I was given an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

This was such a sweet story, a pleasure of a romance-made me so happy on a cold gloomy day.
One of her best

First time read by Olivia Drake. The “Duke I Once Knew” was a very nice read that had me turning pages at certain parts of the story. The pacing of the story was very good, and I thought the HEA could have been done a bit better than what was presented in the story. I did feel that the author rushed the ending a bit to get there but I was glad to see the MC’s finding that they still loved one another.

Abigail “Abby” Linton, approaching her 30th birthday is finding herself slowly becoming the spinster that her family see her as and this was due to devoting herself to care for her parents (now recently deceased) with no assistance from her much older siblings. Yet she also has dedicated her life to assisting her older siblings with their housekeeping, children and other things because they see her as nothing more than a pawn to do their bidding. Because of their own shellfish needs, Abby has never had the life that she should have had when she was younger, but they could care less. She finds herself at the family estate having to listen to her bickering siblings try to determine where Abby should live and why her services to them is needed the most. Unfortunate for them, she decides to try to find her own way in life and takes on the position of governess to the sister of an absent Duke…Maxwell Bryce, her first love in the estate neighboring her family.

Maxwell Bryce, now the Duke of Rothwell, at age 15 years found friendship, romance with promises towards Abby when they use to meet by the lake to discuss everything. They secretly pledged devotion and love towards one another each time they met. However, on the day of his mother’s funeral, his father decides to take him and his infant sister to London. Max finding comfort in Abby’s arms was seeking more from her that day, but she never relented her virginity to him. He went away angry, hurt and in the process caused her emotional heartbreak. To patch things between them, they sent several letters but neither receive them. Believing that Abby did not care anymore for him, Max remained in London which accumulated to a 15-year absence from his estate.

After getting comfortable in her role as governess, Abby is surprised to see Max back at his estate and with what she believes is his now mistress. For Max, after seeing Abby he finds himself not wanting to leave his estate ever again. One problem, he must find a way to get rid of the want-to-be Duchess who interferes with his intentions of rekindling his love for Abby.

The MCs in the story were okay and adaptable although I did become irritated with Abby because of her tendency to jump to conclusions and voicing her opinions without thinking first. She had no problem confronting Max when he did something wrong, but never did the same with her family whenever they tried to take advantage of her kindness or had her acting as a servant. I too thought Max was a bit condescending at times and was lacking towards his affections for his sister. He in some ways did the same as Abby’s family when he took advantage of her position as governess because he wanted to devote himself to his prize fighter. Although there were some rough edges in the story, I thought it was well written and presented. I did enjoy the characters and the story ending in a HEA.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4- Stars

I struggled a bit reading this. I it was very stiff and formal for me. I know it was historical, but Abby was such an uptight prude I had a hard time believing she was 30. I like my heroine a bit more feisty. And her family was filled with self centered jerks. Max was all right but I felt like he could use some starch to his spine!

This title was the Duke I Once Knew and after reading I wondered why she would want to know him again. So we meet Abby who is a doormat and allows her family to do whatever, she in an act of rebellion (yeah shocked me) decides to work as a governess and ends up working for her long lost love's family. At a young age Abby fell in love with Max and promises were made but unfortunately they broke up after some miscommunications and shade from others. Max goes on to become a manwhore literally after professing his love, like really quickly (yeah that's love) anyhoo he comes home years later and discovers that the woman whom he had loved and did him wrong is now working for him and his family and he comes with a mistress in tow. More misunderstanding, judgements all over and honestly I didn't care for any of them, not Abby, not Max and not her family. I wont continue with the rest of the series.

I enjoyed this book but I did have some issues with it. I love a second chance romance but they have to be done well. This one wasn’t horrendous but it also wasn’t the best.
The mistake that’s often made is that authors seem to forget that the reader wants the love story, not just the ending.
I didn’t feel that these two would have fallen in love with each other if it weren’t for their past. There were no moments of bonding, no compromises between them and not really a lot if chemistry. If it hadn’t been s second chancevromance then it would have been placed in the DNF pile for not having any genuine connection between the hero and heroine.
Individually I liked the characters but I just didn’t feel that they were meant to be.
2.5 stars.

