I know what to expect before I even start when reading a historical romance such as Forever My Duke. And that is exactly why I read it. I’m not expecting an unreliable narrator, a thriller (although I do expect some suspense and action and danger) or a dark story with an ending that leaves me unsettled. What I do expect is action and humor and conflict and romance in a good solid story. With a happy ending, of course. And that is just what Forever My Duke delivers.

When we first meet Hadrian and Natalie it’s hard to decide which one to dislike the most. Hadrian, the Duke of Clayton, is a haughty product of his upbringing. Tradition and rank and one’s place in society are everything. Natalie, on the other hand, could be the poster child for The Ugly American. She believes in equality, hard work and rewards based on merit, not inheritance. Her family history has convinced her that all those who are titled are lazy, arrogant, and undeserving of the riches they have. Both are pretty biased and prejudiced and unable to see much beyond what they grew up learning.

But of course neither of them are as bad as they first seem, and circumstances throw them together in ways they don’t foresee, ways that are funny and sweet and sexy. Hadrian soon realizes that he very attracted to Natalie and doesn’t want the traditional wife that is expected of him. He is determined to woo and win her. Natalie is just as attracted to him but has so many reservations. She doesn’t even consider that he would want her as his wife and most certainly does not plan to become his mistress. And she can’t even imagine herself fitting in with his life, with the ton, especially since her whole life has been about rejecting it. What follows is a very, very enjoyable story about the journey they take to their happy ever after.

I grew to love both Natalie and Hadrian and little Leo and to thoroughly enjoy the quite interesting cast of supporting characters. There were scoundrels and danger and a fair bit of mystery, and lots of love and lust and sweetness.

Author Olivia Drake has provided a good solid story with a lot of detail and backstory that slowly unfolds to a satisfying conclusion. I received an advance copy of Forever My Duke from St. Martin’s Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, I loved Forever My Duke and recommend it without hesitation.

Forever My Duke is fantastic!! The composite book grabbed my attention and never let go whilst reading! The dialogue and interaction amongst H and h are brilliant, and I love the name Hadrian for a hero. Very strong and masculine. I also love the passion between H and h as well as the compassion both H and h felt for Leo. The story was lovely, and historical detail was top of mind constantly. I enjoyed being transported! 😀

I loved the twist of to this story. I haven't read much by this author but I really enjoyed this historical romance. She gave life to characters that were likable and memorable. It's not often you get a romance with the hero so adamant to pursue his heroine without any ulterior motive other than wanting to get to know her better. Hadrian steps outside the norm by being a determined suitor slowly but surely breaking down Natalie's walls. He fights for a chance to see where their attraction can go and doesn't shy away from his own feelings. I really liked that about him and this story.

The hero isn't in denial or just in lust (although there is plenty of that brewing between the MCs), he's a smart, direct and open minded. The start to their relationship is different than what's the norm in historical romances and I found it all refreshing.

If you want to read about a determined Hero who pursues his hard to convince heroine that they deserve a chance at HEA with each, this book will not disappoint!

* * * ARC provided for an honest review * * *
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Forever My Duke was an enjoyable story. There was action in the last half of the story that held my attention. It was a clean story which I prefer. The hero was wonderful and the heroine a strong character. Olivia Drake's writing style was good.

I received an advance readers' copy of this book but these are my own honest opinions.

OMG!! Sensual and passionate and with an unconventional, intriguing storyline that was utterly captivating. Beautiful writing, intricate characters with scorching chemistry that made FOREVER MY DUKE another winner for me. Deliciously tantalizing that will have you begging for more and weak in the knees.

Hadrian Ames the eighth Duke of Clayton, is ready to get married, and put his days of being hunted as society’s biggest matrimonial prize behind him. He has the perfect bride already in mind. His second cousin, Lady Ellen. She fit his criteria and standards for the ideal wife, she is attractive, a blue-blood of impeccable background, and is not overly chatty. Now he just needs to see how they get along. But on his way to meet with her family and his prospective bride, he is delayed by an ice storm. Forced to take a room at an Inn for the night, where his dinner is interrupted by a little boy who quickly hides under his table. When a woman steps in to the room looking for the little boy, he can’t stop staring at the beautiful, fascinating woman in front of him. When she reaches forward to shake his hand, he felt as giddy as a school boy, meeting his first pretty girl. It made no sense.

Natalie Fanshawe has been acting as Leo’s guardian since his parents were killed in a massacre in America. As her best friend was dying she begged her to bring Leo to her family in England. She isn’t sure what type of reception awaits them since she had never received a reply to her letters. But Natalie knew she didn’t like British aristocracy, her whole life her father had told her about the class system in England and she felt it was all just based on the luck of your birth. She was used to equality for all. Hopefully his family would welcome Leo into their home and give him all the love he deserved. But what will happen if they don’t? Is Natalie and Leo destined to go back to America? Or will a new ally give them everything they never knew they wanted?

American and English cultures will clash in the parlor as well as the bedroom, when these two come together for the sake of a little boy. Get ready for intense desire, delicious shivers, passionate kisses, tempting touches, as these two opposites captivate and seduce one another. As Natalie a woman of character, warmth, and charm, not to mention great beauty, and Hadrian a enthralling, enticing Duke, that under all his cool hauteur, is really a kind chivalrous gentleman, who can tempt a woman with one smoldering look, fall hard for each other. Because nothing in all the world could be better than Forever with a Duke!

“It seemed the both of them had needed to learn that love was the most precious gift of all-and that all else in life paled by comparison.”

Complimentary copy received for an honest review.

I had mixed feelings on this one at first but for the most part I liked it. That probably had to do with the complex, interesting main characters. Hadrian came across as haughty, cold and unfeeling as well as arrogant. I have to admit that I didn't like him much at first. But as the story goes on you get to know that he is also so much more. Everything in the area of his emotions have been locked down tight. And as you read about how he was raised by his cold, unfeeling guardian it gets real clear how that came about.
That is about to hit a wall when he meets up with Natalie. His high handed ways and his title don't impress her one bit. In fact she wouldn't have ever set even one foot on English soil if it wasn't for her promise. A promise to her dying best friend to bring her son, Leo to his grandfather in England. And a cold "welcome" is what Natalie and Leo encounter.
Leo was quite the scamp who kept things lively. I also enjoyed the interactions between Leo and Natalie. And eventually Hadrian, who teased him by affectionately calling him brat.
There are times when the story slows down and it doesn't feel like much is happening. That was one of the things that I didn't enjoy as much.
While Natalie and Hadrian try to work out their differences and there feelings, there is a greedy threat that has to be addressed. But both of our main characters are well up for the challenge. Bringing the story to a happy conclusion.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I thoroughly enjoyed Forever My Duke. Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton meets Natalie Fanshawe as they are both traveling to the same place for entirely different reasons. Hadrian is going there to meet a potential bride and Natalie is going there to fulfill her best friend's dying request. As they travel together, they discover that Natalie's best friend was Hadrian's second cousin that he grew up with. He is saddened to hear of her passing but enchanted by her son, Leo. Natalie promised to bring Leo from America to his mother's family in England.. Hadrian is actually part of that extended family.

Hadrian is immediately taken by Natalie and her confidence. Natalie is also drawn to him but refuses to give into it. She dislikes much of England - specifically the class system and all the curtseying. Natalie also knows enough to figure out that the most she could be to the Duke would be a mistress and she's not interested in that. Therefore, she is determined to ignore her attraction. Events continue to bring them together and their affinity for one another continues to grow.

Forever My Duke was a heartwarming tale of love - - not only in the romantic sense but also love of a child, of a friend and of your family.

"Simply put, you're everything I never knew that I needed."

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Ms. Drake for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie Fanshawe is traveling to bring her young charge to his English relatives when she meets the Duke of Clayton. The spirited American doesn’t care for titles or the aristocracy in general and doesn’t even bat an eye in the presence of the lofty man at the inn until he takes it upon himself to help her with woes time and time again.
As fate will have it, Clayton is on his way to get reacquainted with a prospective bride, but meeting unconventional and outspoken Natalie brings a whole new perspective to the previous requirements for his Duchess.
I really enjoyed the characters, their banter and relationship plus the storyline is filled with twists and turns that make this book very hard to put down.
Once again, I was happy to read Ms. Drake’s work and found it very engaging and entertaining. I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for more of her stories in the future!

