Abigail had devoted her life to serving the needs of her family. Being the youngest child it was her duty even though she missed out on her coming out season. She desires to stretch her wings and become a governess. Imagine the horror her family felt at her actually having a job. Becoming the governess for the man she once loved was just what she needed. He was always in London and never home. Her scorned heart cold rest easy as she became comfortable becoming a spinster. Her plans all changed when Max returns home and they finally find out answers that were asked for fifteen long years.

The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake
Subgenre: historical romance
Release date: 10 Jan 2019
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
Format: ebook and print
Length: 336 pages
RRP: US$7.99 (ebook); A$15.99 (print)
Lady Elise Desmond wants to marry the duke. And she will go to any lengths to achieve that aim.
Abigail Linton just wants a break. She is about to turn thirty years old and is still unmarried. She wants some freedom from family obligations. Being the youngest by many years, she cared for her parents before they died. She has cared for her siblings’ children, she just wants to experience something different. Abby has decided she wants to be a governess for the duke’s sister. Her family has many objections like how will they care for, or really control, their numerous children, and the other tasks around the village where they live. Abby is adamant, she will take on the role.
Maxwell Bryce, Duke of Rothwell, left Rothwell Court when he was sixteen years old. He has returned only once, when his father died. He is now back, with some hangers on, and a boxer who is competing in a match, and Max is training him. What he doesn’t expect is to find Abby as his sister’s governess. Abby, the girl he cared for fifteen years ago.
Naturally Abby and Max re-connect and during their discussions they discover letters they had written when they were fifteen and sixteen, respectively. They do talk about what may have been in the letters but there are other issues to overcome before their HEA. Abby also becomes the target of Lady Elise, who desperately wants the duke. So, there are many ways in which this manifests itself, culminating in Elise having herself banned from the duke’s presence.
One of the parts in the story I like has some similarities to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I have noted this a few times in some of the historical romances. It is the bungled marriage proposal. Our hero says something along the lines of ‘You have to marry me now,’ and she says no, which to the hero is totally unexpected. And yes, I do actually like this as I try and speculate as to where and how the second proposal will be done, and how he will actually convince his heroine to marry him.
A great read.
reviewed by Heather

An easy and enjoyable read. A second-chance love story although I think it fell just a little short in making the romance between the two characters more believable. I expected more build-up between the two characters as they hashed out their differences and explored their relationship further, but overall, it was still a solid read. Loved the witty banter and the characters!

Great love story that provides interesting twists and turns to keep you reading from the very beginning. Great way to spend a few hours relaxing with a good story.

Abby decides she needs to get our from under her family’s thumb so she takes a job as the governess of the Dukes younger sister. The two were childhood sweethearts but she’s under the impression that he will not be around since he hasn’t been home in years. He’s a notorious playboy and the last person she wants to see but she expects he won’t even remember her. The story was good the heroine strong but the hero wasn’t that likable to me. He redeemed himself more as the story came to a close. I received an ARC from Netgalley and my review is solely my own opinion.

This is the first book in a new series by Olivia Drake. Abigail and Max were childhood sweethearts until he went away 15 years earlier. There is some disagreement on who stopped writing to whom. She takes a position as a governess at a neighboring estate that just happens to belong to the Duke of Rothwell, Max. Since he isn’t there Abby decides to remain in the position. Of course he returns to his estate and finds her there. It’s a typical second chance romance with some conflict between the heroine and her family.

Truly enjoyed this book. entertaining plot, characters I actually liked, and a satisfying ending. looking forward to reading any future books in this series.

Aww this was a cute second chance historical romance. I really liked the characters and the way it all played out.

The Duke I Once Knew was a quick and easy read with a good supporting cast and a second chance at love romance.

Abigail Linton has spent her life taking care of her aging parents and her siblings’ children. Now that her parents have been gone for a year, Abigail is ready to finally have a life of her own. Against her siblings’ wishes, Abigail takes a governess position on a neighboring estate to care for a duke’s younger sister. Abigail is sure she’ll never see her employer, Maxwell Bryce Duke of Rothwell, as he never comes to the estate which is just fine with her considering the man broke her heart fifteen years ago. But when Max unexpectedly arrives, all those old feelings come back to the surface and Abigail will be forced to face the fact she never got over him.

