Cover Image: My Darling Duke

My Darling Duke

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I'm currently clearing out all of the books that were published in 2019-20 from my title feedback view!

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This being my first book by Stacy Reid, I wasn’t sure of what to expect, but her interpretation of the Beauty and the Beast trope feels fresh and fun. I loved the fact that an innocent little white lie (or not so little in this case) snowballed into such a huge adventure for Kitty, Alexander, and the rest of the Wallflowers. Reclusive, grumpy heroes are my jam, so this one was right up my alley!

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I enjoyed this romance story with the two main characters that were Miss Katherine Danvers and Alexander Masters ,the Duke of Thornton. And also the rest of the characters too.

Miss Katherine Danvers has been a wallflower because of her family is on the brink of financial ruin and no one want to invite them to any thing.She has came up with a plan to change this. She has decided to announce that she engaged to the Duke of Thornton that has been reclusive absent. By doing this she might be able to get invited to balls so that she can at least get her sister good match within the ton. But she did not expect the Duke to show up at a ball.

Alexander Masters, the Duke of Thornton has been reclusive absent from the ton because of something happened to him. But when he hear that a young Miss has told all the ton that they are engaged. He decides to come to see her.

There are quite a bit of sadness within the story. But by the end of the book there was happy things. This book was quite different than most historical romance reads that I have read but I was good.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

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It took me three different tries to get into this book. it, While I have enjoyed Reid's work in the past, the writing was repetitive and the plot was kind of stale...

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I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked this book. It was different than most books that I have read in the genre.
Kitty is desperate to help her family put of poverty by making sure her sisters marry wellm. In order to accomplish this she claims to be engaged to the recluse duke who hasn't been to town in years.
Alexander was injured in an accident years ago but when he finds out about the rumors of his engagement rather than be angered he is intrigued and travels to London to meet his fiance.
I usually get bored in books when the only thing preventing a HEA is the hero or heroine themselves but in this case that is what makes the book so great because their is a really struggle and a real relationship and character growth.
I really wanted a HEA for Alexander and Kitty and loved how it came about. 4.5 stars.

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Oh my! Oh My! I had forgotten how much I adored a very well written historical romance; especially when it has a favourite trope – a hero with a traumatic past and a heroine; who is considered a wallflower or rather invisible by the society.

I adored Kitty and Alexander – they’re wonderful individuals; smart as heck and despite their circumstances were able to use their situation to their own advantage. This attitude of theirs lands both of them in a fake relationship/engagement which turns into something far more real than they could have ever imagined.

Their attraction and their chemistry made for some wonderful interaction s between Kitty and Alexander – and when you combine them with some amazingly impertinent secondary characters that include not only Alexander’s sisters but also his house staff; it made for some very giggly times!



The writing was pretty darn fantastic and one of the main reasons why the book caught my attention as it did. The conversations between the protagonists as well as their inner monologue were not only interesting but also quite relatable; especially in the moments of intense vulnerability; thus making me quite emotionally invested in their happiness.

Basically to sum it up – this first book in a new historical romance series is the reason why I will keep an eye for the rest of the Sinful Wallflowers’ HEA – for the snippets were enough to make me salivate more!

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Stacy Reid really does an excellent job with historical romances. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling and is very well done! And there is even a "there's only one bed scene!" Kitty and her bunch of Sinful Wallflowers are lovely and I can't wait for future books! I really liked how the relationship between Alexander and Kitty developed and very much enjoyed this story!

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Absolutely beautiful regency another enchanting book from our awesome author, it has everything and most definitely characters you can't help but adore

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The characters of Kitty and Alexander just won me over right from the first time that I read about them. I adore how honorable Kitty is even though she is propagating this huge deception. My heart hurts thinking about the excruciating pain that Alexander must have gone through to be able to survive his past tragedy. They both are so brave even when faced with adversities and once they meet they set the pages on fire. There is angst, romance, sexual tension and every single thing made me love the book even more. It is very loosely based on beauty and the beast fairytale. I read this book in one go and had a really difficult time putting it down. It's been a while since I adored both lead characters so much. I loved Kitty and Alexander and wish I could keep reading about them. This is book one in the Sinful Wallflower series and I cannot wait to read about the adventures of the rest of the wallflowers. I highly recommend this book especially if you are looking for a great read during this time of physical distancing.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

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Thank you for allowing me to read this book. I absolutely loved the story. Kitty was a breath of fresh air and Alexander was too. I often thought of Beauty and the Beast while reading this story. I truly can't wait to read more from this author.

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Wow this book was just so good and so easy to get lost in. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I just didn't want it to end. I just couldn't get enough of these wonderful characters and I just loved getting to see their journey. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This was an updated version of Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is the Duke of Thornton, Alexander Masters. Ten years prior, a twenty year old Alexander saved himself and his seven year old sister from a fire that raged in their home in Scotland that killed their parents. He sustained life-threatening injuries. He hasn't been seen in London for seven years, preferring to remain in Scotland away from the ton. Miss Katherine Danvers, but goes by Kitty, is the Beauty. She is a wallflower. Kitty along with her closest friends, who are also wallflowers, decide to do something wickedly fun. She concocts a tale to weave that she is engaged to the Duke to help promote her younger sister(s) to make better matches as they are near-penniless since their father a Viscount has passed away several years ago.

