Spinster Fredericka is desperate to keep her deceased sister's three kids. Her cousin is threatening to take them away and the court will favour her cousin because she is married and owns a home. Wyatt receives news that his grandmother has a stipulation in her will that if he isn’t married by the end of the week he will lose his inheritance and family home. Wyatt hears of Fredericka’s situation and believes a partnership could be mutually beneficial but neither expects to actually fall in love.

The romance was really the thing that sealed the deal here for me in terms of this being a great book. Their interactions were palpable, the dialogue was fun and it didn’t feel repetitive. It was a closed door romance though.

Individually the characters were slightly less likable but only because they were so set and determined with respect to their individual goals that sometimes they couldn’t see what they were doing was more hindering than helping.

The resolution towards the end of the novel was rushed and frankly unbelievable. I thought there would be a little more justice in the outcome and it read a little too forcefully in providing happily ever afters for everyone to me. It also was a little too forceful in terms of Wyatt forcing a situation on Frederica that I don’t exactly believe was desired or realistic either.

It wasn’t perfect but it definitely had aspects of it working for it. Yours Truly, the Duke is my first novel by this author and it certainly won’t be my last.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one! Marriage of convenience has always been one of my favorite tropes and this was no exception. I do have doubts as to the stability of Wyatt and Fredricka's relationship, but it was very entertaining through the course of the book. I do wish we'd gotten to see more of them as a cooperating and confessed couple, but even before they confessed, they were adorable. As for the kids, I loved them. They were a great way of softening Wyatt up and providing a catalyst for the main couple. I really enjoyed this, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for the rest of the series!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Frederica and Wyatt who is a Duke agree to get married for different reasons. This marriage of convenience is changing both their lives in many ways. I liked the chemistry between them.

Such a fun historical romance. The banter between the main characters as well as the side characters (the dukes' friends) made it so enjoyable. Things are not always as they seem. The character's learning who each other really are, not what is written about them or their preconceived notions of each other made the story so much fun. A marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes and this book definitely delivered. Past experiences/ trauma diffidently made it trying for the main characters to navigate through this arranged marriage, it made for a satisfying happily ever after ending. The poems at the beginning of the chapters was a nice touch that added to my enjoyment of the story I can't wait to continue with this trilogy.

2.5/5 stars! This is the first entry in the new new 'Say I Do' series by author Amelia Grey. I wasn't sure about the premise of this story. It didn't sound super authentic for the time period. But I wanted to give it a chance since I do long a good fake romance trope. There was some validity to the story and I enjoyed the overall storyline. But the characters had no chemistry and both reacted shallowly throughout the tale. Overall, it was nothing more than average.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

There’s instalove and there’s the complete and total opposite.

In my reading, I saw no connection between Wyatt and Fredericka, until about 70% of the way in and even then it was minimal without significant chemistry between the two MC’s. .

Even at 90%, there’s zero communication between the two. If there’s a line in romance novels between just the right amount of back and forth miscommunication and too much, this stamped down the existing line, and drew a new one that has brought me to the 90% read point and, please believe me when I write that this lack of communication has caused me to switch what I was reading more than once because I shook my head in frustration at this more times than I can count.

Not only the miscommunication - I didn’t care about either of the main characters (Fredericka was annoying as the day is long, and Wyatt was utterly useless). The story was well written, but I found it to be too repetitive.

The frustrating part was that I kept wanting to like this; the potential was really there,




Thank you to St. Martin’s Paperbacks and NetGalley for the DRC.

You know that feeling when you simply hate poetry so much that you must get married THIS WEEK to prevent your grandmother's fortune from going to the London Poetry Society?

The Duke of Wyatthaven (Wyatt) has to get married by Friday if he wants to receive his inheritance from his grandmother and prevent it from contributing to the worst possible cause: poetry. He's in luck because Fredericka also needs a husband to prevent her three young wards from being taken away from her. They enter into an amicable marriage of convenience and agree to the following terms: Wyatt will help with Fredericka's custody issues, and they will continue to live separate lives until he is ready to produce an heir many years in the future. That is until everything goes wrong and Fredericka and the children have to move in with the duke in London.