Abby and Max’s relationship is initially full of misunderstandings and past resentments due to what happened between them fifteen years ago. They do clear up what happened back then pretty quickly which I was happy to see, but that doesn’t mean the resentments stop. Due to issues in his parents’ marriage, Max ended up in the camp that love is misery and is best avoided. This got old very quickly and I wanted to shake some sense into him at times. Unfortunately my issues with Max meant I didn’t love Abby and Max as a couple as I just couldn’t get past how much of a jerk he was 90% of the time. It appears that I am in the minority when it comes to Max though, so it may just be that he’s not the kind of hero I prefer in my romances.

Abby’s family were awful and they treated her more like a servant than a family member. And worse, none of them saw anything wrong with the ways they took advantage of her. There’s a scene in the book where Max calls them out for it and I was very happy to see someone give them a dressing down. Ultimately Abby does stand up to them near the end of the book, but she required quite a bit of prodding to do so and I wish she’d done it sooner. Max’s sister was fantastic and I enjoyed the bond she formed with Abby during the course of the book. Max’s friends that arrive at the estate with him were an interesting bunch to be sure. I really enjoyed the prize fighter that accompanied them and his adoration of small animals was delightful.

Despite my issues with Max, I did end up enjoying The Duke I Once Knew and I will be continuing on with the series.

Olivia Drake crafts a lovely version of historical romance that I really enjoy. This takes place "notinaballroom, which is fantastic...even while hinting at London Society ripples through the countryside even when you're not on an official outing to the country.
The H&h were delightful...both flawed characters but owned their flaws. The heroine was in a place many of us have found ourselves - caring for parents and caring for the next generation of huumans while trying to figure out who we want to be...and often finding ourselves in this place where after years of putting ourselves second we get confusinog from those we love when we finally put ourselves first.

A bit slow and missing the witty banter I usually prefer but a sweet, quick read with two likable leads who manage to not annoy even though if they would just sit and talk for five minutes, all would be solved.

After taking care of her parents, well into her spinster years, Abigail Linton knew that she wasn't going to sit on the sidelines of her family anymore, especially when they are organizing her life right in front of her, and I will admit as a reader I wanted to bust out and say something to those siblings, but thankfully, that’s when Abigail found her mettle and put her foot down, and took a position at the neighboring estate, as a governess, much to her families vocal disappointment.

But all did not go as smoothly as she had hoped, when Max the man that loved and left her, came home from London and was shocked and frankly condescending towards Abby! and even though they overcome issues of the past, forces of the present were determined to keep them apart.

The Duke I Once Knew is a cute little historical romance with a smattering of treachery involved, and even though I wasn't overly fond of any of the characters, the story as a whole was enjoyable. I certainly liked the angle of the older women (if you can call 30 old), finding her love and despite Abby's naivete, she was sensible and less dramatic as a younger character and I enjoyed that.

Olivia Drake is a new author to me and I found her writing style quite pleasant and smooth, until closer to the, when it felt very rushed, but I feel like that wouldn't stop me from picking up one of her books again.

Fantastic book, great for fans of the genre. If you are looking for a fan, quick read, then this is for you! Be prepared to swoon.

This is a new author to me and I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters and I liked the storyline.

I received a copy from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my own honest

We love historical romances, and The Duke I Once Knew has us so excited! This second chance romance is bound to sweep us off our feet! Take a look at the excerpt and add this one to 2019 reading list immediately!

Abby is a special young woman. She is the youngest child in her family – they were not expecting her birth but that did not make her less special in her parents eyes. When her parents fall ill and her siblings out of the house already, it is Abby that cares for her elderly parents. She sacrifices her season, her chance of finding a husband and her own family, in order to care for her parents. While this sounds so odd with her young age, in this time period she would have been viewed as off the shelf!

After the death of her parents, Abby yearns for more. She is tired of being the person her family relies on to care for everyone else, the children, care for their homes – she is sometimes treated more like a cherished staff member than a younger sibling at times! She loves her family and deals with this despite her obvious dislike of the treatment in order to prevent fighting. Against the wishes of her family, she takes the position of governess for the sister of her one true love.

Abby had fallen in love with Max in their teen years and both made promises of marriage and ever lasting love. When he is sent away, they make promises that this departure will not affect their relationship but unfortunately it did. Neither Abby nor Max receive correspondence from each other and this turns their hearts cold to any future love or relationship. Max becomes a non-believer in love and vows to not settle down in any complicated relationship.

When they meet up again, there is years of anger, hurt and disappointment. They argue, lash out and are stubborn to listen to the others side of the story. While you want them to work out their differences, you can also understand why they would be so full of hurt. Their story is one of betrayal, lies and deceit by the people who should have loved them the most.

