Reviews

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Only show reviews with written explanations

lautreamont's review

emotional relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I was ready to give this 4 stars or more because two thirds of it were great. I really liked the characters, even though this book is like 90% insanely long conversations with little to no actual scenes taking place or descriptions. Weirdly, it worked, even though from a writing standpoint : wtf? I like the overall writing and tone.

But from Chapter 39 it gets actually insane in a bad way and nothing makes sense. They introduce this weird villain guy we've seen in only one scene and have 3 pages of him asking both characters to "suck his cock". I have no clue if it's originally some fanfic and the character is a nod to something in the og work so there's not much buildup, but that's how it felt. Like there was NO sex in the book at all until like 80% of it, there's a long long long sex scene of the main couple. Mind you, nothing at all sexual happened ro was mentionned before. there's no sexual desire buildup. Smut is not something I particularly enjoy reading in general, but fair enough. However, it's so weird rhat the whole book becomes just About sex suddenly (???).

Content Warnings

sambam_42's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

readinglikesappho's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

exquisite_tragedy's review

Go to review page

4.0

Tropes/Themes:
-Queer historical romance
-Friends to lovers
-LGBTQIA+ rep (trans heroine)
-Disabled rep (hero – war injuries, PTSD)
-Audiobook is narrated by a trans woman

While I think this could have been 100 pages shorter, this was such a beautifully written and romantic queer historical romance. I don’t think I could adequately put my feelings about this book into words, so instead I’ve included some of my favorite quotes below:

“I would say"—he shaped the words close to her mouth, as if each of them was its own kiss, a private prayer—"I love you as a man loves a woman, but we both know that love is not bound by such narrow terms. So instead let me simply tell you that I love you. I love you with the unfading flame of my friendship. With every drop of ardour in my blood. I love you with my soul, as some reserve their faith for absent gods. I love you as I believe in what is right and hope for what is good. I love you with everything I am and ever was—and if you will only let me, with every day that comes, and every self that I could ever be.”

“When I am with you, I feel about as far from anything that has ever hurt me as it is possible to be.”

“Please don't leave me again," he whispered. "I think I could learn to live without you, but I have no wish to.”

mbray341's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

breeezzy's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

malloryrt4's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If only he had trusted her. And listened to his heart, instead of to his hurt.

Damn, this book HIT. It took me a minute to get into it and it is predominantly slow-paced, however, that feels intentional so that the reader can fully understand the depths of the characters' minds and emotions. Having no personal experience with gender diversity personally, I felt this was an absolutely beautiful story of a trans woman and it was written with SO much care. All the way through. Even in the sex scene you could see the care for her identity in every single word. This book is so soulful and contains so much love. There is so much more to discuss but I will leave it that everyone should read this truly touching story.