This was really cute and I really love a marriage of convenience. Children in romance novels can generally be hit or miss for me, but the children and specifically their interactions with the duke were really sweet, and I appreciated the different ways they all were dealing with the grief of losing their parents. However, when was anyone going to tell Wyatt that having attended boarding school doesn't actually make you an expert on child rearing? Like, he was mostly right, but the number of times that he was like "actually, I know all about this because I attended ETON, if you weren't aware" was through the roof.

Overall I did like this, but some of it didn't quite work for me because the romance was on the back burner for a lot of the book while they dealt with/argued about the custody battle. I would recommend this if you really like complicated family dynamics, or if you're very into the concept of a rakish duke having sweet interactions with his precocious surrogate children.

It was an enjoyable book. Elise, Charles and Bella were my favorites!
Thanks to NetGalley for the book.
The Duke had a foot-mouth combination and Fredericka was ready to judge him at every opportunity.
They had a marriage of convenience, this is a recycled theme but the author added the children and they saved the day. It was well written, adequately paced with a happy ending. No sex scenes, just implied marital consummation.
The character of the cousin , Jane, made me want to strangle her. She was the “villain “ but the writer tried to redeem her, I found this part too much.
She wanted the children and made Fredericka’s life pure hell. During the whole book, she was a conniving person then at the end, she was still hateful but kept the poems, sorry I don’t buy it.

Yours Truly, The Duke is an excellent historical romance by Amelia Grey. Ms. Grey has delivered a well-written book furnished with a cast of characters that is second to none. Wyatt learns he only has days before he must be wed to keep his grandmother's inheritance. Fredericka is trying to raise her sister's children in the way she would approve of, but now her cousin is going to attempt to take them from her. She is hoping to marry quickly to have a better chance of keeping the children with her. Wyatt and Fredericka's story is packed with drama, humor, spice, action and suspense. I loved this book and look forward to my next book by Amelia Grey. Yours Truly, The Duke is book 1 of the Say I Do Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliffhanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The opening of this book knocked me out, I loved the guys all sitting around writing this letter (with a great intro to each guy, who will, I'm sure, get his own book - I always love these scenes!) and then he scraps it and kind of tries to "alpha" his way through their meet cute. The description of Wyatt through all the initial meeting is just delicious and I was GIDDY with how this was going to unfold. Ms. Grey's way of describing physical expressions and movements put me right in the scene with the two of them.

Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt - I wanted so much to love him, but he's immature and obsessed with his little gaming society. It feels like he's a good guy trapped in a jerk's body and continually trying to fight his own urges and it gets annoying after awhile. At first, I thought I would love that he was so lighthearted and easygoing with the kids, but then he uses it as a cudgel against Fredericka, the nerve. Then there's the small issue with him having a mistress and not really bothering to break up with her which, while might be historically accurate, kinda makes the romance feel less romantic. Fredericka deserved better and once I decided he wasn't up to snuff, it was hard for me to get back into the romance.

This is a slow sloww burn, and while I did enjoy their kissing scenes a lot, the "he's a rascally rake and she's a cold prude" fell a little flat. I wanted fire to go with all that early smoke.

This is my first Amelia Grey and while I do love her writing style and ways of writing characters that make me feel like I'm RIGHT THERE, I feel like this one didn't hit the mark for me as far as the love affair was concerned.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really liked the premise and was excited to see how the story unfolded. The opening scene with his friends and drafting the letter was really cute. There was definitely potential for growth and romance between the characters since it started with a good deal of tension that would have allowed the characters to evolve and come closer, but after a certain point it became clear that the characters were poor communicators. At least Wyatt typically tried to rectify situations where he misspoke, but Fredericka was quick to assume the worst and blame him.

There was potential for good chemistry between the two, but it seemed like a ton of buildup and slow burn (which I love!) for little payoff. This part is entirely personal preference, but the characters lusted after each other the whole book for a very perfunctory “fade to black” scene. There’s nothing wrong with that, and some readers definitely prefer it. For what it was, it was definitely well-written and sweet.

I really enjoy books with kids because you get to see a different side of the characters than you wouldn’t see in any other romance. These kids were adorable and fun to read. However, the main characters’ interactions with/about the kids were more frustrating than anything. Fredericka was overly strict with the children and won’t let them act like kids (and the reason why was never really clear/didn’t make sense to me). Wyatt disagreed with this (very fair) but tended to overstep and do whatever he wanted with the kids, despite how he knew Fredericka wanted to raise them.

