drake
Forever My Duke is the second novel in a brand new Regency romance series from Olivia Drake about rakish dukes and the governesses who steal their hearts.
“I find Miss Fanshawe to be quite charming—for an American.”—The Prince Regent
Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He even has the perfect one picked out. That is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She’s the opposite of what a man of his high rank should desire in a wife—an outspoken American who has never even set foot in a London ballroom.
But Natalie doesn’t have time to be swept off her feet by a handsome duke who must be a spoiled scoundrel like every other British lord. And she couldn’t care less about Hadrian’s title. After all, it’s not as if he actually worked to attain his wealth and status. He surely can’t understand what it’s like to be a busy woman, planning to open a school while trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan with his English relatives. Nevertheless, Hadrian launches his campaign to win her heart. Can the utterly delightful American beauty ever find a way to love him…despite his being a duke?
Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐
Forever My Duke ended up being just okay for me. Granted, I don't read a lot of Regency romances these days, but based on my experience with the genre, this one didn't bring anything new to the table. I expected it to be unrealistic, and it is. So much so, that it kind of felt like a bunch of people pretending to be from that era. It has a rather slow start, and once the story gets going, it's terribly clichéd. Despite all that, I did rather like Hadrian and Natalie and had this been set in a more current time period, I would've loved this couple. Natalie is a bit too progressive for the time, which is one of the many issues I have with the setting. In the end, the story was somewhere in the fair to middlin' range for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I suppose I just wanted more than the typical.
Forever My Duke ended up being just okay for me. Granted, I don't read a lot of Regency romances these days, but based on my experience with the genre, this one didn't bring anything new to the table. I expected it to be unrealistic, and it is. So much so, that it kind of felt like a bunch of people pretending to be from that era. It has a rather slow start, and once the story gets going, it's terribly clichéd. Despite all that, I did rather like Hadrian and Natalie and had this been set in a more current time period, I would've loved this couple. Natalie is a bit too progressive for the time, which is one of the many issues I have with the setting. In the end, the story was somewhere in the fair to middlin' range for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I suppose I just wanted more than the typical.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press
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