Don't we all love a good 'what might have been' story?

This is the story of Abby, youngest daughter of aged parents of the landed gentry, and Max, a duke with a reputation for being a notorious libertine. Abby and Max had a brief but intense clandestine relationship 15 years prior to the events of this book, but have not had any contact since. Abby has become a spinster essentially by default, as she missed out on her chance at a London season because she had to be the one of all of her siblings to stay home and care for her aging parents. Meanwhile Max has lived the life of the typical London rake and has not returned to his childhood home, Rothwell Court, other than to bury his father, and chooses to spend all his time in London or at another of his estates, leaving his sister, Gwen, behind at the Court with his spinster aunt. When Gwen's governess leaves her position suddenly, Abby approaches his aunt for the position in a bid to escape her siblings, who all quarrel over who should have Abby live with them as essentially an unpaid servant. Abby loves her family but wants to finally claim some independence for herself. This works fine until Max and his party of friends, two London rakes, two widows, and a prizefighter descend unexpectedly on the Court for a week and Max is infuriated to find Abby there. As the two inevitably run into each other whilst living under the same roof, it becomes apparent that both were mistaken about the circumstances of their separation all those years ago. After all this time, both have grown up and are much changed. Will they have their second chance at love or will time, jealous lovers, and old grudges keep them apart for good?

Final thoughts: The extent to which Abby's siblings utterly failed her was just appalling. They believed her to be happy as a spinster, despite the fact that it was a role she was thrust into, largely because of them taking advantage of her and using her as a caretaker for their parents and their own children. Even after their parents' deaths none of the siblings asked Abby what she wanted to do with her life; they were all just awful and selfish.

I enjoyed the fact that Abby just wanted to make her own decisions and that she didn't pine insipidly after the hero all the time.

I felt like the ending was a bit rushed; I would've liked to see an epilogue or something to wrap things up more completely. While we get our happy ending, in my opinion everything could've been expounded on a bit more to make it more satisfying. That said, I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Who doesn't love a duke. I know I do. The latest by Olivia Drake did not disappoint on dukes or plot. I loved this book front cover to cover and fell in love with the characters along the way. I will definitely be buying this one when it hits shelves and will be recommending it to friends along the way

I love romances and I read so many of them. This one stood out to me because the story was a little bit different and there wasn't hurdle after hurdle to be together. The writing style wasn't what I am used to. Not my favorite but it was still good and the story made up for it!

If I had been Abby, I would have left my siblings a long time ago. Abby is a sweet woman, and I love the way she is with her nieces and nephews. She is like the ultimate girl next door, kind and gentle. Unless of course you are a Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell. He broke her heart when she was younger, and since then he has stayed away, being a rake in London. Now he is back and she is his sister’s governess. Unfortunately, he brought some terrible company with him from London that will make things difficult to clear things up between him and Abby.
ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

A relatively fast read. Abigail Linton finds herself a spinster nearing the age of 30 after years of devoting herself to the care of her parents (now recently deceased) and assisting her older siblings with their housekeeping and children. She decides in a rare self-serving moment of impulsiveness to take on the position of governess to the sister of the absent Duke of Rothwell in the neighbouring estate. Maxwell Bryce has been absent for 15 years in fact, since the death of his mother when his father took him and his baby sister to London. He and Abby became acquainted in the summer before his mother passed on and in fact their friendship turned romantic with promises of love and devotion pledged by both. It all ended acrimoniously and Max left for London after angry words were said - words that he longed to retract almost as soon as they were uttered. But fate and family events conspired against them and before long, fifteen years have flown by. To Abby's shock, Max is no longer the absent lord. He is back, reluctantly so and with a would-be-mistress in tow, but after encountering Abby again he soon finds himself reluctant to leave his estate ever again, although keen to rid himself of the clingy widow.