Jane was a hate-able villain and good source of tension. However, Wyatt’s attempt at forcing a reconciliation didn’t make sense. Jane was consistently horrible to his wife, and there was no real reason for Fredericka to forgive her.

Overall, there were parts of this book I loved and parts that fell flat for me.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I normally love a marriage of convenience and I thought this would be an easy five star.

But then the first chapter was rough. I get the drunk ramblings, but I really had to push. And then let's talk about the plot. None of it fit. Why did the Duke need to get married? He could make money without the inheritance. Why was Fredricka so... extra? What was up with her and Jane? It felt so juvenile and off.

I couldn't get into it. I forced myself through it, but it's just not the book meant for me. Hoping for better in the next book.

Yours Truly, The Duke is the first book in Amelia Grey's new historical romance series, Say I Do. Amelia Grey is one of my favourite historical romance authors so I was very happy to see this start of a new series, and I wasn't disappointed.

Fredericka has been taking care of her sister's orphaned children since the tragic death of their parents after they fell victim to a fatal case of food poisoning. After a year of caring for the children, Fredericka's cousin, Jane, decides that she and her husband should be guardians to the children and decide to challenge Fredericka's guardianship. Fredericka is in need of a husband, fast, because in that time period no court would allow a young unmarried woman to raise children on her own.

Wyatt, the Duke of Wyatthaven, needs to marry quickly in order to prevent the inheritance he should be getting from his grandmother from going to a less than worth charity. When he hears of Fredericka's plight, he immediately thinks she is the solution to his problem and proceeds to propose a marriage of convenience. Fredericka agrees, and within the week they are married, and the fun begins!

It's probably no surprise that the children are able to find trouble wherever they go, as children do. And of course Jane uses this against Fredericka at every turn. There is one truly heartbreaking scene in the book that had me in tears.

I really enjoyed the interactions between Wyatt and the children. Who doesn't love a hero who loves children and one who sometimes encourages them to misbehave just a little? I also enjoyed the duke's friends, Hurst and Rick, I do hope they get their own stories.

Fredericka and Wyatt had the most issues to overcome. Fredericka seemed a bit too serious (understandable given what she was going through, and given her past) and Wyatt was at the other end of the spectrum and a bit too relaxed, both had stubborn streaks, and neither of hem were spectacular about communicating with each other, so of course they were going to have clashes.

Fredericka and Wyatt were eventually able to overcome their fears, and preconceived ideas about each other and marriage, and with the children, were able to come together as a family.

I did have one minor issue and that was the timing of the marriage and the reading of the banns. They mentioned several times in the book that the banns were read prior to their marriage, but Wyatt proposed just days before they were married. The references I consulted indicated that in that period, the banns had to be read for 3 consecutive weeks prior to the wedding. Unless I misinterpreted the duke's comments when he proposed to Fredericka, there would not have been time for the reading of the banns before their wedding, and there was no mention of the duke getting a special license.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A completely enjoyable read!
Fredericka has become guardian of her deceased sister's children, and is in need of a husband to keep the authorities from taking the children from her and giving them to her cousin. Wyatt was determined to stay single much longer, but a clause in his grandmother's will leaves him with only a few days to marry. Fredericka and Wyatt make a "business" arrangement so each of their needs are met. But somewhere along the line sparks ignite between the two, and the lines between their original agreement get blurry.
I loved the characters, Fredericka was feisty and protective and Wyatt was nothing like an entitled Duke. Great start to a new series. Looking forward tot he next book.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t understand how anyone was able to get through this book unscathed, which is why I couldn’t force myself to finish it. The villain was Extra and the FMC wasn’t exactly likable. I love a slow burn but not when the culmination of their chemistry is glossed over and thrown aside like stale bread. I really liked the premise and typically love a marriage of convenience with kids thrown in the mix, but this was not it.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance reader copy via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

I usually love a marriage of convenience story, but this one was hard for me to get through. I was frustrated with both characters and didn’t really see any chemistry on the page. They misunderstood each other constantly—I’m not sure how many times they had some variation of “you misunderstand everything I say!” “Well maybe that’s because you’re always saying the wrong thing!”

