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!

Olivia Drake is never a disappointment. I love her books! I own ARCs and physical copies, so of course “Forever my Duke” has a special place in my heart. It offers us the relationship between the Duke of Clayton and Natalie Fanshaw, an American that came to England to return young Leo, her best friend’s son, to his grandfather. Little did she expect to form a beautiful friendship with a man of such high position. From here we have a lot of action, we have a beautiful romance and a charming little boy.

What I mostly like about Olivia Drake’s books is that she leaves nothing at random. The way she builds the atmosphere and each character’s personality is amazing. They act according to their age or upbringing. There is no unnecessary drama or exaggerated stubbornness. When it comes to the romance, it is slowly built, allowing the relationship to develop in a natural way. In the end, the reader has no doubt. It’s a strong, a solid relationship. I love it!

The plot has two focus points: finding Leo’s family, making sure he is properly recognized in the English society and as well the Duke’s pursue of a wife (or his pursue of the one he intends to propose to). There are complications on both sides, enough to keep the interest until the very end.

All in all, I absolutely adored the story. Well, I was expecting it to be so. Olivia Drake never disappoints. Her stories have the maturity of an experienced writer and are meant to send us back to those times when proper conduct was a must. “Forever My Duke” achieved its purpose and has its place on my heart’s shelves.

I found this book absolutely charming. I love spunky heroines and interclass romances, and the author does a great job with making the characters seem real and funny.

Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake
I loved the premise of Forever My Duke. Natalie Fanshawe is an outspoken American with strong opinions of the English aristocracy, I have not read many books in this genre with similar protagonist, so to me this was a breath of fresh air. Natalie is a woman on a mission, to fulfill her best friends dying wish to deliver Leo, her son to his English family, and on the way she meets Hadrian. Hadrian, a Duke, is also on a mission to find an appropriate wife to fulfill his duties, yet their spark cannot be denied even though Natalie is a far cry from the proper English bride he is looking for.
Forever my duke was such a fun and heartwarming story, kept me hooked from start to finish. This is the perfect to read if you are stuck in quarantine and are in the mood for a funny and heartwarming historical romance.
Thank You to Netgalley and St Martin’s Paperbacks for allowing me to read an ARC for an honest review.

In Forever My Duke, the second instalment of her enchanting Unlikely Duchesses series, Olivia Drake pits together a spirited, resilient and intelligent American heroine and an honorable, charismatic and noble-hearted British aristocrat in a dramatic, witty and enthralling historical romance.

Natalie Fanshawe had made a promise to her best friend on her deathbed: that she would take her beloved only son from the frontier of America to England to meet his aristocratic grandparents. Aware that she cannot break her promise to the friend she loved like a sister, Natalie and her charge set off on the arduous journey to England and to the refined London drawing room of the house where her late friend’s family resides. Although Natalie feels like a fish out of the water, she knows that she cannot renege on the promise she made to her friend – even if she has to adapt to the prim and proper mores of the British upper classes. Natalie knows that it’s only right that the six year old orphaned child under her care meets his grandparents and grows up raised by the only family he has left – even if her every instinct is telling her to run as fast as her legs can carry her back to America. With plenty to occupy her mind, Natalie has neither the time nor the inclination for romance – so why can’t she get Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, out of her mind?

Hadrian needs a wife. He has dawdled long enough and simply cannot afford to procrastinate any longer. Although there isn’t a single woman in society whom he can muster a mere flicker of interest towards, Hadrian knows that it is imperative that his does his duty, finds a suitable wife and has a family of his own. With a convenient bride already picked out who ticks all the right boxes and meets all the requisite criteria, Hadrian has already resigned himself to a practical arrangement devoid of feeling or emotion – until he is completely and utterly bowled over by feisty American beauty, Natalie Fanshaw. Hadrian knows that he should give Miss Fanshaw as wide a berth as possible, but with fate conspiring to throw the two of them together in close proximity, that soon proves to be far easier said than done!

