Sarani Rai is an Indian princess, with an English mother, and an Indian father. When she discovers her fathers body, she knows she needs to leave, and hide. The only way is to sneak aboard a British ship out of India. When she’s discovered, she realizes it’s the handsome boy she once loved, who’s no longer a boy. The Duke of Embry never wanted the title. He was happy to run his ships. He was never meant to be the Duke. But he’s summoned home by an ill mother. Then he discovers Sarani has stowed away on his ship. The last person he wanted to see again. She had broke his heart. But she insists that she must get to London. He soon discovers the danger she’s could be in and comes up with a proposition that would benefit them both.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and had me interested from the start. Sarani is a strong character, who can take care of herself. She isn’t one of those heroines who need a man to save her. And Rhystan wants to live his own life. I loved watching the relationship grow between the two. I definitely recommend this book.

Interesting book. I had read the previous book from this author and enjoyed it. This book was not a good fit for me. I would be open to reading another book by this author.

This is the story of Princess Sarani Rao, the daughter of a British woman and an Indian Maharaja. After her father is murdered she flees to England. With two trusted servants she hides on a ship bound to England. Unfortunately, this ship is captained by Rhystan Huntley, the Duke of Embry, whom she once loved, but lost through the machinations of others.

The Captain and the Princess see the past very differently. Both hold anger and resentment towards the other, but a long sailing trip in close quarters can make things clearer. This was an interesting book with an unusual premise. There was plenty of angst and intrigue to keep the reader interested. There was also an entertaining cast of supporting characters.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the books of Celeste Bradley, Mary Balogh and Grace Burrowes.

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 0%
I've been sitting on this for a while. I won't lie, talking about this makes me uncomfortable. But not talking about this would be a dissservice. So here I am.
I was orginally very excited to read this. The story and setting sounded so different and unique from all the other historical romances I've read. And being desi myself, learning the heroine was part Indian had me hitting the request button right away!
But sadly since then, I've learned this novel suffers from lots of sensitivity issues surrounding racism and colonization. I personally don't wish to read a romance between a poc heroine and a plantation owning hero. A romance where racial slurs are sprinkled about without challenge and the heroine's light skin is praised considered valuable. And learning the hero is a misogynist on top of everything else makes this a hard pass for me.
This extra disappointing because this was an own voice novel. Now I understand authors of colour have a more difficult time getting published than white authors, but I don't think that excludes should them from recieving criticism. And I'm glad my fellow desis and allies stepped up and pointed them out. I'm also glad the author has taken this criticism seriously and is making the necessary revisions. Instead of this, I'd rather read the revised copy.

Please note: I received an advance digital copy of this book through NetGalley from Sourcebooks Casablanca and Amalie Howard in exchange for a honest review. This does not influence my opinions in any way.

This is my fair and honest review, voluntarily given and in my own words, for this arc. A well written tale of a love that spans time and prejudices. The characters are so multifaceted and complicated and they draw you in. You will root for them as they struggle against their own fears, bigotry and the ton.

Trust, love, swooney moments all aboard a ship with 2 awesome strong willed characters and you have a great story!!! It pulled me in with the cover and this book never did let me go!!!

After reading the analysis and sensitivity issues surrounding this book and knowing that the author has chosen to revise the book heavily I'm not going to be reviewing this iteration of the book. I applaud the author for wanting to do better and taking the steps necessary. I look forward to reading and reviewing the revised version when it is ready.

I'm leaving a three star review since that is my baseline and netgalley requires it. I will not be posting anything to any other site.

As a reader, I try not to always pick up books based on beautiful covers, but sometimes I just can't help myself - The Duke's Princess Bride has a stunning cover design, and I take my hat off to all the cover designers/artists because they play such an important role in marketing books. Maybe we shouldn't judge books by their covers, but the best way to get someone to pick up a book is to catch their eye. That was the first reason I decided to request this book, the second being the author, Amalie Howard. I've only previously read one other book by this artist but I have wanted to try a few more of her books this year, so this was the perfect opportunity.

In The Duke's Princess Bride, we open with the daughter of a maharaja, Sarani Rao, on a mission to escape the only home she's ever known after her father is murdered. Her escape hinges on obtaining passage aboard a ship bound for England, the homeland of her mother, and after sneaking aboard one such ship, she quickly discovers that it is captained by none-other than the Englishman, Rhystan Huntley, who captured her heart years earlier. Their parting back then has strained their relationship, but the two come to a mutually beneficial arrangement - in exchange for safe passage, Sarani will pose as Huntley's fiancé in order to stave off his mother's attempts at match-making when he returns. But nothing is ever quite that simple.

This book was a lot of fun. I haven't read many historical romance novels set on ships (as this one was for the first third of the book) so that was a bit of fun, especially when Huntley insists that Sarani earns her passage by working abroad the ship. While she does as requested, she also plays a number of practical jokes on the captain while she's at it.

Sarani is a strong-willed, very capable heroine who has to leave the only home she knows or risk her own death because of political power-plays by power-hungry relatives. By running, she's leaving behind the title of princess in the vain hope that her distant relatives in England might take some pity on her. (And even if they don't she's got her own back-up plan, because she's no damsel.)