I think maybe their arguments were supposed to illustrate how ~passionate~ they are, but I just wasn’t sold. I thought maybe it would pay off with some steam at the end, but that was a letdown too.

Even at the end of the book, Fredericka is still failing to communicate, basically just stomping around and not even telling Wyatt what has happened because “everything is ruined and there’s no way to fix it so I’m leaving” (my paraphrase). Just no character development at all for either of them.

The whole conflict with Jane was tedious. The backstory for Fredericka and Wyatt seemed kind of thrown together and didn’t actually make me sympathize with either of them—you’re a grown man, you really can’t have a poem in your house? And you’re a grown woman who can’t understand why teens would’ve been annoyed to have a little sister following them around?

Also a little inconsistency: Fredericka’s eyes were described as golden brown but then in the pillow fort scene they were described as blue, and boy did that yank me out of the story so fast.

This book was a bit tedious to read and missed the mark for me. Usually, I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to historical romance, but this book was a drag and took me a week to get through when it generally only takes a couple of days. Wyatt and Fredricka didn't have much chemistry and honestly, I don't see when they would have time to develop it considering that they were always either with the kids or Wyatt was off with his friends. It wasn't believable when they fell in love because they barely knew each other, at no point did they communicate or get to know each other, they just thought the other was hot. Also, I could not stand the miscommunication between them, they were truly the worst when it came to over and underreacting. I cannot believe how Wyatt didn't why Fredricka was so strict with the kids when she had so much to lose by not being so, he completely compromised her custody of the children. And Fredricka was so narrow-sighted, she never once thought to hear him out, she was constantly jumping to conclusions and jumping down his throat. I just can't. They were too annoying, every time they had an obstacle or challenge it went back to their childhood trauma, which wasn't even that serious tbh. They were both shallow, surface-level characters. Their inner monologue was way too wordy and boring and made reading the book a chore. Don't even get me started on Jane, she was a terrible character and her redemption arc was weak af. None of their actual problems beyond the custody of the children was ever resolved either.

Rating: 1.5/5
Spice: 1/5

What to expect:
- Duel pov
- Fade to black
- Historical romance
- Miscommunication
- Marriage of convenience
- Custody battle

I’m all for learning about characters’ history and why they are the way that they are. And you can’t forget about character growth. I love that stuff. However, there might’ve been a little bit too much of the author explaining why Fredericka and Wyatt were acting the way that they were. Whenever they were a bad example/person to another, their excuses were always the same. Fredericka was called a nuisance when she was a child and Wyatt’s father always told him that a wife is too demanding. I’m telling you that whenever anything went wrong, these two things were always brought up. It was actually really annoying because it was almost every single chapter.

Sorry for that rant.

I also thought that Fredericka was somewhat annoying. She took everything to heart and never stuck around for an explanation of what was actually happening in that specific situation. She was very whiny.

Those were my two issues with this book. The plot was good and I love the marriage of convenience trope. It’s not a must-read but I wouldn’t deter you from reading it either.

The premise of the book is great, both MC's need to marry in a hurry. This book could be described as slow burn, I mean sloooooooow burn. There is so much time spent apart and then doing things with the children I just could not understand how 2 adults found time to actually fall in love. The writing was fine but the story was a slog to get through.

What can I say? I feel like maybe HR is a genre especially susceptible to reader/main character "vibe". This one wasn't a match for me, although Wyatt wasn't so far off the mark that I disliked him. Fredericka, on the other hand, just wasn't a good read for me.
So how to rate this book when it wasn't my cup of tea? Well, I can absolutely see where this would be delightful for a reader who connects with both main characters! The plot moves along at a decent pace and the side characters are effective. I thought the writing really settled into a good groove around Chapter 6 and that carried through the rest of the novel (it felt like an over-exertion to establish all the basics - she needs to marry, she is attracted to him, he needs to marry, he is attracted to her - in the first 5 chapters). I guess I settle on a 2.5 rounded up to 3. It wasn't poorly written, I just didn't connect with it. So I split it down the middle and let other readers make up their own minds.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.