Her head might be telling Natalie that an aristocrat like the Duke of Clayton wouldn’t even dare contemplate a future with her, but her heart is telling her something else entirely. As their feelings for one another intensify with each passing day, Natalie and Hadrian soon realize that they’ve fallen head over heels in love with one another. But with Natalie intent on returning back home to America and Hadrian having to stay put in England, does their love stand any chance of surviving? Or is theirs a relationship that is simply not meant to be?

A wonderfully written historical romance peppered with humor, wit, charm and pathos, Olivia Drake’s Forever My Duke is a heart-warming and atmospheric tale that is seamlessly crafted and brilliantly told. Olivia Drake’s characters leap off the pages and readers will find themselves caring and cheering for Natalie and Hadrian as they fall in love in the most unlikely and surprising of circumstances.

Olivia Drake has penned another winner with Forever My Duke and with further titles to comes in the Unlikely Duchesses series, I simply cannot wait to read what else she has in store for us!

This took me some time to read, and essentially to get to know the characters. There was a lot going on from the beginning that for me, it didn't flow as well as I normally would have liked.

Individually, Hadrien and Natalie were good characters, but their chemistry was off. It felt forced, even if some scenes felt more natural than others.

There's really a lot that goes on in this story, from family secrets, to kidnaps, to rape attempts. Just FYI.

*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Ratings (out of of 5):
Ducal Heart Thawing: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Mouthy Heroine: 💋💋💋💋💋
American in the Ton: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
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Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton, is on his way to lock down the perfect bride. She’s young, has impeccable bloodlines, is demure, quiet, and will fulfill a family promise. He’s set on this. Until American Miss Natalie Fanshawe bursts into his dining room, refuses to curtsy (spouting some nonsense about equality), and bewitches him completely. Natalie has her own mission to complete, one that throws them together. They feel a heat they’ve never felt before and before long, the only choice is leave or burn.
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I haven’t read many “American Lady in Regency England” books. This was fun. Natalie is bold, brazen, fiercely independent, and COMPLETELY immune to the charms of aristocracy. In fact, she resents the hell out of it. Slap her up again DUKE Hadrian, who is thoroughly steeped in that aristocracy and you have a recipe for some delicious head-butting and bickering, but also for REALIZATIONS.
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Hadrian is everything you want in a book Duke - devilishly handsome, powerful, authoritative, self-possessed, and oh god those thighs in buff breeches. But he’s also deeply caring, intuitive, and, he learns, capable of a great deal of fun. Loved him. Loved her. Loved their whole deal.
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If you like mouthy heroines who do no harm but take no shit and the arch, stately Dukes who can’t help but fall for them, pick this one up. The whole cast is delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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🚨Warning: There is an attempted sexual assault and then descriptions of some violence in flashback. It’s handled with care, but you should know. 🚨
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Kiss and tell:
The kissing is incendiary in this book, friends. Hand play and p&v penetration also happen. It’s sexy and elegantly written. Plus, Hadrian is a selfless man in the bedroom, which we all know I love.

I read the first story of Unlikely Duchesses and I'm grateful to be given a chance to read the next story from the series.

I like that Natalie is unfamiliar with the British monarchy. She doesn't follow the norm and she sticks with her American culture.

Hadrian is such a lovely duke. Though he is bound to marry someone else, surprisingly he fell in love with a woman who was born from the other side of the world and who only wanted to fulfill a promise from a great friend.

The surprise plot made the story interesting. I had a great time reading it until the end.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

What starts out as a series of volatile encounters between two wildly opposing personalities mellows into tenderness and a vibrant passion that makes you sigh in satisfaction of a wonderfully well-written romance. In Forever My Duke, Olivia Drake has created an unforgettable story.

The most interesting sections of the story are Natalie and Clayton’s conversations about his rank and responsibilities and her opinions about the heredity class system where vast wealth and wretched poverty are merely an accident of birth. Drake has them gradually move towards each other, in affection and understanding, discussion by discussion. The beauty of this book is how these such disparate people attentively listen to each other, contemplate what has been said even if they are violently opposed to that opinion, and then proceed to make adjustments and compromises to their thinking. There are certain immutable facts: he is a duke; she is an egalitarian American. It was wonderful to see them gradually realizing that each of them is far more complex than those basic facts and that love is life’s most precious gift and all else is inconsequential before it. In Forever My Duke, Drake has forged an enduring HEA for her protagonists.

