As I always say " another great book by Erica Ridley!" She writes the best Historical Romance ever!!

The village of Cressmouth gets even more heart-warming and charming with each of these tales. Eve is refreshingly spirited, ambitious female for her times and makes a sweet heroine for Bastian. The way she held the Gazette is really amazing and the adjustments she was ready to make for Bastian was sweet. Earlier I did not like Bastian that much, but in this book, his real character is shown making him a really kind person.

Another heartwarming sweet story!

Eve Shelling wants to make the local paper something special. Even though her father makes all final decisions, she is basically the one running it. She just needs an article that will shine, and one that her father will run. The le Ducs selling their smithy should be a worthy topic.

Sébastien le Duc and his siblings almost meant to return home to France. The last thing they need to do is sell their blacksmith business. Sébastien owes it to the town to find the right person to buy it. That's where Eve comes in. She can help him make the tough decision. Leaving England is hard enough, but having to say goodbye to Eve may prove impossible.

Author Erica Ridley's 12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS resumes with the next le Duc sibling, Sébastien. He and Eve are just perfect for one another. Both are bold as brass willing to fight for what they want. A long-ago mistake has Eve afraid to warm up to males in general, so I was touched to see that Sébastien was the one too get past her defenses. So glad they got their HEA. I am so happy more of these stories centered around the le Duc family. There is just something so special about them and I hated to see them leave Cressmouth (Christmas) without learning what would happen to all three of them. I cannot wait to read the next Lucien's story.

This was a fun book!
Loving this series and I recommend it to anyone who needs something to take their mind off the everyday!

How does Erica do it?? Another fantastic book in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series. I had been hoping Bastien would get a book when I read the previous one, so I was happy to see him here. I love the le Duc family. This book had some really interesting issues that I found very thought-provoking, from what is “home” to how to deal with some questionable morals. Very entertaining!

The charming village of Cressmouth plays host again to the next installment in the series. This time we meet Eve Shelling, running the Cressmouth Gazette on behalf of her ageing father. She wants nothing more than to be recognized as a serious reporter, and to do that she has to change the tone of their quarterly paper to a more serious one. She has the idea to write about the upstanding citizens of their village, starting with the Le Duc brothers, who run the blacksmith.

Sebastian le Duc had one ambition, to return to France with his brother, Lucien, to reclaim their birthright. But his goals become more muddled the more time he spends in Eve’s company.

Another short story filled with interesting characters and an interesting story arc. Sebastian seems frivolous on the surface, but he turns out to be kind, loyal, and filled with dreams of his own. I liked Eve as a character. She was funny and interesting. Both Sebastian and Eve had to make some choices and adjust their goals for their futures.

I really enjoyed this book, and would love to read Lucien’s story.

I received an advanced copy of the book from Netgalley to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely love this series, and each one is a light fun read. Eve and Bastien are such likeable characters both hardworking individuals who have known life-changing heartache. Both have earned their happily ever after. Like all the books in this series, the romance isn't smooth sailing, and the couple has to weather a few bumps in the road. 

This is a great series, each book can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading it in order. I am anxiously awaiting the next book, which will feature Bastien's brother. 

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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

The Duke's Embrace, by Erica Ridley, is available at booksellers on 12-3-19. Embrace is book 7 in The 12 Duke's of Christmas series. An ambitious project, 12 stories about 12 "dukes" before Christmas but Ms Ridley is making a fantastic go of it. We're still in the village of Cressmouth, better known as Christmas. The picturesque village is a holiday dream come true. Tourist trade keeps them going and nothing should get in the way of a visitors enjoyment. The Cressmouth Gazette is on the verge of doing such a thing.

Ms Eve Shilling wants to be a "real" journalist, not just write about all things Christmas and touristy. She runs the paper but her father owns it. She's got serious self esteem issues. Blames herself for all kinds of bad things past and future. She wants out of Cressmouth and away from her troubles, which we all know would follow her anyway. She's been immersed in her work for so long that she's almost blind to the world if it's not a story. When she finally looks up Eve is hit with a powerful attraction that she doesn't want.

