A Lady for a Duke

“I don’t want to go back.” Gracewood reached for his cane and struggled upright. “I want to go forward. And I’m not looking for perfect. Only for you.”

Going by the page count and a couple of reviews I skimmed (and possibly misunderstood), I expected the kind of romance that has a lot in the way of external/non-romantic plot. Instead, most of this story is decidedly slice-of-life, with a super strong focus on the characters' relationship and inner world. Honestly, as much as I often enjoy slice-of-life stories, sometimes it got a little too much for me, probably just because of the sheer length of the book. 

That isn't to say that I didn't like it! I have in fact quite enjoyed multiple things about the book. The relationship between Gracewood and Viola was absolutely beautiful. I just wish there wasn't so much repetition in a few parts of the story, where there were entire sections of the two of them walking in circles around a problem without considering more than a single way to solve them (and even then, it was usually only Gracewood considering it in a vague, "But what if something COULD be done about this?" way while Viola was adamant that there is no solution). When those beautiful pining moments were shown so often from different angles, without a lot of events to offset them, they became somewhat... less poignant than I feel they could and should have been. 

I also completely loved how the subject of Viola being trans was handled. Yes, Gracewood was mad at her for leaving him and making him believe his friend was dead, but never for why she did so; in fact, once he properly processed why she did it, it immediately pushed him toward understanding and forgiveness and accepting that this wasn't about him, no matter how it impacted him. I loved how he started thinking about her as Viola as soon as all the dots were connected, and I really liked the writing choices Alexis Hall made to avoid full-scale deadnaming. Every time Viola's pre-transition life is mentioned, she's referred to by her original last name, and the pre-transition first name her family and friends knew her under is never mentioned. This choice feels like the best compromise one could make while staying true to the historical period's realities.

What I liked less was the handling of Gracewood's addiction, disability, and PTSD. Especially addiction and PTSD. It felt kind of like a lot of it just... got better once he focused on being in London and his relationship to Viola, because he decided to stop letting it affect his life so much or something. I'm really not sure it's possible to bounce back so fast from using opium to the extent he was using it early in the novel. Really, a lot of these themes felt like the author meant really well, but under-researched.

There were plenty of side characters here I completely adored, especially Miranda with her sweet quirkiness and her desperate want to have a good relationship with her brother, and Louise with her awesome brand of no-nonsense tough love. All the parts where either or both of them were heavily featured were my absolute favorites! The ton storyline later in the book brought some colorful awful rich people to the table, too—the kind I want to stab with a fork, but also find it fun to watch them in morbid fascination. It's a pity that the whole storyline with Miranda having a season wasn't tightened up a bit, and interwoven in a more solid way and with fewer gaps with the main plot. There was a lot of potential there.

Overall, I'm still glad I stuck through it through all of the slow, circular parts, because the characters were great, there were plenty of great dialogue, and I've barely stopped smiling since I read the epilogue. There's lots of good stuff here! It just... felt like reading a very clean first draft that could use some tightening and trimming down?

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

She could not abandon him again.

After left for dead on the battlefield of Waterloo and then rescued by a couple, a chance is seized and Viola Carroll finally gets to live her life in truth. A freedom that comes with cost, while her immediate family of brother and sister-in-law accept and welcome her back into their home, trading Viscount for paid companion, Viola feels she must abandon her previous relationships. But when word reaches Louise (sister-in-law) and she shares with Viola how much the Duke of Gracewood, Viola's past bestfriend, is struggling with not only her loss but the emotional impacts of war, Viola can't help but want to go to him.

Wanting so terribly to be seen, and terrified of what it might mean if she was.

At over four hundred pages, A Lady for a Duke was emotionally hitting but kept out of the doldrums with it's touches of love and lightness. The beginning focused on Viola and the emotional journey she had been on since surviving Waterloo. How she knows she made the right decision but also getting hit with the costs. Louise was that romance genre meddling character that would make you want to strangle her in real life but love to see her pushing to get things done in the story. The first half had Viola and then Justin (Duke of Gracewood) a lot in their heads as they're sorting through their emotions. I don't mind some poetic turn of phrases (She would shine like a star in a room full of shadows.) but towards the end of the four hundred pages, I started to even feel there was some overwritten feels to this.

He wanted to kiss her.

As I said, the first half is more of Viola's journey, her going to Justin's to try and pull him out of his addiction to laudanum and grief, while also Louise is trying to convince Justin's sister Miranda that it's ok to go have a season in London and not feel responsible for Justin. There's some slow falling in love with Viola from Justin and then we get, probably the most emotional scene, when Viola feels like it's a lie to not reveal to Justin that she is his bestfriend and did survive the war. This is around the halfway point and then reader's get a better look at Justin as we get more into his head and how he's feeling.

There were moments when he might almost have laughed at the absurdity of it. The absurdity and the impossibility. And the simplicity. Of course she was familiar. She was--- She was his oldest friend. Who he had never truly known.

The second half moves to London so Miranda can have her season and we get Justin eventually following and some trying to dance around the attraction from Viola and wanting to meet it head on from Justin. Each of their wants and fears felt real and with the gradual softening and learning to trust that she can have a relationship with Justin, we get some side family focusing. This kind of reminded me of a Grace Burrowes, where the central romance has focus but it's shown in concert with family and friends lives. Viola's brother's family held a lot of focus in the first half and then the second half moves to drama with Miranda and the dangers of being popular on the marriage market, a jealous debutante and bored looking to hurt Duke.

“But if you think I came here for him, you are wrong. I am here for you. I am here for Viola Carroll.”

Around seventy percent the story brought back the focus on the romance and we get an open door scene between Viola and Justin and from there Viola trusts more in how much of a relationship she can have with Justin. The ending gave, in my opinion, a not needed danger moment for Miranda that I felt could have been cut as it felt like a going through the motions third act drama.

It was the Duke of Gracewood and Viola Carroll. And they were dancing.

This was emotional but with lightness and love, but did feel overly long and overly written with some flowery turn of phrases. It felt more of a complete in the characters' world story but while I enjoy a slow burn, I missed more of a continuous spotlight on the main couple. If you like snappy, this wouldn't be for you but if you're into delving in and slow burning (I just managed to keep my head above the last 100pgs water), this hits those emotional notes.

“What of society?” He shrugged. “What of it? The matrons and masters of the ton have nothing we want, while the things that they want---wealth and power and influence and pedigree---I already possess in abundance. It is for them to live up to our standards. Not the contrary.”