My Review: https://frolic.media/book-of-the-week-forever-my-duke-by-olivia-drake/

Overall rating of 3.5. It is useful when reading that the story's characters fall into their proper place. Not only should characters fall into their designated roles, but they should be memorable. In the second installment of Olivia Drake's Unlikely Duchesses series titled Forever My Duke, the heroine and hero fit their character rolls well. As the adventurous yet principled American young lady, Natalie Fanshawe plays her role well. This post-war American Miss goes beyond what is expected of any young woman of the period to fulfill a dying friend's request. The heroine's journey is designed to show her strength and her dedication to those that she loves or loved. Also, the author does well to highlight the supposed unconventional personality traits between American and English young women of the time. Natalie Fanshawe is an all-round likable character. As for the hero, the Duke of Clayton - Hadrian Ames, pulls off the snotty, misunderstood gentleman very well. His character makes a seamless transition from stand-offish boar to a loving suitor/guardian. The secondary characters fit expected personality traits for the period, but some outshone others. Overall, this is an easy afternoon read for fans of historical romances.

Needed to step back into the past with this author paving the way. Hadrian has some plans but plans were made to be changed. Then we meet Natalie and I think she is fun to read. The personalities are different but we watch as bit by bit their hearts go a different way. The wooing is also the fun part with the dialogue being a big part. The thing is love can see through anything and that is what we wait for as we read this.

This was a delightful romance! I loved the storyline of the proper Duke and rebellious independent American! I love how Hadrian fell for Natalie quickly but he wanted to take the time to make sure they were a right fit before proposing to her. I also love how it seemed like Natalie didn't have to give up her independence, in fact that's what Hadrian loved about her. Such a wonderful story!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

Apologies for the after-publication date review -- but I do want to add to the praise for this enjoyable book. The American schoolteacher who is unfazed by dukes is such a treat.
Natalie Fanshawe is the love that Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton, doesn't know he needs. The two are stronger together, despite their initial inability to see how right they are for each other. When Hadrian realizes that Natalie is the one he loves, his campaign to win her is most enjoyable. She is in England to return a child to his family — her best friend in America has died, and bringing back young Leo is something Natalie feels obliged to see through, despite delays in her own plans. Natalie is a bit self-righteous, so sure of herself and her critique of the aristocracy, but she grows more open-minded as the book continues.
It is a journey for both characters -- the duke comes to understand that he is also a man, and the schoolteacher realizes that love is too precious to throw away simply because the man she loves is also a duke. A charming addition to Olivia Drake's new series, with a couple who find their way to love despite obstacles of class and country. (Arc from NetGalley. Opinions mine)

Full review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 2/23/20

Natalie is an American and has no desire to be in England any longer than necessary. Disgusted by the separation of classes based on titles people are born to, she assumes the ton is nothing more than a bunch of soft dandies. If it were not for the final wish of her best friend, she would not be here. Would not be delivering the young Leo to a family he has never known. Would not have accidentally stumbled into Hadrian’s room at the inn, searching for her young charge. Would not be questioning everything she thought she knew about the upper classes of England. Would not be falling hard for the haughty Duke. Would not allow herself to entertain the slightest fantasy about what life might or could be like with Hadrian at her side. And yet, here she is. But her promise has yet to be fulfilled and in the face of unexpected complications and danger lurking around the corner, there is quite a lot left to sort out before she can hash things out with Hadrian. Her worst fear, previously surrounding the safe delivery of Leo, has now undergone a complete transformation and now has everything to do with losing Hadrian due to their glaringly opposing beliefs.