Abby got to me a bit with her tendency to jump to conclusions as well as her doormat mentality around her family. She also lacked discretion and repeatedly divulged way too much information to random people. Max was rather neglectful of his little sister, which was a strike against him. He also was quite condescending towards various lesser ranked people. The MCs were 15 and 16 years old respectively when they first romanced, and so I'm not quite convinced of the endurance of such a youthful attachment. The writing was okay, if not quite inspiring and just lacked nuances and subtleties I generally prefer. I have read better books by this author, her older books when she went by the name of Barbara Dawson Smith.

This was a great second chance romance. I have never read any of this authors work, and was pleased with this story. I think it will be a great new series. Abigail and Max both have their flaws but the storyline was enjoyable. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book, first ever by this author. Abby and Max were two very likable, feisty, charming and passionate characters. The scenes between them crackled with tension, attraction, and affection. This book was heartwarming and romantic, tender and steamy. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

Can you go home again? Max, Lord Rothwell did and found his first love as the governess of his young sister, Gwen. Abigail is tired of everything being decided for her. She is being taken advantage of by her much older siblings. Being pulled different ways to be used as a spinster aunt is getting to be, too much. She is almost thirty, and needs something for herself. She goes to Rothwell Court as a governess to Lady Gwen, not expecting Lord Rothwell to be there.. When he shows up with a woman who may be his mistress and a few of his other London friends, both are surprised to see each other. Max and Abigail had been childhood friends and more. The promise of what they were to each other should have been forgotten years ago, but it comes back with an ache of what could never be. The attraction is still there, but Max has secrets. Will he be able to reveal his most private thoughts? What about his reputation as a rake? I loved this book and the story was more complex than many others I have read. I received this book from Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.The opinions expressed are my own.

My heart always goes out to the couple whenever there could have been more if only they'd been given a chance. 15 years they were denied a relationship. Even now there are some trying to come between them.

A good read for lovers of the regency romance genre. A tale of many strands, well written and very enjoyable.

The Duke I Once Knew (Unlikely Duchesses, #1)
by Olivia Drake

A definite buy book.
This author is one that I enjoy reading. While I cannot say this was her best work, it felt a little up and down at times, it is definitely an enjoyable read. I like her characters and plots. Though in this one, the hero is dense and needed to be refined maybe a little more! It kept my interest but at times it felt slow. I was not captivated but I was entertained. So all in all a nice enjoyable read. ! I was given this ARC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own. Regards, Anna

The Duke I Once Knew⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️by Olivia Drake

This book to me had everything. Love letters lost, a love lost and found. The characters each appraised each other after fifteen years of separation. Could they still find that love.

Ms Drake has captured the readers heart with this endearing tale. The spinster Abigail Linton completely taken advantage of by her family tries to escape for a life of her own. She becomes a governess for the sister of the Duke of Rothwell.
He has been absent from his estate for years and surely when he surprises all by arriving home, Ms Linton believes he will not recognize her.

How could the Duke not remember his heart. Abigail is etched in his heart and soul. This is a true tale of romance not forgotten but delayed by interference. A wonderful read.

Abigail Linton has taken care of her parents all her life. She has been a help to her six much older siblings. She has always taken care of her family. So when they start arguing over who she will be staying with for the upcoming season without her consent, she informs them she will be taking a position as a governess. The position is to the sister of Maxwell Bryce, Duke of Rothwell. He was her childhood love.
When Abby didn’t respond to any of the letters Max sent her, he became a rake to ease the sting of rejection. He comes home to Rothwell Court after fifteen years away he finds Abby there as his sister’s governess and immediately dismisses her from her post. He reluctantly lets her stay for the week because his friends are there.
Max and Abby both think the other didn’t respond to each other’s letters. Once they realize that the letters went missing, this opens up the long buried feelings they had for each other. Abby just wants to be valued as a person. Max and Abby are torn between exploring their feeling and afraid of being hurt again. The story was entertaining and I recommend it.

I could not put this book down, it was that good. The story flowed through out the story and the characters are easy to connect with. I have never read any of the books by the author Olivia Drake but I will now.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!