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batbaby's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
While overall I did enjoy the book I thought the pacing was a bit all over the place, and the last 50 or so pages felt out of place with the story and was honestly slightly crazy. I thought one of the characters ptsd was well written and not sensationalised. And I did enjoy how Viola’s transness was written and wasn’t made to be the main point of conflict in the connection with the love interest but the conflict was kind of annoying because realistically they had nothing stopping them being together. I feel like Mira needs her own book or story with her aged up slightly to explore her sexuality because her storyline felt a little shallow and then also forced at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Transphobia and Deadnaming
singsandreads's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Slow and brooding. Childhood friends to lovers, but she faked her death while fighting in the war. This book just didn’t do it for me. Great trans rep, but I’m not super into historical books. We also went on far too long about his substance abuse problems. 100 pages could have easily been cut in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Deadnaming, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Transphobia and War
dcfelk's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Refraining from rating. Not a bad book, but I ended up disliking. A combination of writing style, themes, my own mood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Drug abuse, Ableism, Transphobia, Sexual content, Addiction, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, War, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Ableism, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Transphobia
While this book is about a trans heroine, the only time the heroine is deadnamed/misgendered Is when someone who knew her previously recognizes her. Once this person is told how to address her name/pronouns, they do so. The heroine is never outed, either.melist6's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Kidnapping, War, and Deadnaming
madlysoph's review
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Overall a good, well-written book with very lovely prose and tender love confessions. This was a bit too slow paced for me, the pacing makes sense for the necessary exposition, but again, didn’t work for me. The secondary characters are amazing, Lady Marleigh is hysterical and Miranda is a delight. Honorable mention to little Bartholomew, a darling and hilarious child. Gracewood and Viola are a charming couple who balance one another perfectly. This unique take on friends to lovers was wonderfully done. I am cis so I cannot say how good the trans representation is, but it felt like it was done respectfully and realistically. There is no explicit transphobia, the only negative reaction to her coming out was because of completely separate reasons, not because Viola was trans. My favorite parts were the multiple love confessions and the absolutely darling epilogue. I would genuinely read a novella of them living out their happy ending. Wasn’t bad, just didn’t totally work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, War, Grief, Deadnaming, and Alcohol
jackiepreston's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Deadnaming, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
jamie_cruz's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: War and Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, and Deadnaming
mar's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
really loved most of this book!!! i do think the climax was weirdly tonally dissonant but for 90% of the story i was having a great time :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Ableism, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Kidnapping
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Transphobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In the two years since Normandy, Viola's best friend, Gracewood, has thought she was dead. In reality, Viola was figuring out how to be herself rather than the boy she was raised to be, and assumed that her best friend would move on with his life when she was no longer in it. Instead, she discovered that in his grief he had turned to drink and laudanum, terrifying his sister and staff with the depths of his despair.
When Gracewood finally learns that Viola and his best friend are the same being, a new set of complications arise, as the social pressures on the lives of a duke and a lady's companion are deeply felt, and seem inescapable. As a trans person, it's tough to read what seems like transphobia coming from the love interest, even briefly, but the way it's handled and how both characters react to that moment serves to make the story stronger overall.
I like the care paid to developing Gracewood's relationship with his sister, dealing with the trouble has in relating to a teenage girl when he is a man who was raised to give orders rather than to listen. Viola and Gracewood were both changed by the war, but Gracewood's experiences left him visibly scarred and mentally shaken in ways that affect him on a daily basis. This is handled variously throughout, as Gracewood gradually becomes confident to not accept casual ableism from others, but it takes a while.
I love how Gracewood slowly notices more and more of Viola's wardrobe, appreciate that she designs and sews/embroiders it herself. It's made clear that Viola hasn't had previous sexual experiences because she would have either had to have them as a man (which she was uncomfortable doing, even before figuring out her gender), or would need a partner who was not scared off by her body after meeting her as a woman. The eventual sex scenes with Gracewood are careful and intimate, treading the line between being specific about the logistics involved involved and giving Viola space to be feminine and sexual without triggering dysphoria. More than that, with Gracewood's support as a partner she gets to feel good about her body in a sexual context, that it is a woman's body because it is hers, and not based on whether it aligns with some standard of gender presentation.
Things I love, in no particular order: Viola's sister-in-law, and her interactions with her nephew; the audiobook narrator's excellent performance; the way the b-plot gradually becomes more important as the initial tension from the social difficulties of Viola and Gracewood's relationship fade in the face of their care for each other.
A LADY FOR A DUKE is self-contained and ends very satisfactorily, but it does appear that a sequel is planned (which I will eagerly await). Everything I could want handled is covered either in detail, or implicitly by the epilogue, which is set several years after the events of the main story. It seems that future books would be unlikely to feature Viola and Gracewood as main characters, but, based on the title of the sequel I think it will involve one of their relatives (which would be great, I'd love to have them play a role again after they were so wonderful here).
When Gracewood finally learns that Viola and his best friend are the same being, a new set of complications arise, as the social pressures on the lives of a duke and a lady's companion are deeply felt, and seem inescapable. As a trans person, it's tough to read what seems like transphobia coming from the love interest, even briefly, but the way it's handled and how both characters react to that moment serves to make the story stronger overall.
I like the care paid to developing Gracewood's relationship with his sister, dealing with the trouble has in relating to a teenage girl when he is a man who was raised to give orders rather than to listen. Viola and Gracewood were both changed by the war, but Gracewood's experiences left him visibly scarred and mentally shaken in ways that affect him on a daily basis. This is handled variously throughout, as Gracewood gradually becomes confident to not accept casual ableism from others, but it takes a while.
I love how Gracewood slowly notices more and more of Viola's wardrobe, appreciate that she designs and sews/embroiders it herself. It's made clear that Viola hasn't had previous sexual experiences because she would have either had to have them as a man (which she was uncomfortable doing, even before figuring out her gender), or would need a partner who was not scared off by her body after meeting her as a woman. The eventual sex scenes with Gracewood are careful and intimate, treading the line between being specific about the logistics involved involved and giving Viola space to be feminine and sexual without triggering dysphoria. More than that, with Gracewood's support as a partner she gets to feel good about her body in a sexual context, that it is a woman's body because it is hers, and not based on whether it aligns with some standard of gender presentation.
Things I love, in no particular order: Viola's sister-in-law, and her interactions with her nephew; the audiobook narrator's excellent performance; the way the b-plot gradually becomes more important as the initial tension from the social difficulties of Viola and Gracewood's relationship fade in the face of their care for each other.
A LADY FOR A DUKE is self-contained and ends very satisfactorily, but it does appear that a sequel is planned (which I will eagerly await). Everything I could want handled is covered either in detail, or implicitly by the epilogue, which is set several years after the events of the main story. It seems that future books would be unlikely to feature Viola and Gracewood as main characters, but, based on the title of the sequel I think it will involve one of their relatives (which would be great, I'd love to have them play a role again after they were so wonderful here).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death, Cursing, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gun violence, Violence, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts