If you're looking for a straightforward historical romance, this book will hit the mark. Ash (#AshAlert!) is a duke with three young, boisterous, and disobedient wards. Due to his fraught past, Ash doesn't feel that he can be close and affectionate with anyone. Since he can't get a governess to stay in his employ, he decides that it might be best to just get married - a wife can't quit, after all! And when he sees that two of his wards enjoy spending time with Bronwyn, a neighbor, he almost immediately proposes marriage. Due to her fraught past, Bronwyn decides that living with a husband is better than staying with her parents. And once they make a pact not to fall in love, you know exactly what's coming.

Although the book relies on a hefty helping of instalove combined with Ash's childhood trauma, it never feels like a slog. It's fun, sexy, and a great way to spend an afternoon.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Bronwyn is an endearingly awkward naturalist convinced she will never find love. Ash is the Duke of Buckley carrying a dark past with him like a shadow, caring for three troublesome wards. A marriage of convenience is perfect for them both--Bronwyn can get her parents off her back about marrying, and Ash can have someone watch over his wards on Synne while he runs his gambling hell in London. A cut and dry agreement...as long as neither of them come to carry any affections for the other.

CW: check the author's website for a full list!

I thought this was a pretty solid historical romance. The writing was consistent in tone and felt true to the time period, which I enjoyed. It had all the elements of a good romance: longing/yearning, miscommunication (of course), a point of conflict near the end, passion. The progression of Bronwyn and Ash's relationship flowed really well, even if it did feel a little too "insta-love" at times. I also wish there was maybe a little bit more of a slow-burn aspect to their relationship, but the spicy scenes were really well done. The thing I loved most about this book were Bronwyn's endeavors as a naturalist, studying entomology. I loved how passionate and educated she was, and how she didn't let society's expectations or her parents disapproval keep her from doing what she loved. Very progressive for the time when this takes place. I also love how Ash supported her 100% in her studies, and encouraged her to pursue her passions and send her paper to the Royal Society. It was an incredibly strong subplot to their romance.

The only thing that frustrated me throughout the book was how little Bronwyn and Ash communicated about their pasts. I understand that the traumas they faced would make that difficult, and it was only ever supposed to be a marriage in name alone, but I found myself frustrated frequently that they couldn't talk to one another about why they never felt worthy of a loving relationship. The miscommunication trope at its finest. I also disliked how much Ash degraded himself internally for the sins of his father. He was such a better man than his father, it made me sad to read. I also felt that Bronwyn became teary-eyed just a tad too much throughout the book. She would start crying at anything remotely emotional.

Overall though, I think this was a very solid historical romance, and it contains all the elements people would want from this genre. Bronwyn and Ash (and the cast of side characters) are all very likeable (except for her parents), and they each pop off the page with their personalities. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys spicy historical romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

I have had some other books by Christina Britton on my TBR list but never before gotten to read one until now and after reading Some Dukes Have All The Luck, I can’t wait to go back and devour all her other titles!
The writing in this is so fun and easy to read, the story moves quickly but with enough development to the characters to still let you connect with them.
The heroine in this book, Bronwyn, is such a sweet and wonderful soul, I loved her immediately. She has had some serious blows to her self confidence where men and society are concerned and she just broke my heart! Our hero Ash, for his part, is quickly in awe of Bronwyn’s strength and what starts out as a marriage of convenience and one Ash in particular wants to be devoid of emotional connection quickly has him eating crow, because he definitely falls first and falls hard.
This is just such a sweet, steamy story between the leads and we also get to meet Bronwyn’s group of friends which I’m guessing will be the heroines of the future books in this series and I already can’t wait!

A fascinating story of two people who needed help healing and three wards who felt unloved and ran amuck. I very much enjoyed this tale of a marriage of convenience. It flowed well and was engaging.
The two main characters were lovely together. Even though they were not sure. They even wanted to protect each other and his wards as well. When he left to go to London it was heartbreaking. It kept your interest.

I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This was a fun read!
What I loved:
- the family dynamics
- the emotionally-charged moments with the Duke and his wards
- Bronwyn: bespectacled entomologist with a fabulous group of friends who call themselves the Oddments
- Ash: so protective towards his wards, and the one person who stand up to Bronwyn's parents in her defense
- Bronwyn's parents: horrible, horrible people (loved to hate them)

What I liked a little bit less, but that's more of a personal preference: this writing style is not really my jam. There is a lot of long passages without dialogues, and I do not really like them. However, I loved the story in itself, and the storyline.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Historical romance in Regency-ish era England; Book 1 of the Synneful Spinsters series. Odd-girl Bronwyn aspires to be a published entomologist, much to the dismay of her social-climbing parents. They push her to marry a titled gentleman and are even more abrasive after a past heartbreak and a recently lost chance at courtship by a duke. Meanwhile, Ash is trying to recover his runaway wards and shield them from his own dukedom’s cruel reputation. They literally bump into each other in the street, and unexpectedly meet again at his manor when she visits his playful and inquisitive wards. Ash gets the bright idea to marry a woman who will care for the wards and proposes to Bronwyn. We have a delightful marriage of convenience, where they do participate in the marriage bed, and a supportive friendship between the two. Loved seeing these two slowly learn to trust each other, but they’re both still hanging on the past hurts and betrayals. I love how quick Ash is to defend Bronwyn’s intelligence. Basically, any support of a partners’s aspirations as an A+ in my book.

Some Dukes Have All the Luck is the first book in the Synneful Spinsters is a heartwarming and thoughtful read that is easy to get lost in. This book is as spicy as it is emotional. I enjoyed it.

Some Dukes Have All the Luck
Book 1 in the Synneful Spinsters Series
Rating: 3 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC sent through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Some Dukes Have All the Luck gave us a marriage of convenience between Ash and Bronwyn. They both entered this marriage determined to not fall in love and to help each other out. He would gain a wife who will help him with his three unruly wards and she would be finally allowed to study insects to her heart's content.
The romance between them was sweet, but I felt that it was more of a physical attraction between them from the very start. They had great chemistry and the sexy times between them were very hot.
Of course they develop feelings for each other which they hold on to because they don't believe the other will fall in love with them like they did. I kind of wish that he would have been more upfront with Bronwyn in regards to his true relationship with his wards. He was carrying this guilt and responsibility on his shoulders when he was not the one responsible for what happened.
These three sisters almost made me DNF this book. I can't stand spoiled kids in romance stories and what they did at the beginning was just a little too out of hand, especially because they never get reprimanded for it or at least a serious conversation about how crazy of an idea that was.

I look forwards to the next one...

A familiar trope of a marriage of convenience turning to love. The first half of the book did not engage me as much as the second half. The protagonists seemed to lack depth and adequate back story to accept their actions as believable. Their personalities lacked nuance and complexity. They second half was much more engaging and emotionally connective but even then there were exchanges that seemed to avoid fully engaging conflict — conflict with the in laws who should have been explicitly shown the door, and conflict with an ex and his grandmother whose visit was inadequately explained and who too should have been more forcefully confronted. Even so, there were moments of deep connection in the latter half of the book that were rewarding. A light book and a pleasing read.

Oh my goodness, I devoured this book. The characters had amazing chemistry. The pacing was perfect. The background characters were wonderfully written, I felt like I could understand their situation very well. The romance was really well written, the main characters relationship kept me on the edge of my seat. This is my first book by Christina Britton and it will definitely not be my last.

An enjoyable marriage of convenience book, with both humor and emotional depth. I'm pretty much done with heroes who had horrible fathers and so they won't let anyone get close for fear of the shame or villainy somehow rubbing off on them, which meant I did struggle with Ash's character at several points in the book. But Bronwyn absolutely made the book for me. She also had a lot of trauma she was dealing with, and from time to time she would slip into despondency or regret. But even with these struggles, she always moved forward. She worked to improve not only her life but the lives of those she cared about. She was wounded and vulnerable, but also so strong in a way that I feel we rarely see fully conveyed. The depth of her character and her relationships with Ash and the girls carried the book and made me root for her happy ending.

