After reading Amalie Howard's The Beast of Bestwick, I knew I wanted to read more of her work, and I was intrigued by the cover and synopsis of The Duke's Princess Bride.

Sarani was such an excellent female lead. She was a bad-ass Indian warrior princess with intelligence, fire, a quick wit and a sharp tongue. I found many things to love about her.

Rhystan, unfortunately, fell short as an exemplary male lead. He held on to his feelings of betrayal and bitterness toward Sarani for much too long (I think the entire book except for the last chapter and epilogue). It was ridiculous, and due to those feelings, he treated Sarani quite poorly throughout most of the book, and it got on my nerves. Also, he was very hypocritical with issues regarding "duty" for himself, Sarani and even his sister.

Then the romance itself lacked an emotional connection, in my opinion. Sarani and Rhystan had an extremely visceral attraction to each other, which usually I am all for. However, I felt in this instance, that physical attraction overtook every other aspect of their relationship. I don't know how many times weeks went by on the ship and in London, and there was NO COMMUNICATION between the two. They didn't rehash the past or talk through their misunderstandings or resolve anything between them, and I don't recall that ever really happening actually. They were too busy thinking about how physically attractive and desirable the other was, I guess.

The story itself kept my attention; I just wish there had been a greater feeling of depth to their relationship as well as a stronger male lead than Rhystan turned out to be.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

This review may not count, as I see from other reviews that the author will be changing it anyway.
Amalie Howard is a talented writer, and the two main characters definitely have chemistry. Except yes, I did see some issues with the way Rhystan treated Sarani at the start. Some might say it was irredeemable. Both characters were slightly inconsistent in their treatment of each other (more him than her), but maybe all of this will be changed anyway.
I liked Rhystan's sister Ravenna, especially her personality. Maybe she'll be getting her own book.

I fought with this one. I don't love a miscommunication story line and felt like there was never a conversation about the reasons they were separated when they were younger. I thought their chemistry was good, but felt like we didn't get much in the way of emotional connection. There is a ton of potential here and I love the idea of the story, but the conversations that didn't happen were enough to make it a challenging read for me.

I began reading this book only to discover the author is completely reworking the book due to concerns from early reviewers. I didn't get very far into the book (around 50-75 pages) but I did enjoy the opening of the book. I am stopping there, but I will definitely be reading the book in full after the revised version comes out, as I do not want to judge the book based on a version that will not be published. I look forward to reading the revised edition.

I want to say first I went into this story with an open mind & an open heart knowing that this is a romance story! I had seen some sadly bad reviews toward this book but I don’t know the full extent of the actual history. That being said this book was wonderful! It is indeed a fiction fantasy romantic story. *I hate that some got offended without even reading this book & the fact that they also didn’t take into account that this is made up & not a book based on real events* I’m so happy to have been able to read Sarani & Rhystan’s story to finding love once again with one another. These two had been to hell and back through out their lives....so when fate brings them back together we get a rush of feelings & flash backs! I’m so happy we were given a glimpse into their past. ( As some books leave this out but I find when dealing with a second chance I NEED this) I really believe these two needed to grow up and mature before they finally got an HEA as they were kids when the first fell. Rhystan is quite grumpy and can be frustrating at times, how can we not love this kind of Duke? Especially when he lays claim to what’s his & what he wants!*swoon* Sarani is a beautiful mixed heroine who is trying hard to find her place & herself. It made her real! Rhystan & Sarani go through a journey of being forced together on a ship to faking an engagement to help Sarani fit into the tin. This book had so much feeling & all the sexy times I was here for!! I hope there will be more in this as a series! It was a fun ride to love!

I've read the author's concerns about this book and that she is addressing many issues that have been brought up concerning race. It appears she is working on revamping the entire book, with a new title, The Princess Stakes, and a new release date of June 2021. Because of this reworking, I feel it only fair that I read and review the work as the author intended. I look forward to reading the revised version.

It’s very difficult to give real representation to own-voice/ non-caucasian characters in historical romance. For this very reason, I found this book a difficult read.

Princess Sarani Rao is forced to leave her kingdom of Poor when she finds her father murdered. While fleeing her she finds herself aboard ship heading to England. Her mother was the daughter of an English Earl, thus she hopes to find a safe haven there… even though her mixed heritage of Indian and English decent has always made her an outsider.