Rhystan, on the other hand, is the unintended Duke of Embry - the third son who suddenly ends up with the title after the death of his father and older brothers - and no-one, not even Rhystan himself, believes he's fit for the role. His mother is determined to see him married, when he'd rather be off sailing, and so his offer to Sarani is one of mutual benefit. Nevermind that he's bitter about her choosing another man over him years earlier.

It was interesting following along on the journey as these two characters rebuilt their relationship, and - most importantly - trust. They had both done things to hurt each other in the past and now they have an opportunity to mend those hurts. They're both strong, determined individuals with their own thoughts on what should and shouldn't happen, and neither are afraid of telling the other so, which is probably what I liked most about their relationship.

I was also a huge fan of Rhystan's younger sister, who's making her debut in society. She and Sarani strike up a fast friendship and Sarani spends a lot of time standing up to Rhystan on her behalf.

Another aspect I really enjoyed reading about was Sarani's struggle with reconciling her half Indian/half English heritage. Quite often in the story she talks about never quite feeling like she fit in in India, and how people look down on her in England, and those moments were quite poignant.

Even though The Duke's Princess Bride doesn't come out until late January 2021, I think it's definitely worth keeping on your radar as a fun way to pass the time.

I was excited to read this story since the description and setting sounded different than other historical fiction romance, however I was unable to download this title before it was pulled from NetGalley in September. I'm hoping revisions are made based off of previous reviewers comments and reflections on the story and it'll be available post revisions. Thanks so much to the publisher.

Rhystan & Sarani are of different cultures and colors! They are young and impetus! She has to choose her father, but she doesn’t know that Rhystan never gets her message and he is beaten and thrown on a ship!

Years later she needs to vacate her homeland so she stowaway on a English vessel pretending to be Lady Sara not aware that the Captain is none other than her young love who she has never forgotten. He believes she married another English Lord and conspired to have him setup for the beating and sent home. He treats her on his ship like a slave and she does everything he’d asks of her.

The author has done a superb work in enticing the reader to keep turning the pages because their is obviously more about why Sarani leaving her country and what really happened to Rhystan!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read!

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

I was excited to read this one because Indian heroines are a rarity in historical romance. I was also excited because I was expecting this book to be strongly anti-colonialist, especially since it is an own voices story. I planned on reading and reviewing the book despite the controversy surrounding it. However, since the author is revising the book and plans to make significant changes, I don't think it would be fair to read and review this version.

I will happily read an ARC of the new version though! If it becomes available, that is. As a woman of Indian descent, I am still hoping the author can deliver an anti-colonialist historical romance.

Firstly this cover hooked me from the first time I saw it-love it love it . This is my second Amalie Howard because Beast of Beswick was all that and a bag of chips. It's a love story that served on the diversity front and gave the best love story ever. I recommend it and can she just give us more because I am here for all of it and everything about it. The plot was amazing and the cast lovable. A huge thanks to the publisher for my e-arc.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I do not want to read books about colonizing, plantation-owning heroes and poc heroines. I hope there are major changes in the finished copy of this book, but I will not be recommending this book.

This was a different book not the traditional romance but still a romance none the less. I would give this a try for something different

I was ecstatic to read this book! It is SO rare to find a historical romance with diverse characters. Although authors like Beverly Jenkins, Christina Milan, and Alyssa Cole have paved the way towards more diversity - it is still so needed. I adored Princess Sarina. She was a force to be reckoned with. Smart - beautiful - a true warrior goddess.

As the book starts, she is running for her life after her father was murdered. She heads to England, where her mother was born, as a means to get away and hopefully be safe and happy. She has lighter skin - so she hopes to have her origins not be questioned. She stows away on the first ship leaving Bombay after she arrives, only to find it is a ship captained by Rhystan, her former love and now Duke of Embry.

I could have read about Sarina all day - but unfortunately - I despised Rhystan. Even his behavior at the end didn't really redeem him. He was just an ass. I know he is a creature of his time - and his views on skin color are decidedly ahead of his time - but still - I was just so disappointed in his treatment of Sarina, his sister, even his mother.

A lot of the tension in this book comes on the racial divides that exist to this day. But not all of it - Rhystan's relationship with his family isn't really resolved to any degree. He has two conversations with his mother that seem to go a long way towards fixing things - but still. It felt very small in the face of what had happened and where everyone was coming from.

I think the focus on the racial issues and the danger Sarina was in could have stayed the focus - and some of the lesser issues (like the debt of the dukedom) could have been edited out. I also think maybe Rhystan and Sarina needed less sex and more time working out their issues. I can't even believe I'm saying that!

I loved the premise and the heroine - but my dislike of the hero really pushed this into a three star read for me. I will also say that there are a LOT of different plot threads happening. I think some additional editing could have really helped to focus the plot.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Many Thanks to Net Galley, SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.


