This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved this book.
Nathalie has come to England from America to unite her best friend's now orphaned son with his family.  Hadrian offers them a ride an soon discovers that they are seeking out his cousin and the father of the woman he is going to propose to.
I liked how strong, brave, and independent Nathalie was.  I loved that Hadrian was willing to change for her.  And leo was just plain cute.
Throughly enjoyed this book.

The romance was good and I liked the characters, Natalie more than Clayton. My reason for three stars is because it had no epilogue and the story did drag a bit throughout.

Forever My Duke: Unlikely Duchesses by Olivia Drake is the right mix of costume and setting with romance and adventure. Duke Hadrian Ames appears to be the cold, emotionless, wealthy, born-to-privilege English nobility readers encounter in nearly every historical romance set in this period. What Olivia Drake does, is show the reader how he got where he is. Then she delights in showing us how Natalie Fanshawe, a colonial American, finds the warm, charming hunk hiding under his fierce façade. The story unfolds at a comfortable pace, perfect for a relaxing read in front of a warm fire on a rainy/snowy evening.

This is my first book by Olivia Drake and I loved it.  This story gave a fresh look at how some of the English Aristocracy were raised and treated. Hadrian Ames, The Duke of Clayton was taken from his mother at six years of age to live with his guardian Lord Godwin. He was only allowed to see his mother twice a year.
Lord Godwin was a hard, strict, non affectionate man who raised him to follow all the ton rules. Hadrian learned at a young age never to show any feelings to anyone.
Hadrian at 31 is on his way to Lord Godwin's estate to revisit his 2nd cousin, Godwin's daughter, Lady Ellen.
He is planning to court and wed her as it is time he takes a wife. Both his late father and Lady Ellen's father wanted a match between the families. He was suppose to wed the older sister, who ran away to America with her true love.
When he has to stop at a small Inn due to a storm. While there he meets an unruly young boy, Leo and his guardian an American women Natalie Franshawe.  He finds they are going to the same town as he is then to his surprise he finds she is also going to Lord Godwin's estate. The little brat that hid under his table turns out to be a the son of the women he was suppose to marry. Audrey the daughter of Lord Godwin.
As  Natalie try to reunite Leo with his Grandfather and family. She finds out how cold and cruel the English  upper class can be. His Grandfather doesn't even want to speak to him, his wife doesn't want to even let Natalie and Leo stay in the house and their son Lord Mymark thinks she is a thief. Only Lady Ellen is friendly.
The only one who tries to help is the handsome, wealthy Duke of Clayton himself. Hadrian fines himself quite taken with Natalie's ways. She has no use for the Upper Class who did nothing to earn they place.
As these two are sexual attracted to each other from the start, even thru they don't want to be.
Both Natalie and Hadrian must work together to protect Leo. There are many twist and turns to this story.
People who turn out to be more then friends, lost lover's, new love's, a kidnapping and lot's more.
I found this story fast moving and enjoyable.  I need to go back and read the first book of this series.
I received and ARC of this book and want to thank the author.
I am giving by review voluntarily and hope you get a copy as I know  you will love it too.

it was a fun and quick read for me and I'm glad I read it. took me awhile to get on to as it wasn't my typical favorite genre but I did enjoy it when I eventually read it.

Duke vs. Governess 

Hadrian is a duke who has mistresses and courtesans (not cool, he just ditched his last mistress two weeks ago). 
When he meets the American Natalie, who is unlike his usual type. 
Hadrian would have been cooler and way more interesting if he matched his austere upbringing, but nope, he does the same old boring duke things like sleep around and then plan to marry a girl of 18. Sigh. Same old, same old. 

Whereas, Natalie is vibrant and interesting. 
An American who is reuniting Leo with his grandfather. She does know how to hold a grudge (props for that),

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride.  He is planning on accepting the arranged marriage to his cousin that his uncle wants until he meets Natalie Fanshawe.  Natalie is an American who promised her best friend as she was dying to take her young son back to her family in England.  As an American, Natalie is outspoken and doesn't care for the aristocracy.  

There was a chunk of this book that I just skipped.  I did not like how Natalie and Leo were treated at Leo's grandfather's home.  It was really unnecessary to the plot.  I did like the characters of Natalie and Hadrian.  

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.  Thank you.

Well this one was as much fun as it had me rolling my eyes all the way back in my head. 