This is a beautiful story of hope and forgiveness, you keep rooting for Abby and Max throughout the story. You want these two individuals who have hurt long enough, to find happiness and peace (and hopefully together!). A great historical romance read from start to finish.

Loved this book. Finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down. Was he really that terrible? Will she get answers? I wanted to know more.

If you’re a fan of Olivia Drake, or if you’re just looking for a good book to while away a quiet afternoon, you can’t go wrong picking up The Duke I Once Knew. As the first book in the new Unlikely Duchesses series, it’s easy to jump into, and the reunited lovers theme is a classic romance plot well executed here.

Abigail Linton is a step above Cinderella when the book opens. The good news is she’s genuinely loved by her family, and is never asked to clean out the hearth. The bad news is that every one of her siblings seems to enjoy her presence mainly because it makes their lives easier. As the youngest child and a spinster to boot, Abby was the obvious choice for taking care of their parents in old age, and now that they’ve both passed, her older siblings get to fight over whose household will acquire a nursemaid/chaperone/companion.

After listening to the debate and not hearing a single person ask what Abby would like to do, the poor girl decides she’s going to claim a life for herself. Although it’s not financially necessary, Abby announces that she intends to apply for the position of governess to the Duke of Rothwell’s sister, who is their neighbor. She’ll return to the family eventually but needs a breath of fresh air and independence at the moment. Although they clearly don’t understand the impulse, Abby’s siblings eventually, begrudgingly, wish her well.

What none of them realize is that Abby has a history with Maxwell Bryce, the current duke. When they were fifteen, they spent a summer falling in love, meeting in a secret glade and exchanging confidences. When his mother died and Max was forced to leave for London, Abby wrote him constantly. But no letter ever came back, nor did Max himself return to the countryside, so after a time Abby resigned herself to a broken heart. That feels like ancient history as Abby applies to be governess of his sister Gwendolyn, but all the same she’s glad Max has no plans to come out to visit.

Wouldn’t you know, Max does choose this as the first time to return to Rothwell Court in fifteen years, and he’s shocked to find his old sweetheart working there. His first encounters with Abby are fraught with awkwardness and some long-ignored anger and hurt on both their parts, as Max also wrote to Abby and never heard back. Fortunately, Ms. Drake doesn’t drag out the Big Misunderstanding too long. It only takes a few encounters with each other when a stray comment has the pair realizing Max’s father interfered with their budding romance, stopping the flow of letters and thus sending their lives down completely altered paths.

Abby and Max straddle the line between eagerness and hesitancy in the wake of this realization. While there’s a part of each of them that simply wants to return to their previous closeness, they also recognize that significant time has passed. They’ve both changed, and they need time to learn each other anew. I particularly appreciated the way Ms. Drake maintained that feeling of excitement without allowing the pair to rush into a relationship prematurely. It made for a distinct contrast with the impetuousness of their younger selves.

As the story develops, Abby in particular comes into her own, learning to stand up to her family more regularly and make a habit of pursuing her goals. I particularly liked that, while Max is able to recognize her problems (it only takes one encounter for him to understand how her siblings take advantage of her), he acts as a support to Abby rather than her savior. When she truly stands up to her family, as in the beginning, it’s on her own.

In sum, you should read The Duke I Once Knew. It has drama, but not excessively. It has main characters falling in love, but also finding their independence. And it manages to capture just a dash of that magical-true-love feeling I like to see in a good romance novel.

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I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Duke I Once Knew from St Martin’s Press and Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of The Duke I Once Knew by Oliva Drake. This was published on 31st December 2018

This was an adorable romance done by the queen of historical romance Oliva Drake. I loved the tale of Abby & Max. If you have not yet picked up an Oliva Drake novel, I highly recommend that you do.

If you love historical romance then you will love this story.

The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake.
A Spectacular 5 Star Read! This is the first novel I’ve read by this author and I have to say, I’m an INSTANT FAN! I LOVED this book! The writing is flawless, witty, and exciting. I was hooked with the perfect amount of descriptive nuance that brought this novel and its complex characters to life. I loved the relatable characters and the intensity of a well thought out plot with twist and surprises that kept me reading until the end!
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a GREAT historical romance of lost loves and a chance at healing. This is one of the best books I’ve read and I will put on my “great books to reread” list. I’m looking forward to more great reads from this author!
This book has some delightful 3.5 flame romantic scenes.