An entomologist who wants nothing more than to publish her research and live her life studying is being pressured to marry by her parents and a Duke who has three wayward wards who need someone to guide them decides he needs a wife, so when they run into each other they just might be what the other needs. Ash Hawkins is the Duke of Buckley, he runs a gambling den, has a tragic childhood, and is emotionally traumatized from the way his father treated not only him but his mother and the staff. He has become so emotionally traumatized that he feels like he has to close himself off from love and affection in fear that he might become his father. Ash has shut himself off and has kept his distance from his three wards, three young girls, he has provided them with money, anything they want... but that has only led them to become even more rebellious as they think he wants nothing to do with them and can’t wait to get rid of them. So when two of them run off with his mother’s diary to visit the home she use to live in he finds himself chasing after them only to run into Bronwyn. Bronwyn has been ridiculed all her life for her interest in bugs, after having her heart broken in the worst way possible she’s given up on love and wants only to finally get her research published.... except her parents have thrown away all her tools and destroyed her research and are threatening to forbid her from seeing her friends unless she marries and starts focusing on getting a husband. When Ash sees how well his girls are taking to Bronwyn he offers her a marriage of convenience in that : she will look after his wards and live on the island with them while he returns to London and stays there away from them, he’ll give her all the freedom she wants to pursue her research as long as she raises his wards well, there will be no love requirement and they will both be free to do as they please. Easy enough right? Except both of them are already smitten with each other and are falling for one another, but they both have their own luggage to deal with and are both emotionally hurt,... can they truly make this work? While this started off great and I really liked Bronwyn, I felt there was a lot of lack in character depth and development, also the story kind of felt like there was no real pay off, I mean the way they make up was so bland and meh after all the hurt they both went through, it just felt lacking in satisfaction. I also wanted there to be more of a focus on the relationship with the three girls that are his ward... honestly, they were so interesting. Overall it was just an okay read for me, it could have been better and there is potential. This is the first book in the series so hopefully the next ones are better?

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

It was beyond obvious that these two characters would end up happily together. I’ve seen this self-sacrificing hero before. I’ve seen the “I’m not loveable” bluestocking spinster heroine before. But there’s something about Christina Britton’s writing that makes the whole story new and exciting. This relationship was hard won, and I fell for them just about as quickly as they fell for each other.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This is a fairly low-conflict book, the only real conflict is how Ash feels about himself and how he thinks everyone should be separate from his wards and Bronwyn. The chemistry between Ash and Bronwyn was really good, I loved how Ash found her fascination, and desire to study beetles super sexy. Ash's wards... while I do understand their attitude towards Ash, especially in the beginning, they were a lot to handle sometimes, and they never even felt the smallest bit of remorse for running away and worrying at the very least their older sister. The setting was beautiful, I could picture myself lounging by the Elven pool...

I loved how Bronwyn through Ash's expectations about a marriage of convenience out the window. She is all... um, I'm a scientist and want to learn about mating habits. I think we should spend the time we have before you go back to London exploring each other... and Ash as he is sweating profusely at the image she presents is like Ah, well yes, let's do that. Of course, neither one of them expects that they will develop real feelings for each other, and oh man every time Ash stood up for Bronwyn with her parents made me so happy.

I also liked how when Ash took off for London it didn't take either of them long to realize they were in love and come after each other.

I will definitely be continuing with this series and I can't wait to see who the next couple will be!

Plagued by guilt, Ash hopes to make things right with his three female wards. When he stumbles upon Bronwyn he feels she is the answer to all his problems. By arranging a marriage of convenience, he can now leave his wards in his wife’s care and go back to London. Bronwyn, a naturalist, is not taken seriously by her parents and is willing to go into an arranged marriage to get away from them and be free to pursue her scientific studies. Neither of them counted on falling in love with each other. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for my honest review.

Emotionally Charged Love Story:

The story revolves around Ash, Bronwyn and 3 young girls.
A wonderfully passionate romance story of discovering love, overcoming family tragedies,
awful parents, accepting their worthiness in life, secrets
A beautiful story that had me laughing, weeping and my heart all atwitter as sparks flew off the pages at times, along with a few heartfelt confessions.
A truly enjoyable story to read and it kept my undivided attention with a thrilling epilogue.
Adult Advisory:
5 StarCover depicts the characters in the story very well.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy for my honest opinion.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of Some Dukes Have All The Luck by Christina Britton. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an ARC to review.