The plot and twist to this were good and the banter was great except when it was filled with assumptions and impossible expectations. But I guess that’s what made this book a nice read. Natalie is fighting every step of the way to not be associated to English Ton. 
And Hadrian is trying to persuade her to accept him despite his high-ranking among the Ton. For a moment there I was sure the HEA was nowhere in sight but the conclusion to their story was a great way to end this book. 

It was fun way to divert myself from modern world and hop on the HR train. This was my first book by the author and expect me to read her again. 

***Review copy received by NG for an honest opinion***

Wildly imaginative! Wonderful characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Simply a GREAT read!

Thank you for letting me read and review this book.   It was a good historical romance. You can read it as standalone but I ended up reading book 1 which was fun.

Hadrian, the Duke of Clayton is officially ready to marry. Picking a bride for him was much like choosing a horse. If she meets x, y, and z characteristics, then it works for him. But everything he thinks he knows is thrown off balance when he meets Natalie Fanshawe.

Natalie is straight off the boat from America. She has in tow her deceased friend's son. She's promised to bring him to his family in England. She soon meets Hadrian at an inn and they end up staying together to figure out what is best for Leo.

Give this book a try if you're in the mood for:
-A child in the story. Though he is an orphan, Hadrian and Natalie both find themselves caring for him and he has a lot of page time and shenanigans taking place
-An American heroine with an English peer hero (Duke)
-Class differences – heroine is basically an American nobody while hero is a Duke

This book was okay. It was a little hard for me to really get into. I think most of it was a disconnect with the heroine. She rather annoyed me. She disdains the nobility and she was eager to really run the hero through the ringer. She came off as really harpy and judgmental to me. Especially when this duke was extremely understanding and caring for her and the child she was in charge of.

Forever and a Duke by Olivia Drake is the second book of the Unlikely Duchesses series. In this book, you read the story of Natalie Fanshawe and Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton. I have not read the first book, but as these books can be read as standalone novels, I was not lost or lacking any information to enjoy the story. Natalie is an American that is not impressed by nobility, this is something that irks Hadrian, but it did make for some fun back and forth between the two. Overall, this is a feel-good story that kept me entertained the entire read.

Olivia Drake really writes excellent historical romances. I was drawn into Forever My Duke from the very beginning and quickly found myself wanting Hadrian and Natalie to be together!

Natalie Fanshawe has arrived in England to fulfill a promise and reunite a six year old orphaned young boy with his family regardless of whether said orphaned young man wants to be reunited or not.  Hadrian needs a duchess and is on his way as it turns out to the same destination as Natalie to meet the young debutante whom he has clinically selected to be his potential duchess. 
As is typical in English aristocracy things are never as they appear on the surface and Hadrian and Natalie have some decisions to make. Readers can have some fun along the way. This is a less than typical regency romance using the trope of opposites attract and not every English aristocrat needs a rich American heiress.  
Not my favorite causing me to struggle a bit to finish.

Natalie Fanshawe is on her way to deliver an orphaned boy to his English relatives, and during the trip stumbles across the dashingly handsome Duke of Clayton, Hadrian Ames. Turns out Hadrian is on his way to the same family, but with the purpose of proposing. As they travel, Hadrian shifts his plans from the very proper marriage of pure convenience that he had been set on, to wooing the American woman who has started to intrigue him.


Alternate title for this book could be "I cannot marry you, I am simply TOO American." Natalie annoyed the snot out of me in this book with her high-handed holier-than-thou-ness. For my tastes, books that attempt to dissect privilege in the aristocracy need to either take a light touch or go whole-hog, and this book does neither. Instead it delivers to us a very surface level understanding of the subject but has Natalie act like she's a fucking saint for it. All while completely ignoring the extreme privilege of her own situation, naturally. The very surface level understanding of inequality is what makes it so easy for her to come to the conclusion that, wow, rich people also have emotions and shit, so I guess that makes it all okay! That's going to be one big ugh from me.

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton is on his way to meet his future bride. A match that was made by his late father. For him,  marriage is like any other business venture and he sees no need to have it involve emotions or love.  But his world turns upside down when he meets a feisty American who is in England to make good on the  deathbed promise she made to her  friend. Natalie Fanshawe is unlike any woman Hadrian has ever met but try as he might, he just can’t seem to get her out of his mind.

Natalie has come to England to deliver her best friend’s child to his family after he lost both his parents in a bloody massacre. She has no idea what to expect and despises the English aristocracy for its class system. She wants to deliver Leo safely to his grandfather and return to America to open the school she has been dreaming of. But it seems that destiny has other plans and she finds herself falling in love with a man who represents everything that she stands against and hates.

