Although this is a sad and somewhat emotional romance, it does have a triumphant conclusion. Both Lady Sophia and Lord Henry have lost their parents at an early age, and both live with the emotional scars of the past. Henry vows to walk in his father's footsteps, taking care of his estates and responsibilities, including his mother who has lost her will to live after his father's tragic death. Fia, on the other hand, has been left in a horrifying situation where a greedy and vicious cousin not only takes everything that is dear to her but also relegates her to a place of servitude. All that changes on the day when Fia and Henry's paths cross and it becomes a time of new beginnings for both of them. The attraction between Henry and Fia is strong, but they needed every bit of help from their friends for their relationship to grow. The novel comes to a good conclusion with justice, healing, and restoration. I received a copy of this well-written story as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Lord Henry Vaughn witnesses the deaths of his father and grandfather and becomes the new Duke of Linberry. A decent, kind, and responsible man, Henry knows after this double tragedy that it is important he take a wife and provide a ducal heir, it mat also help his mother through her grief. Lady Sophia Sawyer loses both her parents closely together and mourns them the requisite year. When her cousin Theo, the new Lord Parkhurst, calls her to London, she believes it is so she might make her delayed come-out. Instead, Fia is banished to live in the attic like a servant, while Parkhurst schedules her to give music lessons to children of the ton, keeping the fees for himself. The couple meets through mutual friends and the duke is drawn to the quiet, golden-haired beauty.
The second book in the series & whilst it’s easily read on its own, Daniel & Margaret from the first book do feature heavily. Another beautifully written, tender romance. The characters have depth & are well portrayed. I loved both Henry & Fia, attracted to each other from their first meeting, their feelings only deepen the more time they spend together. As they are falling in love they each have doubts, Henry about having an unconventional bride & Fia because she feels unworthy. The road to their HEA isn’t easy but it makes for an engrossing read
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This is a book is part of a series, but it was a good stand alone story.
This review may contain spoilers.
The heroine is a 24 year old musical genious. She is was born a lady. She has loved and taught herself numerous instruments and even composes music. But this heroine has had a horrific life. She was the darling only child of a loving earl and countess. When she was six, her father's heir, her cousin two years older came to live with her family. Her cousin choked her, grabbed her braid when she was trying to get away,
and threatened to pull all her hair out. Then, he threw her down the stairs and threatened to kill her parents in their sleep if she told on him. The fall caused her to break her knee and leg and she suffered from pain into adulthood. Her parents passed away when she was seventeen and after her year of mourning, her cousin called her to London. He listened to her music and then put her in an attic room with no windows. He set up music lessons and she taught 6 days a week, over 8 hours a day. His secretary set up the schedule. Her cousin negotiated the pay and kept it all. She was given a small amount of pin money, not even enough for a dress. This went on for seven years. She had just had a reprieve from her cousin by being contracted to teach 2 children in the country. The couple who contracted her to the country were Lord and Lady Capwell. They treated her like the lady she was. She was introduced to the Dowager Duchess of Westfield and that changed her life. She has been so down trodden and abused by her cousin, she did not have any confidence. But the dowager duchess helped her.
The hero is a man of a similar age to the heroine, between 26 and 28. The story says he is six or seven years younger than the Duke of Westfield, the hero of a previous story, but I forgot his actual age. The duke recently married a lady who painted portraits for a living. The hero was envious of their relationship and was looking for a bride of his own. But he did not want to love her. His father had died in a tragic accident and his mother was so grief-stricken, she was melancholy. The hero had brought her to London to try and get her medical help and get her involved with something, anything. The hero meets the heroine through the dowager duchess.
I enjoyed this story and what I remember of the series. The heroines are all women who have to work in some capacity in order to survive. They are painters and musicians and adult governesses. They either give lessons or produce something for pay. They try to be independent, but they all meet a partner who loves them for not being a docile debutante. And they are all older than 18. I like the heroes also. They are all powerful men who have a decent side. The villains are all pretty evil and deserve what they get.
There are sensuous scenes in the books, but it is not explicit or exploitive.
In this book I found 2 areas where the author did not remember the correct color of a horse and did not remember hair pin versus hat pin, which are two completely different items. But this is minor compared to some stories.
I enjoyed the cadence of this story, it grabbed me and held me to the end. This is an enjoyable, easy to read story for anytime. It would be great to read by the pool or on the beach. I give this book 5 stars and recommend reading.

Fia lost her parents and now works under the overbearing guidance of her cousin in giving music lessons while he keeps the money. She is amazingly talented, playing multiple instruments and writing her own music.
Henry the Duke has been worried about his own mother who wallows in grief after the the tragic death of her husband. Henry slowly comes to appreciate the music and warmth displayed by Fia to his mother. As they are falling in love, there are questions about suitability and scandal. Henry is determined to overcome these obstacles but can Fia be convinced marriage is the right thing?

