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thereadernthebeast's review
3.0
An absolutely heartwarming, funny, refreshing love story... where she is the one who has the highest social status.
The characters were delightful and the festive spirit of the occasion the perfect companion.
I enjoyed every page in this book, I'm so sorry I didn't read it sooner.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
Una historia de amor tierna, divertida, refrescante... donde para variar: es ella quien ocupa el escalón social más alto. Los personajes fueron una delicia y el espíritu festivo de la ocasión, el acompañante perfecto. Disfruté este libro de principio a fin, lamento no haberlo leído antes.
The characters were delightful and the festive spirit of the occasion the perfect companion.
I enjoyed every page in this book, I'm so sorry I didn't read it sooner.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
Una historia de amor tierna, divertida, refrescante... donde para variar: es ella quien ocupa el escalón social más alto. Los personajes fueron una delicia y el espíritu festivo de la ocasión, el acompañante perfecto. Disfruté este libro de principio a fin, lamento no haberlo leído antes.
andrea_author's review against another edition
4.0
I love Erica Ridley! This book started off a little slowly for me, but it picked up around the 20% mark. I enjoyed the premise of a duke's daughter snowbound at an inn without the services of her lady's maid, unable to do the simplest things like dress or style her hair on her own. And pairing her up with a tradesman trying to start a ready-to-wear men's clothing business was genius. Ridley is brilliant at using details to bring the story to life. A light, fun read that I'm happy to recommend.
Thanks, Netgalley, for the free ARC.
Thanks, Netgalley, for the free ARC.
colleen1011's review
4.0
Erica Ridley is an author I enjoy. This was a good book with good character development. I would recommend this author to others.
rjordan19's review
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋 (I liked the angsty ending!)
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (the scene was a touch light on the details)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (about average-ish for HR, 4% or so of the novella for a scene)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? maybe a touch slow. Slow to medium to me.
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in (11% of the book, but the story starts at 7%...)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happy ever after
Epilogue: Yes, maybe a week or so in the future
Format: I ashamedly read a very, very, very old NetGalley ARC of this book. 2020 WAS A BAD YEAR OKAY?!
Should I read in order?
So, I’m not sure how intertwined the series is with characters. I think they are all mostly stand alone. This one especially felt fine to pick up because most of the story is the main couple snowed in at the inn. Jonathan has some page time here at the end and he has his own story in the series (technically a later book in the series as it’s #10), as well as the Duke of Nottingvale, who gets book #12.
Basic plot:
Isabelle gets snowed in at the Houville Hoot & Holly inn when her maid takes ill. There she meets Calvin and soon they realize they can both help each other because of their missing companions.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1814)
- class difference – working class hero (fashion designer) and a lady heroine (daughter of a duke)
- snowed in at the inn vibes
- artist heroine
- bit of a quiet/awkward hero
- forbidden love vibes
- close proximity
- secret identity
- holiday themes
- shorter novel
Ages:
- Hero is 29, heroine is 24
First line:
Although Lady Isabelle Borland’s carriage climbed toward the northernmost peak of England, she did not gaze out of the window in her usual dreamy way at the picturesque snow-blanketed landscape shimmering in all directions.
My thoughts:
This is my third book from this series and every one of them has been so adorable and cute and fun. I think perhaps next holiday season I will back around and read the ones I have missed.
This one was a touch slow in parts, especially compared to book 12 which was just fun and fast and witty. But this one was very sweet and I got really attached to our heroine. I loved the snowed in vibes. I struggle sometimes with secret identity because it feels like lying...but I loved the angst at the end and their make up.
This just makes me want more Ridley!
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:Any mistakes/typos are my own
Gleaming black Hessians on his feet, flawless buckskins molded to his legs, an exquisitely tailored frock coat over an understated waistcoat. Dark hair, darker gaze. Neckcloth so bright it dazzled the eyes. Every stitch was perfect, every hair in place. He was like a portrait entitled Dangerous Rake: Virtuous Ladies Should Not Dare Come Near.
---
A widow.
Not a married lady.