Sebastien "Bastien" le Duc is a dandy with morals, values, a conscious, and a sense of family & duty. Not your typical dandy. It to give him a boost to his self esteem to be dressed to the nines & admired. He's something special. He works hard at it, even making his own clothes. He kinda wants to go home to France and kinda doesn't, he's been gone almost 2 decades. He's aware of Eve long before she notices him. Neither is interested in anything but a short term romance but the heart wants what the heart wants.

There are holes in the story but I was so invested in the characters that it didn't matter. I liked these two. You're going to love the bullmastiff, Duenna. It's Spanish for a companion and that's exactly what she is. I'm waiting on the next installment, the last le Duc brother and the hardest to imagine with an HEA. Hurry Ms Ridley, write faster.

@12Dukes #EricaRidley #TheDuke'sEmbrace #Netgalley #historicalromance

This is my second book in the Twelve Dukes series. This one gets 3-1/2 stars, because I didn't completely "buy" into the story. I feel more length would have made the story more realistic and the love story more believable.

I received and ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This was a really fun read. This Christmas series gets better with each story. Eve is a journalist wanting to be taken seriously. Bastien is the heartthrob blacksmith who has a few illegal activities on the side. Together they are adorable and a bad idea. This one has plenty of humour and I loved the bang between them.

Highly entertaining, fun, engaging and action packed adventure filled with interesting charters, witty banter, emotional thrills and undeniable passion.... was a great read from beginning to end. Really enjoyed this journey!

Eve dreams of the perfect story that will get her to London. Instead of writing just about the village and the celebrations during the holidays, she decides on a human interest story. Her most attractive subject is one of the local blacksmiths, Bastien. Only Bastien has a secret that can destroy the love they have for each other.. A short book full of conflict and romance.

I have not read the first 5 books in the series, I have read the 6th book because I was given that for review. I feel like for the 6th book I didn’t feel like I needed to read the first 5 books to connect with the story and the town and the characters and I really enjoyed that one. For this one though I don’t know what happened but I could not connect with the characters or the romance. I wanted to love this one and it just didn’t do it for me. The romance just seemed rushed and I just didn’t care for the characters at all. The story was alright and I still intend to continue on with the series. I also really need to read the first 5 books

THE DUKE’S EMBRACE by Erica Ridley
I loved this simple story of a young lady who dreams of becoming a renowned journalist in London. Miss Eve Shelling’s father owned the only printing press in Cressmouth famous for its yuletide cheer Christmastide feeling all year round. Eve no longer wanted to write puff pieces for the paper. She wanted to write hard hitting action pieces. She needed the experience if she was ever to make it big in London. Monsieur Sebastien le Duc is one of the local smithies. His eldest brother Lucien was the other smithy. The reason they were in England is a terrible tragic story. They escaped France during the peasant revolution. Bastien’s family’s dream has been to return to France and try to reclaim their title and lands their parents had. It has been eighteen years and now the time was at hand to leave. That had been the plan. Eve fought her attraction to Bastien at every turn. When Bastien set his eyes on her there was no going back. If you read the last book in the series you know the type of other business the le Duc’s were involved with. Eve found out and was going to expose all those involved. I liked the characters very much. Strong, loyal, determined and honest. Family first was something Eve and Bastien had in common. What was to happen to Eve and Bastien’s budding romance? What was going to happen to the le Duc family if Eve printed an expose? Will they flee to France or be stuck in England? I enjoyed the story. It was entertaining and fun to read. I do recommend this story. I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

What a fun little town! This story is a nice addition to the series. A dominating father for the journalist and the Frenchmen are ready to return home. So why suddenly do they notice each other? The story unfolds in a delightful tale. I enjoyed the book.

I thought that was really enjoyable story!

It was a little slow to start but as soon as I got in to the story and pace built up I thought it was a real page turner and a really nice romantic story that was genuinely heart-warming in places. It has well developed characters that work well together.

The plot was well developed and the author had a nice writing style. The flow for the story was good too. It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!!

Local blacksmith Monsieur Sébastien le Duc has a new mission--find a buyer for the smithy so his brother and he can finally return to France, the land of their birth. He enlists the help of budding journalist Miss Eve Shelling who agrees to put an ad into the Cressmouth Gazette. Eve finds herself becoming more attractive to Bastien the more time they spend together, but she reminds herself that a romance between them is pointless because he'll be leaving soon.

I love this series and The Duke's Embrace is another feel good story. The leDuc brothers are well defined and their goals are simple--make enough money to finance their return trip home. Ms. Ridley has written another well crafted story that makes the reader route for both Bastien and Eve to find a compromise to their budding romance. As with the other stories in this series, a happily ever after is finally achieved after a few bumps along the way. I'm looking forward to reading Lucien's story.

This is book 7 in the 12 dukes of Christmas series. You do not have to read them in order but I think you will get more enjoyment if you do.
This one is about a young woman, Miss Eve Shelling who dreams of being a great journalist. She works
and writes for The Cressmouth Gazette a paper her father owns. Eve does all the work for the paper, runs the press, writes the articles and make sure the shipping is on time. Her father orders her to write and print only what he wants in the paper, positive things, stories of Christmas, Sleigh rides, wassailing . These will bring more tourist to a town know for Christmas. She wants to write about life, and how the village is so much more and about the people. Eve lost her mother years ago and carries not only sadness but quilt
the has taken over all her feelings. Her father does nothing now but stay in his den by himself.
She does not trust men period. Her best friend is Duenna who just happens to go ever where with her. She is a Hugh Bull mastiff dog that protects her and keeps men at large.
Monsieur Sebastien know as Bastien is the towns dandy, and one of the black smiths along with his brother Lucien.
They have been in Cressmouth for the last nineteen years, since having to flee from France.
Even thru Eve and Bastien have known about each other they just now start talking as they need each other now.
Bastien needs to sell the smithy so he and Lucien can return to France.
Eve needs a story she can write that is not about the some old things even if it upsets her father.
She and Bastien make a deal , she gets to write about the Brother's and in turn will help him sell the smithy.
As the learn about the other, and share things with each other, alone with some hot kissing.
Just as they are working it all out danger rises to end everything. There are many secrets in this small town,
and the wrong people finding out could hurt many. Saying any more would ruin the book for you.
You don't want to miss any of these books, but I think this may be my favorite. (I say that after each one)
I want to thank the author and NetGalley for giving me and ARC . I am voluntarily giving my honest opinion.

I'll be honest and say this was not my favourite. Don't get me wrong it WAS an enjoyable read but something about Eve was bothering me and I just can't seem to find the reason behind it.
I did like Sebastian; I mean who doesn't like a dandy with all the right words.

Once again the banter was funny and the chemistry/love between the characters was believable. I'm excited to see who'll be paired with Lucien; i have a feeling he'll be my favourite in the series.

***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***

The Duke’s Embrace is the seventh book in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series by Erica Ridley. This was another awesome book for the series! Eve Shelling was under-paid and under-appreciated by her father who owned the Cressmouth Gazette. She was ambitious and wanted the Gazette to become something better than a quarterly paper that only contained information about the town’s festivities for Christmas. She thought it should contain things about the actual people and families that lived in Cressmouth, when her father was happy to continue reissuing old issues. Compromising with her father and trying to find an in between was becoming hard. She was excited when she came up with the idea to write an article about the Le Duc’s smithy to help them find a buyer for the business.
Sebastien “Bastien” le Duc and his family owned and operated the local blacksmith. They were determined to return to their home country of France after earning enough money to pay for their uncle to have his home. His family was also part of a secret smuggling operation that helped to supplement their income. They were planning on returning to France after they sold the smithy right after Christmas. He didn’t plan on falling for Eve or dreading to leave Cressmouth.
This was a short and fast paced book to read, but such a fun book. I loved the characters in the book. Sebastien was a dandy who loved his family and was not afraid of hard work. His loyalty to his family was strong and his skills as a problem solver helped them to survive. Eve was determined and had a good vision for the Gazette to make a difference to the people who actually lived in Cressmouth year-round. I can’t wait to read the next book and see Lucien get his happy ever after.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.