A tale of cruelty and abuse and how she overcame it. Music is her refuge and salvation until she met the duchesses and dukes who would fight for her escape. She has courage and inner steel while he protects and supports her wholeheartedly. An enjoyable read about people who will do the right thing despite the world being full of cruelty..

I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

"Music for the Duke" is sadly one of my least favorite Alexa Aston books. I could not connect with either of the main characters and much preferred the glimpses of Daniel and Margaret from the previous book in this series. FMC Sophia "Fia" Sawyer struck me as a little bit of a doormat, allowing others (including Margaret) to simply roll over her for pretty much all of the book. MMC Henry, Duke of Linberry, decides she will be his bride without ever really getting to know her, seeming to fall for her because he thinks she needs him to help rescue her. Which to be fair, she does. But it annoyed me to see him ignoring Fia's words over and over as she told him again and again she didn't want to marry him. Yes, it is a romance novel and we all know where it is going to end, but even pretend deference would have been nice. The writing felt stilted and the book too long. I will still read Ms. Aston and have indeed enjoyed much of her back catalog but this one was a miss for me.

2 stars. Thank you to Dragonblade and NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

I actually cried a little at how horrible Fia is treated by her cousin for so many years in silence. The right person comes along at the right time to give her the strength to do something about it and leave his household. Henry is right there to tell her how strong and beautiful that she is every time that she needs to hear it. I enjoyed reading Music For the Duke, so much that I had a hard time putting it down.

I'm sorry, but I had to DNF this one. The writing is just not my style at all. It feels so stiff and forced, just does not flow well at all. The prologue is terrible. I can't immerse myself in the story when it feels like I'm reading a dry textbook or something, and that's the feel I got from this. Hopefully others will enjoy it but I unfortunately did not.

Music, Dukes, Bow Street Runner, Lovely Romance:
A sad and terrifying beginning to this incredibly good up and down emotional story.
Fiona didn't have much to look forward to after her parent's death. Her insufferable cousin is now heir, and she is under his control; or is she?
The story is built around Fia's music and her determination which soon turns into a wonderfully delightful romance after she meets the Dowager Duchess who is a wonderful character throughout the entire series. You gotta love this no-nonsense woman who adds so much to the story along with reuniting with Margaret and Daniel from the previous book.
Henry is a stoic man who falls in love with Fia and is determined to make her his duchess.
A first kiss had my heart thumping, I shed a few tears, and I wanted to shake Fia many times to bring some sense into her thinking.
A scary confrontation, that I wasn't expecting brings forth an exciting and happy ending.
I have enjoyed this series and I look forward to Polishing the Duke! That sounds interesting. Not sure what it's about?
This can be read as a standalone story.

Lord Henry Vaughn, the Duke of Linberry, has been trying to coax his mother out of her melancholy ever since the former duke's death, but he's not having any luck. That is, until he meets a musically talented young lady, Lady Sophia. He asks if she would be willing to reintroduce his mother to the pianoforte again, and Sophia (Fia) is happy to help. Fia has problems of her own. Her cousin and guardian Parkhurst has been forcing her to give music lessons to peer children and keeping all the fees for himself. He has been torturing Fia since they were children, and he's not about to let her out from under his thumb. When Fia meets Linberry, she's enamored of the handsome duke, but knows that she can never entertain the idea that he would feel the same. For now, she only wants to escape Parkhurst's vicious temper.

This was another enjoyable romance from Ms. Aston. I loved Fia and was so impressed by her musical skill and her desire to support herself with her music. That was a nice surprise from the usual regency plot lines. Henry was an honorable gentleman, but I wished there had been more interaction between them before Henry declared his love for her. That seemed a little rushed. I also love seeing characters from the first book and definitely liked what happened to Parkhurst in the end. I'm sure we'll be seeing a story about the bow street runner from the story at some point. She was a hoot! I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

So you guys know I really liked the first book in this series. This one is a lot like that one, and the best thing is the Dowager Duchess. I loved her in Portrait of the Duke and she's BACK! That woman steals EVERY SINGLE SCENE. We also see Daniel and Margaret again, including baby Norrie. We get an introduction to a new character that I know will get her own HEA eventually, Shelby Slade, who is clearly a baddie. YES!

But yeah, meet Henry (he was Viscount North, who danced with Margaret in the first book), who is now a Duke because of some horrendous circumstances. Oh man, I hurt for that guy. And Sophia, Fia, whose cousin rivals Margaret's sister for most hated character (Dolley still wins, btw). She's a lady being treated as a servant, forced to give music lessons to the children of the Ton. But Gran to the rescue! She meets her at a client's house and introduces her to grandson Daniel and g-in-law Margaret and Fia's life will change. And so will Henry's.

Fun book. The characters were 3D, which was nice. Previous characters were a welcome addition and fit well into the narrative--it makes sense that Margaret would want to help others who have been in similar circumstances as hers. Low on the spice, which is a bit odd for Dragonblade, which I always know will provide the good heat, but that didn't make me mark anything off. They got together in their own time and in a manner fitting their characters. Solid 4-1/4 read. This series will be a fave.