A widow clothed in bright olive, not the black of mourning or the gray of half-mourning. Mr. Lepine had been gone for well over a year, perhaps even many years.
Long enough for his widow to respond, What husband?
---
“When I’m dressed in a fresh gown, would you help me fasten it?”
No. He was very busy. She would just have to...sit right next door in a state of half-dress, while he attempted not to think about her.
---
He gathered the loose flaps of her gown to the nape of her neck. “Hold this.”
She reached up behind her neck to grab the twilled silk as requested, and instead accidentally caressed Mr. McAlistair’s fingers.
He froze.
She froze.
Now they were holding hands in the most awkward way possible, with one of her elbows jutting high in the air.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- parental death remembered
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex: Hero pulls out
Hows the consent? It’s pretty explicit – the hero goes slow and asks permission/for the heroine to be sure
57% - kiss
68% - kisses
76% - 🔥 oral for her, missionary
“Let me undress you,” he said gruffly, setting her beside the bed rather than on top of it.
She peered up at him with a half-smile. “One last time.?”
“No.” He tried not to question why the words one last time chafed so much. “For the first time.”
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋 (I liked the angsty ending!)
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (the scene was a touch light on the details)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (about average-ish for HR, 4% or so of the novella for a scene)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? maybe a touch slow. Slow to medium to me.
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in (11% of the book, but the story starts at 7%...)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happy ever after
Epilogue: Yes, maybe a week or so in the future
Format: I ashamedly read a very, very, very old NetGalley ARC of this book. 2020 WAS A BAD YEAR OKAY?!
Should I read in order?
So, I’m not sure how intertwined the series is with characters. I think they are all mostly stand alone. This one especially felt fine to pick up because most of the story is the main couple snowed in at the inn. Jonathan has some page time here at the end and he has his own story in the series (technically a later book in the series as it’s #10), as well as the Duke of Nottingvale, who gets book #12.
Basic plot:
Isabelle gets snowed in at the Houville Hoot & Holly inn when her maid takes ill. There she meets Calvin and soon they realize they can both help each other because of their missing companions.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1814)
- class difference – working class hero (fashion designer) and a lady heroine (daughter of a duke)
- snowed in at the inn vibes
- artist heroine
- bit of a quiet/awkward hero
- forbidden love vibes
- close proximity
- secret identity
- holiday themes
- shorter novel
Ages:
- Hero is 29, heroine is 24
First line:
Although Lady Isabelle Borland’s carriage climbed toward the northernmost peak of England, she did not gaze out of the window in her usual dreamy way at the picturesque snow-blanketed landscape shimmering in all directions.
My thoughts:
This is my third book from this series and every one of them has been so adorable and cute and fun. I think perhaps next holiday season I will back around and read the ones I have missed.
This one was a touch slow in parts, especially compared to book 12 which was just fun and fast and witty. But this one was very sweet and I got really attached to our heroine. I loved the snowed in vibes. I struggle sometimes with secret identity because it feels like lying...but I loved the angst at the end and their make up.
This just makes me want more Ridley!
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:Any mistakes/typos are my own
Gleaming black Hessians on his feet, flawless buckskins molded to his legs, an exquisitely tailored frock coat over an understated waistcoat. Dark hair, darker gaze. Neckcloth so bright it dazzled the eyes. Every stitch was perfect, every hair in place. He was like a portrait entitled Dangerous Rake: Virtuous Ladies Should Not Dare Come Near.
---
A widow.
Not a married lady.
A widow clothed in bright olive, not the black of mourning or the gray of half-mourning. Mr. Lepine had been gone for well over a year, perhaps even many years.
Long enough for his widow to respond, What husband?
---
“When I’m dressed in a fresh gown, would you help me fasten it?”
No. He was very busy. She would just have to...sit right next door in a state of half-dress, while he attempted not to think about her.
---
He gathered the loose flaps of her gown to the nape of her neck. “Hold this.”
She reached up behind her neck to grab the twilled silk as requested, and instead accidentally caressed Mr. McAlistair’s fingers.
He froze.