The tale is a charming one. It is full of wit and angst. I felt for both characters. I was extremely glad to see the story written in a dual POV format. Getting into Alexander's thoughts and see the fear and pain that he suffers really helped me to understand some of his actions much better.

For the most part, this is a clean read but there are a few parts that near the end that should really only be read be someone over the age of 18.

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What an excellent variation of Beauty and the Beast. Kitty and Alexander both are more concerned with their siblings happiness than their own. Both are strong and engaging characters. I fell in love right along with them.
I highly recommend the purchase of this book. You will not be disappointed. Kudos to Stacy Reid.

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I finally got to read this book and boy was I pleasantly surprised. This is a first time read for me by this author. Katherine Danvers, Kitty, to her family and friends, is desperate to keep the good graces of her family's name intact all for her family. She is considered on the shelf, a wallflower and then an idea pops in her head. What if she says she is engaged to someone who they have never met or heard from in over 10 years? Brilliant, you say? Hmmmm....ok, Lol. The Duke of Thornton, Alexander Masters, has indeed been a recluse due to a terrible accident and has been away from society for a decade. Imagine his surprise when he receives congratulations on his engagement, while he resides in Scotland, all the way from London. His attitude, well he has got to meet his fiancee, Lol. Filled with laughter, a bit of angst and a tender and emotional story, made for a wonderful read, I enjoyed this one very much and look forward to the next one. 4 solid stars******

****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by Entangled Publishing through NetGalley*****

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My Darling Duke was my last read for 2019 and it was fantastic way to end the year. Its been a while since I've last read a historical romance and this story reminded me why I loved them so much. This novel was deeply emotional, steamy, amusing and will have you hooked from beginning to end. This was romance at its finest. I loved the storyline and the chemistry between the two characters Kitty and Alexander was intense. I loved the back and fort banter between them and I loved the secondary characters who all added to the story in their own way.This is my first book from this author and I was really impressed with her style of writing. The characters were well developed, the plot was interesting and I would definitely check out other works by this author.
My Darling Duke was an excellent read and I would highly recommend it to all lovers of regency romance.

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BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY.....However, with heart have a box of tissues while reading. This book was absolutely not the normal. I had a hard time deciding at first if I liked it or not as tears ran down my face. My emotions were up and down while reading. The author has created a very unique story line that targets emotions and life. I enjoyed the way the heroine dealt with the issues but maybe would of wished for a little more in the hero.

All in all a captivating read. I was given this book via NetGalley, All opinions expressed here are my own. Regards, Anna

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While I did enjoy this book, I have to start off by saying it wasn't what I was used to with Stacy Reids book. All in all I enjoyed and let give a little of why. So we meet Kitty who is on the shelf at 23 (yeah I know but this was the ton) anyhoo she doesn't want her sisters to be on the shelf like her so she decides that she will use Alexander Masters, the Duke of Thornton, who know one has seen in quite a while, so what harm will it do to use his name. Alexander has been a recluse since he was in an accident that he lost his parents and got partially paralyzed and scarred. When he starts hearing congrats and wondering what in the world, its not that people have tried to use him before, they have but this woman just wants his name, and he decides to find out for himself. When these two come face to face, the sparks are flying all over the place, and the rest my friends is for you to find out..

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I give this book 4,5 stars.

It is a very emotional and heartwarming story about a lady who will give up her chance of happiness for her sisters to get their HEA and a lord who after a terrible accident has been sitting in a bathing chair almost unable to walk and only living for his sister finding their HEA in each other.

It was amazing to see these two very lonely and distraught people finding happiness laughter joy and love in each other but the travel to get there was a long and winding. It just made me so happy that even though they had so many struggles and they also had to fight all the gossip of the ton and their peers they fought themselves through it and found their HEA to.

It is a retelling of “Beauty and the beast” and I truly loved the main and side characters.

The only thing is that it is a little to long and she believes him a little to fast when he pushes her away.
But his grovel is great and he earns her back!

I can definitely recommend this book.

I got this book from Entangled Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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My Darling Duke is a great beginning to the Sinful Wallflowers series. I love how the wallflowers have decided to take control of their lives tired of being relegated to the corner of ballrooms. This first book begins with Katherine/Kitty Danvers fooling the ton with a fake engagement to the long absent Alex, Duke of Thornton. The ruse does what Kitty needed in order to help her sisters become accepted by the ton and make successful matches.

What can go wrong? The duke eventually shows up to find out what is going on. What follows is the emotional connection that develops between the duke and Kitty. Alex not only has been burned in a fire, there is more wrong with him. Ms. Reid takes difficult life situations and weaves in the way people might respond to those situations in their lives.

I loved Kitty and Alex. Both have so much to give but do not even realize how special they are. Each see it in the other and are willing to find their HEA no matter what. I am looking forward to seeing how Ms. Reid develops the other wallflowers.

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Loved this latest from Stacy Reid. At first the beginning seemed a little slow like it was setting up for a bunch of other stories in this series down the way but once you get past it, the story picks up and sucks you in. I actually had to try and pace myself because I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want it to end. The story is a lot of fun with Kitty Danvers pretending to be engaged to the Duke of Thornton since he's been MIA from society for awhile. It becomes a slippery slope that actually draws the duke out as laughter and romance ensues.

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