Like every other Duke, Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. While he thought he had the perfect one picked out, the outspoken American Natalie Fanshawe catches his eye. She isn't flattered by his attention or title in the least. Instead, she's too busy trying to open a school and reunite a young orphan with his family. Hadrian is determined to launch a campaign to win her over and have her fall in love with him in spite of his title.

Forever My Duke is the second of the Unlikely Duchesses series, after The Duke I Once Knew. It's adorable, and separate from the first novel, so it's unnecessary to have read the first one.

The tropes are easy to suss out as we start the book and progress through it, from the fact that Hadrian knows the boy's family and is headed in the same direction, to the eventual heal turn that brings Hadrian and Natalie closer together. There are descriptions of assaults on Natalie that are interrupted by her defending herself with whatever nearby as a weapon, as well as a child in danger. They aren't the focus of this novel, but anyone that would be upset by knowing of such things should be aware of it. Natalie is a bit too fanatical about her espousing equality in America compared to the classism of England, but she did benefit a lot from having a comfortable lifestyle to begin with.

All in all, this is a fun read that I had to finish before I could start anything else!

Natalie Fanshawe had not expected an easy journey from the wilds of America to London, but she was duty bound to the deathbed promise Audrey exacted from her. Six-year-old Leo was to be taken to England to live with his grandfather, Audrey’s father, though they had been estranged for more than ten years. Young Leo’s penchant for exploring brought about the introduction to Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, when Leo was discovered hiding under the Duke’s dinner table at a roadside inn. Leo’s most recent disappearance, based on his desire to go home to America, caused Natalie and Leo to miss the Royal Mail coach, leaving them stranded. The Duke offered a ride, and though Natalie felt funny about accepting, she did, and learned that the duke was heading to the same manor house, in order to propose marriage to his cousin, Lady Ellen.

Hadrian was completely captivated by Natalie. She was direct and honest, and her devotion to Leo was apparent in everything she did. Unsure about his interest in Ellen, but recognizing he was in need of a suitable wife, he continued on with his pursuit of her. Natalie, being born in America, was not of the proper status, but the discovery of her grandfather’s status changed that. When Lord Godwin was suspicious of Leo’s parentage, Hadrian took both Leo and Natalie back to London, to stay at Clayton House with him and his mother.

I really liked Natalie, though I felt she was often a bit too prickly. Still, I understand her unwillingness to accept what she saw as useless trappings of a frivolous society. Hadrian was quite protective, of Natalie and of Leo, as well as his mother and sister. I liked Hadrian for his basic decency, and his caring nature. This story was fun to read, with the minor clashes of culture, and of course, the expected HEA.

As she was taking her final breaths Audrey Bellingham extracts a promise from her best friend, Natalie, to bring her son to his grandfather in England.

Once the war is over, Natalie arranges passage for herself and Leo to England. The journey is arduous first by boat then via Royal Mail coach. As they waited out an ice storm at a small inn, her charge manages to escape her. Leo does this more than once and leads to Mr. Clayton, offering to convey them to Whitnash when the miss the Royal Mail coach.

Natalie is a little more than surprised to find that the gentleman escorting them is not only the Duke of Clayton but also cousin to the Earl of Grayson, Leo's grandfather.

Fortunately the Duke has taken a liking to both Natalie and Leo as both receive a chilly reception from the Earl and his family in residence.
As Hadrian finds himself falling for Natalie, he also knows it will be a uphill battle to get her to stay so he can court her and hopefully persuade her to marry him.

I truly enjoyed traveling back in time to view the vast estates in the country and also London at the beginning of the Season. Plenty of family drama as Natalie's family tree is revealed, and resentment also surrounds the arrival of Leo.

Some interesting confrontations, some suspense and a simmer to sizzle romance kept me turning the pages.

I have to go back and read the first of this series. I am now finding myself intrigued with the British aristocracy of the past.

This was a great story, it was interesting to see the differences brought to light between English aristocracy and American ways. I loved watching Hadrian and Natalie fight their growing attraction to each other.