She froze.
Now they were holding hands in the most awkward way possible, with one of her elbows jutting high in the air.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- parental death remembered
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
57% - kiss
68% - kisses
76% - 🔥 oral for her, missionary
“Let me undress you,” he said gruffly, setting her beside the bed rather than on top of it.
She peered up at him with a half-smile. “One last time.?”
“No.” He tried not to question why the words one last time chafed so much. “For the first time.”
melledotca's review
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I haven't read the previous installments in this series, but quite enjoyed this one. You'll definitely have to suspend familiarity with historical romance social strata, etc. here, but at the same time it shone a light on the day to day realities of people in those strata, which I thought really enriched the story. It was a quick read and super sweet. The ending could have been a bit longer and more detailed (or subtle) instead of basically wrapping up with one big blow-up, but it worked out alright. Would definitely curl up with it over hot chocolate during the holidays.
amy606's review
4.0
This was a very comforting read, I had fun and wish we could see the watercolors from it
hookedbythatbook's review
4.0
-- Read this review, and others, on my blog at www.hookedbythatbook.com --
Lady Isabelle has made peace with her lot in life as a duke’s sister – keep quiet, smile a lot, and marry well. But obviously there is more to the lady, and she isn’t extremely excited about this future. So when our beleaguered lady finds herself stranded at an inn, because of her maid’s flu, she makes the best of the situation at hand. She styles herself as a widow, and befriends the unsuspecting Calvin. Calvin is on a mission to convince a duke to invest in his clothing business. And his potential investor is none other than Isabelle’s brother. Gasp!
Well, the two of them hit it off spectacularly, but are they destined to only share a few days together?
This is a great series, and thankfully you don’t have to read them in order. This book is another light, fun, romantic read, with interesting characters. Calvin and Isabelle both act like the mature adults that they are, and are therefore able to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings (well, maybe not all of them).
Do yourself a favour, and add it to your to-read list, and read it on a day where you need a pick-me-up, or any other day will also do.
Thank you to Webmotion and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Lady Isabelle has made peace with her lot in life as a duke’s sister – keep quiet, smile a lot, and marry well. But obviously there is more to the lady, and she isn’t extremely excited about this future. So when our beleaguered lady finds herself stranded at an inn, because of her maid’s flu, she makes the best of the situation at hand. She styles herself as a widow, and befriends the unsuspecting Calvin. Calvin is on a mission to convince a duke to invest in his clothing business. And his potential investor is none other than Isabelle’s brother. Gasp!
Well, the two of them hit it off spectacularly, but are they destined to only share a few days together?
This is a great series, and thankfully you don’t have to read them in order. This book is another light, fun, romantic read, with interesting characters. Calvin and Isabelle both act like the mature adults that they are, and are therefore able to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings (well, maybe not all of them).
Do yourself a favour, and add it to your to-read list, and read it on a day where you need a pick-me-up, or any other day will also do.
Thank you to Webmotion and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
4.0
*I received a free copy of Dawn with a Duke via NetGalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review which is honest and unbiased.*
Dawn with a Duke is romantic, sweet, and filled with humor. I love Ridley's historical romances, partly because the heroines are deliciously anachronistic!
Dawn with a Duke is romantic, sweet, and filled with humor. I love Ridley's historical romances, partly because the heroines are deliciously anachronistic!
karentje's review
4.0
I adored the humor in this story, and the utter sweetness of the connection between Belle and Calvin. I was so happy to have a working man as a hero in a regency! I loved that Calvin is a tailor and so dedicated to his craft. All the little fashion and fabric details throughout the story were an absolute joy. Belle is a wonderful character as well, very easy to relate too, maybe because she is not the typically feisty heroine or an overt rebel, but still she stands up for herself, at long last, and it was glorious! I also liked Ursula very much, we didn’t get to see a lot of her, but she still made quite the impression as a loyal and supportive friend. I wouldn’t mind seeing her get a HEA herself. Our two main characters carry the story very well, not easy, as they have almost no interactions with other characters throughout the main part of the story.