I anticipated racism in a story taking place during a time when it was the norm, but I had hoped for a heroine who waS stronger and more at peace in her own skin. Princess Sarani is one of own biggest critics and her choice to align herself the duke after he degrade her and her culture (in. Broken hearted rage) does not shine a good light on her.

This book started off with a. Very old-school, Johanna Lindsey vibe, but in todays climate it doesn’t hold up well.

The Duke’s Princess Bride by Amalie Howard is scheduled to release January 26th, 2021.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

After reading the discussion surrounding this book, I cannot give an accurate review knowing the problems throughout and that the author has chosen to revise/address the issues within the story I look forward to reading and reviewing the revised version when it is published.

This is a second chance romance story.
Rhystan and Sarani meet in India. He is in Her Majesty's Navy and she is a Princess of Joor, in India. He is a 3rd son of a Duke. Her father is Indian and her mother is the daughter of an English Earl.
There are many hurdles to overcome: Duty, family and race. As a result they split apart.
Years later, when Sarani is fleeing for her life, she ends up on the ship owned by Rhystan. She is fleeing to her mother's family in England. Rhystan is going home to take his responsibility as the Duke since the death of his father and 2 brothers.
Their obstacles are still there. Now they have to take a stand and overcome them.
I enjoyed this book. Prejudice is a hard topic to write about without offending people. I thought the author did a good job.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I read the author's own review on goodreads for this book and I really appreciated her addressing the problems and discussion surrounding this book. I personally do not feel like I can give an accurate review of this book, or say anything that hasn't already been said. But, I think Amalie Howard is a great author and I look forward to more of her books in the future.

I saw the author's own review on goodreads for this book and I really appreciated her addressing the problems and discussion around the book. I personally do not feel like I can give an accurate review or say anything that hasn't already been said. But I do appreciate the author addressing it.

After reading the discussion surrounding this book, I cannot give an accurate review knowing the problems throughout and that the author has chosen to revise/address the issues within the story. While I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style/character chemistry and I look forward to reading and reviewing the revised version I do think this story hit the mark.

I want to begin saying that I'm aware of the public conversations that took place on Twitter regarding the unsettled feelings that many people had about this book. Having now read the original ARC, I agree that the those concerns have merit. However, I also am aware of Amalie Howard's public statement and her commitment to process and address the areas of concern and I believe she is very sincere.

These important issues aside, and they are very, very important, I am yet again impressed by Howard's romance writing skill. She knows how to write emotional, sensual romance and crafts simmering chemistry between her lead characters. Without these complex issues (race, imperialism, colonization, colorism) driving the plot, the writing is well done. I continue to be a fan of Amalie Howard's impressive writing skills and the 4 stars reflect her skill only. It was so difficult to rate this book, and I trust that the issues and potential harm that drove the previous public discourse will be addressed.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Duke's Princess Bride by Amalie Howard is an engaging read from the beginning. The lead character, an Indian princess, fights her way through to survival. She has some help and lands on a ship belonging to the only man she ever loved. Conflict follows her everywhere. Tensions rise with each scene. From the dangers following her to the hatred from polite society, Sarani has her hands full. She has more royalty and rank than almost of the her peers. A weapon wielding fighter, this princess can fight her own battles. It took a lot for her lover to hold back and let her fight it alone. Everything in him, wants to fight them for her. But he knows, she needs to fight it herself. A man like Duke Rhystan is the real deal. He's all red blooded male, stubborn, and full of himself. But he cares about his mom, sister, and most of all Sarani. This novel was beautifully written. I rooted for the protagonists. They caught my heart and kept it. Overall, this was a phenomenal historical romance novel. Full of action, danger, and romance-The Duke's Princess Bride is a must read for all.

Unfortunately, this book fell way short for me. It had none of the previous book's spark and I found it hard to follow. Sorry. Not saying I wouldn't pick up another one by Amalie Howard...this one wasn't for me.

Being a person of colour, I find writing this review quite hard. I sat on it for months and months and I felt so conflicted.

The writing is sublime--Amalie Howard has the gift of prose and she does such a good job of pacing within a story and for making a reader feel emotions. I loved the descriptions of certain aspects, some characters were written really well.

However, as I person of colour, an Indian woman, reading about what I thought would have been an Indian woman's journey to self love and romantic love...it wasn't really that. To start things off, the heroine was so fair she could have passed for a white, British lady if she so chose, and she did choose to do so. This felt like an erasure of brown skinned Indian woman, women who clearly cannot pass for white and quite frankly, who DON'T want to erase their own culture and history. The heroine did just that and I couldn't look past this aspect. I GET why this plot point was important for the story, she had to pretend so that she could escape the enemies, but it didn't sit well.