Ash and Bronwyn had a lot of sweet chemistry and I enjoyed their relationship. The story dragged a bit in the middle after they had become married. Mostly from a lack of narrative hurdles. Which isn't always bad, but I felt that there wasn't much there other than the sexy scenes. The ending was strong and I was satisfied. I give Some Dukes Have All the Luck a solid 3/5 stars.

3/5. Releases November 8.

A duke who needs a mother figure for his three wards--a bug girl who really could use a husband. Sounds like a marriage of convenience!

Some Dukes Have All the Luck is my first Christina Britton, and it was a bit of a rocky one for me. I want to make it clear off the bat--she's a talented writer, and there were parts of this book that made me smile and say "aww" and experience all of the things you should experience when reading a romance. And as a disclaimer ward books are hit or miss for me, as are all books with kids involved. I love the responsibility and the texture they give, but I don't like the kids... as characters. For most books.

But I really liked the sound of the heroine--and she is a super fun heroine, totally the highlight of the book. Bronwyn is charming and funny in a way that isn't over the top, and I just loved that she was a bug girl. It was adorable. She also may have been on the spectrum...? It's not explicit, but that's how I read her.

And of course, her hero, Ash, is smitten with her fairly early but, due to his own emotional trauma, cannot promise her more than their basic agreement (which was initially a chaste marriage, and then quickly turned into "oh well I guess for the two weeks that we live together I WILL fuck you, just for your own health and to satisfy your curiosities, like any good guy would"). To make it clear, Ash's emotional trauma is super legit. I don't want to downplay what he went through.

However, I think that you can write an emotionally stunted hero with trauma who withholds from the heroine without making him withhold from the reader... And this is where I think the book lost me a bit. Ash is very compelling, but I don't think I got a true follow through on everything he promised.

His pros:

--owns a gambling hell, which I loved

--drinks his respect women juice

--was very defensive of Bronwyn to her shitty parents, which I loved

--was clearly turned on by her bug thing, ideal for this girl

Cons:

--I never felt like I knew Ash. I never felt close to him as a reader, so it was difficult for me to believe that Bronwyn got close to him.

--I don't think he ever really actively fucked up enough. To me, a lot of his issues were standard "I can't love" and otherwise he was fairly pleasant, if kind of quiet. This was a part of the greater issue, which is that Ash just didn't have a strong enough personality, especially compared to Bronwyn.

All in all, I wouldn't say the wards were really an issue in this book, though they do make amends with Ash rather quickly. It was really more of a problem with him, and if your hero isn't hitting I think the book can be difficult to stay interested in.

With all of that being said, I reiterate that Christina Britton is a talented writer, and I enjoyed the sex scenes in this book, and the atmosphere, and the general style of it. I'd totally read her again. But I don't know that Ash was the right hero for a reader like me

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some Dukes Have all the Luck tells the story of a marriage of convenience between the grumpy and closed of Ash Hawkins, Duke of Buckley, and Bronwyn Pickering, a bug scientist. He needs someone to take care of his 3 wards, she needs someone to get her away from her overbearing and mean parents. It is love at first sight for Ash, as much as he wants to deny it. Bronwyn falls in love with him as she gets to know the man who cares underneath a gruff exterior.
Being a first book in a series, there is a lot of exposition about the world and the island, and that seems to take away from developing Bronwyn's character beyond being a scientist. I wished there had been more moments of getting to know her and her feelings. In contrast, Ash is a more developed character with a lot of backstory and his motivations and intentions are clear. The heaviness of his trauma and her relentlessly bad parents made this a slightly heavier read than I had expected and made it harder to appreciate the lighter moments with the wards and with Bronwyn's friends.

This was my first book by Christina Britton. I enjoyed her writing style immensely, It was easy to read and get swept up in the story and the universe of the Synne Island. I look forward to reading about the other Synneful Spinsters.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a new author for me. I really enjoyed the story. This was well done and hope to read more from the author.