I gobbled up this book. Natalie has been born and brought up in America and with a senator for a father, strongly believes in equality for all. She agrees to her dying English friend’s request to cross the ocean to England and give her son Leo into the care of his grandfather. Whilst she has a rather dismal view of the aristocracy she does not expect the suspicion and cold treatment to which she and Leo are subjected by the Godwin family. Without the support of the Duke of Clayton (her friend’s second cousin) it is likely that the two of them would have been turned away from the Earl’s estate. There is a strong attraction between Natalie and Clayton but even if he were prepared to see her as more than mistress material, she has no wish to be a duchess.
So nice not to read a book littered with typos and historical inaccuracies.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've been getting back into the historical genre recently and this one I would rate highly.

Olivia Drake's Forever My Duke is a great story. I loved the American/English point of view and the interesting way the two lead characters meet. I really enjoyed the opposites attract differences. The speed of the plot and the growth of the story picked up like a steam train and was a really enjoyable tale.

It has all the trappings of a historical and I like that it's part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.

Really enjoyed.

Forever My Duke ended up being just okay for me. Granted, I don't read a lot of Regency romances these days, but based on my experience with the genre, this one didn't bring anything new to the table. I expected it to be unrealistic, and it is. So much so, that it kind of felt like a bunch of people pretending to be from that era. It has a rather slow start, and once the story gets going, it's terribly clichéd. Despite all that, I did rather like Hadrian and Natalie and had this been set in a more current time period, I would've loved this couple. Natalie is a bit too progressive for the time, which is one of the many issues I have with the setting. In the end, the story was somewhere in the fair to middlin' range for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I suppose I just wanted more than the typical.

My Forever Duke is the second in the Unlikely Duchess series and I found myself enjoying it just as much as the first.

Natalie is a strong heroine, especially considering she took a huge risk to fulfill a promise to a friend. I enjoyed getting to know her and seeing how her opinions evolved and changed as she got to know the world she was temporarily living in.

Hadrian, the Duke in question, was an entertaining hero. I appreciate his immediate desire to help and willingness to intervene as needed to help.

This well written book features an excellent meet cute, flirtation, emotional growth, and a bit of intrigue as well. My only complaint is that while we see the couple find a happy ending, we are left with several unresolved questions. I would have enjoyed knowing Leo’s (the little boy who brought them together) fate.

I liked Natalie and Hadrian well enough. They’re both good people, even if a little bland. I enjoyed her loyalty to Leo and her friend. He never really acted like a Duke, except for the entire part of being 31 looking at a 17 year old to be his bride. Leo absolutely stole everything scene he was in and I also really liked Hadrian’s sister and mother. They brought some levity.

I was provided with an ARC of this title by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well-written book and kept me engaged. Although it exercised some common tropes, the hero and heroine were likeable and shared a believable connection.

This was a pleasant read. I enjoyed the banter between Hadrian and Natalie, but didn't feel any fire behind it. The characters were somewhat one-dimensional, and the obstacle to their relationship seemed manufactured.

Recommended for a light, easy read.

3.5 Stars
Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake took on the idea of high birth vs American born and is there any way these two could come together. Both are products of their upbringing, she looking down on the rich and peer...He thinking a bride needed to fit a perfect mold.
Little do they both realize, they are both wrong in their assumptions.

Miss Natasha Fanshawe is an intrepid young lady who escaped a massacre in which her best friend and her husband were brutally killed, leaving their six year old son, Leo, an orphan. Natasha promised her dying friend to act as guardian to the young boy and take him to her father, Lord Godwin, at his home in England. En route the lively young lad escapes to hide, taking refuge in the private rooms of Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton. It turns out they are all travelling to the same destination and fate ensures they travel together. The reception given to Leo by his relatives leaves much to be desired as Lord Godwin refuse to acknowledge his grandson without proof.

Natasha has little respect for aristocrats and is determined not to be taken in by Hadrian, even though he seems to believe her and she is definitely attracted to him. As he endeavours to prove her beliefs about the English nobility to be false, he also strives to woo her. Can this unlikely pair prove to be a match? With a conniving mother wanting her daughter to be Hadrian's wife, someone else threatening her and Leo, a Prince to meet and a kidnapping to thwart, this is an action packed regency romance with plenty of twists and turns before they can have their HEA!

This is a fun read and great to escape into. It is a story of fulfilling dying wishes, believing in yourself, learning to love and being prepared to follow your heart. It is a lovely story and I'll definitely look out for more in this series and by this author in future.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review after choosing to read it.