And yes, the mention of the hero using his plantation as a safe haven REALLY rubbed me the wrong way. Being an Indian woman, I am also a Caribbean woman. My ancestors were those VERY people who would have worked on those plantations that Howard had talked about. I HATED seeing this within this story, but one could argue that the hero could have been ignorant and didn't know any better because at that time, some nobility didn't. But, I really cannot ignore this piece of narrative because colonization is a trope I could really do without.

We really didn't need this in a book that was supposed to highlight Indian culture and demonstrate a certain pride in one's customs. While the writing was done really well and I enjoyed some aspects, I cannot in good conscience recommend this to anyone, as it is NOW.

I know the author is working on revising this story and I really commend her for this. It takes a lot to call yourself out and LEARN about the very history you write. I will read the revised copy because I do value this author and I believe people deserve the opportunities to better their own work with newfound education.

After her father is assassinated, Sarani escapes Joor by hiding on a ship owned by Rhystan bound for England. Their past history causes hurt feelings on Rhystan’s part but soon the old feelings surface as he tries to protect her from an assassin. The story is full of romance, once they both admit their true feelings, and danger from several sources. This is a great story that grabbed my attention at the start until the very end. There is never a dull moment nor can you always predict what will happen next. Rhystan and Sarani’s story is an excellent read.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

"They hated based on an ideal, and that was the most ignorant kind of hate"....loved this line from the story! I really enjoyed Rhystan and Sarani's story, both their characters were so riveting. Theirs is a second chance romance filled with danger, adventure on the high seas, as well as both of them trying to find out where they truly belong.

Sarani is of mixed blood and has never felt like she belonged, either in India or in England. As she says, she's "too light for India" and "too dark for England". My heart goes out to anyone who goes through this struggle, it can't be easy at all. Deciding if you care or don't care what people think is another problem!! I really loved Sarani's character and I loved that she can take care of herself when it comes to putting men in their places:)

Rhystan is the captain of his own ship and although he hasn't seen Sarani in 5 years, when he finds her on his ship, the memories come flooding in but he's also hurt and angry that she had chosen duty over love. Now that he's become a Duke, he must decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life. I loved their banter and the heat between them is really, really, really HOT!!!

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I LOVED this book. I loved the main character. I loved that you have same romance formula but diverse characters.

I read it in one sitting. I simply couldn't put it down! I cannot wait to read more from this author!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel. All opinions are freely given.*

I loved this book, and honestly I am really loving Amalie Howard's style. I have read The Beast of Beswick and the angsty and hate to love energy is something that I love so much.

This book has so much going on. We have an interracial couple. We have royalty. We have a coup. We have a scorned lover and a second chance romance. We have forced proximity on a ship and a runaway princess. I was so here for all of it.

It started on a run and it kept up the pace and the passion all the way through. We had a vibrant heroine in Sarani. She has had to make very hard choices and we find her in a dangerous situation. She manages to escape her fate and sneak her way onto a ship bound for the UK, only to realize she stumbled into the lap (literally) of someone she used to know.

Our hero Rhystan, loved Sarani with a passion and he was spurned by her and lashed out to her in a horrible letter as a younger man. He was willing to give up everything for her, and she threw it in his face. Now she has the nerve to sneak onto his ship. He doesn't want to hear her reasons for what happened, and although I thought it was a bit aggressive HOW angry he is at her, I can understand how a love that fiery could burn even hotter as hatred.

I can't speak to the racial and cultural parts of this book, but I really had a great time with the novel and I have been enjoying more racially diverse historical romances lately and have really loved them. This reminds me of Her Night With the Duke by Diana Quincy and I enjoy seeing women of this time period who have to be stronger than the "ton" of most novels.

I loved how strong, clever, and passionate Sarani was. I love a brooding hero like Rhystan and he was sexy and very stubborn. I really hope more books like these continue to be written and I commend the author for taking on this kind of couple. I don't know what I don't know about Sarani, but I loved this book.

The only things I didn't care for so much were honestly the intense hatred at the beginning. They were kids when everything happened. And I wanted our hero to grovel a bit more for how cruel he was in his letter. But it gives the novel an edge that I like.