The Duke’s Princess Bride attracted my attention coz of 2 reasons, one Amalie Howard’s The Beast Of Beswick which I had read earlier was superb and second the blurb talking about an Indian princess was appealing. I hardly check reviews before I read a book, it was only after finishing the last page and writing this review that I thought to check if there are other people who felt the same as me. And lo and behold, there is quite a hullabaloo with the subjects being raised in this book.

Sorry, Ms. Howard, it says in your bio that you are an author with Indian and Middle Eastern origins and the dilemma that the heroine Sarani Rao counters in this book is understandable. Also, I loved the spicy and steamy romance but and this is a big BUT, I sincerely wish that the issue of color was kept to the minimum. When every other sentence talks about the color of the heroine, it begins to jar after a while. For a seemingly fair-minded and unprejudiced hero, Rhystan also thinks of people on the basis of their color. Despite the oft repeated matter of seeing beyond the beauty of the person, Sarani and Rhystan are completely absorbed with each other’s looks and the feeling it evokes.

As an Indian, I was thankful that the author characterizes Sarani as a warrior princess and has actually mentioned Jhansi Ki Rani. History in India is in fact peppered with such strong women who fought against so much during the British rule; and that’s where my other point of contention comes in. The issue of colonialism is totally glazed over which would have not been a complication if a major part of the story was not centered around it. I have read more than a dozen historical romances with officers in East India Company but none have left me with this irritable feeling.

If you are a fan of historical romances, please do not be put off with this review as in spite of the above mentioned concerns, the romance between Sarani and Rhystan is utterly delicious, the hot, hot chemistry and sexual tension oozing off the pages. I suggest that all readers read the book for the romance alone and not delve deep into the historical aspect of it which then wouldn’t dim one’s pleasure.

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/; Amazon India, Goodreads, and Twitter.

I was so excited to read this one based on the cover alone. Another reason was the fact an Indian princess was going to be paired with an English duke. Learning about Sarani's culture was something I was looking forward to and how it mixed with Rhystan. After reading there was not a feel of Sarani being an Indian princess and I at times forgot that she was. Wasn't a fan of the way Rhystan treated her on the ship at time. Even if he was angry with her as a gentleman he should have stepped in or treated her better. The whole book was off for me. I know others have remarked about the culture issue in more detailed terms. IMO, even from just the slightest level this one was a miss in those terms.

I understand the author will be doing significant revisions to this book before publication so I do not feel I can read this version as-is with the problematic content brought to light by previous reviewers. Thank you for the opportunity.

I struggled with the choice of words used to describe the heroine. I understand that it's historical so it's difficult to fight racism in a positive or constructive manner but it made Caucasians looks "good" and people of color "bad". This rubbed me the wrong way as a person of color and hoped the author and the publishers would reconsider publishing this version.

I did see that the author has made a statement of her errors and how the execution of the book did not turn out the way she intended. I respect and admire that she admitted this and hope she will be taking into account feedback she receives. This is why my rating is a 2 star instead of 1 star.

I personally think this book needs heavy revisions to fix those flaws and hope that the author takes those feedback to heart in revisions.

In relation to the story telling, I struggled with the pacing a bit in the book. I felt that the time on the boat dragged out longer than needed and found myself skimming that information to get to the juicier parts. I think the pacing picked up once we were in England and we were introduced to more interesting characters. Although, there were times in England where it felt jumpy and I felt I was jerked out of the flow of the story because I tried to reorient myself in some scenes.

I did like Sarani and Rhystan as characters. The author did a good job bringing them to life and their flaws. Kind of wished they were more honest with each other but that's probably just a personal wish.

I think the author did a decent job describing the settings. I do wish we were able to enjoy India a little more than we did. I felt we were on the boat more than in India. We obviously spent the most time in England which is fine and I can see the author was comfortable writing in that setting.

The conclusion was good, not unexpected. However, I personally wished that Sarani let it be known earlier that she didn't want to rule. I kind of expected that the next book might be about her trying to regain her rule over Joor. The ending felt like a easy conclusion where they live happily ever after in England where it's supposedly "safe" when I personally don't think it might be but this is my personal opinion.

Overall, the story has promise but in a historical time where racism ran rampant and mixing of races are looked upon with disdain this is a tricky topic to execute. I recommend more editing or sensitivity readers to bring this book up to where it could shine.

I will not leave this review on my blog or anywhere as I fully expect the story to change based on the author's statement. Thank you for the chance to read the ARC. I hope my feedback is helpful.

Oh noooooooooo. This book is going to need a LOT of work before the publication date if Howard wants it to be successful at all, and I don’t say that often.

A lot of ownvoices reviewers have already touched on these issues, but I just wanted to mention some of them here: it consistently privileges the white gaze, especially in the eyes of the main character, Sarani. The book also pretty much erases the oppression and exploitation of Indian peoples under British rule, and it depends on a white savior narrative for the HEA. There are other smaller issues going on in this book, but these are the main things that need to be addressed.

I will say that Howard has read and taken in the feedback from reviewers and has stated that she is going to edit the ARC quite a bit before release date, so I sincerely hope she can make that happen, because as it stands, this book does more harm than good in terms of representation IMO.

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**