I have always enjoyed reading historical romance stories from Alexa Ashton since I discovered her around 12 months ago. All her stories are beautifully written, full of love, romance and tenderness with a touch of steam which enhances each story quite beautifully and this one I have to say is one of my favourites.

Henry is still recovering from the death of his father and grandfather while Fia after losing both her parents was then dragged into a life of servitude. Henry has an idea of what he is looking for in a wife but once he met Fia who lived and breathed music, all his assumptions disappeared.

I loved the way Daniel and Margaret had a big part in their love story and how it gave you an insight into how their lives have continued from the first book in the series.

Can’t wait for the next in the series!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Alexa has written beautiful and wonderfully romantic story. Her stories hit the right spots in your heart. Fia is such an endearing character who overcomes adversity and even stands up to her horrible cousin. I was cheering for her. Henry and Fia’s love story is full of passion for music and for each other. Such a delightful read. Another winner from Alexa.

Music for the Duke is a super sweet story! I'm a fan of Alexa Aston books, especially the beginning of series. Music for the Duke is the second in her Unexpected Duke series.
Fia is the daughter of an earl, and when her father dies, her awful, abusive cousin inherits pretty much everything. He forces her to become a music teacher and has her living in an attic. It is at a lesson that she meets a dowager duchess, Daniel from the first book's grandmother. The dowager is Fia's fairy godmother, introducing her to her painter daughter-in-law and her duke son, who help her escape her home with the abusive earl. She comes out of her shell a bit there, and meets Daniel's friend Henry.
Henry is absolutely lovely, and unexpectedly inherited his title when his grandfather (with what I think was dementia) accidentally caused Henry's father to fall off a ledge with him. His mother is devastated, and still in deep depression over a year later. Henry begins to spend time with Fia, and falls in love with her when she helps bring his mother out of her depression through re-introducing her love to music.
I'm usually not a fan of Cinderella-type themes, but I loved Henry and I loved the dowager in the first book and loved her again! Henry was so patient, kind and a problem-solver! I thought Fia was a sweet heroine, but her stubbornness did annoy me a bit.
One qualm I had with this book is that it is a bit repetitive in dialogue in spots, but I just glossed over those conversations and it's just a few lines. I really liked this book, and can't wait to read the next in this series!
I received Music for the Duke as an ARC for my honest opinion. This was a good book that I enjoyed reading!

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Suddenly a Duke series. Tragic prologue for Fia where she’s a six-year old girl being tormented by her cousin and heir to her father’s earldom. Many years later, we see a shocking and tragic demise of Henry’s grandfather and father within the same day, making him a duke. A year after that, they both somehow make friends with the now-married duke and duchess from Book 1 of the series, who assist in getting Fia out of her cousin’s house and assist Henry in wooing the girl. Fia was treated horribly by her cousin after her parents’ deaths, first by refusing her debut into society, then by moving her into the attic like a servant, and farming her out for music lessons where he collects the fees and she sees none of it. It’s a rough life for Fia, and when we think she’ll appreciate being courted by a duke, she’s fearful of scandal and would rather live independently and rely on her skills as a musician to survive. It’s a pretty short read with only a tiny bit of angst. But there are way too many dukes and duchesses floating around here, so it can be hard to keep up with who’s being referenced at any given moment. Still a perfectly pleasant read.

This was such a lovely story. I loved the passion Fia had for music. It takes a talented writer to have that passion pour from the pages as if Fia was indeed a real person. Henry was also a well-written character as was the side characters in this book. It was nice having the characters from book one appear in this book as well. This book can be read alone, but I do recommend book one. I am ready for book three.

I received this book from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for an honest review.

Fia is a young Lady who has lost both her parents and now living at her home as a servant because her cousin who became Earl make her give music lessons to the children of the ton and he keeps the money for himself . In one of her lessons Fia meets the Dowager Duchess of Westfield and she invites her to take a tea together . She meets Margaret and she reveals the truth about her life . When the Duke of Westfield arrives with the Duke of Linberry they all try to find a solution to help her . Herny is intrigued with Fia not only by her beauty but her music talent . He even asks her to came help his mother which still grieving her husband loss . Fia's dream is to play music for others and she compose her own music . When Henry tells her about his feelings she doesn't feel she is his equal . Will he be able to make her be his Duchess ? A Duchess which will play and compose her own music ? I am looking for the third book of the series .
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own .

Sophia, a very talented musician, is kept out of society by her guardian who instead has her giving music lessons which he collects the money for. Treated like a servant, Sophia vows to get free of her guardian’s clutches. Henry, a duke, needs to marry and have heirs. He is attracted to, and admires Sophia but feels that his future duchess can not be someone who is a music teacher who is not comfortable in society. Sophia wants to be free of any man controlling her life. Can they resolve these issues between them? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

I LOVE a good romance thrown into the mix and this series is AWESOME. I read this book within one afternoon and absolutely loved it. I am totally drawn into this series and cannot wait to read the rest!!!!