Hadrian is captivated by the opinionated Natalie from the very beginning. She challenges him at every opportunity and shows no fear in expressing her severe dislike for the very fabric of the society in which he was bred to thrive in. Wanting to prove her wrong, he suddenly finds himself struggling with the callous beliefs of the society that produced him. The family who raised him to be the Duke that he is now turn out to be strangers; people he no longer wishes to align his life with despite his father’s wishes. Plans he had made suddenly seem unfathomable. In what seems like an instant, Natalie shakes his very foundation. Hadrian quickly adapts to scenarios as they occur in ways he never would have prior to his meeting with the beautiful Miss Fanshawe. Weaker men would have crumbled with the revelations Hadrian uncovers, but his strength of character sculpt him into an even better person when everything is said and done. With any luck, his transformation will be enough to convince Natalie that their differences are not as disparaging as they had originally seemed and that there is a happily ever after in their future – if only she will agree to this journey of love and happiness at Hadrian’s side – an equal to be loved and cherished as demanded by her American upbringing.

The title of this series pretty much says it all. Unlikely duchesses. Natalie for sure fits this bill. For a Duke of the English aristocracy to fall for an American of the untamed wilderness would be one heck of a faux pas. Luckily, once the lust bug strikes (which is pretty much immediately), both Hadrian and Natalie begin to break from their lifelong beliefs and let their feelings lead them along their path as they work together to solidify a positive future for Leo. The trick is to find a place in which they can happily co-exist without giving up too much of themselves in order to accommodate the other one. I completely adored this book and could not put it down once I began it. While it wasn’t a story of mystery in the sense that you weren’t sure what would happen next, it still continued to move at a quick pace and kept me engaged with all of its quirky characters – even the ones I strongly disliked. Just about the time I had reached my limit of the wretched Godwin family, a wonderful change of location was provided in which Hadrian’s lively mother and sister were introduced. Both Millie and Lizzy added the perfect amount of light-hearted joviality and mischievous matchmaking to this tale. I thoroughly enjoyed them both and would be thrilled to encounter them again in a future book. Hadrian is initially presented as haughty with an inability to bend. However, we glimpse the slightest crack in the façade with his first interaction with Leo. From there the cracks continues to spread until he is full-on courting Natalie – a fact to which she was shockingly oblivious for a rather long amount of time. One interesting aspect here is that for every bit of Hadrian’s arrogance, Natalie is even more so with her American pride; almost to the point of taking things too far. While I could relate to her ingrained beliefs given her background, there were times that allowances needed to be made. When Prinny showed up, I almost thought things would go the other way. In the end, this becomes a story of love overcoming differences and two people who couldn’t be more opposite attracting one another. At the end of the day, pride makes for a lonely bedfellow and so Natalie and Hadrian find a place in which they can continue to be true to self, but also operate better together as a unified couple.

I have not had the opportunity to read the first book in this series, but I do not believe that it is imperative to read the series in order. I am unaware if the preceding story had anything to do with any of the characters in this book, but neither did I feel that I was receiving a bit of back story in which to catch me up to where I needed to be. A positive trait for a reader, like myself, who has not begun at the beginning. That said, I will more than likely make sure to read book one at some point in the future. Based on my recollection, this is my first read with Ms. Drake. As a historical romance author, she is wonderful. Ms. Drake skillfully crafts an engaging tale with the perfect balance of details essential for a delightful historical romance read that is guaranteed to bring readers back for more. If I wasn’t a fan before, I definitely am now. Everything from the description to the cover to the writing style draws the reader in. I, myself, was happily caught. I can’t say as I had many complaints within this book besides the couple of characters I truthfully couldn’t stand. However, such traits were intentional, so cannot be held in the negative toward this piece of work, which leaves only one thing. I felt like Hadrian was willing to give up far more than Natalie was when it looked like it was going to be love or loss. Yes, everything works out, but Hadrian did effectively undergo a fundamental change while Natalie really didn’t. I would have liked to see her give just a bit more in the name of love. The few scenes of intimacy were descriptive without crossing the threshold of risqué. For my personal taste, it was just enough and yet not enough. A perfect combination. That said, this book was good enough that the scenes could easily have been omitted or cut much shorter and it wouldn’t have had the slightest impact on the story. With or without those particular scenes, the book was still very well written. For those who enjoy easily read and immensely enjoyed HR books with a slight twist as within this UNLIKELY DUCHESS series, I highly recommend giving Ms. Drake a shot at compatibility.