“Forever My Duke” is the embodiment of everything that made me fall love with romance and especially regency romance. The characters, the dialogue, the chemistry, the story, they all come together to bring to life the perfect romance. Absolutely loved every page of this romance. Not to be missed!!

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He even has the perfect one picked out. That is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She’s the opposite of what a man of his high rank should desire in a wife—an outspoken American who has never even set foot in a London ballroom. But Natalie doesn’t have time to be swept off her feet by a handsome duke who must be a spoiled scoundrel like every other British lord. And she couldn’t care less about Hadrian’s title. After all, it’s not as if he actually worked to attain his wealth and status. He surely can’t understand what it’s like to be a busy woman, planning to open a school while trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan with his English relatives. Nevertheless, Hadrian launches his campaign to win her heart. Can the utterly delightful American beauty ever find a way to love him…despite his being a duke?
This was an ok story. The plot was fairly basic. The characters were ok. I hadn’t read this author before, so there weren’t any expectations. 
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake
Subgenre: Regency romance
Release date: 21 Jan 2020
Publisher: NYLA
Format: ebook and print
Length: 385 pages
RRP: $5.35 (ebook); $14.99 (print)
Decisions. Decisions. Who does he want as his bride?
Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton, is on his way to look at a prospective bride. He hasn’t had much to do with his second cousin twice removed since he lived in the castle, but it is time to marry. On the way to his former guardian’s house, he finds a young woman and her charge on their way to the same destination. He is intrigued by the young woman who accompanies the boy and offers them a way to get to the castle when they have missed the mail coach. Once at the castle he discovers the pair are recent arrivals from America, and the young boy is Lord Godwin’s grandson. Hadrian is appalled by the way that Godwin is treating his grandson by not acknowledging him immediately and wants a thorough investigation into the boy and his guardian’s real identity.
Natalie Fanshawe is fulfilling a promise. She is bringing her charge to his grandfather. They have come all the way from America as this is where her charge, Leo’s, mother fled and died. Leo is an inquisitive young boy and often wants to discover how things work (any normal child really), so he will often go ‘missing’ and Natalie needs to find him. This is one such day, and they miss the mail coach, then need to go with Hadrian, if they are to get to their destination.
Natalie was born and bred in America, but she does have links to England. Her father was an American senator after he made a success of his new life. He moved to America after a family scandal. She reconnects with her father’s family when she returns to England.
Hadrian becomes disgusted with the way in which Godwin deals with Leo and Natalie and takes them to London to stay with his family. At the same time, he finds Natalie very, very intriguing. He is always finding ways in which to be with her. He makes the decision to not marry Godwin’s daughter and changes his focus to Natalie.
Hadrian is at first interested and then intrigued by Natalie and this is slow burn attraction. While they acknowledge the attraction to each other, they both know that society says they shouldn’t be together as each has their basic belief systems. Hadrian believes he needs to marry a young English girl, who his family says is appropriate for the title. Natalie believes in equality for all being an American. Not society’s idea of the best match. Naturally they are able to work through these issues to be together.
I really enjoyed this story. There is that sense of difference from the normal with Natalie being an American, even though her family background is English. She has American standards of equality for the time and does dispute some actions by the English aristocracy. She does come to the conclusion that perhaps the English people are happy with their lot in life, which is a bit of a change, and possibly not American thinking but I shouldn’t judge not being American. One scene, which I’m not going to spoil, is that the Prince Regent turns up to a function and the situation was tense as it becomes a case of whether Natalie will curtsy to the Prince. Does she take the American view of equality or does her English side take over?
I look forward to reading more in this series as I am intrigued as to who the next unlikely duchess will be.
Reviewed by Heather

I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hadrian is a cold hearted English Duke, while Natalie is a vibrant, vivacious American. The only thing that can bring them together... One orphan boy whose mother's last request is for Natalie to take him home to England.

This book has many things going for it. Solid foundational backstories for all three of the main characters. Character development as we progress through the story toward our conclusion. A mixture of villains that might surprise you. And the best part, the romance!

The chemistry between our hero and heroine are beautifully written. I appreciated the fact that Hadrian moves from being cold-hearted to learning to relate to his emotions and, ultimately, expressing them in healthy ways. The author does a great job of combining the romantic elements of the relationship (which can be missed in other novels of this genre), as well as providing some very nice, very steamy scenes.

Overall it was a very good read. I would recommend it, even though on a few occasions some of the plotline points drag ever so slightly. Looking forward to more books from Olivia Drake!